Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Catskill Village Board has approved an increase in parking meter rates from 25 to 50 cents an hour, as new meters are being installed on Main Street. The new rate is comparable to the cost of parking on Warren Street in Hudson, but lower than the village of Saugerties, which charges 25 cents for 20 minutes, Village Vice President Pete Grasse said. The increased parking rate will help fund maintenance of the new meters and keep parking spots open on Main Street, Village President Vincent Seeley said. Drivers can still park for free in the village’s two municipal parking lots off Main Street and on Water Street, Catskill Police Chief David Darling said. And four lots have been designated for use by county employees. Darling hopes all the new meters will be installed by October. The new meters will take only quarters, making future repairs easier. “The biggest problem they had getting them [the old meters] fixed...was because of the nickel and dime part — no one uses nickels and dimes,” Grasse said. “To make it a flat quarter and stay with everybody else in surrounding counties, it shouldn’t be a very big deal.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.