Mayor’s Message for October 2021
Nothing says fall in Rhinebeck like changing leaves, crisp apples at the Farmers Market, rich fall flavors at local bakeries and coffee shops, and, of course, the annual appearance of our highly efficient leaf vacuum truck on Village streets. Leaf Pickup will continue until December 1st.
The Village board adopted a local law adopted pursuant to Cannabis Law § 131 opting out of licensing and establishing retail cannabis dispensaries and/or on-site cannabis consumption establishments within the Village of Rhinebeck. A public hearing will be held on October 12, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Hall, 76 East Market Street. At that time, everyone will have a chance to weigh in.
Village Treasurer/CFO Karen McLaughlin has closed out our fiscal year 2020-2021 and reports that we are achieving our goal of keeping property taxes down by relying on other sources of revenue. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, success of our outdoor dining and increase in home values has allowed us to achieve that goal via sales/mortgage taxes. She adds that the low interest rates do continue to pose an ongoing challenge. Our focus is to ensure transparency on budgeting, spending, and keeping an adequate fund balance on hand.
Trustee Neuneker and Trustee Slaby have drafted a proposed law governing Small Wireless Facilities to prepare for the rollout of 5G. If approved, the law will ensure a uniform set of standards for permitting, developing, siting, installing, designing, operation and maintaining small wireless telecommunication facilities.
The Village Board approved a resolution by Trustee Bertozzi that bans the use of Glyphosate and sets specific safety requirements for any use of Herbicides/pesticides on Village owned property. The Village will no longer apply any herbicides/pesticides unless absolutely necessary to control invasive species and applicators must have an active certification, per the requirements of NY State Environmental Conservation Law https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/298.html
All Village government leadership and department heads will be taking anti-bias/diversity training. We have put out a “Request for Proposal” to create the training program. This is a direct result of the Police reform conversations which acknowledged that everyone in government can benefit. The school district and other organizations are already providing the training and we are happy to join them.
The Village of Rhinebeck Fire Dept has four new members. Please welcome Chris Lane, who has a NY State EMT with a Firefighter 1 certification, Mark Airstock who is currently enrolled in the EMT certification program and new firefighters Emily Wallshein and Willam Caruso. It’s a great pleasure to have these excellent new members join our strong volunteer fire department.
Cathi Tegtmeier is taking over the job of Emergency Response Coordinator. She will join the Emergency Response Committee made up of myself as Mayor, Rhinebeck Police Officer in Charge Pete Dunn, and Village Fire Chief Kyle Eighmy. Cathi comes to us with a depth of knowledge in this field. She recently retired from Dutchess County where she held the following positions of; Assistant Commissioner of Community Health, Director of Communicable Disease Control & Preparedness, Director of Health Planning, Education & Preparedness and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and was previously the Director of Emergency Service as Northern Dutchess Hospital. The Committee works with Dutchess County officials and other agencies in disaster preparedness and planning. We also enlist the help of community businesses and residents when needed.
Two of our Village Police officers, Ken Landers and Brian Reavy have retired. We will miss them and their contributions to our police department will always be appreciated. We are happy to welcome two new officers. Officer Steven Leung is a bilingual translator and has extensive experience with interviewing abuse victims. Officer Michael Plass is experienced in mental health response and de-escalation techniques. Please join me in welcoming both officers to the village.
The Village of Rhinebeck has distributed the first round of monies from the American rescue Funds. The Rhinebeck Reformed Church and the Church of Messiah received $5000 each for their work to offset negative economic impacts to households during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The Village also invested in an electronic billboard for emergency notifications to residents. We are studying other potential projects such as improving air circulation in municipal buildings and other infrastructure investments.
We are currently searching for replacements for two trucks which were damaged in the fire on the afternoon of September 25th at the Village Highway Garage. The fire started in a dump truck and spread to the second vehicle. Thanks to the fast and efficient response of Rhinebeck Village Police and Fire Departments, the structure was unscathed. We are waiting for the insurance reports, but in the meantime, we need replacements to get us through the winter months.
On November 4th, the Village of Rhinebeck will be among those honored at the 2021 DUTCHESS TOURISM AWARDS OF DISTINCTION at Locust Grove Estate in Poughkeepsie.
The awards highlight those who go above and beyond the standard Americans With Disabilities Act compliance to create accessible, supportive and inclusive environments for travelers of all abilities. The Village of Rhinebeck is so proud to be among the honored for our Autism Supportive Community initiative. Dutchess County Parks and the Walkway Over The Hudson will also receive awards.
The following employees have anniversaries for the Village of Rhinebeck: Chief Water Plant Officer Bryan Alix- 8 years and Highway Working Supervisor Scott Minn- 26 years. We are glad to have them with us.
As always, please reach out to me with any questions or comments. You can reach me by phone 845-876-7015 ext 2 at Village Hall or via email to MayorBassett@VillageofRhinebeckny.gov