Mayor’s Message December 2018
The holiday season in the Village of Rhinebeck is in full swing. We appreciate all those who give their time, energy and creativity to make holidays in the Village so joyous. The village trees sparkle with lights following the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Parade sponsored by the Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce. This year, several families watched the parade from Rhinebeck’s first “autism supportive community sensory safe place”. The space was designed by Anderson Center for Autism in partnership with the Village. For one child this was the first chance to see a parade. This was another successful year for Rhinebeck’s Sinterklaas Festival Day, which culminates in the Children’s Starlight Parade. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this such a special event that draws many visitors to the Village. Sinterklaas may be a magical day, but it takes months of planning and coordination from many area agencies with the lead coming from our own Sgt. Pete Dunn of the Rhinebeck Village Police. Kudos all around. Of course, inclement weather is also part of the winter season. We’ve had one snowfall with many more to come. Please remember that overnight parking on the streets in the Village of Rhinebeck is prohibited between the hours of 12:01am and 6:00am through March 31st. And just in case you have not heard, the Village of Rhinebeck was awarded a grant from New York State totaling $2,228,276.00 for much needed improvements to our Village water distribution system. The system carries water to the entire Village and part of the Town of Rhinebeck, for residential and commercial use as well as firefighting. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the grant as part of $49.1 million the State is investing in drinking and clean water projects. This was years in the making, and is the result of work by many people. Thank you to everyone who helped. Village Hall is decorated for the season in preparation for the 2nd Annual Joint Village and Town Holiday Luncheon on Dec.14th. This is our opportunity to thank all of our boards and committee volunteers who donate their time during the year. The job of replacing existing lighting with LED lights at Village Hall as well as in the highway, water, wastewater buildings, and parks will soon be complete. This will mean a big savings in energy costs for taxpayers. We are also ready to start the excavation and removal of the outdated 2000 gallon oil tank at the entrance to Village Hall, following the installation of new oil tanks in the basement. And, the solar powered speed zone signs for Knollwood and Montgomery Streets should be up and running before the winter weather hits. Down at the water plant, the pump/dredge boat is now onsite, and the land is clear for the start of the first phase of pumping the sediment that clogs the lagoon. The first filtration bag to collect the sediment is being installed now. There will be several cycles of pumping the lagoon until the project is completed next spring. In January the existing wheelchair lift will be replace by a new ADA platform lift. Myers Contracting Corporation was awarded the contract with a bid of $117,000. We will have to wait until spring to install the New ADA ramp and dock at Crystal Lake, which will complete the upgrades there. We are moving forward on several studies which focus on cost effective ways to deliver services to our taxpayers. These independent studies on our highway, court, water and wastewater functions are funded the Dutchess County. One such study is the shared highway study, being conducted by the SUNY College of Brockport. At the halfway point, the study is looking at: ● Co-locating the Village Highway Department at the Town of Rhinebeck Highway facility.
● Improved service record keeping to allow for more comprehensive planning.
● Examining Town and Village non-highway responsibilities to find opportunities to share services via contract.
● Outlining an effective framework for Village-Town cooperation.
Meanwhile, details of the proposal to create a Hospital Medical District are now being studied by lawyers. The purpose of the District is to allow health related land use in and around the existing Northern Dutchess Hospital Campus, while maintaining the scale and viability of the adjacent residential neighborhoods. There will be another workshop on the proposal in January.
I want to wish every one of you a happy holiday season, and thank you all for all the wonderful work you do in supporting our community. The next newsletter I send out will be in 2019. Happy New Year!
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.govor come to see me during open hours from 1pm to 2pm daily. Gary Bassett Mayor Village of Rhinebeck 76 East Market St. Rhinebeck, NY 12572 845-876-7015