Mayor’s Message May 2019

Here in the Village of Rhinebeck, many of us celebrated Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day is now a global event, and every year as many as one billion people around the globe take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world. Our inspiring, and very hard working, Village Tree Committee coordinated the annual tree planting with the celebration, and the Village of Rhinebeck now has 20 new trees! Many thanks for the hard work, we will all benefit from the beautiful new trees that are now part of our village forest. Plus, the Village will now be able to inventory and manage all our trees, using a software package that was donated by the Frost Foundation. This will give the Tree Commission a valuable tool to help keep our trees healthy and safe. The Frost Foundation has also made it possible for the Village to buy a “Jaws of Life”, so called because this piece of equipment can be used to rescue someone who has been trapped inside a vehicle. This could make all the difference in case of a major accident. We greatly appreciate the Foundation’s generosity and our emergency crews will put this to good use. We will soon have a new part time police officer on the job. I am happy to report that the Village Board approved the hiring of Mark Mauro. Mark previously served as an officer in the Town Of Wappinger. He is replacing Dylan Joslin-Peter who resigned. Mark will make a great addition to the Village of Rhinebeck Police Department. The Village and Town of Rhinebeck were recently presented with the Shared Highway Report, funded by Dutchess County as part of the Municipal Consolidation Shared Services Grant program. The contract was awarded on April 10, 2018 to The College at Brockport, State University of New York, Department of Administration. Summary: The Village and Town Highway Departments provide substantially different types of services in many cases. Despite their different mandates, the two highway departments already work cooperatively in key areas. The report looked at other possible ways to work together to increase efficiency and savings. Here are the key areas that were explored: Co-location of the Village Highway Department at the Town Highway Facility Site The report reviews the results of site assessments, estimates village space needs and provides construction cost estimates for three options, two on the town site and one village site option. Facility and Park Maintenance The report examined the building, facility, and park maintenance needs in the Town and Village of Rhinebeck, and possible areas of coordination. Improved Service Recordkeeping for Assessing Future Opportunities The report provides suggested alternatives to improve village service recordkeeping practices to permit the cost of village personnel and equipment resources to be linked to the multiple services provided by the highway department. Effective Town-Village Framework for Cooperation The report concludes we would need to develop an approach that the Town and Village can use for sharing costs or contracted services, as well as developing a general agreement for the routine sharing of personnel, equipment and materials. Consolidation Guidance In response to a request from town officials, the report describes a set of planning steps if the Town and Village of Rhinebeck were to decide to fully consolidate their highway departments. If you want to review the complete report, please contact the Village Office. Next step is for the Village and Town to discuss what actions we might take based on the report’s outcomes and deliverables. The Village of Rhinebeck has no control over state highways. That means we cannot approve fundraising “coin drops” on the main roads in the Village, the permit would have to come from New York State. We recently voted to take “no action” on several requests from groups and recommend organizations go directly to the State for approvals. We have also been informed by the New York State Department of Transportation that they regret to inform us the our application for the VIllage Pathways for Pedestrian & Cyclists was not selected for funding through the 2018 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). They appreciate the effort we put into the application and we are encouraged to try again when the next funding opportunity becomes available. The Rhinebeck Area Chamber (RACOC) will not be able to take on the organizing effort for the Christmas Tree Lighting & Parade this year. We LOVE this event, and know many residents do too. We are hoping that another group might be interested. If someone wants to step in and take over, please let us know. The planning starts in early June, so time is of the essence. The RACOC is happy to talk to anyone who is considering taking it on. The Chamber’s contributions over the years are greatly appreciated. You may have noticed the recent construction structures outside of Village Hall. They were part of the preparation for the installation of the ADA vertical platform lift that will replace the chair lift. The first phase of this project was to remove asbestos found in materials that were being disturbed in the construction area. The next phase of the project, the installation of the platform lift will begin this month. This project was funded with a 50/50 grant from Dutchess County 2018 Municipal Innovation Grant program. Local gardeners should know that the weekly yard waste pick up will continue until May 15th. That’s when the crews will take a two week break to get the Village streets ready for the summer season. After June 1, the pickups will resume on a rotating schedule for the north and south sides of the streets. At the request of several residents we’ve added the correspondence we receive to our website. Please find the link to the correspondence in the action center on the home page of our website https://www.rhinebecknyvillage.org/. Our 2019-20 budget has passed with a tax decrease in the tax rate from $4.17 to $4.16 per $1000 of assessed value. We are working hard to maintain your taxes and delivery on service. And, I have some sad news to share with you.. Carol Ann Mielich, 79, currently of Clayton, NC and a longtime Rhinebeck resident, passed away on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 at Raleigh, NC. Carol served as a Mayor and Trustee from 2004-2006 for the Village of Rhinebeck. She was also a member and past President of the Rhinebeck Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary. Details on calling hours and on the Mass of Christian Burial will be announced.

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 or 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