Mayor’s Message July 2019
Wishing everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday! Every year as we picnic with friends and family, watch a magnificent fireworks show, we also remember the history and the inclusive values of this great country. Our young people are the light that makes our future shine brightly, and we all are proud of the Rhinebeck High School graduating class of 2019, as they begin the next part of their life’s journey. Best wishes to all of you and a grateful thank you to the teachers, staff and administrators who bring so much to their jobs, and who are responsible for providing a high quality education for all our students. With the arrival of summer weather, comes the annual pothole repair program. Our DPW, John Fenton, highway foreman Mike Wolff, and Deputy Mayor Lewit have been hard at work planning for this year’s projects. Contracts are out for the paving of Locust Grove the week of July 8th, and Wynkoop the week of July 15th. The Wynkoop project will be done jointly with the Town of Rhinebeck. We are also working on replacing the signs at the entrances to the Village. They will be the same size as the existing signs, and will look very similar to the signage at the Village Police Department. Trustee Neuneker is continuing to work with our engineering firm on our upcoming Water Infrastructure Project. We were planning to work on a very tight schedule, however we may need to make adjustments, having received no bids for the job. We will keep everyone posted on our progress. We held another public workshop on un-hosted short term rentals in order to continue discussions on the latest version of our proposed code. We are grateful for the good discussion, cooperation, and input from everyone who attended the workshop. A final version of the code will be available at our next Board Meeting on July 9th. If we approve it, the next step will be a full public hearing. The revisions to the proposed code will be sent out to our email distribution list and posted on our website and Facebook pages. We are continuing our work to make the Village of Rhinebeck a “Walkeable, Bikeable, Sustainable” place to live. To support this initiative, we have appointed a “Climate Smart Community Coordinator”. Matt Stinchcomb has volunteered to take on this important role. Matt has been a valuable member of the Environmental Community for the past two years. He has been a fierce advocate for tackling the climate crisis. He led the initiative on the joint composting program including the Villages of Rhinebeck, Red Hook and Tivoli, plus the Towns of Rhinebeck and Red Hook. Matt will focus on helping the Village obtain the NYSERDA Climate Smart Communities Certification. Speaking of walkability, we did a survey on all 220 village street lights, and found 10% of them were not working. We have given the information to Central Hudson, and night crews will be coming in soon to repair or replace them. If you notice a light out, please go to the Central Hudson Website to report the outage: https://www.cenhud.com/streetlightout Phase One of the Autism Supportive Community Initiative is almost completed. This involved the creation of sensory safe places for events, and equipping the Village Police with sensory kits for vehicles. 58 businesses and organizations have pledged to take part by doing one thing to create a more comfortable environment, and all Village employees have taken Autism Awareness Training. The training was provided by Anderson Center for Autism, and paid for by the Dutchess County “Think Differently” program. We are the first municipality in Dutchess to take this training. On July 12th, we will be recognizing all those who have taken part in this groundbreaking program. And, finally, I am happy to celebrate some significant anniversaries for our Village staff: Motor Equipment Operator Tom Johnson (18 years), Police Officer Brian Reavy (18 years), DPW/ZEO John Fenton (4 years), Police Clerk Danielle Rector (10 years), Treasurer Karen McLaughlin (4 years), Water Plant operator, Tony Fata (18 years) and Village Clerk Pat Coon (22 years). Congratulations to all for their years of service to the Village! And many thanks from all of us, we could not do this without you.
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