Mayor’s Message January 2023
I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy start to the New Year.
The Village of Rhinebeck had a busy and productive 2022. We have continued to rebuild our infrastructure while being fiscally responsible. We have been very successful in seeking grant money to improve accessibility on our sidewalks, streets, water system and fire department. We have increased wages, benefits and diversity among our staff, and have improved services to Village residents with composting, repaving roads and converting our street lights to LED. We passed new laws making sure that the installation of 5G towers does not impact our views. And with a lot of input from residents, we made significant progress in updating the comprehensive plan. There is a lot more to do in 2023 on continuing to improve our roads, water systems, housing affordability, protecting our clean water and our environment. I look forward to continuing our forward progress and to working with all of you in the coming year.
The Village is to receive a $200,000 grant through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Municipal Food Scraps Recycling Initiative. The grant will fund construction of a municipal composting facility at the Village Highway Department. A second grant application is still pending. This is all a result of the very successful municipal food scrap diversion pilot, Village Compost.
In January, Rhinebeck Village, along with 8 other Dutchess County municipalities, will start our grant-funded Climate Action Planning Institute (CAPI) project. The 18 month project will result in a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and a climate action plan for all our municipal properties and operations.
The Village Comprehensive Plan Committee was created with the idea of generating a village-wide conversation about the values that will guide our land use planning for the next several decades. We have heard from hundreds of people who took part in wide-ranging conversations in forums and small groups. Many others served by sitting on the main committee or one of the subcommittees. The subcommittees are currently reporting data and recommendations to the main committee. One more important thing is for everyone to fill out the Community-Wide Survey! If you have not yet filled it out, please take a moment to share your ideas with us before it closes on January 15. (Survey in English) (Survey in Spanish)
As the process continues, there will be multiple opportunities for the public to stay engaged -- please stay tuned through this mailing list or by checking the Comp Plan webpage. I would like to thank Village Trustee Lydia Slaby for her leadership of this project, and also thank all of you who are part of the process.
At the end of December, there were two more water main breaks on Center Street. The Village Board has approved the funding for the much needed water main and street improvements. The total funding needed is $670,000, which will be funded by $220,000 from the Water fund, $232,773 use of the remaining ARPA funds and $217,227 CHIPS state funding.
We are getting our new Water and Wastewater billing system up and running. In order to make this transition as smooth as possible, no quarterly Water or Sewer bills were sent out in December. The first quarterly bills of 2023 will be adjusted to include or exclude those previous months. These changes will get all the monthly billing on the same schedule, offer online, auto-pay and email billing. As of January 1, 2023, Water and Wastewater charges will appear on the same bill. The accuracy of our new meter reading program may result in a change in your billing.
Quarterly Billing will be as follows:
Usage for JAN FEB MAR - billed in APR, payment due by the 25th
Usage for APR MAY JUN - billed in JUL, payment due by the 25th
Usage for JUL AUG SEP - billed in OCT, payment due by the 25th
Usage for OCT NOV DEC - billed in JAN, payment due by the 25th
Not only will these changes make the system more efficient, they will save taxpayers money by cutting down costs of paper and postage, and by streamlining the process. Please email cdenu@villageofrhinebeckny.gov to update your email, postal address, and telephone numbers.
Congratulations and welcome to our new Police Officer Joseph Safford! He graduated from the Ulster County Law Enforcement Training Group Police Academy where he was presented with a Certificate of Excellence, an award presented for academic excellence. Safford was sponsored by the Rhinebeck Village Police Department. Officer Safford has a history of public service as he also serves as a firefighter with the Kingston Fire Department. We believe he will be a great asset to our department and to the citizens of Rhinebeck.
The Village of Rhinebeck Police Department, in conjunction with the Village of Rhinebeck and Starr Library, are proud to present community Narcan training. Narcan is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. This training will be on Tuesday January 10th at 6PM. Due to space limitations this particular training is limited to twenty-five people. Please use this link: Starr Library – Events (engagedpatrons.org) or contact the Starr Library at 845-876-4030 to reserve your seat. This training will be presented by Officer Jonathan Wilson of the Village of Rhinebeck Police Department.
The Village Fire Department elected new officers for 2023:
Fire
Chief Bryant Knapp
Assistant Chief Peter Fraleigh
First Captain Todd Leary
Second Captain Shane Hassett
First Lieutenant Blake McMichael
EMS
Captain Jeff Cotter
First Lieutenant Erica Wheeler
Fire Police
Tim Day
Civil
President Walt Cotter
Vice President Sonny Fraiman
Financial Secretary LeAnne Pitcher
Treasurer John Imperato
Director Jim Rogers
Director Jamie Freiman
This past year the Village of Rhinebeck Fire Department responded to 1,159 calls for service. We thank all of them for their coverage and response to everyone.
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@Villgeofrhinebeckny.gov
Mayor Gary Bassett