Mayor’s Message April 2024
March was a very busy month in the Village of Rhinebeck. March Madness doesn’t only happen on the basketball court.
It’s always a heavy lift to come up with a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and this year was no different. We also held a number of public hearings, as well as our regular schedule of meetings.
You have probably seen the ongoing work taking place outside of Village Hall, which includes the construction of sidewalks, curbs, aprons and ADA ramps. We are taking advantage while the street is torn up, to have Archtop Fiber install the conduits for the Multi-Gig fiber. We have made some amendments to this project by adding curbs for the Firehouse truck ramp, and have extended the sidewalk updates to include a section in front of the Police Department. The Village Board also approved a Request For Pricing to replace the firehouse truck ramp, which was not part of the previous project. The last step will be the milling and paving of Center Street. If April weather holds, the project will be finished in May!
The public hearings for 6 Mulberry Street continued in March as the work continues on the draft law for the ZoningOverlay DIstrict. Proposed amendments to the law were made at the March 27th Public Hearing. The draft law is currently available for ten days of review. To view the draft law go to the Village of Rhinebeck website A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND THE ZONING CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF RHINEBECK TO CREATE THE BULKELEY SCHOOLHOUSE OVERLAY DISTRICT
Our next Public Hearing will be held April 9th at Village Hall at 6:30PM.
The Village Board has once again approved outdoor dining for the 2024 season: April 12 to November 1. The opportunity for restaurants to offer outdoor seating and service on adjacent sidewalks, which was first put into effect during the pandemic, has become a boon to restaurants and diners. The same terms and conditions as last year will be applied to this year's applicants. To read more about this please go to: Outdoor Dining — Village of Rhinebeck
This year, for the first time, we are asking for your support to POSSIBLY increase our tax levy above the current tax cap. Many municipalities in New York are faced with similar budgeting issues, in great part due to inflation and salary increases. At this time, this is preemptive planning as we’ve not finished the budget process. We passed a local law at our March meeting which authorized an override should it be necessary. And we continue to work with all our departments to find every possible opportunity for savings without compromising our goals to:
Protect the Village from the impacts of climate change
Provide a vision for the future of our Village
Make our Village safe and secure for all
Invest in critical infrastructure
Several of our committees want to start using social media to communicate with the public which presents a significant opportunity to engage with and inform residents. Thanks to Trustee Penney for drafting the new social media policy which we approved: Village of Rhinebeck Social Media Policy.docx
Rhinebeck Village has joined the Mid-Hudson Municipal Building Electrification Coalition Application to the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program. We will be applying together for a grant to significantly lower emissions in some of our facilities. Our Village Hall/Firehouse, a 12,000 square foot structure, would be retrofitted if we receive the grant.
The building serves as headquarters for our heroic volunteer Fire Department. The other half of the building serves as our public-facing municipal headquarters where we host public meetings and events as well as our justice court. Village Hall also houses our municipal offices including the Building/Planning/Zoning Department and Superintendent of Public Works, Justice chambers, Code Enforcement Officer, Treasurer, Water/Wastewater Clerk, Village Clerk and Mayor. This is a 100% funded grant with no Village contribution needed if awarded.
In February the Village Board introduced a local law for a Disability Tax Exemption. We have rescheduled the public hearing for May 14th at 6PM. Immediately after that, we will hold a Public Hearing on Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). The CCA resolution would open the way for the Village to present the public with options to allow green source electricity and bulk purchasing, both of which would reduce greenhouse gasses, and save residents money. The Public Hearing is about adding this option to the Village of Rhinebeck Code.
To review the law go to: VOR-CCA-Authorizing-Legislation.docx
The date for the Spring Tree Planting has now been moved up to April 20th! As spring weather arrived early this year, we need to get the bare root trees into the ground sooner in order to protect them. The Tree Commission is busy notifying all owners of the new planting date. Please come out and join them in the planting! It’s always a wonderful, and productive day. Our urban forest is part of what makes Rhinebeck so special.
I am happy to announce that we’ve hired a new part-time police officer. Officer Daniel Ferrara, currently a full-time Sargent in the Hyde Park Police and previously a member of the NYC Police Department. His start date will be soon, as we are awaiting final clearances from the State. Welcome Officer Ferrara.
I want to recognize the following Village employees for their work anniversaries.
Court Clerk Tricia Giacalone - 17 years
Wastewater Maintenance Mechanic Scott Rathjen - 8 years
Village Clerk Martina McClinton - 4 years
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 MayorBassett@Villgeofrhinebeckny.gov
Mayor Gary Bassett