Mayor’s Message July 2025
Summer Solstice 2025 arrived with a miserable three days of record-breaking heat and stifling humidity. Not only did daytime temperatures soar, but the nights were warmer than normal which made it hard to cool off. We experienced a “heat dome” which is a large area of high pressure which traps hot air, and scientists warn us that this phenomenon is likely to occur more often due to climate change.
(June 23, 2025)
Days of intense heat cause more intense health threats than any other kind of weather. As it is highly likely we could experience more intense heat events, it’s important to remember that you can go to any public library or Village Hall, which are open as cooling centers. Our Rhinebeck Village Fire Department EMTs are also trained in responding to heat emergencies.
The work will be beginning soon at the Lions Mini Park, as Dutchess County got the funding from HUD, and our project was approved! We got the full amount requested, $200,000 to improve the drainage in the park. The official program year begins August 1, and we are working on draft contracts right now. Hope to have more news for you soon when the project gets awarded.
Sinterklaas was a topic of a lot of discussion when the Village board discussed their application at our meeting on Tuesday, June 24th. From that discussion the board has made the following recommendations to their organization prior to approving the event for 2025. The organizers and members of the community made the decision to request applying to the Village to go forward with Sinterklaas.
At the onset, the board recommended that all of the village's expenses be covered by Sinterklaas as this is an unbudgeted item for the 25-26 budget.
Emergency planning - the Village requires the right to cancel the event at any time for snow, local or state emergency, or any probable threat
Safety and Security- Police support is currently covered by our PD, Dutchess county Sheriff and State Police. Village PD needs everyone that is employed by the Village to assist. There is no charge for the State Police. The Dutchess County Sheriff does charge us approximately $2700 for coverage. As mentioned, the Village PD has the market share of the cost for providing safety for the event at $4100.
The event is predicated on having all Police agencies commit to coverage. We are still waiting for confirmation from the State Police to provide confirmation of coverage.
Village event support - The Village staff provides support throughout the day for set-up, garbage collection, zoning enforcement, and logistics. The direct labor cost for this is $2800.
Miscellaneous expenses - Every year there are additional expenses that are unexpected for supplies etc. It's anticipated this cost is about $400.
The total cost to the Village of hosting this event is $10,000. With any public gathering this large, it is vital that we have adequate security in place, and that is expensive.
The Board also addressed the current state of Village roads, many of which were seriously degraded by winter weather this year. We are working on a plan for how we could catch up, instead of just patching the roads. DPW Superintendent Kyle Eighmy reached out to Callahan Industries on scheduling and completing work on roads that need immediate attention. Callahan is already approved for a NY State bid, and could complete the job in October if the project is approved. Eighmy also reported that when this is done, we will be back on or slightly ahead of our 10-year paving plan.
The Paving project breaks down as follows:
TOTAL Cost $496,426
CHIPS (NYS Monies) - $260,146
Village share from Fund Balance = $236,280
Roads to be paved are:
Garden Street
North Parsonage
Platt Avenue (from Mulberry to North Parsonage)
Chestnut Street (from Mulberry to North Parsonage)
Mulberry (from South Street to E. Market (308)
Beech Street (from South Street to E. Market (308)
West Chestnut Street (from Route 9 to Oak Street)
Somers Drive
Crowell Ave
Engineer Anthony Mantas gave an update on the status of the Water Treatment Plant upgrade project. We approved several changes:
Actuated Valve changes for $11,213,
Filling sinkhole beneath the garage $9,545
Air Valve replacement for $9,788
16” Hydra Stop gate valve $49,566
We continue to make improvements at the Hilee Road Reservoir. After a recent Control Panel failure, we asked for a bid to replace it, as it is now obsolete.The pump supplies water to the houses along Hilee Road.. We received an estimate of $50K to replace it, but have asked for more bids as this is an additional expense, and is not in the budget.The project is still on schedule and our contingency remains sufficient with $83,000.
Half of the Village’s municipal buildings are now fossil fuel free except for backup generators!! This June saw the completion of HVAC projects installing heat pumps and heat pump hot water heaters at two of the Village’s four municipal buildings. By taking the old equipment offline, the buildings will no longer be burning oil or propane, except for backup generators in case of emergency. The Village subscribes to a community solar farm, making the electrical powering of this HVAC equipment very eco-friendly.
Happy Anniversary!
Please join me in celebrating our employee anniversaries:
Building planning and Zoning Records Clerk Miranda Wyant - 3 years
Treasurer Karen McLaughlin - 10 years
Water Operator Tony Fata - 24 years
Groundskeeper Tom Johnson - 24 years
Congratulations to all our 2025 graduates!
We wish you all the best in your future !
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 Bassett