Mayor’s Message January 2025
Happy New Year! I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2025. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be of service to the Village of Rhinebeck this past year. I want to thank Trustees Lewit, Slaby, Bertozzi and Pupko for their dedication. Local government is there to provide safety and services to residents, but also to determine how to meet local public needs. So many Village residents have contributed time and effort to our ongoing work. It shows how deeply we all care about the special place we live.
We've had some snow recently which makes it a good time to remind folks of our Snow Ordinance which prohibits overnight parking on RHINEBECK VILLAGE STREETS between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. from NOVEMBER 15, 2024 through MARCH 31ST, 2025. Our Village crews can more quickly and safely clear our streets when everyone follows the rules.
The Village board has voted to move forward with a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program.This will allow us to negotiate electricity costs, and to choose green power options. We will hold a series of public hearings in order to explain how the program will work for residents who decide to opt in.
These sessions will be held on the following dates:
In person meetings at Village Hall:
Saturday, January 11th at 11 am
Thursday, February 6th at 7 pm
Virtual meeting only:
Wednesday, January 22nd at 7 pm
The Board has selected Joule Assets Community Choice Aggregation Program as the administrator. The final decision on “go/no-go” will be made in March, when the price of renewable energy rates will be set.
The project to upgrade the Village Water and Wastewater plants is moving forward as we now have received bids from contractors. The bids for the Water Plant project ranged from $5.8M to $8.1MM in total for the project. The bids for the Wastewater Plant as submitted, ranged from $2.55MM to $2.99MM. Delaware Engineering is reviewing the bids and will make recommendations to the Village Board at our January meeting. Construction on both projects could begin in 2025, assuming we have an acceptable bid. The Water Plant is funded by the combination of a grant from NYS for $3.2M and a long term loan, the WasteWater has a $5.0M loan from NYS.
The Hudson 7 has reached a significant milestone with the submission of its Drinking Water Source Protection Plan (DWSP2) to New York State. The Hudson 7 is a group of seven municipalities that get their drinking water from the Hudson River. DWSP2 is the culmination of a two-year project funded by the state with the goal of developing a comprehensive plan to protect the river and ensure clean water for the future. The plan will be reviewed by the Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health.
Once approved, the plan will be shared with each of the participating municipalities.
In addition to the benefits of having a well-defined source water protection strategy, each participating municipality will be eligible to capitalize on future state grants that prioritize funding for communities with completed DWSP2s. These municipalities will also gain points toward their NYSERDA Climate Smart goals, further enhancing their environmental and sustainability initiatives.
Review the DWSP2 draft document can be found here
A DWSP2 subcommittee was formed on April 29, 2022, consisting of:
● Mayor Gary Bassett(Rhinebeck)
● Paul Malmrose (Technical Advisor, Engineering)
● Randy Alstadt (Poughkeepsie Water Facility, Administrator)
● Dan Shapley (Riverkeeper, Technical Advisor)
● Devin Rigolino (Dutchess County)
● Rebecca Martin (Source Water Protection Coordinator)
This subcommittee provided critical local knowledge about current conditions of the source water areas and regional concerns related to water quality. The resulting draft of the DWSP2 provides the Hudson 7 municipalities with a step-by-step implementation plan designed to:
● Promote public health and safety.
● Avoid preventable drinking water treatment costs.
● Increase community confidence in drinking water quality.
● Strengthen partnerships across multiple levels of government to effectively manage a uniquely complex drinking water source.
The planned upgrade of the Village drainage system is moving forward, as the engineering firm Tighe and Bond has completed a study to identify locations, deficiencies, and recommend how to address them. The Village is seeing unprecedented storms driven by climate change which endangers lives and damages property. Instead of shoring up and paving new roads after each storm, we have decided to look at the intricate drainage systems, catch basins, and streams. Many of them were installed years ago, and were not built for the kind of challenges we now face. Our goal is to upgrade the whole system so it can better handle big storms and other weather events in the future:
● Set up a Village specific basemap with Arc GISOnline for the purposes to inventory the Stormwater Management System
● Inventory and provide high level assessment of infrastructure characteristics & condition
● Inventory to include the following:
○ Catch Basins
○ Dry Well
○ Drainage Pipes
○ Culverts
○ Outfall
○ Swales/open drainage connections (when noted)
Now that we have found the deficiencies, our Department of Water staff, along with Tighe and Bond, will begin work on prioritizing repairs.
Members of the Autism Supportive Community Committee recently participated in a training session held by the Anderson Center for Autism.The Committee continues its mission to empower businesses, government and local organizations to create a community that welcomes autistic and neurodivergent individuals by building a culture of inclusivity and accessibility for all.
The Village is getting down to earth as the Village Compost program is up and running!
Finally, those potato peelings, coffee grounds, and other food scraps can be put to good use instead of being sent to a landfill. Those participating can drop their food scraps 24/7 year-round at the collection container in the Municipal Parking lot. The container is designed to prevent illegal dumping and keep the critters out. Ellerslie Stables will pick it up every Monday, incorporate the contents into the composing operation at the farm, and return the container to the parking lot. The program is funded by a $200,000 DEC grant, with a term of 7 years, with an option to continue the municipal-farm contract. Ellerslie Farms will also provide participants with compost!
Join us on January 12 for high fives and food scraps!
After a long hiatus from Cable TV, PANDA is back on Cable TV plus additional outlets!
● Spectrum cable TV subscribers can watch Channel 1303.
● Both the traditional channel and on-demand viewing of PANDA programs are available on the free PANDANOW app—available for Roku, AppleTV, FireTV, Android and iPhone/iPad.
● Viewers who do not use those platforms can see PANDA programs on demand on YouTube, by searching for PANDANOW. YouTube is available on all smart TVs, computers and mobile devices.
● On the PANDA website, www.pandatv.org, the latest programs are featured on the home page. The traditional channel and links to YouTube playlists are on the “Watch” page.
Please join me in celebrating our employee anniversary:
- Deputy Clerk Krissy Denu – 15 years Happy Anniversary!
A special thanks to all of our Village Employees. 2024 has not been without its challenges, but we always come back to the power of our team and the inspiration we gained throughout the process. Thank you for using your incredible skills, dedication and commitment to the Village of Rhinebeck.
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