Mayor’s Message February 2025
For being the shortest month, February sure has a lot packed into it; Black History Month, American Heart Month, Presidents Day, the Superbowl, and Valentines Day. Along with the less widely observed National Fettuccine Alfredo Day and National Chili Day, just to name a few.
Speaking of chili, we are off to a chilly start to this February, but spring is now just around the corner. (despite what that groundhog said)
Recently The Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of Rhinebeck dinner, with presentations from myself, Town Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia, and RBHS Superintendent Albert Cousins.
I would like to share part of our presentation with you:
Our Town Board, Village employees, Police, Fire/EMS, and all our residents and businesses deserve credit for the accomplishments we outlined.
We face many challenges, from rising costs and outdated infrastructure, to the changing climate. We have leaned into increasing efficiency of Village government, doing more with less when possible. All of this involves long term planning, study, financing, and a vision for how best to steer Rhinebeck into the future, while protecting what makes this community great.
That's why the newly approved Village Comprehensive Plan is such a big deal. This 3-year effort completely overhauled the previous plan from 1993, and created a roadmap for land use planning for the next 10-20 years. Now the Village Board, in partnership with Four Corners Planning, will be working on implementing those recommendations.
A major part of our approach involves actively pursuing and applying for grants. The current confusion on the federal level regarding funding is of concern to us, and we are monitoring the situation closely. We are not alone, funding for communities all over the country is in question. The two Village projects that could be immediately affected are the Safe Routes to School, and the application to upgrade the drainage at the Lions Mini Park.(see below for details on both these).
Other notable accomplishments of the past year include:
Village Drainage system analysis and recommendations
Water and Wastewater plant upgrades projects awarded
Digitized our Zoning and Planning records
Village Compost Project launched
We have a lot of work ahead in the coming year, as a number of our projects move into the building phase. We are continuing some projects, and breaking ground on a number of them:
Start Zoning process for Comprehensive Plan
Complete design phase of safe routes to school
Start construction on Water and wastewater plant upgrades
Implement recommendations from the analysis of the drainage system identified the highest priority areas which are along Knollwood, The Mini Park at North Park, and the intersection at Chestnut and Seymour
Start construction on Water and wastewater plant upgrades
Improve operating efficiencies in the municipality in zoning, payroll, and timekeeping
Continue to recruit Police officers for the Village, Town, and Rhinebeck School District
The Village has moved forward on the adoption of a CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN as part of our pledge to take part in the NYS DEC Climate Smart Communities Certification Program. The plan includes addressing local climate threats, documenting the Village’s most vulnerable assets and recommending strategies to protect the community and its assets from increasing climate risks.
A Public Hearing is set for our February 11th Meeting to discuss our plans to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to upgrade the Lions Mini Park. The Municipal Program run by the US Department of Housing has the mission to “develop viable communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate income persons.”
The Lions Mini Park, which is situated on North Park Road, has been historically affected by poor drainage and soggy surfaces that have limited the Village’s ability to improve it. We now have a conceptual design proposal to replace and expand the existing drainage system at the intersection of North Park Road and Arnett Road. It would also include providing a new outfall to the Landsman Kill so that stormwater will be conveyed to the stream. Not only will it mean that we can all enjoy future enhancements to the park more, but it will make the park usable after storms that flooded it. The construction cost is estimated at $175,000(including 20% contingency) and $45,000 for survey and engineering for a total of $220,000.
The “Kiddie Area” and adjacent areas are the most affected by the flood threat.
This Conceptual Drawing of the drainage improvement would improve that area and make it usable for structures.
Also on February 11th, we will be discussing whether or not to enter into an agreement with Joule Assets for the CCA Community Choice Aggregation for renewable electricity.
We will be reviewing their proposal and deciding whether to move forward.
This is a key decision point where we need to balance the advantages of supporting renewable energy goals against the costs of the renewable energy..The conditions are that the price is lower than the established benchmarks AND that we give final written approval to award the RFP on behalf of the municipality.
Utility customers in the service territory will automatically be enrolled in the CCA Program with the choice to opt-out. Utility customers not automatically enrolled are those that have the following exceptions:
• that opt out before Program launch or have opted out of previous CCA contracts
• that have initiated a block on their utility account
• already supplied by an ESCO
• enrolled in time of use (including day/night interval) rates
• enrolled in utility assistance programs (APPs)
The Village of Rhinebeck is one of the participating municipalities that represent more than 40,000 residential and small commercial utility accounts, with an aggregate annual usage of more than 300,000 MWh. If approved, service will begin on August 1, 2025.
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
Gary Bassett
Mayor Village of Rhinebeck
Chair, Hudson River Drinking Water Inter-Municipal Council
76 East Market St.
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
845-876-7015