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Town Supervisor Updates

May 10, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 5.7.2021

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5.7.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

The week began with repairs on the water main at the corner of 199 and 82. Many thanks to all the businesses affected by the shut-down, and for their patience as the Water Department found a much greater problem than they had anticipated. These things are never easy, but anyone who knows how hard it is to predict the outcome of a repair knows also how hard that uncertainty is on the people actually doing the work! Our One Call Now System was put to use for the first time for this emergency. If you haven’t signed up for it yet, please find Alice at Town Hall.

Speaking of Alice, she’s leading the first Walkaround for Seniors on May 11th at 10am starting from the Municipal Parking Lot. Come walk and see old friends and make new ones. If you haven’t met Alice, she’ll be the gal who looks like Wonder Woman.

And the Garden Club is having their annual plant sale on May 22 from 9-12 at the American Legion. Get there early!

The Courts are back in session, just FYI. If you have an issue that is not traffic related, you can make an appointment to be heard on Mondays and Wednesdays. See our website for more info.

Deb Phillips’ Calendar will be available again too, at various locations around town, starting in June.

Also in June, on the second Wednesday June 9th at noon, we will hold the first Senior Luncheon at the Community Center since Covid. Come eat with others, help us plan the rest of the year and perhaps listen to a speaker. The agenda is tentative, the date is not! Let’s party!

June 12th there will be a reception and celebration for all our medical volunteers who helped vaccinate most of the Town. This will take place at 4pm at the Episcopal Church Lawn hosted by Penny Wheeler and Victoria LoBrutto.

In conjunction with the Presbyterian Church, interest has been expressed about forming a LGBTQ group that would meet there with the help of Pastor Ryan Larkin. If you’d like to participate, please send a shout-out to Ryan at pastorryanfirstunited@gmail.com or Darrah Cloud, address at the end of this email.

Also at the end of this email is a brief history of the Community Garden! It is a fine example of how a group of active citizens got together and made something good happen in Pine Plains–and kept it going.

I sat down with Gregg Pulver last week at The Moose to talk about what’s going on in Pine Plains, and together with Bob Clinch we ramped up responses to our Hometown Heroes Project. As I write this, Alice is putting the finishing touches on the next group of flags which should be in before Memorial Day to be hung by Kyle Loughheed and crew from Ginocchio Electric. She is bringing in 19 more this afternoon. That will bring us to 44 flags commemorating 44 veterans who enlisted from Pine Plains. So far.

This is a month devoted to remembering our veterans, and we usually have a wonderful parade in Town. That is organized by the VFW and American Legion groups, so look for word on this, as State regulations will ease on gatherings on the 15th of May. The photographs on our flags overhead serve to remind us every day however of the history of service people here have given to the United States. Walking around underneath them here is an honor.

Walk in history, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud

Contacts and websites:
Alice@pineplains-ny.gov and supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov (Darrah)
www.pineplains-ny.gov  website
Pine Plains Town Hall   Facebook Page
made-in-pine-plains       Instagram
www.pineplainsbusinessassociation.com

A Brief History of the Pine Plains Community Garden

The Beginning

Samantha Sloane Cole founded The Community Garden in 2012, as part of her Free Families Forward Project.  The Pine Plains Town Board then granted formal approval of putting the garden on town property.

At the beginning, there were many donations of lumber, supplies, and labor for the construction of raised beds.  The Town Highway Department tilled the soil.  Sandy Towers and her daughter, Elena, Vivienne Berlinghoff, and Dave Owens were among many early volunteers.  Their first planting was at the end of May, 2012.

Expansion

In October of 2013, the Town Board voted to approve doubling the size of the garden.  They approved the addition of a pumpkin bed and fencing and posts.

A Quieter But Still Productive Time in the Garden

Samantha went on to other projects, as did other early volunteers.  Sandy Towers worked almost single handedly in the next years and made regular donations to the Pine Plains and other food pantries.  Dave Hummeston and Geoff Talcott provided help with the heavier lifting parts of the garden work like tilling and fence building.

By the summer of 2018, new volunteers appeared on the garden scene, including Suzanne Ouellette, Brenda Bertin, and Lenora Champagne.  The end of that summer also saw the installation of a sign for the Community Garden, constructed and painted by Anthony Silvia and Suzanne Ouellette.  In the next couple of years, other people joined including Elizabeth White, Nelson Zayas, and Tom McDermott.  Elizabeth and Nelson continue to contribute to the growing and distribution of garden vegetables through the Pine Plains Food Pantry and Willow Roots.

Growing the Garden Philosophy

At the November, 2019, meeting of the Town Board, the Community Garden group presented its proposal to include beds in the garden that would be maintained by individual gardeners.  Up until that time, garden beds were worked communally:  everyone worked in every bed to grow vegetables and herbs that would be distributed to food pantries in the community.  The Town Board approved our plan to augment the recruitment message that says basically:  “Come and work in the community garden and help grow food that will be distributed to people in the community who need it,” with a message that invites people to come and take responsibility for an individual garden plot in the garden where they will grow both food for themselves and their families and food for community distribution.  We envisioned 5- 7 “individual plots” in the southern section of the garden.  The front garden remained the space where all gardeners work together to grow vegetables and herbs for distribution.

 

 

May 4, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 4.30.21

4.30.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

The State is beginning to open up as Covid numbers slowly ebb. Once again, enormous thanks go out to our own small-town pharmacist, Nasir Mahmood, who took it upon himself to negotiate with the County so that we could vaccinate people in Pine Plains. He single-handedly—with the help of numerous volunteer nurses—is responsible for vaccinating a majority of citizens in our town. Adding to his efforts, the school district is holding a vaccination clinic as follows:
“The Stissing Mountain Jr. Sr. High School is hosting a Pfizer vaccination clinic this Sunday, May 2nd from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm. The clinic for the second round of shots is scheduled for Sunday, May 23rd, also at the Stissing Mountain Jr. Sr. High School. We are excited to host this clinic as our 16 and 17 year-old students are now eligible to receive the vaccination, if accompanied by a parent or guardian. The clinic is open to all NY State residents. Being vaccinated is especially important, as NY State and the Center for Disease Control have relaxed some requirements for wearing masks outdoor.”
The link to make an appointment is below:
https://hipaa.jotform.com/211133809790152

Also in the works: a partnership between the Pine Plains and Stanford Fire Departments as regards the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Ed Zick is chairing this Tribute Committee and has asked us to relay this information: They are asking Law Enforcement Officers, Fire Department Officers, students and staff of the PPSCD, and any other citizens interested to each read a name for a recording of the names of those lost. If you want to participate, forms can be completed and dropped off at McCarthy’s and Pine Plains Pharmacies, both libraries, Stissing Bank and Roosters Hardware. You can also access a form at: https://forms.gle/Bnvu6tmBcPu5jgyW9 and mail it to the Stanford Fire Company, PO Box 437, Stanfordville, NY 12581.

I thought it might be helpful to remind people how assessments work, since many of us received our new assessments this week. My 1950s ranch house increased more than $18,000 in value. When we bought it in 2012, it decreased $4,000 about a year later. What causes these fluctuations? Trends, definitely. Comparables. But just because your assessment goes up—meaning your house is worth more—does NOT mean your taxes go up. That is key to remember. Your taxes might actually go down, because there is more building going on in town that adds taxpayers to the pool. Last year, my assessment was up and my taxes went down about $70.

And another thing to remember here is this: Pine Plains has no revenues except sales tax, mortgage tax, and court fees. Our court fees are nothing compared to other towns in the County who have sections of the Taconic Parkway and Route 9 and Route 22 going through them. Speeding tickets earn them quite a lot. We exist via good money management, good maintenance of valuable assets, and sensible budgeting that enhances life in Pine Plains and serves to reflect our values. I love this notion of budgets reflecting values. I got it from a man named Jeremy Travis, who spoke at my most recent session of Pattern for Progress’ institutional racism symposium. This is why grant writing is such an important skill to have in small towns. Almost everything nice that we’ve gotten—the bathhouse at the beach, the lovely sidewalks between buildings downtown, our EV charging station, and now our Town Park renovation—have been the result of gifts and winning grants.

May 22nd, at the American Legion/VFW building on North Main Street, the Garden Club will host their annual plant sale. It usually starts early and it’s worth getting there for that, as all the hosta will be gone by 9am. Trust me on this! This is how they raise money to plant the barrels along the street, among other things. The members are master gardeners and wonderful to talk to about all things gardens.

Our Seniors Program was on hiatus throughout the pandemic, as many of you know. We have been in touch with lots of folks about what they are ready to do, and how safe they feel.  We think it prudent to not book any trips by bus (Casino, museums, the theatre) until it’s safer to travel, but we do think there is interest in some kinds of gatherings after this very long year. So, starting Tuesday May 11th, Alice will lead a Seniors’ walk around town once a week (twice?). Join her at the Municipal Parking Lot at 10am and get outside with friends for conversation and exercise. The Office for the Aging has promised to bring an exercise class as well to town as soon as they can start up their program. Stay tuned on that. Lectures, programs, and potlucks will resume when we feel everyone is ready to gather again.

Finally, due to a water main break, repairs will begin Monday May 3rd in the hamlet at the crosswalk on 199, affecting the area from the light down East Church Street to Academy Street. Water will be turned off for approximately 2.5 hours starting at 8am for that area. Traffic will have to be diverted too. Please try to plan accordingly. A One Call Now alert is being sent out, our very first! You can still call Alice to be on this emergency alert system.

As Ray, head of our Water Department said to me, well, you wanted a fountain at the town park and you got one!

Here’s to infrastructure, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud

April 26, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 4.23.21

4.23.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

I thought it would be helpful to go over all the projects we are in the middle of with a brief explanation for each one, but also let you know that more detailed information is on our website under Town Projects www.pineplains-ny.gov That website is a fine resource for what is happening in Pine Plains. We also have a Facebook page, Pine Plains Town Hall, and 2 Instagrams sponsored by the Business Association: made_in_pine_plains and pineplainsny. This newsletter comes out weekly. A last resort—but the best—is to call me any time at 518-398-8600 ext 1. I am at Town Hall a lot and Alice is here 7:30am to 3:30 5 days a week. There is no dearth of information about Pine Plains if you have the will to find it.

  1. The Hudson Valley Project is a development being proposed on the old Carvel Estate by the Durst Organization. Right now, the proposal is for about 294 homes clustered around the lake there on 2700 acres of walking trails, a golf course, and open space. The plans are available to look at at Town Hall.
  2. The Zoning Review Committee is examining our zoning based on revisions to it to comply with our Comprehensive Plan Update, which we finished in January of 2020. You can view the Comp Plan on our website or at Town Hall.
  3. The Sewer Feasibility Study is a grant-funded examination of our potential for a central septic system in Pine Plains. This was begun as a result of the Comprehensive Plan directive to create a more vibrant hamlet for business opportunities. The key problem in every small rural town in NY State is the lack of wastewater treatment. State health laws have changed over the years to demand a 100% expansion ability for any working system. Here is the rub: if a business is on a half-acre, as most are here, there is no room for a system to be put in which complies with that law. In addition, old systems are failing, and are intertwined with other properties, unreachable and inadequate. Currently, it is nearly impossible for anyone to open a new business in Pine Plains due to this requirement. There is no longer a loophole for “grandfathering” in. Any new business literally has to hire an engineer to determine if they can open. That can cost upwards of $4000 just to find out if it’s possible. Hence, our research. It should not be so prohibitive for regular people who are not wealthy to start a business here. The engineering report is available to peruse at Town Hall. The public meeting to present all the findings will be held in person at a Covid-safe location some time in May or early June. The proposed District is limited to 32 buildings along the 82/199 intersection, which comprise the Business Hamlet Zoning District.
  4. The Broadband Committee expects word next week on what the County and State might be doing to help us get internet to everyone in Pine Plains. After 9 months of weekly meetings studying the issue and mapping our service, they now offer help to anyone whose service is spotty or slow. Often it is an equipment problem, and sometimes it takes a conversation with the internet company and some gentle persuasion to get them to fix things. You may be paying for speed you are not getting. The Committee can help you. Contact Town Hall.
  5. The Town Park renovation is underway! You will now start to see the results of a year’s worth of work on the design and implementation of landscaping. This is funded by a legacy given to the town by Edward Kinsser.
  6. Two houses will be taken down soon at 8 and 12 N. Main, as a part of a proposal to build a new Town Hall in that location at some point. Again, this is in keeping with our Comprehensive Plan. Having Town Hall right in the middle of town would enhance the ease of voting, access to town government and board meetings, access to our police department and courts, and bring much needed activity into the center of town. The municipal parking lot is right there, which makes this spot ideal, and we were fortunate to be able to purchase these lots for very little money. This work and the purchases was funded by two bonds which, due to help of the Bank of Millbrook, we negotiated at historically low percentage rates. Many regimes of governance in Pine Plains have dreamed of this.
  7. FOSL and the Town are working together on the establishment of walking trails around Pine Plains which would connect all parts of the town. We have begun negotiations with the owner of the land behind Stewart’s as to how to accept his offer of trails land there, with the hope that we can then connect to land to the west, leading to Stissing Mountain, and land to the south, leading to Bethel. FOSL can always use a contribution, and the money goes to acquiring and preserving landmarks around town, including the Fire Tower, which brings many, many visitors to Pine Plains and its businesses.
  8. The Community Garden was begun by Sandy Towers and her daughter, and soon Vivienne Berlinghoff, and is available to anyone who volunteers to help with it. A recent article in the Millerton News gave a great description of what is going on there, with only a few mistakes! A stalwart group of volunteers grows all kinds of fresh food for people in town to take, usually distributed by our food pantries. But you can also arrange to work a plot of your own. Contact us at Town Hall.
  9. The Stissing House has a new owner and renovations have begun. Ditto the old Crumpets. (We miss you Penny and Harry!) The Old Library is also being renovated. The paintings you see displayed on the outside of the building were done by high school students who were paid (she paid—artists should be paid!) for their work inspired by local history. The complex of buildings that house El Guacamole also has new owners. They are local and excited about being a part of the community. Roosters Hardware opened recently in town and we welcome them.
  10. Many properties that were for sale for a long time were bought in the past year and are being fixed up. But housing is very difficult to find here for renters. A committee on housing has been formed by the Town Board to look into the situation. There are many obstacles to building here, not the least of which are mandates to services required when a town reaches a certain population number. So many laws apply to change.
  11. We partnered with the State Police to re-vamp our Police Policy. This has taken many hours of work by our officers, particularly John Hughes and Michael Beliveau, and the result is an up-to-date 800+ page policy which reflects the Police Reforms and Modernization Handbook we wrote last Fall with our Stakeholders Committee.
  12. We wrote an Emergency Action Plan as mandated by the State in order to have instructions in place in case of another situation like the pandemic. This was done by the Highway Superintendent and the Town Supervisor.
  13. Plans are underway for the Pine Plains Bicentennial in 2023. Please volunteer to be on this important committee! Let’s party like it’s 1823!

These are the big ticket items, and I always forget something important. Covid vaccinations are still happening in Pine Plains, an extraordinary achievement by our own pharmacist, Nasir Mahmood, and his band of nurse volunteers, who are exhausted but never say no. I know of no other small town that has been able to vaccinate almost all of its own citizenry in this pandemic. It is an historic event. Mark your calendars for May 1st and the dedication of the new historical marker at the Pharmacy, which used to be an opera house. There will be speeches and a performance by Thayer Durrell of his character, the original builder, from our Library Cemetery Tours. No word yet on Memorial Day activities, but we hope to have it soon. Covid rules are still in place that affect gatherings.

Questions?
Call me, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud

April 19, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 4.16.21

4.16.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

Last night we approved the final phase of the Town Park Redesign. It includes a fountain and a pergola and it will be really beautiful. Our committee of designers is well-versed in Pine Plains weather and flora. I feel that the town deserves a beautiful place to sit, and with maintenance, this will be a real gift. As you know, the money for this was left to us by one Edward Kinsser, who gave it to us in his will. It was strongly suggested too that we make this committee into a regular committee to help handle maintenance and oversight of the park. Let us know if you are interested.

Arbor Day is virtual this year! Tune in April 27th for a lively discussion on trees and their care. See the end of this letter for info.

May 1st is the dedication by our Little Nine Partners Historical Society of the historic marker to commemorate Jacob Bowman who built the opera house that is now Pine Plains Pharmacy. The ceremony will be held in front of the pharmacy at 11am and features Thayer Durrel repeating his performance of Jacob from the Cemetery Tours. Mark your calendars!

May 27th, the Zoning Review Committee will meet again to look at draft zoning changes. These meetings are on Youtube at Town of Pine Plains videos.

I want also to report on the Pattern for Progress Fellows Program which the town board sent me to as a Fellow. The subject this year is Institutional Racism, and the time in class every two weeks has been invaluable to my understanding of how one can create a policy which actually promotes inequity. In our quest for more housing in Pine Plains, that becomes key. I have been put on the work-group that concerns Police Department relationships with citizens. Lots of great ideas are coming out of this and I can’t wait to share them after June, when the program ends.

This week we met with numerous business owners whose 32 buildings would comprise the recommended District for a small, innovative wastewater system.  Mainly, it is the businesses that comprise the Business Hamlet zoning in town. We made some more edits to the draft of the Study and will hold a public meeting on this hopefully sometime in May or June. Everyone will be welcome to come hear the engineers speak and ask questions.

Finally, a word about bike safety and your kids: it is actually a New York State Law that kids under age 14 must wear helmets, have a bell on their bikes, lights on both front and back, and operate their bikes in a safe manner. A lot of us think back on our own behavior once we got the freedom of having a bicycle, and operating it safely was not high on our lists of priorities. I certainly remember racing around and crashing into things without a helmet. Wheelies were a goal. It’s hard for our police to even want to enforce laws like this when we know how much fun it is to ride around on a nice day. So I’d like to ask the parents of Pine Plains to please take the time to talk with your kids about how to survive having a bicycle. There are often people on our local roads who don’t know them well, or are in a hurry, or are distracted, and god forbid they don’t see your kid losing control of a wheelie beside them. I understand that the adolescent ego is often tied to things like doing wheelies down Lake Road and jumping curbs on 199. Maybe we can figure out a place where kids can practice these kinds of fun things, but I have no ideas yet how we might do that, so for now, please keep your kids safe above all else. It is not long before they start driving and then the issue of safety becomes far more terrifying to everyone in town. I do not want to lose one more child to the roads here ever again.

This weekend many people will be out cleaning up the sides of the roads. Saturday is compliments of the Democrats, Sunday will be a teen group from the high school. Join us, or just bring us coffee.

Will work for cappuccino!
Darrah Cloud

Arbor Day this year is virtual. You can join the discussion of trees online as follows:

Arbor Day Virtual Celebrations
Ask an Arborist – live Q&A – 7 PM Tuesday April 27
How can you take the best care of your trees? What’s the right way to prune a limb? How do you know when to call a professional? And what is an arborist anyway? Join the NY Urban Forestry program and NY-ISA (international society of arboriculture) for a live question and answer session with certified arborists to answer these questions and more! This event is free but registration is required in advance: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec03bd581ec443dae7778384269bcd3c7
Facebook live: Arbor Day Tree Planting – Village of Liverpool Wednesday, April 28 at 11:30 am
Join the Central NY (R7) ReLeaf committee for a tree planting in celebration of Arbor Day. The committee, in partnership with the Village of Liverpool and Cornell Cooperative Extension Onondaga County are planting a few trees for arbor day at the Liverpool Willow Museum and streaming the event live. (Weather date: Friday, April 30 at 11:30 am). Join the Facebook event to get a reminder: https://fb.me/e/4ghTUEcwS
Facebook live: Preparing to Plant a tree – Friday April 30, Time TBD
So you want to plant a tree on your property but you don’t know where to start? Join us for a Facebook live all about how to pick the perfect spot for a tree, all the things to consider, and what species to plant! We’ll talk about all the parts that come together to get the right tree in the right place!

April 12, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 4.9.2021

4.9.2021
Dear Pine Plains,

What a beautiful week. Everything is budding out and the daffodils are blooming spectacularly everywhere, it seems.

Thursday, a group of citizens held a tiny parade and cupcake ceremony for our beloved FEDEX Delivery guy Pete by surprising him with a motorcade accompaniment into town, where a gathering of people displaying signs of thanks stood by to herald him. Pete is moving on after 21 years delivering to us here, and we are happy and sad at the same time. Here was a man who often stopped his truck to help someone, or shoot a few hoops with a kid playing alone on a court, or to give dog biscuits to canine citizens. (Think of all those Chewy boxes!) He will be missed.

Gregg Pulver stopped in at Town Hall to talk with Alice and I about Phase 2 of the Hometown Heroes Project. This is his baby, and we are helping to implement it. Phase 2 will be going up with the help and dedication of Kyle Lougheed and the crew of Ginocchio Electric. Kyle always steps up to help the town do things like this and we can’t thank him enough. Phase 3 of the Heroes is being gathered right now. If you have someone to sponsor, please come out to Town Hall and talk to Alice. It costs $200 and if you don’t have the money we might be able to help.

I got to see Tilly the Bloodhound this week, whose handler, Trooper Justin Bell, related a search she did recently and successfully for a missing woman down in Ossining. Tilly and Saffy, Justice Dave Humeston’s calendar-girl Ridgeback service dog are frequent visitors to Town Hall. Drop in! You might catch them!

I want to remind people that our Recovery Coach comes to Pine Plains on a weekly basis and is at the Episcopal Church to talk to anyone who wants help with drug or alcohol-related issues, whether the struggles be your own or a family member’s. Her name is Deb Hagan and she is there at 18 Pine Street inside the Parish house on the 2nd and 4th Mondays 4-8pm and the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays 11am-3pm. Think we don’t have a problem in Pine Plains? Think again. It hides well. People exchange their prescriptions for methadone and sublaxone for fentanyl and other opioids, so it is very hard to see what’s going on. Suffice it to say, the town police know, and are often the first ones on the scene of an overdose. Narcan has become a verb.

Our Broadband Committee received some nice publicity for their work in gathering Northern Dutchess towns together to examine the issue of high-speed internet in the area. We hope to have an announcement soon about the results of all their hard work.

The Town Park Committee is just about to get started on the renovation of the corner park at 82 and 199.
On a sad note, we lost Maria Heaney this past week, one of our favorite members of our senior group. We will miss seeing her at the tables in the Community Center. Our hearts are with her husband, Bernie.
Reminder: we have a call out for help with the Bicentennial in 2 years—we must start planning now—as well as a call out for people interested in being on a Housing Committee. Finding a place to live around here is becoming harder and harder. If you’d like to help the town figure out what to do about this, please write me at supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov So far I have 3 wonderful people. I think we need at least 2-4 more.

Keep tabs on all the things going on in town at www.pineplains-ny.gov, our website. Check out the Town Projects page.

Stay tuned in, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud

April 5, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 4.2.2021

4.2.2021Dear Pine Plains,

The Town Beautification Committee is about to get underway with the town park renovation which is being financed by a legacy given to the town by a man named Edward Kinsley. They have a lovely design. It will become a pastoral place to sit and enjoy a coffee or read a book or watch the clouds.

Incredible work is underway via grants to bring the lakes to health with the help of our Highway Department and the DEC. Our designation as a Clean Energy Community will be enhanced by our stewardship of the headwaters of the Wappingers Creek Watershed.

We would like to convene an Affordable Housing Committee in order to handle the research on bringing and maintaining affordable housing in Pine Plains. If you are interested please contact the Town Supervisor.

The Durst Organization delivered their initial development design to the Planning Board. An explanation of this project is on our website in the area devoted to Town Projects. www.pineplains-ny.gov
All of our projects are there.

And this week the County brought a Pop-up Vaccination site to Pine Plains. It was an extraordinary operation, with numerous stations set up to receive recipients and all inside the gym at the high school, matching our own Nasir Mahmood’s mission to vaccinate everyone in Pine Plains. Dana Smith, County Commissioner of Emergency response came up, as well as many volunteers from all over the County and their energy and enthusiasm for the work made it all the more exciting being there. Again, it felt like we were making history, and frankly, we were. Over 250 vaccinations were administered, including one to our County Executive, Marcus Molinaro. He did not have to make that extra effort, and he did it in order to give us a shot in the arm, if you don’t mind my pun. He also gave me the theme for this week’s newsletter.

I remember being in the 4th grade and entirely unaware of what was going on in the world around me, specifically of the fact that our school district was about to be integrated via busing. Kids from Evanston would be bused to Skokie elementary schools, and in turn, we would be bused to the middle school in Evanston. Our teachers prepared us for handling this without our knowledge by teaching us the meaning of “noblesse oblige”. I have never forgotten the lesson. It means this: “the inferred responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility toward those less privileged.”

Defining privilege is daunting. It can mean nothing more than two parents who stay together, living in a neighborhood where everyone looks after everyone, an ivy league education, a swimming pool and ski trips to Aspen. No matter what our definition, when it’s in action, served by a sense of noblesse oblige, it is like the radio-active spider-bite in Spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility. It can be a burden. It can be a cause for separation. Or celebration. Such is government at the local level. One serves everyone, regardless of who they are or what their circumstances are, or whether they appreciate it or not.

This charge is behind the best things that happen in Dutchess County. It is what makes the difference between getting a project done for the good of many people, not just oneself, and refusing to do much out of fear of losing a position or backlash. It means you leave your politics behind and you address the needs of everyone, and you do more than is required by the situation. Or appreciated by the recipients. So many people in Pine Plains have a strong sense of noblesse oblige, no matter how modest their backgrounds might be, or how vast their wealth. I mention this a lot but it never ceases to amaze me, and we have a fellow traveler in the County Executive. Thank you Marc, for coming here, and thank you everyone who donated this past week to the Erin Shanley Memorial fundraiser for St. Jude, and participated in the Trivia contest the night before, also to raise money for St. Jude; to all those who give money for college scholarships each spring at the high school, and keep the doors of the churches open, and are building The Stissing Center brick by brick; who raised funds for out-of-work restaurant workers during the pandemic, and the Library, who serve on our committees and give land to our trails initiative. To all who live by a sense of noblesse oblige when comfort might be easier, who get out and do things for this community.

Merci, Pine Plains.

Darrah Cloud

March 29, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 3.26.21

March 26, 2021Dear Pine Plains,

As of today, the Broadband Committee has delivered its Final Report to County Executive Marcus Molinaro, County Legislative Chair Gregg Pulver, Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, Senator Sue Serino and Congressman Antonio DelGado, as well as our Town Board. It is the result of 9 months of weekly meetings to study our lack of high-speed internet in Pine Plains. As you know, we have now teamed up with the rest of the towns in Northern Dutchess to ask for help in getting complete coverage. This was not only a brilliant committee that did brilliant work, but a wonderful group to be a part of. Once again, our profound thanks for all the hard work.

The Sewer Feasibility Study Committee met with our engineers and the new plan is very exciting. The district has been re-drawn, and the system proposed is quite innovative. There is a lot of work ahead.

Work continues on the Zoning Review Committee. Again, if you have any problems with zoning we might not have heard about, please contact the Committee via Town Supervisor at supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov

Many people are asking about Town Cleanup Day. It is always the weekend after Labor Day. Start getting ready now! We will be mulching the brush pile earlier than usual this year due to sheer volume. Make sure you get those branches over to the highway department. And remember, there is a lot of wood chip mulch down there for the taking.

We are beginning to get serious about forming the Pine Plains Bicentennial Committee. The town celebrates its 200th birthday in April of 2023. It will take a lot of planning. For your excitement, we have begun gathering ideas with the historical society and they are listed at the end of this letter. We welcome your ideas but most of all your participation in this momentous event. Contact me or Alice at the above email address,

Trivia Night is tonight at the high school! Play from anywhere! All donations go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Check it out at Info: https://sites.google.com/…/virtual-trivia-night-nhs/home

Sign-up: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSclLzMf11zFiW…/viewform

And if you love forms, you love vaccinations this year. I got my 2nd vaccination and again I want to thank all the volunteers who made the experience personal and professional. I hope everyone knows that everyone at the site was a volunteer. They were all amazing. I had n00 side e**6ects except x%!nnn(**bl5ah…

Stay x%!nnn(**bl5ah…, Pine Plains!

Darrah Cloud

 

 

Ideas for Pine Plains Bicentennial 2023 

(April 1 is actual anniversary date) 

(Suggestion – have a week-long celebration in October to coincide with AG Day) 

  • • Invitations to state and county officials (Town) 
  • • Certificate (Town)
  • • Logo? (Town)
  • • Challenge coin (Town) 
  • • Press and Publicity (Town) 
  • • Create a photo or video montage wishing town a happy birthday. Celebrate how it’s changed. Share it on website and social media. (Town and LNPHS) 
  • • Give an award to the oldest (and newest) businesses. (Business Assoc.) 
  • • Free dinner with entertainment and door prizes. Bring everyone together for a community-wide picnic or BBQ. (Town, Participating Restaurants) 
  • • Create a passport program that participants get stamped as they visit businesses in town. It’s a fun way to reward people for shopping in the community. Complete and get ____________ (Business Assoc.) 
  • • Scavenger Hunt. Paint and hide 200 rocks throughout the community. (Scouts) 
  • • Kids’ Art Show with Theme. (Elementary school) 
  • • Guided Nature Hike to Tower. (FOSL) 
  • • Bury a time capsule. Celebrate retro style with this idea. The way things change so quickly now you could probably dig it up in a decade and still be surprised by its contents. (JR/SR High School) 
  • • LNPHS 2023 Scholarship award would have bicentennial theme (LNPHS) 
  • • FFA Fair with Bicentennial Theme
  • • Invite people to help identify old photos (LNPHS) 
  • • Historical Cemetery Tour (Library and LNPHS) 
  • • Revolutionary War encampment at GB House (Neil Murray and LNPHS) 
  • • GB House Open House with historic displays (LNPHS) 
  • Pine Plains Police Department Event
  • Pine Plains Fire Department Event
  • Car Show
  • Walking Hamlet History Tours—Eno Law Office, Deuels Weigh Station, Cemetery, Patchins Mill…

 

In BOLD: Little Nine Partners Historical Society leading

March 22, 2021 in Town Supervisor Updates

Dear Pine Plains 3.19.21

De

View this email in your browser
3.19.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

This letter will just be a summary of the past month of Board activity. It was a busy month.

First and foremost, the American Rescue Plan will provide the Town of Pine Plains with a grant of $260,000 (this is based on our 2020  census results). We obtained the advice of our town accountant as to how best to spend the money, but we would love to hear from people with their ideas. No idea when it will come in, but of course, I am betting we can all think of a thousand ways to spend it.

The bids are in on all our projects for Highway garage repairs, slope stabilization on Hicks Hill, and the demolition of 8 and 12 N. Main. The companies were chosen and the work is set to begin.

The Zoning Review Committee launched with our planners BFJ Planning, and got off to a rousing start with a long and exciting meeting to detail all the things we want to correct in our zoning.

We have received a surprise $5000 grant from NYSERDA for earning a Clean Energy Community status back in 2019, and I learned about new programs for more grant money from our new representative there, Anilla Cherchin. We earn points by doing projects with the environment in mind, and those points lead to rewards of grants. It’s kind of like green stamps. Remember those?

Vaccinations came to Pine Plains via the heroic efforts of our pharmacist Nasir Mahmood and the cooperation of our Fire Department in providing a place to give them. I heard that people were complaining about having to stand in a line at the beginning, but that line did not last long and the operation has gone smoothly each of the days it has been here. More vaccine is coming, and the parameters of who receives it are about to open up even more. NOTE: The County will be holding a POP-UP CLINIC for the region around March 31st. They will be giving the Johnson and Johnson 1-dose vaccine. For this one, you need to sign up on the County site, at: dutchessny.gov/VaccineInfoForm Once again, if you want help filling out forms for signing up, or know someone who needs help, send them to Town Hall or the Library. We can help.

The Sewer Feasibility Study is in and we are examining it still in order to understand the ramifications of the results for the Town.

Our Emergency Action Plan was completed by Heather Emerich, Rich Prentice and I so that we now have a complete plan ready to implement should we ever have another disaster like the pandemic. The Board passed it with the addition of Board approval for any shut-down or re-opening of within 5 days of the initial decision.

Our Broadband Committee reached out to three other towns to help them start their process for getting high-speed internet, as well as to join us in lobbying our legislators, senators and County Executive for help in finishing the build-out in Pine Plains. Our report should be finished at the end of next week and we will issue it to all the electeds in our efforts and put it on our website. We are also asking for a liaison to be created on the Town Board for Broadband, and for that person to be the point person for helping community members access high-speed internet and troubleshoot problems.

Monday’s Town Board Workshop involved working on how the Town might receive a gift of trails land on the Mitchell property behind Stewart’s. How we designate that, who maintains the trails, and Pilch Drive were all subjects for consideration. These trails are the first step in creating a system that could weave throughout Pine Plains and be a real asset to the town.

If you will remember, sometime in 2018 Pine Plains joined the Wappingers Watershed Inter-municipal Council as guardians of the headwaters of the watershed. We had not been active in this Council for a while and our cooperation was essential in preventing what has become a horrible pollution problem at the end of the watershed at Wappinger Lake in Wappingers Falls. That lake is almost dead due to runoff from farms and other businesses along the creeks that feed into it.  Now many municipalities have gotten together to clean that up. I attended a number of meetings then handed over the reins to our current Pine Plains representative, Hollie Bart from the TWILA. After months and months of very hard work, Hollie and her lake association have just been informed that they have won numerous grants upwards of $60,000 to start the hard work of cleaning up the watershed beginning with Twin Islands Lake, which will have a positive effect on Stissing Lake as well. The method for the cleaning is called a Biochar Sock, and it needs to be applied while the lake is at high levels in the spring. These grants are coming from the Local Waterfront Revitalization grant opportunity through the State and once you get one, you are in there for life. The State rewarded our participation in taking responsibility for the health of the watershed, and numerous innovative practices can be put into action now due to these funds. Congratulations to Hollie and TWILA for putting Pine Plains on the map as more than just a pretty face.

A goose abatement plan for Stissing Lake was approved as well as the purchase of a new police car. The new car comes with everything included through a purchasing opportunity with the County Sheriff’s Department. Vicky, the old Crown Victoria, will be sold and the Taurus–which our police can hardly fit into with all their safety equipment on–will become the parade car.  I think we should name the new one: Elsie, or Gary, in honor of retired officer Gary Hoysradt. But as you know, cars choose their own names…

Finally, after more than 40 years, the old memorial hall now known as The Stissing Center has heat, hot water and central AC. As the country opens up after the pandemic, I know we are all looking forward to being in there to hear music and all the other possible things the organization will bring to Pine Plains.

La la la, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud
View this email in your browser
3.19.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

This letter will just be a summary of the past month of Board activity. It was a busy month.

First and foremost, the American Rescue Plan will provide the Town of Pine Plains with a grant of $260,000 (this is based on our 2020  census results). We obtained the advice of our town accountant as to how best to spend the money, but we would love to hear from people with their ideas. No idea when it will come in, but of course, I am betting we can all think of a thousand ways to spend it.

The bids are in on all our projects for Highway garage repairs, slope stabilization on Hicks Hill, and the demolition of 8 and 12 N. Main. The companies were chosen and the work is set to begin.

The Zoning Review Committee launched with our planners BFJ Planning, and got off to a rousing start with a long and exciting meeting to detail all the things we want to correct in our zoning.

We have received a surprise $5000 grant from NYSERDA for earning a Clean Energy Community status back in 2019, and I learned about new programs for more grant money from our new representative there, Anilla Cherchin. We earn points by doing projects with the environment in mind, and those points lead to rewards of grants. It’s kind of like green stamps. Remember those?

Vaccinations came to Pine Plains via the heroic efforts of our pharmacist Nasir Mahmood and the cooperation of our Fire Department in providing a place to give them. I heard that people were complaining about having to stand in a line at the beginning, but that line did not last long and the operation has gone smoothly each of the days it has been here. More vaccine is coming, and the parameters of who receives it are about to open up even more. NOTE: The County will be holding a POP-UP CLINIC for the region around March 31st. They will be giving the Johnson and Johnson 1-dose vaccine. For this one, you need to sign up on the County site, at: dutchessny.gov/VaccineInfoForm Once again, if you want help filling out forms for signing up, or know someone who needs help, send them to Town Hall or the Library. We can help.

The Sewer Feasibility Study is in and we are examining it still in order to understand the ramifications of the results for the Town.

Our Emergency Action Plan was completed by Heather Emerich, Rich Prentice and I so that we now have a complete plan ready to implement should we ever have another disaster like the pandemic. The Board passed it with the addition of Board approval for any shut-down or re-opening of within 5 days of the initial decision.

Our Broadband Committee reached out to three other towns to help them start their process for getting high-speed internet, as well as to join us in lobbying our legislators, senators and County Executive for help in finishing the build-out in Pine Plains. Our report should be finished at the end of next week and we will issue it to all the electeds in our efforts and put it on our website. We are also asking for a liaison to be created on the Town Board for Broadband, and for that person to be the point person for helping community members access high-speed internet and troubleshoot problems.

Monday’s Town Board Workshop involved working on how the Town might receive a gift of trails land on the Mitchell property behind Stewart’s. How we designate that, who maintains the trails, and Pilch Drive were all subjects for consideration. These trails are the first step in creating a system that could weave throughout Pine Plains and be a real asset to the town.

If you will remember, sometime in 2018 Pine Plains joined the Wappingers Watershed Inter-municipal Council as guardians of the headwaters of the watershed. We had not been active in this Council for a while and our cooperation was essential in preventing what has become a horrible pollution problem at the end of the watershed at Wappinger Lake in Wappingers Falls. That lake is almost dead due to runoff from farms and other businesses along the creeks that feed into it.  Now many municipalities have gotten together to clean that up. I attended a number of meetings then handed over the reins to our current Pine Plains representative, Hollie Bart from the TWILA. After months and months of very hard work, Hollie and her lake association have just been informed that they have won numerous grants upwards of $60,000 to start the hard work of cleaning up the watershed beginning with Twin Islands Lake, which will have a positive effect on Stissing Lake as well. The method for the cleaning is called a Biochar Sock, and it needs to be applied while the lake is at high levels in the spring. These grants are coming from the Local Waterfront Revitalization grant opportunity through the State and once you get one, you are in there for life. The State rewarded our participation in taking responsibility for the health of the watershed, and numerous innovative practices can be put into action now due to these funds. Congratulations to Hollie and TWILA for putting Pine Plains on the map as more than just a pretty face.

A goose abatement plan for Stissing Lake was approved as well as the purchase of a new police car. The new car comes with everything included through a purchasing opportunity with the County Sheriff’s Department. Vicky, the old Crown Victoria, will be sold and the Taurus–which our police can hardly fit into with all their safety equipment on–will become the parade car.  I think we should name the new one: Elsie, or Gary, in honor of retired officer Gary Hoysradt. But as you know, cars choose their own names…

Finally, after more than 40 years, the old memorial hall now known as The Stissing Center has heat, hot water and central AC. As the country opens up after the pandemic, I know we are all looking forward to being in there to hear music and all the other possible things the organization will bring to Pine Plains.

La la la, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud
View this email in your browser
3.19.2021

Dear Pine Plains,

This letter will just be a summary of the past month of Board activity. It was a busy month.

First and foremost, the American Rescue Plan will provide the Town of Pine Plains with a grant of $260,000 (this is based on our 2020  census results). We obtained the advice of our town accountant as to how best to spend the money, but we would love to hear from people with their ideas. No idea when it will come in, but of course, I am betting we can all think of a thousand ways to spend it.

The bids are in on all our projects for Highway garage repairs, slope stabilization on Hicks Hill, and the demolition of 8 and 12 N. Main. The companies were chosen and the work is set to begin.

The Zoning Review Committee launched with our planners BFJ Planning, and got off to a rousing start with a long and exciting meeting to detail all the things we want to correct in our zoning.

We have received a surprise $5000 grant from NYSERDA for earning a Clean Energy Community status back in 2019, and I learned about new programs for more grant money from our new representative there, Anilla Cherchin. We earn points by doing projects with the environment in mind, and those points lead to rewards of grants. It’s kind of like green stamps. Remember those?

Vaccinations came to Pine Plains via the heroic efforts of our pharmacist Nasir Mahmood and the cooperation of our Fire Department in providing a place to give them. I heard that people were complaining about having to stand in a line at the beginning, but that line did not last long and the operation has gone smoothly each of the days it has been here. More vaccine is coming, and the parameters of who receives it are about to open up even more. NOTE: The County will be holding a POP-UP CLINIC for the region around March 31st. They will be giving the Johnson and Johnson 1-dose vaccine. For this one, you need to sign up on the County site, at: dutchessny.gov/VaccineInfoForm Once again, if you want help filling out forms for signing up, or know someone who needs help, send them to Town Hall or the Library. We can help.

The Sewer Feasibility Study is in and we are examining it still in order to understand the ramifications of the results for the Town.

Our Emergency Action Plan was completed by Heather Emerich, Rich Prentice and I so that we now have a complete plan ready to implement should we ever have another disaster like the pandemic. The Board passed it with the addition of Board approval for any shut-down or re-opening of within 5 days of the initial decision.

Our Broadband Committee reached out to three other towns to help them start their process for getting high-speed internet, as well as to join us in lobbying our legislators, senators and County Executive for help in finishing the build-out in Pine Plains. Our report should be finished at the end of next week and we will issue it to all the electeds in our efforts and put it on our website. We are also asking for a liaison to be created on the Town Board for Broadband, and for that person to be the point person for helping community members access high-speed internet and troubleshoot problems.

Monday’s Town Board Workshop involved working on how the Town might receive a gift of trails land on the Mitchell property behind Stewart’s. How we designate that, who maintains the trails, and Pilch Drive were all subjects for consideration. These trails are the first step in creating a system that could weave throughout Pine Plains and be a real asset to the town.

If you will remember, sometime in 2018 Pine Plains joined the Wappingers Watershed Inter-municipal Council as guardians of the headwaters of the watershed. We had not been active in this Council for a while and our cooperation was essential in preventing what has become a horrible pollution problem at the end of the watershed at Wappinger Lake in Wappingers Falls. That lake is almost dead due to runoff from farms and other businesses along the creeks that feed into it.  Now many municipalities have gotten together to clean that up. I attended a number of meetings then handed over the reins to our current Pine Plains representative, Hollie Bart from the TWILA. After months and months of very hard work, Hollie and her lake association have just been informed that they have won numerous grants upwards of $60,000 to start the hard work of cleaning up the watershed beginning with Twin Islands Lake, which will have a positive effect on Stissing Lake as well. The method for the cleaning is called a Biochar Sock, and it needs to be applied while the lake is at high levels in the spring. These grants are coming from the Local Waterfront Revitalization grant opportunity through the State and once you get one, you are in there for life. The State rewarded our participation in taking responsibility for the health of the watershed, and numerous innovative practices can be put into action now due to these funds. Congratulations to Hollie and TWILA for putting Pine Plains on the map as more than just a pretty face.

A goose abatement plan for Stissing Lake was approved as well as the purchase of a new police car. The new car comes with everything included through a purchasing opportunity with the County Sheriff’s Department. Vicky, the old Crown Victoria, will be sold and the Taurus–which our police can hardly fit into with all their safety equipment on–will become the parade car.  I think we should name the new one: Elsie, or Gary, in honor of retired officer Gary Hoysradt. But as you know, cars choose their own names…

Finally, after more than 40 years, the old memorial hall now known as The Stissing Center has heat, hot water and central AC. As the country opens up after the pandemic, I know we are all looking forward to being in there to hear music and all the other possible things the organization will bring to Pine Plains.

La la la, Pine Plains!
Darrah Cloud

ar Pine Plains 3.19.21