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Tag: Old Library

September 21, 2018 in Town Supervisor Updates

Highlights of the TB Meeting 9.20.2018

Last night’s Town Board meeting highlighted the submission of the Tentative 2019 Budget. We will now be working on revisions throughout October. All are welcome to view it on the website or come in to look at it. We created an Excel spreadsheet which breaks down expenditures into categories so that it makes for easier reading and comprehension of where our money goes.

We are able this year to buy an ice rink for the town. Matt Zick and I went down to Unionvale to see theirs and got a tour of their 160 acre farm-recreation park. It’s 80×100 and made of plastic walls that snap together with a liner. Volunteers will be appreciated to put it up every year and take it down, and to maintain the ice. Citizens are warned to read the signs which will go up when the ice is too soft to skate on. The liner can be damaged by skates going through the ice. We hope to put it up in November and have special nights for gathering to skate.

Fireworks will now be a feature of our Ag Day/Recreation Fundraising Day as well as Memorial Hall Tour Day October 6th. Technically, Ag Day starts on Friday, and there’s a roast beef dinner to raise money for the Fair; Saturday begins with a parade then booths and animal judging. Town Supervisor Cloud will have a booth to offer advice on permits and zoning and any other questions you might have.

Reminder: the NECC has a bus which seniors and others who need rides to doctors, shopping, and other locations in Dutchess County and Sharon, CT can use. info@neccmillerton.org

The Town is looking for a Planning Board/ZBA Secretary. This is a part-time paid position. Training will be offered.  Call 518-389-8600 and come in to fill out an application.

Lynda Ball (Wisdo) was appointed Assessor and will fill the position Bob Cordella left when he retired. She will be running for his term in November.

Volunteers needed! The Agriculture Committee needs members! Contact Town Hall to help us with this valuable committee.

The Old Library is still for sale. All price bids considered, within the scope of the RFP as regards what use the building might be put to. Imagine what you’d like to do and make us an offer we can’t refuse.

The Durst Organization came back to do an informational meeting on major changes to their Carvel Development Project. They are now considering building a resort as well as second-home housing. They are re-thinking the golf course idea and planning more trails, some paved. They have hired a Project Head named Lisa Baker, whom you will see around town. And they will be back with a design to show us in the spring. They are hoping to engage with local farms for agricultural programs as well as with artists to create art programs.

Finally, the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee is being assembled now. Look for meeting dates as we get the review underway. All citizens will be asked to participate in thinking about the town and dreaming about what more it could be.

 

 

 

June 22, 2018 in Town Supervisor Updates

Highlights of the June 21 TB Meeting

POP-UP ARTISAN MARKET: June 30TH 11-5PM at the Old Library on Main Street. Music in the Gazebo and talented craftspeople.

COMP PLAN: We have received a Greenway Grant to review our Comprehensive Plan and update it! We will be convening meetings with all the stakeholders and departments in town to create a brief survey to be sent out to the community. Stay tuned!

DURST: The Durst Corporation will be returning to town September 17th for a meeting with the Town and Planning Boards.

OLD LIBRARY: The Old Library is officially FOR SALE. Pick up a form to make a bid at Town Hall. As this is an RFP, the bids are very specific in their requirements. Invest in Pine Plains and a great old building in a key location downtown.

MORE RESOLUTIONS: We passed our Taser Policy and our extended agreement with American Tower for our cell tower.

SOLAR LAW: If you are interested in being a part of the committee to review and revise a Solar Law for Pine Plains, please write supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov

BOB COUSE TOWN CLEAN-UP DAY: September 8th, 2018 7:30am to 3pm Residents Only! Monitors will be on hand. Tires will be accepted for around $3/per tire, up to pick-up truck size; appliances will be accepted for a $15 fee if they contain Freon; latex paints need to be dried (poured onto kitty litter); no hazardous waste or electronics. Specifics will be posted closer to the date! Get rid of all those tires in your yard!

BEACH: It’s open every day with lifeguards! We continue to work on it, and have the septic field repair out for bids.

GRANT WRITERS: If you’d like to help the town seek money for repairs, dreams,  and improvements, please write or visit Supervisor Cloud!

AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: We are looking for a Few Good Folks to be on the Committee–they will play an integral role also in our Solar Law. Contact Town Hall.

Enjoy the summer! Bike the Lakes! Hike the mountains! Bring dinner down to the beach and meet your neighbors!

 

April 21, 2018 in Town Supervisor Updates

Highlights from Town Meeting 4.19.18

We had a long, productive meeting on April 19th, 2018. Highlights include the hiring of Kerri Yamashita as a Special Prosecutor for our court, the passing of a decision to provide Disability benefits to employees contingent on further study as regards the category of employee for this (years of service, for instance, or full versus part-time), the hiring of Kyle Gillis as Beach Director, and the Highway Departments plans for fixing roads this summer. We passed an Arbor Day Resolution and welcomed Mark Wilson to town as new head of our Triathlon (June 30th! AND to include a children’s race and later start times!) Mark runs Triathlons for a living and feels confident he can bring more and more people to ours as he builds our reputation as a beautiful place to race. Bob Couse suggested a Town Cleanup Day. We will be looking into how to do this. The Town Board is currently interviewing Planners for help in going forward on the Carvel Development Project. We hope to meet with Durst representative, Yale professor Alex Felson, this coming Monday in a series of meetings all day.

We are also selling the Old Library. If you are interested in this lovely-but-in-need-of-renovation old building on prime Pine Plains real estate, please send an email of interest to supervisor@pineplains-ny.gov as we are preparing an RFP for the sale. I neglected to mention at the meeting that Sandy Towers is starting to work on the Community Garden once again out here at Town Hall. She really would love to have some help this year, and can be reached at 845-514-5550. The food harvested here is taken to our own Food Pantry once a month, but Sandy is open to new ideas for the distribution, since once things begin to grow there is A LOT of food available to families. Students are welcome to come help and bring food home. April Stark, a teacher at Seymour Smith, has brought her students to help plant, and Town Justice Dave Humeston is a regular volunteer. Join them! Call Sandy to give her your ideas! Many of you may not know that the Town has a vibrant Seniors Program, with trips and events provided free and for a nominal fee. This past Friday, we all went down to the Westchester Musical Theatre, had lunch and saw a fabulous production of Sister Act. Kathy Rigano, Town Secretary, and Ray Christiansen are to be commended for booking these excellent adventures and taking care of everyone who goes. Even the bus ride was wonderful—it was a chance for friends to catch up with each other, to meet new people, and to see the countryside from higher up than a carwindow. As per usual, I sighed with relief as we crossed into Dutchess County, grateful to be living in such a beautiful place.

March 16, 2018 in Town Supervisor Updates

Highlights of the Town Board Meeting 3.15.18

This was a tough month for Pine Plains. We lost a number of beloved and important citizens. Two significant nor’easters swept through and knocked out power and roads for days. This brought to our attention the need for all of our departments to work together in emergencies, and for a plan of which all are aware. Warming and charging were made available at the Community Center and the Town Hall. Dry ice and bottled water for our area was delivered by Central Hudson to Red Hook. Most people stayed home and manned their generators, or came into town for a few hours to sit at diners with friends. Neighbors helped neighbors. We got through it. The County will soon be delivering a comprehensive emergency plan for the town, so that all systems work in a united way.

At the Town Board Meeting on the Ides of March, (not a time of evil, as Shakespeare had it, but a time for settling debts that goes back to the Romans!) we discussed a few of the following things:

The Old Library Sale: we will put it up for sale again ourselves, but this time with specific requirements for the renovation of the building, as it stands on prime real estate in Pine Plains.

We took a pledge to become a Climate Smart Community which will enable us to apply for grants with NYSERDA for energy-saving systems and an EV Charging Station.

The Trails Report was approved. Town attorney will draw up the necessary resolution.

We have launched a search for a Court Prosecutor.

It was nice to see students in attendance. We hope they learned a few things about good government!