Deputy Mayor's Monthly Reports — October 7, 2024

Deputy Mayor Melkorka Kjarval’s Monthly Reports

October 7th, 2024

Red Hook Together: The October meeting was held at noon on Oct. 2nd, over Zoom.

The guest speaker was Robin Peritz who is the Clinical Program Director from Dutchess County Department of Mental Health. Attendees raised concerns about if the county contracted services are being made equitably accessible to Red Hook. The conversation also touched on the topic of transitional housing facilities - and the difficulties posed by the county’s overnight county shelters being located in Poughkeepsie. No immediate solutions were proposed or announced.

November's meeting time, topic and location is TBA.

Red Hook Town Economic Development Committee: meets Bi-weekly at Village Hall on the second & fourth Wednesdays of the month at 8:40 am. The committee met on September 11th & 25th. Conversation on the 11th focused mainly on the progress of the three building moratoriums in the Town of Red Hook. Councilperson Jacob Testa fielded questions about updates, communications and anticipated conditions in which the three separate moratoriums will be lifted. The September 25th conversation was focused on community events, the new fencing at the Cookingham West trails, as well as how the committee could facilitate better communication and information flow between advisory committees & the Town Council.

Dutchess County Safety Action Plan - Advisory Committee: No Updates to share.

Village of Red Hook Communications Committee: meets every first Wednesday of the month at 1:30 pm in the Village Hall conference room.

The October 3rd meeting was focused on the application for a 1-year extension for the Language Access grant. We also identified a list of businesses & community partners who we will ask to host brochure holders & distribute Village brochures. We discussed making the Website Recite-me more prominent on the page and/or including explanation text underneath the icon. We also discussed reformatting the bi-lingual information contained in the brochures into a poster format that can be displayed in the Village Hall lobby and at community events. We also discussed the goal of refreshing the Village website’s menu bar and page structure now that we are almost 4 years out from our last redesign.

Village of Red Hook Hardscrabble / Events Committee: meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6pm at Village Hall.

The committee met on September 10th, The meeting was focused on the then upcoming Hardscrabble event.

This year the Village launched a new activity called “Kid Village” during the hardscrabble festival. For two hours kids of all ages visited 13 interactive stations that engaged children's problem solving skills as they learned about different aspects of the Village government and municipal departments. Kids wrote laws with the Mayor, identified incorrectly tagged garbage bags, learned what materials commonly clog sewer lines, sorted mail into clerk's office mailboxes, awarded building permits, and learned how local judges determine fines. We were lucky to have both the Public Works department, and the Red Hook Police Department set up displays that illustrated in full scale the newest equipment used by Village departments to provide important services. The Hardscrabble Music Festival had beautiful weather and a great lineup of talented performers.

Attendees may have noted the increase in food vendors and sponsors this year, which was a credit to the event coordinator Jeff Walsh, and the assistance of our exceptional Bard CCE Intern Jing Yi Sutherland. We also want to extend a large thank you to all the Village departments that help to support this annual event, especially the Public Works Department & the Police Department that help setup, breakdown & monitor the event all day.

The next event organized by the Village Events committee is the Village Halloween Parade. Parade participants are invited to congregate at the Village Municipal lot at 1pm. There will be Trick or Treating at participating Village businesses coordinated by the Red Hook Area Chamber of Commerce following the parade.

The next public meeting will be October 8th at 6pm in the village courtroom.

Village of Red Hook Human Relations Committee: meets every first Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Village Hall conference room.

During the October 3rd meeting we discussed a historian contacting us about the Indigenous history project that we had put on hold previously. We are hoping to meet with her later this month to discuss resuming this important project. The rest of meeting was spent discussing the Blue Law and the unhoused population. Linda Duval, Deacon at Christ Church, shared with us that a group of clergy from various denominations in Red Hook recently met to see what they could collectively do to serve the community members that are unhoused. They came up with several short term and immediate proposals, one is to create care packages that contain things such as energy bars, emergency blankets, gloves, hats and chapstick. The other was coordinating daytime warming centers so that there is always a safe warm place available during the day, and the third was investigating whether the local churches themselves could offer emergency overnight shelter during evenings when the temperature is forecast to go below 32F. The conversation is ongoing, and they are meeting again in two weeks to discuss.

The next public meeting will be on November 7th.

Village of Red Hook Highway / Public Works Department:

1. Village Brush / Yard Waste and Leaf Pickup : The Public works department will begin to pick up piles of leaves the week of October 16th, please remember that leaves, lawn clippings and brush must be placed in separate heaps.

Brush/yard waste & leaf pickup rules: Pickups are scheduled for the first full week of every month, pending weather conditions & scheduling. Avoid creating unsightly long-term piles, please place piles out just prior to pick-up week. Lawn clippings, brush & leaf piles should be set out in separate heaps. Place piles on the edge of your lawn (not on the sidewalk or in the street). Construction debris, soil, garbage, stumps, and/or branches larger than 6” in diameter will not be collected. Piles should be limited to 6' x 6' x 6'.

Consider combining smaller piles with a neighbor to facilitate efficient pickups.

2. Trash & Recycling Pickup:

Trash & recycling rules: Trash & recycling must be out before 5am on Monday mornings. Cardboard bundles should be bound together with string or tape, Paper recycling should be placed loose within a lidded tub or bin. Bulk Item tags are available for purchase at the Clerk's office. Recycling Pickup alternates between Yellow (Paper & cardboard) & Blue (Metal, Plastic & Glass). The Dual-Stream Recycling calendar can be picked up at the Clerk's office, and it is also available at redhookvillage.org/recycle Residents can drop off household compost at the Town Recycling Center, Mon & Sat 7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

3. Potholes:

If you are concerned about a hazardous pothole in the Village:

You can notify the village of potholes on Village roads by calling the Village Clerk’s office or filling out the “Report a Concern” form at redhookvillage.org/concern.

Please note that the Village is not allowed to conduct repairs on State Highways. If you would like to report a pothole on a State Highway, The Village can forward your concern - or you can submit your complaint directly to the NYS DOT by calling 1.800.POTHOLE (1.800.768.4653).

4. Street Light Complaints:

If you notice a street light out in the Village:

You may notify Central Hudson directly by going to: cenhud.com/en/outages, selecting ‘Report a Street Light’ and filling out their online form.

5. Scrap Metal Program: There has been no additional revenue since my last report.

Proceeds from the program go towards the purchase of tools & equipment for the Public Works Department. Residents & businesses interested in donating scrap metal may contact the Village Clerk’s office to schedule a pickup.

6. CHIPS funding: the following amounts have been allocated to the Village of Red Hook from NYS DOT for NYS FY 2024-2025 :

7. Annual Paving: projects will be proposed by Public Works Supervisor Jake Smith in the new year. Note that Cherry & Graves streets are slated to be paved after the water main replacement project is completed this October.