Deputy Mayor Melkorka Kjarval’s Monthly Reports
Feb 13th, 2025
Red Hook Together: meets on the first Thursday of the month. The latest meeting was held over Zoom on Feb 6th, 2025. February's presentation was by Audubon International Sustainable Communities Group. The group asked attendees to fill out a 3 question survey describing ‘What does 2025 look like for your organization generally?’ As well as ‘What does 2025 look like for your organization's sustainability offerings?’.
The group has assigned ‘ Housing , Public Safety & Emergency Management , & Economic Health & Tourism ’ as the ‘focus areas’ that they want the Village ‘to reflect on’. They will be tracking progress on the focus areas in a “living document”. See below for the chart of assignments given to attendees of the Red Hook Together meeting.
| Organization: | Focus Area: |
|---|---|
| Town gov't | Recreation, Housing, and Transportation |
| Village gov't | Housing, Public Safety & Emergency Management, |
| and Economic Health & Tourism | |
| Chamber | Tourism and Agriculture |
| School district | Education and Public Health |
| Red Hook Responds | Volunteerism |
| Red Hook Public Library | Volunteerism and Education |
| Tivoli Free Library | Environment and Resource Use |
| Red Hook Community Center | Volunteerism and Public Health |
| Red Hook Rotary | Environment and Resource Use |
| Historic Red Hook | Education and Volunteerism |
| local farms | Agriculture and Open Space |
| Daily Catch | Education |
| Bard Sustainability | Transportation |
| Bard CCE | Recreation, Volunteerism, and Education |
For a review of this ongoing process; The Red Hook Together Subgroup had applied on behalf of the “Red Hook Community” for a certification which requires the following three stages. Stage 1: Identifies community strengths and areas needing improvement. Stage 2: Incorporates community’s goals into a long-term vision plan. And in Stage 3, the community must report implementation of the plan goals to secure certification (Which, according to a local news story, was awarded this past September).
Red Hook Town Economic Development Committee: Currently inactive.
The latest meeting was held on Wed, Jan 22nd at Town Hall. The conversation was focused around the new proposed Local Law D (specifically regarding cannabis and subdivisions) and Local Law E regarding an updated smoking ordinance.
On Wednesday, January 29, 2025 during a Special Town Board Meeting the Town Board, and as part of a larger reorganization, the Town Board voted to make the EDC inactive.
There has been a proposal made to establish a joint committee between the Village and the Town of Red Hook. Once I have more information about the proposed structure and/or mission I will share that with the Village board.
Dutchess County Safety Action Plan - Advisory Committee: The third meeting of this committee took place on January 27th, 2024 in Poughkeepsie. We reviewed the latest data as well as learned how the consultants are using public input & crash data to select priority locations.
The plan will feature at least one recommended implementable improvement per municipality (on a local or county owned road). It will also contain a more broad suite of improvements that are recommended generally. There is still time for the public to identify areas of safety concern through the map & survey tools which you can access at: dutchessny.gov/SafetyActionPlan
Village of Red Hook Communications Committee: meets every first Wednesday of the month at 1:30 pm in the Village Hall.
There was discussion about the goals of a Social Media Policy, Developing Google Suite protocols, Considering a website redesign, and next steps around updating website & email urls. Discussion and progress on all items are ongoing.
Village of Red Hook Human Relations Committee: meets every first Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Village Hall conference room. January’s meeting was held on Feb 6th.
The group discussed the status of the warming center, which is a partnership between community volunteers, Hudson River Housing and St Christopher's Church. Discussion also covered community concern around the new federal administration's objectives, and how the committee can best serve vulnerable community members during this time. No actions to be undertaken by the committee were proposed.
A subpage has been added to the committee webpage introducing the Indigenous History project.
Village Public Works Department:
- Scrap Metal Program: There has been no revenue received since my last report.
|1.
| **Scrap Metal Program:**There has been no revenue received since my las | t report. |
|---|---|
| Revenue received since my last report was | $0 |
| Total revenue for this Fiscal Year (Jun 2024- May 2025) to date is | $3,376.90 |
| Since the Program’s inception, in Sep 2007, donations have yielded a total of | $58,239.74 |
Proceeds from the program go towards the purchase of tools & equipment for the Public Works Department. Residents & businesses interested in donating metal may contact the Village Clerk’s office to schedule a pickup.
- Snow Removal & Seasonal Parking Rules: Now that we have entered snow season, please remember that there is no overnight parking on village streets, and that items may get damaged by the plow trucks if they are left on the street edge. Also if you have a sidewalk adjacent to your property you are required to keep it clear of snow and ice within 24 hours after the end of a winter storm.
No all-night street parking is permitted in the Village from November 1st thru March 31st. Vehicles parked on the streets between 11 PM - 6 AM may be ticketed and towed at the owner's expense.
Property owners are reminded to remove athletic equipment, garbage receptacles and/or any other temporary obstacles from the side of streets to prevent their damage during snow removal operations.
The owner and/or occupant of every building/lot in the village with an adjoining sidewalk, is required to remove snow and ice within 24 hrs of the end of a snowstorm. The Village Public Works Department, at the direction of the Village board of Trustees, may remove uncleared snow/ice , at the cost of $2.00 per linear foot to the property owner. Charges will be assessed and collected with the next tax levy.
3. Trash & Recycling Pickup:
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 and guide can be picked up at the Clerk's office, or found online at redhookvillage.org/recycle
Residents can drop off household compost at the Town Recycling Center, Wed & Sat 7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
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.