Village of Red Hook Mayor’s Report November 2025
VILLAGE FINANCIAL AUDITS
Our auditors, RBT, are continuing with our 2023 & 2024 audits. We hope to have all the documents and answers to them in the next couple of weeks.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK
Over the next several months, our payroll clerk, Irene Holsapple, and I will be meeting to review a proposed Employee Handbook. It’s a long document so it will take a while, but the Village does not have a formal handbook – Employee Benefits, outside of union contracts, are currently listed in our Village code. It is well past time that we tackled this project.
SAWKILL WATERSHED COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL (SKWC)
The SKWC met on Nov. 19[th] at 6:30pm in Village Hall. Attendees were Sheila Buff, Henry Woods, Amy Shein, Ruth Ford, Amanda Sandor & Karen Smythe.
The application to Open Spaces Institute (OSI) to be approved for fiscal sponsorship has been submitted. There was a discussion around funding sources and confirming the upfront money that would be required.
SKWC will be facilitating a kitchen table conversation for the Town’s Comprehensive Plan with a focus on water and water protection. It will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22 from 1-2:30pm at the Red Hook Library. Significant updates to the website were done by Amanda. She will also make a flyer for the Comp Plan discussion when all details are confirmed.
The big final event that was supposed to happen in conjunction with Bard will now happen probably the 3[rd] week in February on an evening. The goal will be to present all the data available and also to celebrate the 10[th] anniversary of the SKWC.
Dutchess Soil & Water may have funds available to support a SKWC project. Ideas included further water testing, Fisk Pond, replanting banks to reduce erosion.
There is a funding program – septic system replacement fund – that is available for those on individual septic systems. Information will be shared with the SKWC email list.
Sheila will investigate signing up for the program through which you can apply for a Hudson River Estuary grant. Likely for next year. The next meeting is scheduled for Wed. Dec. 17[th] .
RED HOOK LIBRARY (RHPL)
The RHPL had their November board meeting on Nov. 20[th] . Attendees were President Anna Greig, Vice President Martha Tepepa, Treasurer Grace Kachigan and Board members - Leah Bahnatka, Gareth Davies, & Kelly French, Jared Vengrin and Executive Director Alex Geller. PandaTV & Karen Smythe were also in attendance.
PandaTV was present to record the meeting which is now available at www.pandatv.org.
The Policy Committee reviewed the social media & Communications policies. ReciteMe was discussed and I was able to remind the board that the last two years of ReciteMe were due to a joint County grant with the Village.
A preliminary 2026 budget was presented. Discussion included the expectation that there will be less County funding, a concern about foundation funding, the need for the part time children’s programming staff person to go to full time, and a health benefit increase of +18%.
The treasurer, Grace Kachigan, reported that their current bookkeeper will no longer be supporting libraries in 2026, so she is interviewing possible replacements and hopes to have a proposal for the December meeting.
The parking lot paving project has final punch list items to complete.
The Library had received a $5k grant for electrification of the back door to enable it to open automatically with a button. The existing door cannot accommodate electrification, so they’ll need a new door. Alex is getting a second quote for this work. It is likely way over budget.
The patron reset between Red Hook, Tivoli, and other jurisdictions resulted in no major changes.
For more information, you can find their board packet on the library’s website – redhooklibrary.org/board-of-trustees. Their next board meeting will be Thursday, Dec. 18[th] at 6:30pm.
PUBLIC SPACES/ABRAHAMS PARK
The Public Spaces Committee met on Monday, Nov. 17th at 7pm in Village Hall. This overlapped with our Village Board meeting so I could not attend. Please see the attached minutes.
Next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 15[th] at 7pm in Village Hall.
CLIMATE SMART COMMUNITY TASK FORCE
The Task Force did not meet in November. Our next meeting is Dec. 4[th] at 6pm in Village Hall. We will review the report from CCE that was presented to the Village Board at our Nov. 17[th] meeting and plan out next steps towards securing Bronze Certification.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Saturday, November 15[th] was a busy day in the Village:
I attended Village resident Roger Loughran’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor and presented him with a Proclamation of Achievement.
I stopped by local business Bliss’ Grand Opening for their evening hours offering cocktails and a tapas menu.
I also attended the Rotary’s Citizen of the Year event honoring Lisa Murray & Maria Scibelli for hosting a Red Hook High School Prom After Party for decades.
Monday, November 17[th] , I was invited by the Rhinebeck Rotary to share with them what’s happening in the Village of Red Hook.
Tuesday, November 18[th] , the Red Hook Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Meet the Mayor” evening meeting at Bliss where I was able to share with this group all that’s happening in the Village. It was a great opportunity to connect with some of the local business owners and answer questions and here ideas.
Thursday, November 20[th] , I joined Erin Canaan, Vice President for Civic Engagement at Bard College, on her new Action Now podcast. We discussed major issues and projects in the Village, policy solutions and how people can get involved.
Sunday, November 30[th] , I joined Bill Moore and three others on a judging panel at the VFW for Voices for Democracy. 9[th] thru 12[th] grade students submit a recorded essay. The 2025-26 theme is: “How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?” We reviewed and scored 9 submissions from the Red Hook VFW region.