Village of Red Hook Village Green Committee Monthly Report March 2025
Planting is almost here - scheduled for April 19. This last month we secured our final spots for the Spring Planting. The committee canvassed and did outreach to our residents trying to recruit some new members to the committee and are all set for our next meeting which will address our preparation for planting day itself and other goals for the year. A reminder that the Village Green meets once a quarter and works on diversifying our tree canopy and is working toward providing helpful information to our residents about how to protect their own trees.
Two representatives from VGC went to the annual Tree Cities luncheon where we were honored in our 23rd year. The DEC gave a presentation on the governor's 25 Million Tree planting effort. The Town is already promoting the use of the DEC's Tree Tracker so that would be a fun thing for the Village to work on and could be a great project for the upcoming year. Any tree planted since January 2024 can be counted. The goal is 25 million by 2033.
We are actively recruiting members. If you are interested in giving back to your community but don ’t have a lot of time to give this may be the perfect committee for you! Please contact me or Jen Cavanaugh, the Clerk.
Village of Red Hook Sewer Department Monthly Report March 2025
In March, there were some strides and setbacks with the operating of the plant. The Village pressed the operator to send copies of all Notices of Violations, where necessary. Remembering lab results are a month behind, a NOV was confirmed to be sent for the month of February - which happened before a calculated dump of mixed liquor was added to help engage the bugs. There were still mechanical issues in relation to the UV lights and so Chlorine treatment, a standard treatment process, was authorized to continue to be used in the tanks. Working through the to-do list - the crew was able to get the necessary tanks emptied and begin to start work on the list of necessary repairs that came out of the audit - as well as connect the EQ tank to the Odor Control system (which needed the ground to thaw). At the alternating meeting we discussed not moving forward with the RFP process and to shift into a new direction for the operation and maintenance of the WWTP.
We continued to meet with our representative from the New York Rural Water Association who has experience with sewer code and functionality of WWTPs in general.
In the month of March, the contract with C3ND, as our operator for both water and sewer, was terminated and as of March 31, 2025 the Village engaged Delaware Engineering, fully accredited/certified to operate WWTPs, as our operator. These actions were solidified at the Board ’ s workshop at the end of March. As Delaware is familiar with the plant and with aiding and addressing malfunctioning plants - their goal is to break it down to brass tacks and start from scratch in learning what this particular system needs and how to get it up to snuff. Delaware worked on a plan to attack the plant with more testing (influent) to see if we are bringing something into the plant that is causing the uneven/unhealthy bug environment. Additionally, they were poised to go in on day 1 and do a full assessment of the plant itself. It is a priority to make sure we have a fully functional and operating WWTP. I also acknowledge that residents