Village of Red Hook Mayor’s Report March 2025
POLICE
On March 20[th] , School Resource Officer David Schmitz saved a Red Hook student from choking. See attached email from Dr. Warden, Superintendent of the RHCSD.
PERSONNEL
A final thank you to Trustee Charlie Laing for his years of service on the Village Board of Trustees. And a welcome to returning Deputy Mayor Melkorka Kjarval, and new Trustees Frances Uku and Amy Smith. Welcome aboard! We have reviewed and shifted around assignments which you will see in the agenda.
In other personnel news, please welcome newly appointed Village Treasurer Marybeth De Filippis, as she now fully takes over for former Treasurer Lori Urbin – who has formally retired since our last meeting.
WIIA – WATER PROJECTS:
Financing – We have received confirmation of the additional financing. We are waiting for a closing date which may not be until June. We won’t be able to finalize all the projects until then. Only small punch list items remain outstanding.
SEWER PROJECT I:
The major outstanding item is the Single Audit. We are still waiting for the final audit from the audit firm. And there is still one final MWBE report from Carver Construction to be filed with EFC. The JanMar ’25 report was filed but Carver didn’t make it a final report so there will be at least one more.
SEWER EXPANSION – PHASE II:
We continue to pursue grant funding for the sewer expansion. While the operation issues are significant, the timing for grant applications is such that we need to keep proceeding or we will be put back at least a year. We can always turn down grants should our operations not return to compliance – though I am confident that we will be in compliance well before the grants are awarded. An Income Survey is in process which has the potential to increase our chances of getting Bipartisan Infrastructure funding and other grants as well. If you are contacted, please respond. It’s very important.
UPSEU CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS:
The final Police & DPW Contracts have been received and are now fully signed.
RED HOOK LIBRARY:
I was not able to attend their March board meeting. For information, you can find their board packet on the library’s website – redhooklibrary.org/board-of-trustees.
RED HOOK TOGETHER:
I attended the April Red Hook Together meeting held on April 10[th] , hosted by the Red Hook Central School District in their Innovation Center at the Linden Avenue Middle School. The Innovation Center is on the second floor and has recently been renovated with new flexible/movable furniture and paint including brighter colors. This allows for lots of flexibility to use the room in many different ways.
The meeting was an opportunity for those attending to share upcoming events and information. Of note, several staff members from Family Services were in attendance. They reported on their new outpatient mental health clinic being located in Northern Dutchess, at the old Pet Country store across from Phantom Gardner. They hope to start construction soon. They expect to open sometime next year. They are currently looking to see what other services might be able to be included in that space.
Respectfully submitted, Mayor Karen Smythe