Amy Smith
Reports for Village Board Meeting: Monday, June 9, 2025
Water Department
The Water Department meeting was on Wednesday, August 6 at Village Hall. I was unable to attend. However, I can report on water usage and testing results.
In the month of July, the Village Water Department customers used almost 9 million gallons of water (8,819,919) for an average consumption of 286,836 gallons per day. Comparatively, July’s water use is 2746 more gallons per day than it was in June and 842 fewer gallons per day than in May.
Three locations were sampled on July 23, 2025. All three locations were negative for Coliform and E. coli. The free chlorine residual amounts ranged from .87 mg/liter to .13 mg/liter. As a reminder, there are 1000 mg in a liter of water.
New York Forward & grants
On Tuesday, August 5, 2025 the Mayor and I met with Adriana Beltrani and Bonnie Franson from Nelson, Pope and Voorhies, the Village’s planning consultants. We discussed the Village’s preparation and possible timeline for submission of a New York Forward grant application.
Communities that have received New York Forward grants have some common elements in terms of preparation - including planning documents and engineering reports. We determined that it’s in the Village’s best interest if we apply for a Greenway Community grant that will allow us to complete a community visioning process through their plans/public participation category of funding. The Greenway grants application opens 9/8, is due 10/30, and notices if awarded is likely December.
Hudson River Valley Greenway “is a state agency that helps communities protect their scenic, natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources while encouraging economic development.”
The agency works with municipalities like the Village that are located in the 14 NY Counties that constitute the Hudson River Valley. Municipalities submitting applications for grant funding must have passed a resolution adopting the 5 Greenway criteria which are as follows:
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Natural and cultural resource protection: “Protect, preserve and enhance natural resources.”
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Economic development - “Encourage economic development that is compatible with the preservation and enhancement of natural and cultural resources.”
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Public access - Promote public use of Hudson River Valley natural resources
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Heritage and environmental education - “Promote awareness among residents and visitors about the Valley's natural, cultural, scenic and historic resources”
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Regional planning - Work with other communities “to develop mutually beneficial regional strategies for natural and cultural resource protection, economic development (including necessary public facilities and infrastructure), public access and heritage and environmental education.”
Greenway Community Grants have a max of $20,000 that must be matched by the municipality but the match can be in cash, in-kind, or a mix of the two. The grants can be used for a variety of purposes related to the Greenway criteria. Among those purposes are both planning and public participation.
We finished our discussion with a plan that the Village will apply for a Greenway Community Grant to fund a process of “Community Visioning” that will allow the Village to get residents’ input on prioritizing different projects primarily related to improvements to the pedestrian experience, infrastructure required for affordable housing and economic development, and creation of green spaces within the Village.
It will likely be necessary to form an ad hoc committee as part of the Community Visioning process. I will write the grant in collaboration with Adriana Beltrani and will report on it in greater detail at our next meeting.