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Resolution Approving Enhanced State Road Crosswalk Design for the Village of Red Hook

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VILLAGE OF RED HOOK RESOLUTION #___ - 2025 DATED: September 22, 2025

A meeting of the Village of Red Hook Board of Trustees was convened in public session at the Village Hall, 7467 South Broadway, Red Hook, NY on September 22, 2025. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Smythe.

RESOLUTION APPROVING ENHANCED STATE ROAD CROSSWALK DESIGN FOR THE VILLAGE OF RED HOOK.

WHEREAS, the Village of Red Hook recognizes the importance of improvements to the pedestrian experience in the Village; and

WHEREAS, the Village has received input over the years from the community supporting improvements to walkability all around the Village; and

WHEREAS, the Village has four (4) existing crosswalks along the State Roads, outside of regular intersections, that are striped and lit: on Rt. 9 at Morgan’s Way, at Fraleigh St., at Prince St. and on Rt. 199 at the Red Hook High School entrance; and

WHEREAS, there is a crosswalk design that has been approved by NYSDOT for a crosswalk in Rhinebeck across from Ruge’s along Rt. 9 that paints a buffer around the beginning of the crosswalk to designate the no parking area and increase the visibility of the crosswalk; and

WHEREAS, the Village of Red Hook has the required Annual Maintenance Permit from NYSDOT; and

WHEREAS, NYSDOT Region 8 Highway Coordinator has also confirmed that all that is required is notification with a drawing of work to be completed.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that

  • the Village of Red Hook Board of Trustees approves the addition of a painted buffer area around the four existing crosswalks along State Rt. 9 & 199, following the example on Rt. 9 in Rhinebeck including No Parking signage where needed; and

  • the Village Clerk is directed to FOIL the Village of Rhinebeck Building Department for their crosswalk design; and

  • the final design will be completed and reviewed by the DPW Foreman and the Mayor prior to notification to NYSDOT Region 8; and

  • once finalized, the Mayor will direct the DPW to install the new design as soon as is practical; and

  • the remaining existing painted crosswalks will be reviewed for enhanced designed consideration spearheaded by the Mayor; and

  • any new crosswalk proposed in the Village will consider this new design.

Motion by: ____________________

Seconded by: _________________

Vote:

Vote:
Mayor Smythe☐Aye☐Nay☐Abstain☐Recuse☐Absent/Excused
DeputyMayorKjarval☐Aye☐Nay☐Abstain☐Recuse☐Absent/Excused
Trustee Uku☐Aye☐Nay☐Abstain☐Recuse☐Absent/Excused
Trustee Smith☐Aye☐Nay☐Abstain☐Recuse☐Absent/Excused
Trustee(vacant)☐Aye☐Nay☐Abstain☐Recuse☐Absent/Excused
Vote Total
ResultMotion:

I hereby attest that the above Resolution was approved by the Board of Trustees at its September 22, 2025 meeting, and that I have been authorized to sign this Resolution by decision of the Board of Trustees

______________________ ____________________ Jennifer Cavanaugh, Clerk Date

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## **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.

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