Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee — 2025-10-28

Town of Red Hook Comprehensive Plan - Steering Commi ee Mee ng Minutes October 28, 2025 7:30-9:00pm Red Hook Town Hall In A endance Commi ee: Laurie Husted, Dennis Kanuk, Jennifer Mañón, Chuck Mead, Hart Migdal, Sam Phelan, Tricia Reed, Julia Solomon (Chair), Doug Strawinski Liaisons: Sarah Imboden (Liaison, Village of Tivoli), Melkorka Kjarval (Liaison, Village of Red Hook), Taun Toay (Liaison, Bard College) Guests: Eric Pierson (Pa ern for Progress) Regrets Ben Shute, Chris ne Kane (Liaison, Red Hook Town Board) Minutes Minutes from the September 23rd mee ng were approved. Community Engagement Subcommi ee Appointments Zoe Evans, Kris n Larson, David Mimeles and Courtney Zwart were appointed to the subcommi ee. Several addi onal individuals have expressed interest and may be recommended for appointment at future mee ngs. Updates & Discussion – Community Engagement & Outreach Laurie updated on two Kitchen Table Conversa ons, one of which was held at Bard College. Data were submi ed to Pa ern for Progress via the Kitchen Table Conversa on form. The commi ee discussed methods and ming for engaging Bard students. The Town of Red Hook Planning Board held a Special Mee ng on October 27th to discuss the comprehensive plan visioning ques ons. Ques ons were discussed by the Board and members of the public who a ended were invited to par cipate. Eric took notes, which will be incorporated with other community engagement data. Next steps for community engagement are:

1. Broad promo on of the online Visioning Survey
2. Hos ng Kitchen Table Conversa ons and assis ng community groups/members in hos ng these to encourage a wide range of perspec ves including those that may be underrepresented in other parts of the process
3. Con nuing other specific engagement ac vi es (e.g. high school student engagement) 1

Commi ee members are encouraged to par cipate ac vely in all of these ac vi es and can reach out to Julia and Eric with any ques ons or for assistance/support with an idea. The visioning phase of the comprehensive planning process will con nue for the next several months. At the November mee ng the commi ee will discuss ming and criteria for shi ing to the goal-se ng phase. Visioning Workshop Debrief The first public workshop was held on October 21st in the Red Hook High School Cafeteria. All Steering Commi ee members and liaisons a ended, along with approximately 70 members of the public. Eric stated that in Pa ern for Progress’s experience, this is a very strong turnout for an event like this. Commi ee members generally felt that the logis cs of the event func oned well, a endees understood and followed the instruc ons, and conversa ons were lively and construc ve. The commi ee discussed to what extent the audience was representa ve of the broader Red Hook community and what perspec ves may not have been well represented. There was also discussion about whether the facilita on style ensured that quieter voices had a chance to be heard. It was also discussed that although children were welcome, a childcare op on and/or a different me of day might have made the event more accessible for families with young children and could be considered for future workshops. Community Engagement – Preliminary Themes Eric presented on emerging themes from community engagement to date, which should be considered very preliminary since analysis of already-collected data is not complete and community engagement is in the early stages. Some emerging themes include:  Tension between exis ng residents and “new” residents/visitors  Ques ons about long-term balance of growth and preserva on  Balancing poten ally conflic ng priori es (e.g. housing, open space protec on, historic preserva on, alterna ve energy)  Housing affordability  How to respond to shi ing demographics The commi ee discussed these themes, which will be the basis of discussion at future mee ngs as addi onal informa on is collected and analyzed. The commi ee also briefly discussed the role of focus groups around specific topics. 2

Next Steps Next mee ng: November 25th, 7:30-9:00pm The November mee ng will include discussion of ongoing and planned community engagement, including focus groups, and review of preliminary themes and data.

3