Town of Red Hook Comprehensive Plan - Steering Commi ee Mee ng Minutes November 25, 2025 7:30-9:00pm Red Hook Town Hall In A endance Commi ee: Laurie Husted, Hart Migdal, Tricia Reed, Ben Shute, 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), Jake Petersen (Bard College intern) Regrets Dennis Kanuk, Jennifer Mañón, Chuck Mead, Sam Phelan, Chris ne Kane (Liaison, Red Hook Town Board) Minutes Minutes from the October 28th mee ng were approved. Updates Eric shared that Pa ern for Progress CEO Adam Bosch will be leaving his posi on at the end of the year. A search for a new leader is underway. Adam did not have an ac ve role in the Red Hook project; no changes are an cipated for this project. Process & Timeline The commi ee reviewed and reaffirmed the upcoming steps and meline for the comprehensive planning process. The visioning phase will remain open through early 2026, followed by goal se ng and development of recommenda ons later in the year. There will be two addi onal workshops, focus groups and other community engagement opportuni es. Visioning Workshop Findings Eric presented preliminary findings from the October 21 visioning workshop. These findings will be augmented by addi onal informa on collected during the visioning process and may evolve. More detail on these findings is available at h ps://www.redhookny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5069/10-2125-Visioning-Workshop-Summary. What’s Working:
- Sense of community
- Open space
- Farms and farmers
- Natural environment
- Local events and fes vals
- School district 1
- Bard College
- History Issues:
- Housing
- Bike and pedestrian safety
- Environmental protec on
- Town government communica on
- Hotel
- Transporta on
- Senior services
- Childcare Community Engagement Update To date: 85 survey responses, 4 Kitchen Table Conversa on submissions. These engagement opportuni es will con nue to be promoted through December and January - plan to revisit engagement at the January mee ng to determine whether it has reached a broad cross sec on of the community and if addi onal outreach is needed. Tricia relayed that the Subcommi ee is also discussing these ques ons and feels that a pop-up display will be useful in reaching addi onal audiences. Preliminary discussion of focus groups was held – these will be small topic-based or audience-based mee ngs to get focused input on a few key subject areas. They will be designed to tap into the knowledge of ac ve town commi ees. Proposed topic areas include Environment & Sustainability, Housing, Agriculture, Business & Economy. Transporta on and infrastructure were also brought up as important subjects. Exact topics and format for focus groups will be confirmed at a future mee ng. These are planned for the goal-se ng phase of the process. Next Steps The visioning survey and Kitchen Table Conversa ons will con nue through the next couple of months. Meanwhile, the consultants will con nue to consolidate and analyze community engagement findings to date and will prepare a public-facing version of these findings. They will also work on design for focus groups and the next workshop. Eric will share some sample comprehensive plans with the commi ee for their review, specifically to guide discussion of the organiza on of Red Hook’s plan. The commi ee voted to cancel the December mee ng due to proximity to the holidays. Next mee ng: January 27th, 7:30-9:00pm The January mee ng will include discussion of community engagement progress and gaps, and a discussion of the sample comprehensive plans and possibili es for organizing Red Hook’s plan. 2