EFC Sewer-Expansion Grant Funding Report

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EFC Sewer-Expansion Grant Funding Report

by Trustee Uku · July 2026 · AI assistance from Claude

A timeline of the Village’s EFC sewer-expansion grant effort, drawn from my reports to the Board and the broader public record.

Feb 1–3, 2026 At NYCOM’s Winter Legislative Meeting, I attended a panel, “Accessing and Understanding State Funding for Municipal Infrastructure.” During the Q&A, I asked what the Village might do to receive funding toward our sewer-expansion project, as the Town had in December 2025. Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) Program Coordinator Paul Kutscha suggested the Village might want to consider an intermunicipal grant (IMG), and invited me to set up a call with EFC’s Community Assistance Team.
Feb 15–18, 2026 In reviewing the intermunicipal grant approach, I identified that it was, as structured, misaligned with EFC’s requirements. I set up the EFC call, invited the Mayor to join, and briefed her beforehand on what I suspected we might discover. The briefing sheet is attached.
March 9, 2026 At the March monthly meeting, I reported to the Board on the NYCOM engagement and our EFC connection. The report is also attached.
June 8, 2026 At the June monthly meeting, I began reporting the specifics of the Village’s EFC sewer-grant status to the Board.
June 16, 2026 EFC confirmed the reading I had raised in February: the path forward is a joint Village–Town application.
June 17, 2026 Following the call, I met with Town Supervisor McKeon for a briefing and confirmation of the proposed joint path forward.
June 22, 2026 At the Board workshop, I presented the full arc of the Village’s EFC engagement, from the NYCOM connection onwards.

Moving forward: The joint Village–Town application, due by July 27 at 4 PM, is now underway, with an expanded scope and the potential for additional funding. This is such a win! I will continue to follow every step closely and report back to the Board with developments.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: Advocating for Red Hook Village in Albany

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Here are the key achievements from my recent trip to the NYCOM Winter Legislative Meeting (Feb 1–3.) In other words: How I turned a conference training trip into a targeted advocacy mission.

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1. STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE: NYCOM "Cliff Notes"

The value of NYCOM is that they digest the massive Executive Budget into a cheat sheet for local elected officials. They identified exactly where the pockets of funding are for 2026, so we can lobby our specific needs. Highest on the list of Legislative Priorities – SWAP (S.4350/A.6012-A Safe Water and Infrastructure Action Program) —the "CHIPS for Water" bill.

2. LEGISLATIVE ACCESS: "The Room Where it Happens"

Armed with this data, I secured one-on-one meetings with our state legislators to deliver our specific water/sewer story as ammunition for their own advocacy in Albany. We are now on their radar and only a phone call away.

3. AGENCY CONNECTION: "The Bank"

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Perhaps the biggest operational win was connecting directly with the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC)—often called "The Bank" for state infrastructure, via a municipal infrastructure panel at NYCOM.

4. EXECUTIVE RECOGNITION: “FDR Lived Here”

I was honored to receive an invitation to the Governor’s Mansion. I had the opportunity to personally thank Gov. Hochul for selecting Dutchess County as one of only three counties to pilot her $60 Million "2-Care" Initiative (universal child care for ages 0-3). This is funding we may wish to access right here in the Village.

I’m happy to answer any questions or provide links to the photos. Both are available from the Executive and Legislative Offices.

I hope you agree your money was well spent.

Red Hook Intermunicipal Sewer Project

Background February 2026 Prepared by Trustee Frances Uku, Village of Red Hook

The Project

The Village of Red Hook and Town of Red Hook are undertaking a combined $26 million sewer project. The Village is expanding its WWTP from 75,000 to 300,000 GPD, extending its collection system to ~170 additional properties ($19.5M combined), and dedicating 50,000 GPD of capacity to the Town. The Town is building a new collection system connecting ~51 properties to the Village plant ($6.6M).

The Agreement

In 2024, the Town and Village executed an Intermunicipal Agreement that defines this as a single project in which the Village is the central party: the Village owns and operates the treatment facility, controls the project budget, authorizes disbursements, employs the operator, and the Village Engineer reviews and approves Town construction plans. Section 8.d requires the Town and Village to “work cooperatively” on grant applications.

How It Was Implemented

Each municipality engaged its own engineering firm and prepared separate grant applications:

Scope	Municipality	Engineer	EFC Applications	Cost
Town collection system	Town of Red Hook	Tighe & Bond	IMG	$6.6M
WWTP expansion + Village
collection system extension	Village of Red Hook	Delaware Engineering	WIIA	$19.5M

Funding Status

Application Title	Program	Amount	Result
Town/Village Sewer Treatment FacilityExpansion	IMG(EFC)	$2.56M	Awarded (Dec 2025)
WWTP Upgrades — Phase II	WIIA(EFC)	upto $5M	Denied (Dec 2025)
Red Hook (V) WWTP Upgrades & STEP Sewer System
— Phase II	WQIP (DEC)	$10M	Denied(Jan 2026)
Village WWTP Expansion	Empire State Dev.	$2M	Awarded
Village WWTP Expansion	Dutchess County	$500K	Awarded

The Challenge

The Town’s collection system and the Village’s WWTP expansion are interdependent — the Town’s infrastructure connects to the Village plant. The Town’s IMG was awarded in the same round that the Village’s WIIA was denied.

EFC Funding

Current EFC grants Combined project at IMG rate (40%) Town IMG: $2.56M · Village WIIA: $0 Up to $10.4M before adjusting for grants already awarded Total EFC funding: $2.56M on a $26M project

Precedent: Millerton / North East

In December 2024, EFC awarded a $5.08M IMG to the Village of Millerton and Town of North East for a combined wastewater project. Same county (Dutchess). Same structure: Village-owned WWTP, Town connecting via IMA. The two municipalities engaged a single engineer (Tighe & Bond) and filed a single combined application — one lead municipality, one project.

Questions for Discussion

What options are available to the Town and Village in future grant cycles?

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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.