Village of Red Hook Mayor’s Report January 2026
PERSONNEL: CIVIL SERVICE
Our 2025 Payroll Certification is complete and has been accepted by Dutchess County.
AUDIT
We are close to the end of all the data gathering requested by our audit firm, RPC, for the year ending 2023 and 2024 audits.
VILLAGE HALL
The Police phone by the Prince Street entrance to Village Hall has worked intermittently since installation. This phone rings in the Police Department. If no one is there, the phone rolls over to the State Police who can dispatch the Red Hook Police officer who is on duty. In January, Superior Telephone returned with replacement parts to fix the phone. It is now working consistently. If anyone has any issues with the phone, please let us know so we can make sure it gets fixed.
Mid-January we had no heat in the Police Department. A frozen heat pipe that then broke was discovered in the wall between the Building Department and the Police Department. TC Plumbing & Heating was able to find the broken section and fix the pipe. This pipe is near the outside of the wall and had no insulation. The DPW replaced the wall openings with vents so that some heat could flow around the pipe. Insulation was also added.
Archtop Fiber is planning to make the fiber connection to Village Hall in mid-February.
RED HOOK LIBRARY (RHPL)
The Red Hook Library Board met on Thurs. Jan 15[th] at 6:30pm in the Library conference room. President Anna Greig, Vice President Martha Tepepa, Treasurer Grace Kachigan, Leah Bahnatka, Gareth Davies, Kelly French, Jared Vengrin, and Library Director Alex Geller were present. I was the only guest.
Officers were elected for 2026. Anna Greig – President, Martha Tepepa – Vice President, Grace Kachigan – Treasurer, Kelly French – Secretary.
The Year End Budget review noted that the school payment didn’t come in until after Dec. 31 but it’s now in. Expenses were 93.4% of budget.
Tivoli made a yearend purchase of eBooks for 2026 so their total is now what had been discussed.
2026 Capital Project is the replacement of the back door to make it ADA accessible.
Alex requested off-site storage, stating that they are out of storage space. The suggestion was made to have the Friends of the Library fund this storage. The Board will have a retreat in February to set short term action plan goals.
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, Feb. 19[th] at 6:30pm.
SAWKILL WATERSHED COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL (SKWC)
The SKWC met on Jan. 28[th] at 6:30pm in Village Hall. Attendees were Karen Schnelling-McDonald,
Sheila Buff, Jen Adams, Henry Woods, Zoe Evans, Ruth Ford, Amy Shein, Amanda Sandor & Karen Smythe.
The Interact Club has expressed interest in doing a project with SKWC. They will be invited to present at the March meeting. The Kitchen table conversation had 5 participants. The Annandale bridge project was discussed. A need for an address and storage space was also discussed. Bard requested SKWC to be a partner on a trail grant application.
Discussion around the upcoming Feb. 24[th] event to be held at the Elmendorph Inn from 7-9pm. Bard will be presenting their database of information collected over the years. Karen S-McD will present a look back & look forward of SKWC, celebrating the 10[th] anniversary. All are welcome.
Costs/budget & priorities for 2026 were discussed.
The next meeting is scheduled for Wed. Feb 18[th] at 6:30pm in Village Hall.
CLIMATE SMART COMMUNITY TASK FORCE
The Task Force met Jan. 29[th] at 6pm in Village Hall. Michelle Gluck, Betsy Brauer (by phone), Alex Geller, Cat Viega, and Karen Smythe were present.
Michelle has agreed to chair the committee. We discussed the goal of Bronze Certification. We reviewed the first part of the project list. We discussed how to parcel out the projects to complete items and ensure we collect the required documentation.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thurs. Feb. 26[th] at 6pm in Village Hall.
PUBLIC SPACES/ABRAHAMS PARK
The Public Spaces Committee met on Monday, Feb. 2[nd] at 7pm in Village Hall. Attendees were Ash Bradley-Rickard, Perry Allen, Betsy Brauer, Linda DiGasper, David Sokol, Barbara Westermann, Karen Smythe, and Amy Smith.
Betsy reviewed where we are with the Bard Student, Ursula Wolf. Need to make the final connection with her advisor to ensure that she has a clear scope of work for her senior project. Ursula has expressed interest in continuing through the summer if there is funding.
Amy shared the necessity of having a credentials planner to finalize plans for most of the grants we might consider applying for. Perry discussed the EPF Grant for Parks, Preservation & Heritage. This grant is due in July. There is a 50% match. We discussed focusing on getting a prioritized plan so that we can logically phase the work. Karen reminded the group that the parking lot is an essential part of the plan. The group agreed to find out what grants Rhinebeck was able to secure for their park restoration a few years ago.
Linda briefly discussed her exploration of possible native plant/pollinator code requirements in an effort to establish a recommendation for the Board. She plans to connect with Zoe Evans as well.
And Barbara reminded the group that we are hoping to establish a partnership with Bard to do some sort of art display or project in the Park at some point.
The next meeting is scheduled for Mar. 16[th] at 7pm in Village Hall.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
I met with the new Red Hook Fire Company Fire Chief at his request. It was a meeting to discuss his vision for the Fire Company and how we can work together going forward. I look forward to continued meetings with him.
Jan. 5 I attend the swearing in of the 2026 County Legislators in Poughkeepsie.
Jan 9[th] I attended the ribbon cutting for the Jack Lewis Memorial Gymnasium renovation project at the Red Hook High School, followed by a boys Varsity Basketball game.
Jan. 10[th] – I attended the swearing in of County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair at the Henry Wallace Center in Hyde Park.