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AMENIA — For the first time since 2015, the Millbrook Library is seeking voter approval to increase library funding within the town’s annual budget for FY 2025.
That will appear on ballots in the upcoming November election.
This year’s request is only the third time in the library’s history that the Library Board has asked for voter support, said board member Albert Yoon, during an information session at the library on Friday, Sept. 27. An earlier session had been offered on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The library is asking for an increase of $165,000 from the current funding level of $184,000 to a new total of $349,000, Yoon said.
To reach as many voters as possible before the Nov. 5 election day, library board members have planned a number of appearances around the village to explain the need and answer questions. Postcards have been sent through the efforts of the Friends of the Library. Residents may also visit the Library display at the Farmers’ Market or speak to any board member.
“Getting the word out,” is a prime focus of the effort, Yoon said.
“At the Millbrook Library, we work to keep our community at the heart of everything we do. Increased reliable funding would help ensure our library continues to serve as a cornerstone of the community for generations to come,” said library director Courtney Tsahalis.
Looking to a regional comparison, Tsahalis indicated that at least five libraries are seeking a funding increase in Dutchess County this year. The Millbrook Library provides library services for the Town of Washington as well as the Village of Millbrook.
During the nine years that have passed since the last increase, Yoon explained, costs have risen, including increased staff and higher pay (including significant rise in minimum wage), increased use of the library by patrons, more programs being offered, including after-school and those for adults, utility costs and operating expenses for the historic 15,000 square foot building.
“We want to rely less on donations,” Yoon explained. Although the history of donations has been generous, Yoon said, donation totals fluctuate. This year, donations cover 12.3% of the budget. Yoon said that the library would prefer to see donations be project-oriented, rather than to be counted upon for day-to-day operations.
“We are doing what the community is asking us to do,” Yoon said, reviewing the expansion of services to include technology and growing digital circulation.
To place the requested increase in perspective, Yoon estimated that for a home assessed at $250,000, the taxpayer would pay a total of $73.99 annually for library services, an increase of $34.98, if the proposition passes.
For more information about the budget request, go to www.millbrooklibrary.org.
MILLERTON —The Town of North East’s EMS provider, Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP), proposed a new contract with a 70% pricing increase for next year.
The five-year contract with NDP is coming to an end within the next couple of months. NDP has increased its payments by two percent each year it has worked in the town, making this new increase significantly higher than usual.
NDP shared its contract with the Towns of North East, Amenia and Dover. Under the contract, an ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulance must be stationed in each of the three towns.
“Towns with much larger populations require less municipal funding because their EMS providers have more calls and there is more revenue for the provider from insurance and user fees,” Chris Kennan said in an email. “With its population of around 3000 people, the Town of North East has less than one call per day for ambulance service, which makes it very expensive for us and a big piece of the Town’s annual budget.”
A possible 70% increase in service pricing would impose expenses on residents, Kennan said, increasing property taxes at an “unacceptable” rate. According to Kennan, every municipality in Dutchess County is dealing with similar EMS problems. This calendar year the Town is spending $376,858 on EMS services, which is about 10.5% of the Town’s budget. NDP has requested $646,300 for their services next year, creating a 71.5% increase in fees.
“I do also want to express my appreciation to NDP for the service they have provided over the past five years,” Kennan said, “It is a tough business, and the relatively low wages that emergency medical technicians (EMTs) can earn, coupled with the many long hours they spend just waiting for a call, make attracting people to the business a challenge.”
The Town of North East is still looking into negotiating a new contract with another EMS provider and has one guideline they are standing by: they will not leave the town without an ambulance service.
“I am also looking at ways in which the service could be reconfigured in order to make these exorbitant costs somewhat more manageable,” Kennan said. “Lastly, and very important, the Town Board and I will be looking at all the various options we can find to reduce this cost. However, at the end of the day, we cannot do without EMS services completely.”
Humans welcome too at ‘Dogs Only Hike’
Hikers of all shapes, sizes and species gather atop Cherry Hill to enjoy the morning sunshine.
Rusty maple leaves shook overhead in a light morning breeze as hikers both human and dog mingled at the edge of a large field. Residents and their canine companions congregated the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Hart Farm Preserve for the Cornwall Conservation Trust’s (CCT) “Dogs Only Hike,” and pleasant chit-chat filled the air, interrupted by the occasional bark or whine.
Previously, the CCT’s guided walks did not allow dogs to join due to logistical and safety concerns such as trip hazards from leashes and excitable pets, CCT board member Katherine Freygang explained. She organized this outing so that residents could finally enjoy a guided walk on CCT managed land without leaving their furry friends at home.
Before the group embarked on the short walk, Phil Hart, whose family owned the land before it was purchased by the CCT in 2003, gave a brief overview of the layout of the property and various hiking opportunities either directly within the preserve or immediately adjacent. “There’s so much the Trust can do with this,” he said, alluding the many possible uses for the property, which is composed of fields and woodland.
The group set off down the field’s edge and descended into a meadow brimming with milkweed for monarch butterfly habitat. The trail then passed into a woodland, where people happily ambled along as dogs flitted back and forth among the group. At one point, Freygang stopped to clear a spiky branch of invasive multiflora rose from the path, then shortly after identified a growth of bittersweet, which she explained is also invasive.
Freygang noted that while she usually organizes guided walks around a theme or focus, she felt this specific outing called for a more relaxed format. “I just decided to let this one be open and social and fun,” she said, adding that she plans to use this structure more in future hikes.
After a brief but steep uphill climb over rugged terrain, the group emerged in a spacious oak grove at the top of Cherry Hill. Humans and dogs regathered themselves into their respective family units before heading to the main viewpoint of the excursion, a picnic clearing looking south over a field toward West Cornwall’s rolling green hills, now lightly speckled with orange and red.
Here, people relaxed and chatted while dogs, some recently freed of their leashes, chased each other and rolled in the grass. The canine personalities in the group were as diverse as their owners’: golden retrievers Chester and Rufus burst with excitement and social energy, while wirehaired pointing griffon Dottie was more reserved and stayed close to her owner Todd’s side.
Not all participants brought dogs. Leslie Middlebrook of Cornwall was simply there to enjoy the morning and watch the dogs play. “I have cats,” she said. Another hiker recently had a dog pass away, and had joined for a “puppy hit,” as Freygang termed it.
The group eventually descended the hillside back to the cars, where the walkers said their goodbyes. While the group parted ways, Freygang assured that future “Dogs Only” hikes are coming – we just have to hope that humans are invited to the next one as well.
Charlie Brown comes to town
Cast members each get to shine in the production at the Sharon Playhouse, running until Sept. 29.
The Sharon Playhouse opened the final production of their main season, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” on Friday, Sept 20. The show will be open until Sept 29 and has a run time of one hour and forty minutes.
The popular “Peanuts” comic strip upon which the show is based lends an inspiration far beyond the characters and their likenesses. The vast majority of the play flows quickly from scene to scene. Most scenes are structured like a four panel comic strip and no central plot point in the show stays for more than a few minutes. These quick changes are intermingled with delightful musical numbers that cover a number of different styles in nearly every song, from opera, slow ballads, dream ballets and high energy showstoppers. Ultimately, this heavily works in the musical adventure’s favor. This snappy, ever shifting approach to the show gives the audience plenty of different vignettes to see these iconic characters interact in. There are plenty of laughs and a full range of antics to enjoy.
Every minute of the show is absolutely packed with charm, thanks in no small part to the Sharon Playhouse’s efforts by its cast and crew. The set is stylized with bright colors and sharp shadowing like a cartoon, and the iconic costumes of the “Peanuts” gang keep each cast member distinct and really make them show against the backdrop. Charlie Brown’s striped shirt finds its way into several layers of the set design as well, contributing to the angles of the set as well as some clever lighting.
The members of the six person show each have a few moments where they really get to shine, and the simple charm of the show has clearly rubbed off on them as much as it had the audience. Daniel Plimpton (Charlie Brown), Nicolas Alan Fernandez (Snoopy), Courtney Balan (Lucy), Sammy Pignalosa (Linus), Jason Williams (Schroeder) and Hayley Podschun (Sally) each bring their all to the performance and won the hearts of the opening night crowd thoroughly. Some musical standouts include “Suppertime”, “My Blanket and Me”, “T-E-A-M” and the absolutely incredible end of Act I, “The Book Report”. Despite the hall being only about half full, the laughter and applause bouncing off the walls felt like a full house.
