Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Amenia’s new garage moves toward bonding resolution

Amenia’s new garage moves toward bonding resolution

Conceptual rendering of the design for a new Amenia Town Garage calls for six bays for trucks and equipment.

LaBella Associates

AMENIA — With general agreement that the current town garage is outdated and badly deteriorated, and after years of planning for a new town garage, the Town Board at a special meeting on Monday, July 1, agreed to ask the town attorney to draft a bonding resolution to be considered at their next meeting on Thursday, July 18.

“This is something you all need to work together on,” former Town Supervisor Victoria Perotti had told the Town Board during public comment. Describing the old garage’s condition as “unsafe and unstable,” Perotti urged the Town Board to move ahead with the project, noting that the $6.3 million project would be bonded out for a 30-year term, lessening the impact for taxpayers.

When the bonding resolution came up for discussion during the meeting, Highway Superintendent Megan Chamberlin noted her 20 years of service to the town highway department in the current building.

“When it rains outside, it rains inside,” Chamberlin told the Town Board, describing current cramped conditions as “unsafe, offering no ventilation.” She added that the heating system is inadequate.

“This project is a priority,” Chamberlin said.

Following discussion, the Town Board voted unanimously to ask Town Attorney Ian Lindars to draft a bonding resolution for the project to be reviewed at the Thursday, July 18 meeting.

Reviewing the project’s financing details, Town Budget Officer Charlie Miller said the new Town Garage and Salt Shed’s budget is $6.3 million which includes a 30% contingency allowance.

Miller noted that the final long-term bond amount is estimated to be $5.7 million after applying ARPA funds and potential NYS WQIP grant for salt sheds, and a Community Development Block grant.

A taxpayer impact statement, prepared by Miller, explained the Town’s long-term bond through the Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be repaid over 30 years. The current USDA bond interest rate is 3.5%.

The annual payment amount on a $5.7 million bonded (principal and interest) would be $306,253, Miller said.

Translating those figures into impact that could be felt by individual taxpayers, Miller provided some examples.

For a home with an assessed value of $115,000, the annual property tax increase would be $27.96. If the assessed value stands at $250,000, the increase would be $60.79. And, if the home were assessed at $385,000, the increase would be $93.62.

“This garage has to get done,” commented councilmember Paul Winters and he felt that the impact amounts seemed fair, but he favored a mandatory community vote on the project.

Miller replied that he felt that the Town Board is elected by residents to serve as their representatives, agreeing with Winters’ statement that the garage “needs to happen.”

“We need to move ahead as quickly as we can. No one should be working in those conditions,” said councilmember Rosanna Hamm.

“This appears as a number one priority on the list of town goals,” said councilmember Brad Rebillard.

Leila Hawken

Latest News

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance

A family business gives old furniture a second act

A family business gives old furniture a second act

“London Sky,” a vintage settee reimagined by Pryor and Peacock with a dramatic view of the London skyline.

Provided by Pryor and Peacock

If you’ve ever seen one of those updated episodes of Antiques Roadshow, you know a lot of old furniture doesn’t hold its value the way it used to.

Gone are the days when the Keno brothers could tell you that your great-grandmother’s old chairs could pay off your mortgage. Instead, a younger market of buyers is looking for more simply designed furniture, often in the form of factory-made pieces using more affordable materials. Think Crate & Barrel or even IKEA, versus the ornate craftsmanship of yesteryear.

Keep ReadingShow less
lifestyle
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.