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Chris Wilson speaks at the Millbrook Spirit Awards on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Millbrook High School.
Photo by Luca Pearl Khosrova
MILLBROOK — The recently-formed Millbrook Listens Project recognized five community members for their contributions to the community’s social fabric at a first-ever awards ceremony at Millbrook High School's auditorium on Jan. 31.
Millbrook Listens is an effort led by Chris Wilson and a band of 20 volunteers with the goal of identifying projects that would enhance life in the village.
The inaugural Millbrook Spirit Awards is an effort to bring greater recognition and appreciation to the community’s greatest contributors, Wilson said in a speech before the awards ceremony.
“They have given their lives to something greater than their own,” Wilson said. “And shown us that we are more alike than different, and that we are here to serve and love each other.”
Wilson identified five virtues the award planning committee identified as centrally important — stewardship, charity, entrepreneurship, public service, and arts and culture.
One person was selected to win an award in each of those five categories. The award winners for the inaugural year were:
For stewardship, Matt Hurst;
For arts and culture, Stephen Kaye;
For business and entrepreneurship, Pam Smith;
For faith and charity, Pat Alexander;
And for public service, Kelly Tomasulo.
Project Idea submissions can be submitted through the Millbrook Library Website until Sunday, Feb. 15. All residents of the Town of Washington and Village of Millbrook will be receiving a mail-out ballot in March to vote on their top three priorities.
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The Village of Millerton offices on Route 22.
Photo by Aly Morrissey
MILLERTON — Village officials said this week that Millerton has no plans to install surveillance cameras or enter into any agreement with Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that provides automated license-plate readers and video surveillance systems used by police departments.
Questions about the company surfaced at the Village Board of Trustees meeting Monday, Feb. 9, after reports from nearby Pine Plains described pink spray paint and wooden stakes appearing along roadways. Flock Safety representatives placed those markings after the Pine Plains Police Department entered into a preliminary contract with the company without first securing Town Board approval, officials said at an emergency meeting at Pine Plains Town Hall on Monday, Feb. 9.
Trustees said neither the village nor the Millerton Police Department has been contacted by Dutchess County or by Flock Safety, and that no discussions are underway regarding the installation of surveillance cameras, drones or license-plate reader systems sold by the company.
Mayor Jenn Najdek said that while some municipalities and school districts elsewhere in the county are exploring the technology, Millerton is not considering it at this time.
She also noted that the police department cannot independently enter into a contract for surveillance equipment. Any agreement involving the village, Najdek said, would require approval from the Board of Trustees.
As part of the board’s regular agenda, members voted to open bidding for renovations to Veterans Park, a project expected to include improvements to sidewalks, the stone wall, electrical outlets, landscaping and hardscaping. A nonmandatory pre-bid meeting will be held Feb. 20 for contractors seeking additional details on the scope of work. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, and bids will be due March 5, with trustees aiming to select a contractor at their March 26 meeting.
Officials also provided an update on the village’s water meter replacement project, reporting that the work is nearing completion, with installations remaining at roughly 20 properties. The project is funded through a New York Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant.
Trustees also approved moving forward with a revised water rate study by engineering firm Tighe & Bond, at a cost of $10,750. Officials said earlier projections underestimated costs and relied on incomplete water-usage data. The updated study will be used to guide future water rates and is expected to be presented publicly this spring.
Trustees also addressed an issue some residents may have noticed in recent weeks: flickering pedestrian crosswalk lights near NBT Bank. Officials said repairs have been delayed because replacement parts needed to operate the system are no longer manufactured. The board voted to approve an estimate from Berlinghoff Electric to complete the necessary repairs.
The board also scheduled three public hearings for Feb. 23. In addition to a hearing on proposed improvements to Veterans Park, trustees set a hearing on a proposed local law that would establish a new Tree Commission, allowing residents to comment on the creation of the advisory body.
A third hearing scheduled for that date will address a local law authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the limit established under state law. Officials described the measure as a routine, annual step that preserves the village’s ability to exceed the tax cap if necessary. If the village ultimately does not go over the cap, the local law would be rescinded.
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AMENIA — Habitat for Humanity is planning to build a workforce housing unit in Amenia after the Town Board approved the sale of a portion of a town-owned parcel of land.
The 0.71-acre parcel is currently vacant, except for a new electric vehicle charging station currently being installed along its northern edge, where the property abuts the Harlem Valley Rail Trail parking lot located where Mechanic Street becomes Depot Hill Road.
The Town Board approved a resolution at its Thursday, Feb. 5, meeting to sell the empty half-acre portion of the parcel to Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County for $30,000.
Town Board attorney Ian Lindars noted that the sale is conditional and requires a subdivision to carve out the land occupied by the new EV charging station before the approval process can proceed.
The resolution approval is subject to a “permissive referendum,” meaning that if no citizen petitions are submitted, then the sale can proceed.
Councilmember Vicki Doyle said she was pleased that the EV charging station project is nearing completion.
“Once it’s up and running, we’ll need to have someone monitor it to be sure that no one is parking there beyond the time needed to accomplish the vehicle charging process,” Doyle said.
Doyle added that the EV charging station will be free to use for the first two years of operation.
The Town Board, joined by councilmember Walter Dietrich, also reminded residents of the annual winter street parking ban, which runs from Nov. 1 through April 1. Under town code, no parking is permitted on any roads, streets or highways between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. He also noted the one-hour parking limit for the parking spaces in front of the post office.
In other action the Town Board scheduled a public hearing for the Northern Red Oak Recreational Trail project on Old Route 22 in Wassaic. Plans for the 450-acre parcel will create 10 to 12 miles of recreational mountain biking and hiking trails. The hearing will be held on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.
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