MILLBROOK — Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced on Tuesday, Jan. 11, that the much-loved Millbrook Library will be receiving an infrastructure grant to the tune of $200,000.
It was welcome news to Millbrook Library Director Courtney Tshalis and her library staff, as it will be used the make the library more comfortable for patrons as well as its workers.
“We are absolutely thrilled to receive this funding and want to thank Legislator Deirdre Houston (R-25) and all those in the Dutchess County Legislature who supported this grant, as well as Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro for recognizing the critical need for funding for infrastructure projects,” said Tshalis. “This funding will help make our building more sustainable and accessible.”
Houston, whose district covers parts of the Harlem Valley including the village of Millbrook, was recently re-elected to her third term.
“More than ever, many Dutchess County residents need the vital services these important organizations provide,” she said. “I’m proud of the County’s Agency Partner Grant [APG] Infrastructure Program, as well as my legislative colleagues’ support, which made it possible, enabling these nonprofits to deliver these critical programs.”
Tshalis said the money would be used to help the library replace its “aging heating and cooling system with an electrical system that is more energy-efficient.”
She added, “Our HVAC system does pretty well during the winter, but cannot handle summer heat and humidity — in some parts of the building it can reach 80 degrees during the summer. It’s uncomfortable for both patrons and staff.”
Molinaro announced last week’s award in this first round of grants; $904,500 will be divided among six different projects to be doled out by the county for important infrastructure projects.
The grant was supported by the 2022 Dutchess County APG infrastructure program. APGs are awarded to local nonprofit agencies to use for capital and operate infrastructure initiatives, which the county said are “vital to cover service gaps and other needs.”
In December 2021, the Dutchess County Legislature allocated $3 million in the county budget for the APG program. The county plans to announce additional grants in the near future.
The Millbrook Library also received funds from Dutchess Invests, the Learn, Play, Create grant program in June of 2021, also allocated by Molinaro.
In that instance, $50,000 was used to update the library's children’s space with new furniture, technology and books.
The Learn, Play, Create grant was part of a $3 million one-time grant for local nonprofit groups in Dutchess to help lessen the burden of organizations struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Molinaro’s office stressed that the importance of local libraries cannot be overstated. Along with books and other reading materials, the county executive reminded his constituents that libraries have much to offer their communities.
The Millbrook Library provides access to computers, CDs, DVDs and games, space for groups to meet such as the Historical Society and also offers The Gallery, where art exhibits are held. The Millbrook Arts Group (MAG) often presents concerts at the library, which is also home to the annual Millbrook Literary Festival, usually held in May during non-COVID times.
Tshalis and her staff have maintained numerous programs and offered many services during the past two years, despite hardships created by the pandemic and working with various restrictions placed on them by the state and health departments due to the health crisis.
Often times, the library has had to close to the public, but for the most part is has been able to function and remain open, at least virtually or with some restrictions in place.
Current programs are still being offered, though at the moment all programs are only available online; materials needed for specific programs may be picked up at the library.
To learn more about the Millbrook Library, located at 3 Friendly Lane, to see its current schedule of events or to register for an activity, go to www.millbrooklibrary.org or call 845-677-2099.
The North East Town Hall building, where town officials will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m., on proposed zoning code amendments
MILLERTON — The zoning code changes that will be the focus of a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 8, represent a major overhaul of the code since it was adopted in the 1970s, placing a strong focus on promoting housing options in the town’s commercial district.
The hearing is scheduled for Jan.8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall and the draft of the amendments can be found online at townofnortheastny.gov/zoning-review-committee/ or in person at Town Hall or at the NorthEast-Millerton Library.
Zoning regulations, which date to the early 20th century, govern how residents and businesses can use their homes and buildings, and their land. Town officials say their goal in modernizing the code aims to support local business and create new housing options.
While there have been some updates over the years to address specific issues, the changes before the public this time are an ambitious attempt to align with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted six years ago.
In this first go-round, the focus is on the town’s commercial districts, such as the so-called Boulevard District that runs along Route 44 to the Connecticut border. Residential and land conservation districts have been included to varying degrees in this proposed update, but largely are to be considered in a second phase of zoning review that soon will be initiated.
A housing focus
The 2019 Comprehensive Plan sought “to promote a variety of housing alternatives” and update zoning laws to allow for higher density development in the Town and Village, noting that fewer than one in five housing types were multi-family dwellings and most of them offered fewer than four units.
The predominant single-family housing stock in the Town and Village dated to the mid-twentieth century; 37% of the housing in the Town and 80% of the housing in the Village was built before 1950.“
This is a sea change but it depends on getting sewers in the Boulevard District,” said Edith Greenwood, who headed the six-member volunteer Zoning Review Committee that worked on all the amendments over years. The committee engaged professional consultants with a goal to make the town’s code more accessible, and streamline approval processes, as well as update language and definitions.
The zoning overhaul, however, addresses more than just housing. The revised code is laid out in extensive detail, and its comprehensive approach requires many pages of documentation — 181 pages to be exact. However, many provisions, regulations and procedures remain unchanged even though they are included in the complete document up for review at the Jan. 8 hearing. Here are some of the changes proposed in the new code:
Multifamily dwellings
Existing code doesn’t contain a section about multifamily dwellings, but the amended code applies standards.
“Multifamily dwellings may be located on upper floors of commercial buildings and/or within standalone buildings,” the amendment provides. “No less than three (3) and no more than twelve (12) individual dwelling units shall be contained in a single building,” according to the draft regulation. Floor areas are defined to conform to New York State codes.
Rental apartments above commercial space
This so-called mixed-use development allows for rental apartments above commercial spaces.
“The intent is to permit mixed use development under carefully regulated conditions to facilitate reinvestment in and the renovation of existing commercial buildings, as well as encourage the development of new mixed-use facilities, resulting in positive economic impacts to those properties and the town at large, while imposing minimal burden on town services and municipal infrastructure,” the draft proposal states.
Adding Affordable Housing standards
The current code is amended to include general standards for affordable housing units, including specifics related to the cost and ownership of such units, among others. Such housing provides homes priced below market rate allowing for housing opportunities to low- to moderate-income families with eligibility based on income.
Proposed affordable housing regulations in North East will limit the cost of affordable rental housing to 30% of 60% of the area median income for Dutchess County. The regulations will limit the cost of so-called “ownership” units to 30% of 80% of the county’s area median income.
Affordable housing regulations provide a benefit to developers, allowing additional commercial space on second and third stories in exchange for placing affordable housing units in the remaining floor area above a commercial space. Commercial buildings are allowed to host additional commercial uses on second and third floors as long as it does not exceed 50% of the floor area of those stories. All remaining floor space must be dedicated to affordable housing.
Accessory Apartment section becomes Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)
A section of the current code refers to ‘Accessory Apartments’ but that category is amended to regulate ‘Accessory Dwelling Units,’ which is the current terminology. “An ADU shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal one-family dwelling use and shall not change the one-family residential character of the neighborhood,” the amended code reads.
'Everything but the kitchen sink'
The amended zoning regulations also seek to regulate a wide variety of businesses and activities.
Mobile food vendors will need permits to operate. Electric vehicle charging stations, which didn’t exist in the 1970s, will come under the regulations, including charging stations at residences. Outdoor vehicle storage will have requirements spelled out as well as outdoor dining at restaurants.
EV charging stations are allowed at all residences, but regulations require a zoning permit. Residential chargers are allowed inside garages, on an exterior wall or as a freestanding structure adjacent to a driveway. Chargers are also permitted in parking lots for commercial buildings, subject to site plan approval by the North East Planning Board. Parking regulations get extensive coverage in the amended regulations.
They also include amended regulations for roadside farm stands, cell towers and self-storage warehousing, among many others.
The amended regulations call for the creation of a zoning enforcement officer to receive, review applications for a zoning permit, sign permit and certificate of use, among other duties that include inspections to ensure compliance. The town currently contracts a zoning officer, whose services are shared with the Village and with other municipalities.
The amendments update design standards and site-plan expectations for off-street parking, signage, landscaping and exterior lighting, a category that takes up several pages and even includes illustrations. Motel provisions are deleted and replaced with hotel requirements, and include a requirement prohibiting “the establishment of a tenant/landlord relationship or legal residence by any such occupant.”
A section on cannabis regulates the location and operation of retail cannabis dispensaries “to ensure any such use will be in harmony with and will not have a detrimental effect upon the surrounding area and, that both the location and operation are protective of public health and welfare and preserve quality of life.”Cannabis dispensaries will be permitted within the town as long as they are at least 200 feet “from a private or public school, park, playground, library, adult or child day care, or a place of worship.”
Consumption of cannabis on the premises of a dispensary is prohibited, and an onlooker outside the building must be unable to see or smell the products inside. Regulations also require a detailed operational plan as part of the site plan approval process that would contain information about hours of operation, loitering mitigation, lighting and signage among other details of the business.
Public workshops that have been held with the Town Board to review the proposed changes have for the most part been sparsely attended by the public, as they dragged out for hours while board members quizzed the planning experts as well as the town attorney, Warren Replansky, about detail on any number of zoning matters and how North East’s requirements would align with those of New York State and Dutchess County. The amended zoning regulations have been reviewed by the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.
Supervisor Kris Kennan said additional public hearings will be scheduled as necessary. In August, Kennan remarked that the adoption of the updated zoning code amendments could stand as the most significant accomplishment of the current board.
The Town of North East’s Boulevard District — a stretch of Route 44 between Millerton and the New York State border — is the town’s largest commercial zone. The proposed zoning rewrite would allow mixed-use buildings with residential apartments above ground-floor retail.
MILLERTON — The zoning code changes that will be the focus of a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 8, represent a major overhaul of the code since it was adopted in the 1970s, placing a strong focus on promoting housing options in the town’s commercial district.
The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall and the draft of the amendments can be found online at townofnortheastny.gov/zoning-review-committee/ or in person at Town Hall or at the NorthEast-Millerton Library.
Zoning regulations, which date to the early 20th century, govern how residents and businesses can use their homes and buildings, and their land. Town officials say their goal in modernizing the code aims to support local business and create new housing options.
While there have been some updates over the years to address specific issues, the changes before the public this time are an ambitious attempt to align with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted six years ago. In this first go-round, the focus is on the town’s commercial districts, such as the so-called Boulevard District that runs along Route 44 to the Connecticut border.
Residential and land conservation districts have been included to varying degrees in this proposed update, but largely are to be considered in a second phase of zoning review that soon will be initiated.
The 2019 Comprehensive Plan sought “to promote a variety of housing alternatives” and update zoning laws to allow for higher density development in the Town and Village, noting that fewer than one in five housing types were multi-family dwellings and most of them offered fewer than four units.
The predominant single-family housing stock in the Town and Village dated to the mid-twentieth century; 37% of the housing in the Town and 80% of the housing in the Village was built before 1950.
“This is a sea change but it depends on getting sewers in the Boulevard District,” said Edith Greenwood, who headed the six-member volunteer Zoning Review Committee that worked on all the amendments over years. The committee engaged professional consultants with a goal to make the town’s code more accessible, and streamline approval processes, as well as update language and definitions.
The zoning overhaul, however, addresses more than just housing. The revised code is laid out in extensive detail, and its comprehensive approach requires many pages of documentation — 181 pages to be exact. However, many provisions, regulations and procedures remain unchanged even though they are included in the complete document up for review at the Jan. 8 hearing.
Here are some of the changes proposed in the new code:
Existing code doesn’t contain a section about multifamily dwellings, but the amended code applies standards.
“Multifamily dwellings may be located on upper floors of commercial buildings and/or within standalone buildings,” the amendment provides. “No less than three (3) and no more than twelve (12) individual dwelling units shall be contained in a single building,” according to the draft regulation.
Floor areas are defined to conform to New York State codes.
This so-called mixed-use development allows for rental apartments above commercial spaces.
“The intent is to permit mixed use development under carefully regulated conditions to facilitate reinvestment in and the renovation of existing commercial buildings, as well as encourage the development of new mixed-use facilities, resulting in positive economic impacts to those properties and the town at large, while imposing minimal burden on town services and municipal infrastructure,” the draft proposal states.
The current code is amended to include general standards for affordable housing units, including specifics related to the cost and ownership of such units, among others. Such housing provides homes priced below market rate allowing for housing opportunities to low- to moderate-income families with eligibility based on income.
Proposed affordable housing regulations in North East will limit the cost of affordable rental housing to 30% of 60% of the area median income for Dutchess County.
The regulations will limit the cost of so-called “ownership” units to 30% of 80% of the county’s area median income.
Affordable housing regulations provide a benefit to developers, allowing additional commercial space on second and third stories in exchange for placing affordable housing units in the remaining floor area above a commercial space.
Commercial buildings are allowed to host additional commercial uses on second and third floors as long as it does not exceed 50% of the floor area of those stories. All remaining floor space must be dedicated to affordable housing.
A section of the current code refers to ‘Accessory Apartments’ but that category is amended to regulate ‘Accessory Dwelling Units,’ which is the current terminology. “An ADU shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal one-family dwelling use and shall not change the one-family residential character of the neighborhood,” the amended code reads.
The amended zoning regulations also seek to regulate a wide variety of businesses and activities.
Mobile food vendors will need permits to operate. Electric vehicle charging stations, which didn’t exist in the 1970s, will come under the regulations, including charging stations at residences. Outdoor vehicle storage will have requirements spelled out as well as outdoor dining at restaurants.
EV charging stations are allowed at all residences, but regulations require a zoning permit. Residential chargers are allowed inside garages, on an exterior wall or as a freestanding structure adjacent to a driveway.
Chargers are also permitted in parking lots for commercial buildings, subject to site plan approval by the North East Planning Board.
Parking regulations get extensive coverage in the amended regulations. They also include amended regulations for roadside farm stands, cell towers and self-storage warehousing, among many others.
The amended regulations call for the creation of a zoning enforcement officer to receive, review applications for a zoning permit, sign permit and certificate of use, among other duties that include inspections to ensure compliance. The town currently contracts a zoning officer, whose services are shared with the Village and with other municipalities.
The amendments update design standards and site-plan expectations for off-street parking, signage, landscaping and exterior lighting, a category that takes up several pages and even includes illustrations.
Motel provisions are deleted and replaced with hotel requirements, and include a requirement prohibiting “the establishment of a tenant/landlord relationship or legal residence by any such occupant.”
A section on cannabis regulates the location and operation of retail cannabis dispensaries “to ensure any such use will be in harmony with and will not have a detrimental effect upon the surrounding area and, that both the location and operation are protective of public health and welfare and preserve quality of life.”
Cannabis dispensaries will be permitted within the town as long as they are at least 200 feet “from a private or public school, park, playground, library, adult or child day care, or a place of worship.”
Consumption of cannabis on the premises of a dispensary is prohibited, and an onlooker outside the building must be unable to see or smell the products inside. Regulations also require a detailed operational plan as part of the site plan approval process that would contain information about hours of operation, loitering mitigation, lighting and signage among other details of the business.
Public workshops that have been held with the Town Board to review the proposed changes have for the most part been sparsely attended by the public, as they dragged out for hours while board members quizzed the planning experts as well as the town attorney, Warren Replansky, about detail on any number of zoning matters and how North East’s requirements would align with those of New York State and Dutchess County. The amended zoning regulations have been reviewed by the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.
Supervisor Kris Kennan said additional public hearings will be scheduled as necessary. In August, Kennan remarked that the adoption of the updated zoning code amendments could stand as the most significant accomplishment of the current board.
This month, the village Zoning Board of Appeals met to begin laying groundwork for an update to its zoning code — a process officials say is necessary to replace regulations they repeatedly describe as “outdated.”
Max Amsterdam reaches out to pet a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Millbrook School’s campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam is a senior at Millbrook School and serves as the zoo’s head student curator.
MILLBROOK — The Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo announced this month that it has received a $5 million donation — the largest in the organization’s history and made anonymously — that will primarily fund a state-of-the-art animal hospital, a key feature of the zoo’s current master plan for expansion. The zoo, which is located at the Millbrook School, currently houses 180 exotic animals from all over the world.
“It’s very exciting,” said Nancy Stahl, who oversees fundraising for the zoo. “This gift is going to enhance everything we already do and enable us to increase opportunities for science, our community and support the well-being of our animals.”
Stahl said the zoo has been engaged in a long-range master planning process for several years as part of preparing for its next Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation review in 2027. “We knew we had to make a plan and look toward the future,” Stahl said. “We had to think about what more we could be doing for the animals, for students and for the community.”
Construction is nearing completion on a new animal holding barn, the first step toward housing off-exhibit animals. Funded by philanthropist Barbara Tober — whom Stahl described as the project’s “catalyst” — the facility is required under AZA accreditation standards. The holding barn will serve as a first stop for new animals required to quarantine before entering an exhibit. It will also safely house animals when enclosures are being repaired or when they need rehabilitation.
The new animal hospital, which zoo staff are referring to as an animal wellness center, is poised to be four times larger than the existing space. Stahl said the team is looking forward to dramatically expanding the zoo’s ability to treat animals on campus, eliminating the need to transport them off-site for procedures like X-rays or ultrasounds.
Max Amsterdam feeds a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on the Millbrook School campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam said he became interested in the school's zoo in his freshman year when he watched an older student perform a biopsy on a wolf that had passed away at the zoo.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said a primary goal of the master plan and the animal wellness center is to “bring the outside in.” The public will be allowed to watch certain procedures and operations to learn more about the veterinary work that goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to the zoo’s around-the-clock staff, rotating veterinarians visit the zoo each week to check on the animals and perform routine procedures. The current space is limited, and zoo staff are eager to have an expanded footprint.
“Right now we’re very limited space-wise,” Stahl said. “This new facility will let us have more space, more vets and more learning happening.”
Max Amsterdam has lived at the Millbrook School as a boarding student for four years and has held a working role at the zoo throughout that time. Today, in his senior year, he serves as the zoo’s head student curator — a coveted leadership role that requires a formal application and selection process.
When Amsterdam first applied to Millbrook School, the zoo was not front-of-mind. Although he wanted to become a veterinarian as a young child, the desire dissipated until he set foot in the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo as a freshman.
“I watched a senior perform a biopsy on a red wolf that had passed away from a uterine tumor,” Amsterdam said. “I didn’t even know that students could do that. I realized right then how incredible this place was and the zoo became my thing.”
Over his four years at Millbrook, Amsterdam has assisted veterinarians, shadowed medical procedures, conducted necropsies and even traveled with staff to national AZA conferences. “As you grow, you gain a relationship with the staff and vets, and when they know you can handle it, they let you do more,” he said.
With graduation on the horizon and plans to study biology at Bucknell, Amsterdam admits he’s a little jealous of the future students that will benefit from the new zoo facilities.
At the end of the day, he is grateful for the hands-on experience he has received in his leadership roles at the zoo. Millbrook School is the only high school in the country with an AZA-accredited zoo on its campus.
“I’m jealous, but I’m also so grateful that the zoo got that donation because it’s needed,” Amsterdam smiled. “We deserve it, too. It’s a lot of hard work by the staff and students — it’s 200% effort seven days a week, and not many people see that.”
AMENIA — Residents can now take advantage of a local recycling program that offers convenient home pickup for textiles and other household items. The program, approved by Dutchess County, was outlined by Town Board member and Town Supervisor-elect Rosanna Hamm.
The service, operated by Helpsy, accepts unwanted clothing, footwear, textiles, accessories and linens, along with items such as luggage and stuffed animals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 17% of recyclable textiles are currently reclaimed, with the rest ending up in landfills or municipal incinerators.
By providing free home pickup, the program is expected to reduce disposal tonnage and tipping fees, saving the town money while also conserving resources and saving residents time.
Items should be placed in plastic bags on front steps for pickup on collection day. All items must be clean, dry and odor-free.
Accepted items include all types of footwear — from slippers and sneakers to dress shoes, boots and cleats — as well as clothing such as outerwear, tops, dresses, pajamas, underwear and baby clothes. Accessories include hats, purses, bathrobes and jewelry. Linens include bed linens, curtains, drapes, table linens, quilts, blankets and comforters. Miscellaneous items such as luggage, sports jerseys and stuffed animals are also accepted.
Founded in 2017, Helpsy now operates in 10 states, managing more than 1,200 collection points and providing home pickup for millions of residents. The organization has diverted more than 75,000 tons of textiles from the waste stream, saving municipalities millions of dollars in disposal costs while generating funding for charitable organizations and thrift stores.
For residents who would prefer to deliver items to a drop-off bin, the closest bin is in Wingdale at Drop and Lock, 1371 Route 22. For more information, go to www.helpsy.com/ameniany or phone (800) 244-6350.
