MILLBROOK — Tennis anyone? Not if you live in Millbrook. That’s because the tennis court located near Elm Drive Elementary School, long a favorite for people who love tennis and don’t want to travel for a game, has been in a state of disrepair. In good times, two games can be played at once, enough, it seems to keep the community happy.
The village has repaired the court a few times in recent years to keep it open and community members satisfied, but these days, the entire surface needs to be redone.
That’s why the village started a fundraising campaign a number of months ago, hoping for enough donations to meet the estimated $25,000 cost to get the court in tip-top shape.
As of this May, Village Clerk and Treasurer Sarah Witt reported that $10,824 had been raised. By the Village Board’s July meeting, Witt reported that figure had jumped up to $23,410.98.
Unfortunately, said the mayor, it looks like the price for the resurfacing the court had, too.
The work will not take place until next year, and the original cost of $25,000 may now run as high as $30,000. The village will get three quotes and pick the best one when it’s ready to take the plunge.
The Village Board said it is grateful for each and every donation from the public, but hopes that more money will trickle in as it still needs to raise more funds to fix up the court.
The tennis court is set at the back of the school property, with residences across the street set well behind Maple Avenue, so there’s a certain amount of privacy. There is no schedule per se, so players set up their own times and partners. The loose structure seems to suit most of the casual players who use it.
On an early Sunday afternoon this spring, a pair of players met for a game or two. Wesley Heilmann from Millbrook and Greg Kuhlman from Sharon, Conn., met, played and reflected a bit on where they were.
“We met here,” said Kuhlman.
That’s how many games get set up.
When asked about schedules, he said, “Afternoons can get busy, but people tend to be decent and don’t take advantage.”
Heilmann agreed, adding that it’s nice to have a court right in the community.
The court is for tennis only; skateboarding and other activities are prohibited, going back to the early 1990s, after The Tribute Garden bought the property from the Millbrook Board of Education.
There is no counter on the gate, so no one knows exactly how many people use it. It is open to all village and town residents, free of charge; no I.D. is required. Sometimes a friend from out of town is invited by a resident for a game, but mostly it is used exclusively by the immediate community.
Kuhlman also said that since COVID-19, the court seems to have gained in popularity, tennis being one of the few games where one is naturally distanced from their opponent.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
AMENIA — After gathering comments from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as it considers adding alternate members to those boards, the Town Board discussed possible changes to local laws governing those boards at its meeting on Friday, Oct. 3. The meeting date, usually on a Thursday, had been changed to accommodate a holiday.
In recent weeks Town Board attorney Ian Lindars has been compiling comments from the affected boards along with comments from the Town Board. The new laws may bring the appointment of two alternate members to each board. Alternate members are likely to be required to attend all meetings and be prepared to be seated if needed and be familiar with the applications being discussed. They would also need to take training required of all board members.
Lindars will prepare a draft of the new local laws to be reviewed by the Town Board and the affected boards.
As the Town Board begins work on the town’s annual budget negotiation process and anticipating an increase in some budget lines to accommodate major projects, the board unanimously approved three resolutions. The first will override the tax levy limit imposed on municipalities by the state of New York, a limit generally tied to the rate of inflation.
A public hearing on the proposal to override the levy limit was set for Thursday, November 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.
