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Town clerk Tilly Strauss shows off the dogs of the Town of North East at her desk in North East Town Hall on Maple Avenue in Millerton.
Photo by Krista A. Briggs
MILLERTON — A stack of letters destined for the outgoing mail sat on Marcy Wheatley’s desk at Town Hall. Wheatley, the North East deputy town clerk, said the correspondence was related to pet licensing, which has been in decline in recent years, despite being a New York State requirement.
“Renewal numbers have gone down, down, down,” observed town clerk Elizabeth “Tilly” Strauss, who is currently undertaking a dog census in North East as part of a campaign that began on Jan. 1 to determine the number of canines in town and their licensing status. Strauss is a dog-lover who is mystified by the drop in the numbers of licenses issued in the Town of North East. According to Strauss, 407 pet licenses were issued in 2017. By the following year, the number had dropped to 331. The trend downward, which has not been attributed to any particular cause, has continued, and the number of current licenses is around 200 – less than half of what was issued eight years ago.
In New York State, pet licensing is a legal requirement, but there are very practical reasons for obtaining a license. In 1992, as infected animals presented themselves in the region, Dutchess County was designated as a rabies county. As a result and for everyone’s protection, all dogs and cats must receive a rabies vaccination.
Vaccination is a requirement for licensing, and the license serves as proof of a pet’s vaccination status. Licenses must be renewed annually and rabies vaccinations must remain up-to-date. According to the New York State Department of Health, a pet should receive its first vaccination by around four months of age with a second vaccination to follow a year later. Subsequent booster shots should take place either annually or every three years, depending on the type of vaccine administered.
Once the vaccine has been administered, a license can be issued to the pet owner. Ideally, licenses are issued to owners when a pet is four months old and renewed each year. In the Town of North East, license fees are $10 for spayed and neutered animals and $20 for those that are not. Strauss is strongly encouraging pet licensing as failure to do so may result in the issuance of court appearance tickets and fines for pet owners. Additionally, the town’s dog control officer will be conducting random checks to ensure compliance.
Applications and additional information on pet licensing can be found at Town Hall in Millerton. Renewal requests can be submitted online by going to: townofnortheastny.gov, clicking on “Forms,” and navigating to the “Dog License Application.”
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Amenia Town Hall
Photo by John Coston
AMENIA — Two public hearings on whether or not to permit a cannabis dispensary to join the town’s business landscape and consideration of term limits on the Town Board were some of the topics discussed at the regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, Jan. 16. Councilmember Brad Rebillard was absent.
The first of the public hearings on the topic of a cannabis retail establishment concerned opting in to state regulations, a necessary step to reversing a 2022 local law that had opted out of those state regulations. The second of the public hearings would incorporate a new local law into the zoning code to regulate cannabis dispensaries in the town, detailing permitted locations and rules regarding operations.
Both public hearings heard residents’ concerns about the wisdom of allowing such establishments.
Councilmember Rosanna Hamm suggested continuing both public hearings to allow more public input at the next Town Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 5.
All residents who offered comment favored holding a town-wide referendum on the question of allowing a cannabis dispensary to open and operate within the town.
Citing years of experience as a member of the Town Board, resident Darlene Riemer opposed allowing a dispensary, detailing the dangers of the use of drugs particularly among young families.
“I don’t think cannabis is necessary,” she said, favoring provision of more recreational opportunities for the town’s young families.
Seeing a link between drug use and mental health issues, resident Bob Riemer strongly opposed the proposed dispensary, urging the Town Board to take a hard look at the proposal.
Resident Judy Moran also opposed the proposal, although she would favor helping those who need it for medicinal use to find more convenient, safe access.
Before the meeting ended, councilmember Paul Winters defended the cannabis dispensary proposal indicating no referendum was held on the Town Board’s 2022 opting out of the state regulations, and questioned whether a referendum should be held to opt in. He noted the town of Pine Plains has opted in to allow for dispensaries.
“Drugs will be here whether you regulate or not,” Winters said, adding, “Society is changing.”
Councilmember Hamm said she would like to hear from the voters on the matter.
Term Limits
Councilmember Winters introduced two measures to effect a change in length of terms on the Town Board suggesting that the questions be voted on at referendum.
Under one proposal, the term of service for the Town Supervisor would change from two to four years, to equal the length of term of councilmembers. Under a second proposal, councilmembers would be limited to four consecutive four-year terms, or a limit of 16 years.
Councilmember Hamm did not see a need for the limits, recalling that a 2016 ballot question proposing term limits was rejected by voters by a wide margin.
Town Supervisor Leo Blackman expressed his opinion that the idea of term limits seemed undemocratic, that voters make their determinations when they vote.
Following discussion, the board agreed to allow voters at referendum to determine whether the Town Supervisor’s term should be lengthened from two to four years. The vote was 3 to 1, with Hamm voting in the negative.
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Can you hear me now?
Jan 22, 2025
This cell tower by the Falls Village Fire Department on the side of Route 7 is disguised like a tree to better fit in among the rural, forested landscape of the Connecticut's Litchfield hills.
Photo by Caitlin Hanlon
Drivers and residents across Northeast Dutchess County, New York, and Connecticut’s Northwest Corner are well aware of the area’s spotty cell phone coverage.
“Cell phones suck,” Amenia Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Howard said. He echoed the feelings of many residents and visitors to the area who contend with dropped calls and failed text messages on a regular basis.
Spotty cell service is annoying for drivers relying on GPS for directions and it creates problems for Howard and his department. Howard said the truck’s computer-assisted routing uses the T-Mobile network. When trucks have to travel north of the traffic light in the middle of downtown Amenia, their cell service drops out and crews could lose those directions. Usually, Howard said, this isn’t a huge setback for his crew, but that’s not the only challenge emergency responders face because of spotty, slow service.
Hikers hitting the hills often travel through dead zones. The region’s rugged terrain — while scenic and inviting to hikers — hurts coverage. Hills block signals from distant towers, so if hikers have an accident in a remote area they may have trouble getting in touch with emergency services. Howard said Amenia’s rope crew will ask for coordinates, but sometimes the hiker can’t provide good information. “Then they’re hiking blind,” Howard said.
Cell phone tower construction is slow in rural areas across the United States, but several key factors contribute to subpar service in Northeast Dutchess County and the Litchfield Hills. Chief among them are the challenges presented by rugged, undeveloped land. Regions with lots of hills, few people and less power and telecommunications infrastructure are more difficult and costly to service than suburban or urban areas, according to a 2019 New York Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force report.
John Emra, AT&T’s Atlantic region president, said cell towers require power and fiber optic connections, and many rural sites don’t already have that infrastructure. Another consideration is access. Towers can’t be too remote, otherwise emergency repairs are too difficult. However, they can’t be too close to large groups of people. Often, service roads have to be built to sites on remote ridgelines and hilltops. All this drives up the cost of cell tower construction, and the 2019 cell coverage task force report says the higher cost disincentivizes rural investment.
That report also cites local zoning codes as a potential hurdle for construction, but Emra said regulations don’t completely halt progress. In his 24 years with AT&T, he said rural communities have become increasingly open to cell tower construction and upgrades. Building codes in Northeast Dutchess County and the Litchfield Hills still present unique challenges for cell towers. Special attention is paid to ridgelines and scenic views in the area, so tall towers on high hills are discouraged through local laws. However, cell towers constructed in valleys or on the sides of ridges are less effective, covering much smaller areas because of the hills blocking the signal.
“Even 10 years ago if you proposed a new site — particularly in Litchfield County, Connecticut — you would likely meet some fairly fierce community resistance,” Emra said. “I’ve seen the change where we now have communities asking us to build.” He said AT&T recently finished a project at a site near Stanfordville, New York, and there’s a site near Salisbury, Connecticut, which should be online by the end of the year. Additionally, AT&T has built cell antennas across Dutchess County called “small cell nodes,” which are installed on utility poles but provide coverage over shorter distances than a full-size tower.
Representatives from Verizon did not respond to requests for comment.
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