
Pat Ryan
Photo submitted
Pat Ryan
HUDSON VALLEY — On Tuesday, Aug. 23, voters will decide between Democratic Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and Republican Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro in a Special Election for the 19th Congressional District (CD).
Political shifting
The political colleagues turned rivals are battling to see who will fill the remaining four months of former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado’s second two-year term. Delgado resigned from Congress after Governor Kathy Hochul appointed him lieutenant governor on May 3 to replace his disgraced predecessor, Brian Benjamin.
The Special Election will be the last time District 19 will be defined as it is now. Come 2023, District 19 will no longer include Dutchess County; District 18 will instead include Dutchess County. Ryan plans to run for CD 18 in the new configuration; Molinaro announced he’ll remain in CD 19.
One name, two ballots
Ryan will therefore be on both the ballot for the CD 19 Special Election, open to all voters, and on the ballot for the 2022 Democratic Primary for CD 18, which is only open to registered Democrats.
Motivation to run
The determined politician spoke with The Millerton News on Wednesday, Aug. 10, about why he wants to serve in Congress.
“We’re at a place in our country where our entire democratic system is under threat,” said the West Point graduate and former Army intelligence officer. “The fundamental freedoms I risked my life for serving in [Iraq] and many have given their life for [are being] ripped away.”
Ryan said he could not sit idly by and watch individual liberties be assailed. He added the issues facing Congress are too important to let politics preside over policy.
“Number one, the right to a safe abortion, to reproductive health care, to see the Supreme Court take that away,” he said, “and to see the Supreme Court allow more weapons and guns on our streets… to see the Jan. 6 hearings and what happened there. To have people see our entire democracy under threat — that’s why I am running. I want to make sure we preserve our democracy and strengthen it.”
The Ulster County native, born and raised in Kingston and now living in Gardiner with his wife and two children, said he thinks most voters agree with him.
“When government tries to take away fundamental rights… when certain lines are crossed, Americans won’t stand for it,” said Ryan, who has served three of the four years in his first term as county executive.
While Ryan addressed larger, existential issues, including his belief “democracy is at stake,” as “we’ve seen the literal storming of our Capitol and a coup” attempted on Jan. 6, he also addressed the need to provide “tangible” help to people. He said he’s assisted people while county executive and can do so as congressman.
Ryan said he wants to prioritize “on a major reinvestment in mental health and recovery, which we’ve done a lot of in Ulster County; we should address the housing crisis and build more housing for seniors and veterans; we should make major investments in infrastructure.”
Funding local projects
He paused to focus specifically on the enormous investment the federal government has made in infrastructure.
“We have the biggest infrastructure bill passed since the Eisenhower Administration in the Biden Administration,” said Ryan, referencing the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $1.2 trillion of funding. “In local government, we understand how important municipal water and sewer are, and that they can hold back so many of our communities…”
He said Ulster County used American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to develop local wastewater systems; promote economic development and affordable housing; and repair roads and sidewalks — the very issues Harlem Valley communities are grappling with right now.
“Actions speak louder than words, and in Ulster County we’ve taken federal rescue funds and set up a $5 million program to give direct funding for water and sewer projects to all towns… where we know resources are needed,” said Ryan. “[With] that $5 million, we ended up unlocking 10- to 20-times that in federal and state matching funds.”
Automatic advantage
He said that experience will aid him in Congress.
“Being the Ulster County executive, I understand local county government and the tangible benefits,” he said. “What I have to do to tie the thread between local and national is to rebuild the trust that government can deliver, that government can have integrity and build on that momentum.”
Like Molinaro, Ryan said mental health is a key issue.
“One of the biggest areas across the district that is woefully in need of investing in is mental health,” he said. “We must prioritize more funding.”
Ryan gave a nod to Dutchess County’s mental healthcare model but stopped short of calling it trendsetting.
He said the “federal government needs significantly more investment in mental health,” adding the burden “shouldn’t be on local government.”
He put part of the blame on low reimbursement rates from the federal government.
Mickey Stringer of of North East, left, checks in with Chris Virtuoso, volunteering on Saturday, May 12 at the Old Town Garage on South Center Street as a Climate Smart Task Force member. Stringer’s loaded pickup was part of a long line of vehicles along South Center as residents used the opportunity to dispose of air conditioners, mattresses, lumber, and other bulk items. Town Supervisor Christopher Kennan said he didn’t recall seeing such a long line of vehicles in past years.
Elm Drive Elementary School in Millbrook.
MILLBROOK — Preparing for the village-wide vote on the proposed 2025-26 school budget scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, the Millbrook Central School District held a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6, to review the budget and hear residents’ comments.
The CSD proposed 2025-26 budget to be voted upon as Proposition 1, showed total expenditures of $35,649,651, an increase of $1,074,576 (3.11%) over the current year.
“We’re trying to trim as much as we can,” said Elliott Garcia, Assistant Superintendent for Business, during his budget summary.
Two additional propositions are included on the ballot, both anticipating a bond issue to fund repairs, renovations and improvements to school buildings.
Proposition 2 would bring repair to the Middle and High School buildings, with more work at the middle school estimated to cost $37,381,383. Work would include HVAC, electrical, window replacement, roof and ceiling repair, elevator service and doorway improvements.
The high school work would include HVAC at a total estimated cost of $1,883,099.
The total amount would, however, be reduced by $12 million in currently available funding, so that a bond issue would be needed to cover a total of $27,264,482, to be repaid over a number of years. Taxpayers would need to pay the annual interest on the bonds during the life of the bonds.
Separate funding of energy efficiency improvements at the middle school and high school would carry at total estimated cost of $3 million that would also need to be bond-financed, but that funding would return to the school budget in the form of energy cost savings.
Proposition 3 would bring HVAC, electrical and window replacement at the elementary schools at an estimated cost of $21,779,259, also to be financed by bond issue.
Students from the Middle School Student Council presented a report on a recent survey they conducted and analyzed. Their report was titled, “Repair Our School.”
For their building conditions study, the nine students conducted an in-school survey of students, teachers and staff, receiving 228 responses.
Interpreting the responses as percentages, the students reported that 90% indicated that the middle school does not look as good as it could; more than 80% said they were concerned about the state of the building; 67% had classes interrupted by roof leaks; 75% said it was difficult to learn because of the roof leaks; and 94% said that if the school were their home, they would not stay.
“Our student government never stops working,” said Principal Steven Cabello, adding that the students’ efforts have been invigorating.
School superintendent Caroline Hernandez-Pidala praised the students’ project, the time and care invested in their survey study and their reporting of the results.
“I’m super impressed,” Hernandez-Pidala told the students.
The May 20 polling location is at the Middle School, in the Band room adjacent to the auditorium. Polls will be open between noon and 9 p.m.
The proposed budget, details of the propositions and a copy of the ballot are posted on the CSD website at www.millbrookcsd.org.
Voters in two other school districts will decide on higher spending plans for the coming school year on Tuesday, May 20.
Webutuck Central School District and Pine Plains Central School District propose higher K-12 budgets for the 2025-2026 school year.
The proposed budget for Webutuck, with an enrollment of 637 students from K-12, shows a 5.96% increase from the previous year to $28,665,850. Pine Plains proposes spending $38,712,336, an increase of 2.71%.
Ray Nelson, Earthwise Architecture, requested two variances for 7-9 Main St., one to allow a 9-unit floorplan and another to waive the parking requirements for the building, at a public hearing held by the village Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, May 6.
MILLERTON — Ray Nelson of Millerton presented two possible updated floorplans for the apartment building at 7-9 Main St. to the Zoning Board of Appeals at a public hearing on Tuesday, May 6.
Nelson, on behalf of the building’s owner, is seeking two variances for the property: one allowing a density increase and another waiving the parking requirements for the property.
Village code requires at least 5,000 square feet of lot space per unit for multi-unit properties and 1.5 parking spaces per unit.
The building was configured with 12 units under previous ownership, a non-conforming use.
Nelson submitted a 9-unit plan and a 6-unit plan. He argues the 9-unit plan, which would house one fewer total bedroom than the 6-unit layout, would not require additional parking because the smaller units attract tenants that use fewer parking spaces — young couples, single people and very small families.
“There’s a need for apartments that are in the village,” Nelson said.
The submitted 9-unit floorplan is a reduction from a previously declined 12-unit plan that sought to maintain the current number of units in the property.
Zoning board members concluded the public hearing after brief discussion with the three Millerton residents that attended the meeting.
Zoning board members could not reach a final decision on the variances that night, citing required further deliberation, but they indicated a positive attitude to Nelson’s new plans.
Ralph Fedele with Mary Leitch, 103, who attended the one-room Irondale Schoolhouse until it closed and she moved on to Millerton High School.
MILLERTON — The Irondale Schoolhouse will celebrate its opening day on Saturday, May 24, when it will ring in its eleventh summer season with the old school bell.
Lemonade and cookies will be provided for visitors. A history exhibit is on display inside the schoolhouse and there will be a formal unveiling of a plaque commemorating membership in the Country Schools of America, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the memory of country schools.
The Irondale Schoolhouse is an 1850s one-room schoolhouse that served the Irondale community until 1930. It was moved in 2013 to Millerton to serve as a public information and visitor center managed by the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse.
The Schoolhouse will be open throughout the summer on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A team of docents will be on hand during these times to share knowledge and stories of early rural education At irondaleschool.org a short video shows how the Schoolhouse was rescued from destruction, carefully restored, and moved to its present location.
Over the years, under the leadership of Ralph Fedele, the Irondale Schoolhouse Board has worked to maintain the building, staff the docent team, and host special children’s events.
It also has raised for annual local school scholarships. This year, $2,000 awards will be given out to each of two winning applicants.
Some of this year’s activities include:
— Wednesday, May 14, and Thursday, May 15: Webutuck School Students field trip — “A Day in the Life of a One-Room School”
— Sunday, June 8: National Children’s Day/Ice-Cream Social & Hoola-Hoop Competition
Board members of the Friends of the Irondale Schools House are: Catherine Fenn, President; Claire Goodman, Vice President; Dick Hermans, Treasurer; Shannon Olsen, Secretary; Ralph Fedele, President Ex Officio, Docent; Rob Cooper, Maintenance; John Brunese, Scholarship Program; John Hicks, Docent; Lisa Cope, Communications & Events; Alicia Sartori, Communications; Stone Scasso, Maintenance.