A map showing the planned wastewater service are within the Village of Millerton. Shaded parcels will be receiving wastewater installation in phase one of the project.
MILLERTON — Construction on Millerton’s long-awaited wastewater system could begin in early 2027 and wrap up by the spring of 2028, according to an update delivered at the Village Board’s Sept. 9 workshop meeting.
The presentation — led by Erin Moore of Tighe & Bond, an engineering and environmental consulting firm — outlined the timeline, design, and costs of the project, which is a joint initiative with the Town of North East.
For the town, the service area will include the Boulevard, an area officials see as key to future development. For the village, the system will serve multiple parcels stretching from Main Street up to Century Boulevard and including side streets down to South Center Street.
“There has been a lot happening, and it’s really exciting,” Moore said as she detailed how the system would function, what it would cost and how it would be paid for.
The plan calls for a step-system, which uses small septic tanks and pumps to carry wastewater from individual homes and businesses to a new treatment plant on a village-owned parcel off Mill Street.
While homeowners will pay the electricity to run the pumps, which Moore describes as an “incredibly efficient system and operates infrequently,” the village will be responsible for installing and maintaining the equipment through permanent easements. An added benefit for residents, Moore noted, is that replacing traditional septic fields could free up outdoor space, potentially allowing for development on previously protected leach fields.
The total project cost is estimated at $13 million, which includes construction, engineering, contingency and legal fees.
The village’s share is about $10.8 million, with annual operations and maintenance projected at $144,000.
Funding to date includes $200,000 from a Dutchess County Municipal Investment Grant, nearly $960,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency secured through Congressman Pat Ryan, and just over $5 million from the New York Environmental Facilities Corporation.
A zero-percent interest loan through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund will cover about 30% of the remaining balance, leaving roughly $5.7 million still to be secured.
Moore said the next step is for trustees to finalize and sign the engineering contract, which will unlock the remaining EPA funding. Board members have been asked to submit final questions within the week so the contract can move forward. The NYSEFC funding also requires a short list of outstanding items before it can be closed.
Over the past two years, house-to-house investigations and individual conversations with residents have taken place, surveys have gone out, and geotechnical testing have been completed across the service area.
Moore said that once the final authorization is given — conservatively estimated by January 2026 — the design should be finished within a year, and construction within a year after that.
“We have a great team that is really excited and ready,” she said.
In addition to the existing grants, the village and town are preparing to pursue new funding opportunities. As announced at a recent Town of North East board meeting, the municipalities are in talks to apply jointly for the state’s New York Forward program, a competitive grant which offers two $4.5 million awards for small communities. Town Supervisor Chris Kennan and Village Mayor Jenn Najdek said the wastewater project would be the focus of their application, which is due next month.
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.
