MILLERTON — The Millerton Village Board is hoping for the highest bidder as it drafts an RFP (Request for Proposals) to place the 19th Century Old Village Hall on the auction block, so to speak. The building sits in Millerton’s Main Street Historic District, which was approved in 2010. The building also has state and federal historic designations.
According to Mayor Jenn Najdek, the board decided at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22 (held a day late due to the Presidents Day holiday), to finally sell the currently-closed Village Hall at 21 Dutchess Ave. in Millerton.
The building has not been in use since 2020, when the board said the cost to make necessary repairs didn’t make sense considering its annual $800,000 or so budget. The heating system needed work, for one, but the building also needed to be brought up to Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliance, which would have added significantly to the price tag.
The entire village staff had to vacate Village Hall two years ago as it could no longer be heated during the cold Northeast winters. The municipal offices have been relocated to both 1 John St. and 50 Main St., until finally moving to its current digs at 5933-59 North Elm Ave. (Route 22). Village Hall has been there since March of 2020 and according to Village Clerk Kelly Kilmer, who said the space is great, the lease to was just signed to remain there for at least a couple of more years.
Back in 2020, the Village Board also wanted to relocate the Millerton Police Department from the second floor to the ground floor of the Old Village Hall on Dutchess Avenue, where the Nutrition Center was formerly located.
“There were concerns from board’s perspective, if we start laying it out, upon inspection, it would come out that this is wrong and needs to be repaired, etc.,” said Najdek. “It was originally that we received that Community Development Block Grant for both the town and the village to make a joint municipal office, and make it ADA compliant. We did have an engineer look at it and a designer do so, but there were some structural issues in the basement…”
The mayor added what began as a $300,000 project soon grew into a $350,000 project. The board was concerned those costs would continue to grow, with no signs of stopping.
“The costs of really bringing the building back to life were pretty high,” she said. “And in years’ past and in conversations with the town we thought down road it would be great for the two of us to have a joint municipal facility. But this building certainly would not have served that purpose…”
Of course, the Village Board considered other options to save the one-time firehouse, library and residence in the historic district.
“Our thought was to try to get grant funding to repair the building to its historic nature,” said the mayor. “It served its purpose of a municipal building. But the cost of that, in my opinion, we discussed at the August board meeting, is overly burdensome. And then you could take out a state historic park preservation grant, but they have matching pieces. And then you think of what the village has going on now, and to spread ourselves thinner and do a construction project, doesn’t make sense.”
The last appraisal for Village Hall, which is a two-story fading gray shingled house with a third-story tower built in 1904 was in April of 2020 for $165,000. Of course, since then, property values in the area have risen.
Its historic name, for the record, is the E.H. Thompson Hose Co. House/Millerton Public Library/Millerton Village Hall.
Victor Cornelius of Endeavor Municipal Development helped the Village Board assess its options for the building, and what different funding sources might look like for both the village and potential buyers.
Because of the building’s historic landmark status, Cornelius explained the buyer has choices in terms of funding, including Preservation Tax Credits, which would allow the owner/developer to apply for 30% tax credits from both the state and the federal government for all construction costs related to the historic structure through the Department of the Interior’s National Trust for Historic Preservation. (Each area of construction must cost in excess of $5,000 to be eligible.)
There is also the possibility of tax deductions on easements, in which the owner/developer would agree to a preservation easement on the building’s envelope before closing on the property.
Doing so would “restrict façade changes to a pre-defined ‘restoration’ concept, keeping it aesthetically within the Main Street Historic District’s preservation targets,” according to Cornelius.
There are other options for both the buyer and seller.
Bottom line, said the mayor, Village Hall is a great building for the right use. Perhaps, she said, it could be bought and converted to help with the local housing crisis.
“It could be great,” she said, adding she’d like the facade to remain the same and the board may add a stipulation to the RFP requiring that condition. “It needs some love… I’d love to see the exterior look as great as it should and have some real valuable use… I just want to create a little buzz.”
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry. As an interior designer by trade, Rollins designed this booth to evoke a high-end department store to align with the designer brands she carries.
MILLERTON — The Townscape 50/50 raffle drawing has collected a pot of more than $7,000.
That raffle drawing will take place this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Veteran’s Park. The moment is not just about picking a winner, but also about reflecting on how far Townscape has come since its humble beginnings in 1998, when founder Catherine Fenn — alongside Renee Vollen and Jan Gilmor — first set out to beautify her beloved village.
Fenn’s connection to Millerton runs deep. “I moved here from the Bronx when I was eight years old and fell in love with the place, even as a child,” she recalled, remembering camping trips at Rudd Pond and enjoying the quiet pace of life.
At 15, her family relocated to southern Connecticut. “My dad didn’t think there was much here for us, so we moved. I left kicking and screaming, literally, and I said, ‘Someday I’m coming back.’”
Years later, after marrying, divorcing, and raising children, Fenn kept that promise. She returned to Millerton and married a childhood friend who was very involved in the fire department. After his passing, Fenn threw herself into her own way of giving back.
“I care about this village deeply. Townscape is my way of helping Millerton be the best it can be,” she said.
What began as an informal effort to gather volunteers and plant flowers eventually blossomed into something larger. “We started with flowers up and down Main Street — barrels of them everywhere. Then it grew into benches, tables, trees and even events. It was such a fun world, a really wonderful organization with so many people involved.”
Fenn’s service to the community extends beyond beautification. She spent roughly two decades on the Planning Board, served as Town Supervisor and worked with the county housing authority. Still, her passion for flowers, trees and landscapes has left the most visible mark on Millerton — shaping not only how the village looks, but how it feels.
In 2006, Townscape became a nonprofit organization. But beautification, Fenn admits, isn’t always the easiest cause to fund. “We’re just putting flowers out — and I shouldn’t say ‘just,’ because to me it’s really important. The trees, the benches, all of it matters. But it’s not high on most people’s list when they think about charitable donations. Still, people have been wonderfully generous over the years.”
This Saturday’s raffle drawing is one way neighbors can show their support. The winner does not have to be present to claim the prize, but those who stop by can enjoy cookies, lemonade and artwork by local creators on display in the park.
MILLBROOK — Local crows should prepare to become highly spooked as planners of Millbrook Community Day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, have announced that a Scarecrow Contest will be part of the festivities.
Residents are invited to get creative and devise their own renditions of a scarecrow from traditional to whatever imagination might come up with.
Judging criteria will include creativity, including originality, new ideas, or perhaps whether the scarecrow tells a story. Design criteria include the creator’s technique, materials — recycled materials are emphatically a plus — and durability.
Rules include that scarecrows be free-standing, able to stand on their own or with minimal support. No scarecrow can be store-bought. Entries must be able to fit within a 6 x 6 foot space once assembled. A stand is available upon request. Scarecrows must be non-political, family friendly, and in a good-natured spirit.
Entrants are responsible for set-up, scheduled from 9 to 10 a.m. on Sept. 20, location to be assigned the week before. Judging will begin at 1 p.m. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
For more information and to register to participate, email mba@millbrooknewyork.com or go to www.millbrooknewyork.com/community-day-2025
