One man, four tents, 24 hours, one petition, 558 signatures

MILLERTON— For many years, Andres Vialpando and his wife, Nicky, have been making the 3-minute drive from their Main Street home in Millerton to nearby Taconic State Park, where they safely leave their car parked on Belgo Road and then head out for their favorite walk around Iron Mine Pond. Depending on the time of day they may either both take the trek, or sometimes only one of them may make the short journey. Whoever prepares for the daily or perhaps even more frequent hike, rest assured their two Welsh Corgi dogs, 3-year-old Jefe (Spanish for “Boss”) and 2-year-old Momo (Tibetan for “Dumpling”), are by their side.

Discovery of tents

Last Wednesday, April 28, it was Andres who headed to the ore pond, and it was Andres who said he was horrified by what he saw when he got there.

“I was immediately upset,” he said. “It’s a great place for the local community. I grew up in Millerton and still live in Millerton… I find that a very comforting place to go.”

But last week while walking Jefe and Momo, Andres saw four semi-permanent tents standing on concrete blocks, set up by the national tent-renting company, Tentrr, which has its headquarters in NYC. Tentrr has “over 1,000… campsites available across the U.S.,” according to its website, www.tentrr.com, and $318.7 million in total funding, according to www.crunchbase.com, with investors who include actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

“When I saw the tent units there, first I said, this is a private company, so what business does it have being on public land?” asked Andres. “Only afterwards I realized the park made a deal with the units to generate income, which isn’t really a big concern of mine. If the tents were placed properly [I wouldn’t have minded], but I didn’t feel these were.”

Private tents, public land

Millerton resident Arthur Moshlak, however, was not so forgiving.

“Does the town, the village, the county, the state, the feds — do they have the right to subcontract to private enterprises with no public notice?” he asked, underlining the fact that no public notice was published and no public meetings were held by either the North East Town Board or the Millerton Village Board informing residents the tents were being erected in the park. 

Moshlak said Tentrr is known for putting about 90% of its tents on private land, but that the remaining 10% of its structures are installed on public lands. 

“To do something like that overnight, to put them on the trail, who gave them permission?” Moshlak asked. “The fact that the tents were planned stupidly is a separate thing.”

According to State Sen. Sue Serino’s (R-41) office, which responded to inquiries from this newspaper on Monday, May 3, one Millerton resident contacted her office to complain about the Tentrr site at Iron Mine Pond last week upset about the tents. 

However, the arrangement is about to become big news in New York, according to the state senator’s office, as Governor Andrew Cuomo planned to announce news on Tuesday of a brand-new agreement between New York and Tentrr of a public-private partnership with the goal of encouraging camping in state parks, specifically reaching out to residents who are not avid campers but might be spending more time outdoors ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March. 

So far, Serino’s office has heard of two Dutchess County parks that will be working with Tentrr: Rudd Pond at Taconic State Park in Millerton and Norrie Point in Hyde Park. Serino’s spokesperson said the state really wants this to be a positive experience, and that’s why it worked to remedy the issue at Iron Mine Pond so swiftly. 

Revenue for park

“The New York State parks department has been looking for ways to bring in revenue to support the parks, and they seem to have reached an agreement with a company called Tentrr,” said North East town Supervisor Chris Kennan, who confirmed the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) granted approval for Tentrr to install tents at Taconic State Park. “I’ve never stayed in one but I’m sure they’re quite nice, in beautiful spots, but the choice of the Iron Mine site in the park at Rudd Pond was a bad location, a bad choice, because it’s very special. It’s a beautiful, quiet, undisturbed place and for the enjoyment of the pond it just would change the whole nature of that spot.” 

Andres said the four tents were “literally on the trail and directly overlooking Bash Bish Falls,” blocking much of the path that loops around the ore pond, which can be walked in a leisurely 20 to 30 minutes. It’s about a 10-minute walk to Rudd Pond one mile away, which is more popular and well-known, said the native Millertonite. 

24-hour petition

He and others were so incensed by what they considered the inappropriate placement of the tents, that Andres went home on the 28th and started a petition against Tentrr. He blasted it all over social media, and by the time he closed the petition on Friday night, roughly 24 hours later, 558 people had signed it. Not only did he get an enormous response, he got the powers that be to notice it as well. 

“I’m not sure what I expected. I was hoping to get 200 or 300 signatures,” he said. “Maybe it speaks to how many people use the pond. Most everybody around here knew of the place and were more than willing to sign the petition, so I’m glad the tents are going to be removed and we won’t have to worry about it. It seems the least I could do. I was just happy to start the petition. I did my best. I posted the petition everywhere online. That played a part, definitely; it was a huge verification of the amount of people [who were upset].”

Kennan said he was impressed by Andres’ initiative and the feedback he received.

“It’s a place that has been enjoyed by the people of Millerton for many years, which is obvious from the social media response. I was awestruck by the power of social media [and what] happens when it’s something that people feel strongly about,” said Kennan. “It’s very dear to many people, and the idea of putting these tents up there really was not well thought through.”

Andres agreed word spread quickly, especially with the boost he got from modern technology. 

“Social media is way to communicate right now, that’s all there is to it. It’s fast, quick, I mean, what can I say about that? That’s the way we live now. If you don’t have cell phone or you don’t have a computer, you’re not really up to snuff on things like the rest of us.”

Park response

Andres contacted Taconic Park Manager Christopher Rickard about the tents, who told him he went out last winter with the parks commission to survey potential sites. Andres said his impression was the park manager may have felt pressured to find the tent sites.

While Rickard did not respond to repeated calls for comment by press time, Kennan said he wanted to support the park manager and all he has done for the local resource and would be surprised to learn if the choice of the Iron Mine location was Rickard’s.

“Chris Rickard is a very good guy, and a great park manager for Rudd Pond,” said Kennan. “He does so much with such limited resources. Chris should be supported and recognized for all he has done for the Rudd Pond Park area.”

A request for more information was also sent to Regional Park Director Linda Cooper, including details on when the parks department signed the original agreement with Tentrr; what the terms of that agreement are; how much revenue the parks department earns from allowing Tentrr to rent tents at Taconic State Park; how many tents are allowed to go up and over how long of a period of time; and if more tents will be going up in the near future. 

Cooper did not answer any of those questions directly, but did respond the following day with the comment below:

“Public Affairs will work with you,” she emailed. “Thanks for fleshing out the questions you are interested in. Referring you to Dan Keefe, our PIO [Public Information Officer].”

Keefe swiftly replied with the below statement within the hour:

“Yes, the Iron Mine Pond sites are being relocated,” he emailed. “The sites have not yet been occupied and we [are] working to find the best locations within the park. We are finalizing the details of this pilot project with Tentrr and will have more information next week.”

According to both Andres and Kennan, Rickard said the four tents would likely be moved to Rudd Pond by the end of this week. 

Andres said he holds no animus toward the parks department, which he said is at a deficit because it lacks manpower — even Rickard typically works in Copake, not in Millerton.

“I think Rickard and everybody at the park was surprised [by the petition]. They made their decision in good faith,” said Andres. “They quickly had their meeting to remove the tents. I don’t think they expected pushback. They didn’t understand the way the area was used by local people.”

Cooperation has its benefits

Kennan agreed and said, “It’s state park land, and basically the state parks don’t require input from the town on things that they do within their [land]. It would have been a good idea to have gotten some input from the town, but we were never asked or informed about the tents.”

He added it would be helpful for the OPRHP to coordinate with both the town and village, like the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association does with Dutchess and Columbia Counties; the Rail Trail is owned by the state, managed by the county and run through the town.

“We’re all involved in different ways in that and the recent dedication of the Rail Trail showed that,” said Kennan, referencing the ribbon cutting held on Thursday, April 22. “I think [when you don’t have regional cooperation] you miss getting local input; sometimes people at the local level are just more familiar with a particular site or particular issue.”

Tentrr response

Mike Donny Amidon stated in a group post on the Millerton Amenia Community Forum Facebook Page, which had posted Andres’ petition, that “Tentrr is committed to preserving outdoor resources for everyone, especially those who already call the area home. Once Tentrr outfits a site in a new location or state park, we are dedicated to being a part of the local community, culture and environment. The sites have not yet been occupied and we are working with New York State Parks to find the best locations within the park. Tentrr respects the significance of the Iron Pond history, and work is underway to immediately get these sites relocated within the park.”

Amidon promised “more details on this partnership” this week. 

Second petition

A second petition against the Tentrr campsite was also started by Millerton native Kara Panzer on her Instagram account, which garnered roughly 133 signatures as of Saturday afternoon when it was still posted on her account. Andres said it likely didn’t overlap with those who signed his petition, as Panzer mainly appeals to those who follow her on social media for postings about yoga and other similar topics. 

“It’s not the audience who would have used the park except for some of her local friends, because she also grew up in the village,” he said, just appreciative that she made the effort to get the tents removed or relocated. “But I think probably there weren’t a lot of duplicates between the two petitions.”

First-time effort huge success

This was Andres’ first time ever starting his own petition, although he’s signed dozens before, mostly for national issues. 

“When something affects you personally, in your local area, only you can stand up personally for your own issue — it spurs you on to take action. That’s just how it goes,” he said. “I noticed my mom signed the petition. I’m proud of her.”

And for what it’s worth, his mom, former North East Town Clerk Nancy Vialpando, said she’s proud of him, too.

“I’m so glad he was a part of this,” she said.

Andres’ final thoughts? Simply that the whole process “exceeded my expectations… and personally I’m very relieved they decided to remove the tents and they’re not intending to place them at the Iron Mine Pond ever again.”