MILLERTON — A mystery man attended the Village Board meeting on Monday, April 10, along with four village residents. A public hearing was opened on the proposed 2023-24 budget for the village, and comments were received and responded to from the audience concerning recreation and the wastewater project.
The board then tackled closing the approximately $13,500 gap that would allow the village not to exceed the New York state tax cap on taxes levied. This was accomplished by modestly increasing revenues from the fund balance from $25,000 to $35,000 and decreasing potential unemployment insurance costs by $3,500 to $6,500. All trustees approved the modifications.
The village budget of $720,000 pays for the expenses of the village government, the police department, the highway department, recreation, streetlights, and even trees. In fact, it will spend less next year than the fire district. Overall, budgeted revenues and expenses have been reduced from last year by about $125,000 when the village received grant money for the wastewater project and invested in computers.
Important other changes are reduced police department expenses of $92,228 from $119,059 last year because the Town of North East has terminated its historic contributions to police coverage. Expenditures are forecast to increase for the highway department by $28,000 with the addition of a full-time superintendent, and by $9,000 for employee benefits to total $55,000.
After closing the tax cap gap, the trustees discussed whether to pass Proposed Local Law A of 2023, which would allow the village to exceed the state calculated tax cap. The trustees felt comfortable that the cap would not be exceeded and wanted taxpayers to know it was the trustees’ intention to stay below the arbitrary limit.
Next year, anticipated village property taxes will rise to $456,000, an increase of 2.9% over last year’s taxes. No trustee was willing to make a motion to vote on the Local Law A and it was rescinded. Typically, these laws are passed as safety nets in the event that the final budget does go over the tax cap.
The $305,000 budget for the water district was also approved at the meeting. The cost of the water system is completely covered by the quarterly flat fees that town and village residents pay for municipal water. Expenses include allocated salaries and benefits, utilities, chemicals, testing, repairs to water line breaks, and interest.
The board then went into executive session with only the mysterious man mentioned above remaining in the room with the trustees. The identity of Joseph Olenik was revealed when the trustees returned to announce the hiring of a chief of police (COP) to supervise the Millerton Police Department.
The village police have remained on paid leave since March 28 when the village trustees followed the recommendation made in the village police department study to hire a qualified COP to supervise the department and to suspend activities until a chief could be found.
Olenik will be hired at a salary of $25,000 per year and is expected to work about 20 hours a week. The mayor of Millerton, Jen Najdek, expects Olenik to officially start once there is final approval from the Department of Criminal Justice and Civil Service.
Najdek later explained to The Millerton News that Olenik had reached out to her about the position after hearing about the Millerton police study.
On Monday, April 17, the board met briefly to extend the paid administrative leave of two part-time Millerton police officers, Erik Breen and Michael Veeder, until the end of the month.
The trustees expect Olenik will be officially approved by all authorities to become Millerton’s chief of police and will begin supervising the department by Monday, May 1. Breen and Veeder will receive pay based on their average work hours per week for the last three months they have reported for duty.
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.
