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 No trustee was willing to make a motion to vote on the Local Law A and it was rescinded.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.
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.
MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.
Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.
“The Millerton Street Fair will celebrate everything we love about this community — its spirit, its dedication to service and its creative energy,” said James Clark, publisher and CEO of The Millerton News.
Local nonprofits will showcase their work and impact, including Climate Smart Millerton, Eddie Collins Memorial Park, North East Historical Society, Townscape, Tri-Corner FEED, Village of Millerton, and the Webutuck Elementary School.Participating businesses include Bes, Little Red Bird Studio, NBT, The Elephant’s Tusk, and many more.Local retail and dining establishments will be open with special promotions. NECC’s Farmer’s Market will run during the event.
Among the planned festivities are live music from John Stey and the Resilience Brass Band, performances from Bee Bee the Clown, face painting by students from Webutuck High School, and a community-wide scavenger hunt for kids.Other kids’ activities include egg and spoon races, and a “touch-a-truck” open house at the firehouse.The Irondale Schoolhouse will be hosting a special exhibit, and the North East-Millerton Library will be offering signups for the Summer Reading Program, a science show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., lawn games, and a cookie cook-off.
For more information, go to millertonnews.com/street-fair.
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
