MILLERTON — The Eddie Collins Memorial Park Revitalization Committee (RC) publicly presented the phase two plans for Millerton’s community park on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the park’s pavilion.
Over the background sounds of the players on the improved basketball courts and children in the refurbished playground, Stephen Waite, RC chair and spokesperson, gave an update to 30 or so residents on future plans for the park. Waite, who started the volunteer committee when the park’s pool closed in 2016 due to structural issues and high maintenance costs, highlighted the project’s progress.
A public survey in 2016 confirmed residents’ desire for an improved park with a new pool, basketball courts and playing fields. Next, the village received a grant to create a master plan for an improved park including a pool, which was approved by the village board after public hearings.
Construction on phase one—which included substantial regrading of the park, a new entrance and paved parking areas, a soccer field, accessible playground upgrades, new basketball courts and pavilion improvements—was completed in 2022.
Conscious of taxpayers, Waite was proud that half of the funds for phase one were from grants and half from private donations, and thankful that so many people showed up to learn about phase two and offer their feedback. Any resident with written suggestions may present them to the village of Millerton clerk before Friday, Sept. 1.
Project manager Jeanne Vanecko introduced the designers of phase two: Kevin Hasselwander, an engineer from LaBella Associates, for the pool area; and Larry Wente, a principal of New York City architectural firm Gertler & Wente, for the all-season community pool house. Hasselwander, with the help of design boards, explained the layout of the L-shaped pool with four lanes for lap swimmers abutting 2-foot and 4-foot-deep sections, that are accessible for those with disabilities and older adults.
There will be a deck between the pool house and pool for sunbathing, a water slide, a diving board, and a landscaped stormwater treatment buffer. A terrace at the side will accommodate summer camp. The pool complex will be raised to protect the town’s aquifer below. The committee staked out the area by the pavilion to show the size and footprint of where the pool and pool house will be located as the centerpiece of the park.
Wente contributed his design expertise to the four-season pool house. A light-filled passageway will lead to the pool, flanked by locker rooms on one side and a kitchen, concession area, offices and community room on the other. Solar panels on the roof will produce energy to power the facility.
Wente explained that a rectangle is the most cost-efficient design, and that sustainability guides all the design decisions. The community room will be available for programming by local not-for-profits, could be used as an emergency shelter, and will also produce event rental income. The existing bath house will remain and be used as storage for pool and grounds equipment and supplies. The old pool and septic system will be removed.
Mayor Jenn Najdek, an RC member, stepped in to remind everyone that the plans are not final and that the village board, after hearing from the public, will decide on the final design. She thanked the all-volunteer RC for the time and effort given to making the project happen.
The public did have questions. Yes, there will be exterior lighting. Hasselwander did not know how many people could use the pool at the same time and promised to check and get back. RC hopes that the pool can be open from early spring to late in the fall if it can be heated.
No fees have been established for pool usage but there will be one fee for village and town residents and another for nonresidents. It’s too early to know if the pool house will be LEED-certified.
Vanecko addressed the question of the cost of phase two. The total amount is $4.3 million, which includes $1.77 million for the pool with decking, utilities and accessories; $1.3 million for the pool house with community room and locker room; $400,000 for electrical and site lighting; $170,000 for softball field improvements; and $710,000 for design, administration and contingency.
The timing of the project depends on the implementation of the village-planned sewer system, which will extend to the park. Without the sewer system, another $500,000 would be added to the cost to build a septic system. The scheduled completion date is 2025.
Another member of the audience asked about the cost of maintaining the park. According to Hasselwander, operating expenses tracked this season will provide an idea about the cost of maintaining the grounds. An endowment has been established to help fund these expenses in the future. Edie Greenwood, RC treasurer, said that, so far, the fund has a balance of $250,000.
It was emphasized that the park would generate revenues through renting its soccer field, pool fees, concession income and community room rental. County Legislator Gregg Pulver stated that he thought it was wonderful that the town is building a new pool when so many other communities are closing theirs.
Village trustee Matt Hartzog asked if it might be possible to include village offices in the plan. The response was that there just isn’t enough room in the park. Kathy Fenn, a member of the RC Steering Committee, which helps raise money for the project, asked if it could be a saltwater pool and was informed that public pools must be chlorinated.
One woman from the audience wanted to know if there would be swimming lessons. “Absolutely,” was the answer. Waite commented that youth recreation is both a health and a safety issue.
The design boards used in the presentation will be moved to the Village Hall, where they can be viewed by the public. Donations for the park may be made online at www.millertonpark.org
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
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.
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.
