The intersection of Beilke/State Line Road and Rudd Pond Road in North East is the site of frequent car crashes. The North East Town Board considered measures to improve safety on these roads during their meeting Thursday, Aug. 8.
MILLERTON — The Town of North East’s board members discussed solutions to reduce speeding on Beilke and State Line Road at the town board meeting Thursday, Aug. 8.
“As you know, the county has already put up an additional stop sign at the intersection of Rudd Pond Road, Beilke, and State Line,” said Chris Kennan, the town’s Supervisor. “But having put up those additional stop signs, it has not reduced the number of accidents that we’ve had there.”
The board members discussed different proposals brought to their attention, aiming for what would best serve the residents living on these roads. State Line Road has previously earned a speed limit reduction from 55 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour, taking years to be awarded by the state.
“I think it is important that we find additional ways of calling people’s attention to that intersection,” Kennan said.
The first immediate action the town can take is stenciling the word “stop” onto the pavement, keeping the driver engaged with the road. Their second proposal was to explore the potential of striping the roads.
“It is proven where people have done it, and it has been incredibly successful,” Kennan said. “A road that has no lines on it, the temptation is just to go right down the middle of the road as fast as you can. Stripe it and make lanes on the road. People tend to drive on their side.”
Residents on State Line Road who brought the speed limit request at last month’s meeting expressed disappointment that the town isn’t considering a further reduction of the speed limit and concern that striping would be ineffective.
“I am open to doing it,” Kennan said. “It doesn’t cost us anything to ask for a reduction. I just want residents to know I have experience with the county and the state … It took four years. That’s four years where a lot of stuff can happen, and I would rather take proactive steps to feel that we are actually doing something now.”
Pulver Road is the only fully striped road in the Town of North East. If the town proceeds, it would be able to paint roads without the state’s permission, allowing an immediate resolution.
“I would like to reach out to more neighbors and get a sense of the neighborhood,” said Kennan.
Maureen Lashlee, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, attended the meeting, expressing her gratitude to the town and hoping to find volunteers for upcoming events.
Habitat for Humanity is hosting its Groundbreaking Ceremony on Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. This is where they will welcome the new family moving into the home and into the neighborhood, and they will have a few surprises “you won’t know about until you get there.”
The foundation for the new home near Rudd Pond will be installed on Sept. 12, and the sill plate will follow shortly after. During this process, Habitat for Humanity will need extra hands to volunteer.
“When we put that sill plate on, that’s when we really start to need volunteers,” Lashlee said. “October is when things really start to pick up. There is an opportunity to volunteer almost every day.”
To volunteer, go to https://habitatdutchess.org/volunteer/ and look under “construction volunteer opportunities.” You must be 16 years old to participate.
The governor signed an executive order last July to create a new Pro-Housing Communities Program. According to New York’s official website, more than half of New York renters pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent, the second-highest rate in the nation.
The website also says, “In order to achieve true equity of opportunity and to erase the gaps in access to health, education, and wealth-building, we must guarantee that people have a choice as to where they live and raise their families.”
This program addresses the housing shortage in New York State and encourages communities to find and address growing housing needs.
Councilwoman Meg Winkler said, “It doesn’t have any monetary gains. It’s like joining climate smart in that you are sending a signal you’re taking steps to try to create a better environment, in this case, create housing.”
According to Winkler, at the time of the meeting, New York had 326 letters of intent from communities, and 75 had submitted all requirements for the application.
The town board must complete various steps for the Town of North East to join the Pro-Housing Communities Program. First, the Supervisor must send an email expressing the town’s interest in joining the program. Next, a resolution for the community must be created. Then, the town has a year to complete the necessary paperwork, like building permits.
“It is supposed to be a pretty easy situation,” Winkler said. “We have seven surrounding towns submitting letters, and we talked about being positive for us as a community to hopefully join.”
Celebrating the completion of his Eagle Scout leadership project to benefit Angels of Light on Friday, March 21, Jayden Loibl, 17, was joined by Angels of Light co-Executive Directors, Lori Cassia-Decker, left, and Danielle Mollica.
MILLBROOK — Capping a lifetime of scouting achievement, Jayden Loibl, 17, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, completing a community project to handcraft outdoor benches and tables for the local nonprofit Angels of Light building at 28 Front St.
In addition to overseeing the construction of sturdy benches and tables that invite passersby to try them out, Loibl’s major project also created a Love Lock Pillar, and finished off the project by making stencil templates of the nonprofit’s logo to be used to identify the space and invite visitors.
“It makes the space more inviting,” said Danielle Mollica, co-Executive Director of Angels of Light.
To become an Eagle Scout, Loibl explained that he had progressed through six ranks, the final being Eagle. Community service hours are required along the way, with the final leadership project being the Eagle Scout project. As he progressed through the scouting ranks, Loibl said that he had earned 34 merit badges.
“I started Cub Scouts in first grade,” Loibl said, “and I have been in scouting every year since.” He moved up to Boy Scouts in the fifth grade.
For his Eagle Scout project, he chose Angels of Light because he and his family have been volunteering within their programs for several years.
The new Love Lock Pillar wrapped in chain link fencing invites the community to add padlocks, dedicating the lock to a child or family facing hospitalization or illness.
The chain link fencing was donated by Superior Fence and Rail in Pleasant Valley.
A lifelong Millbrook resident, Loibl attended Millbrook schools through the early grades before enrolling at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie to take advantage of their academics and to participate in Varsity Hockey, Soccer and Tennis.
Having received letters of acceptance from four colleges and universities, he is awaiting decision letters from two more. Planning for undergraduate studies in Industrial Engineering, Loibl’s interest in mathematics will guide his choice of graduate work leading toward math modeling of data or risk analytics.
Continuing the scouting tradition, Loibl’s younger brother, Justin, 15, has earned the rank of Life Scout and currently serves as a Senior Patrol Leader.
“I am very proud of him,” Loibl said.
For more information about Angels of Light, go to www.angelsoflighthv.org.
AMENIA — Pedestrians will soon be able to walk safely between Broadway and Beekman Park, now that a construction contract has been awarded.
The planning process continued for many months, culminating in an invitation to bid. The Town Board voted unanimously at its regular meeting on Thursday, March 20, to select the lowest bidder, clearing the way for work to begin.
The contact was awarded to Southern Industries Corporation of Tarrytown, New York, the lowest of three bids received and reviewed by Engineers LaBella Associates of Poughkeepsie.
The project that will extend the sidewalk along Route 44 to provide pedestrians with access between the hamlet center and Beekman Park will cost $234,326.50, according to the bid documents. The amount will be paid from the town’s Capital Project Fund.
With several local committees working on town planning activities, the Town Board discussed ways to find commonality and cooperation among those various deliberations.
Town Supervisor Leo Blackman reported that he had attended the recent Century Boulevard planning meeting in Millerton and had found it instructive. He recalled that in 2004 Amenia had worked with landscape architect Mark Morrison who created a design proposal that upon Blackman’s review, seems relevant to the community today. Researching further, Blackman reported that he had found that there have been 13 reports done over the years by architects and landscape designers, each with ideas that could be useful in local planning.
In an effort to find commonality among the many reports, Finance Director Charlie Miller prepared and presented a summary of plans and visual depictions of overlap.
Miller said that he focused on the Morrison plan from 2004, the Recreation Department’s plan from 2006, Leo Blackman’s plan from 2016, and the Fountain Square plan and the Amenia Green plan from 2024.
Grants are available for communities seeking to improve walking convenience, connectivity, access, parking and passive recreation, Miller reported. He saw value in bringing residents together to hold planning discussions.
Blackman saw the importance of coordinating such planning with the current work of updating the Comprehensive Plan that is now underway and sharing ideas with the community planners about to begin work with the comprehensive plan committee.
A goal, Blackman said, could be to work toward qualifying for a state New York Forward Grant program.
“The initial part would not cost money,” said councilmember Rosanna Hamm.
Councilmember Nicole Ahearn observed that the timeline between community input and grant application seemed “ambitious.”
“It’s a matter of pulling all of this together,” Miller responded. The slide presentation will be posted on the town’s website.
General discussion continued, touching on the town’s ongoing needs for downtown pedestrian safety, ease of access, community enhancement and revitalization.
Blackman reported that he has spoken with the Department of Transportation about imposing a parking time limit in front of the post office and accommodating parking for handicapped drivers.
Crosswalks are a concern also. Blackman felt that where there are presently two along the stretch of Route 343 between the traffic light and Mechanic Street, there should be four.
“Our expectation is that we will have a more vibrant downtown and the way to do that is for people to not be afraid for their lives when they cross the street,” Blackman said.
Hamm suggested flashing lights at crosswalks and Ahearn saw the need for reflective paint marking the crosswalks, noting that the existing lines are faded.
Spring has officially arrived with freezing night time temperatures forecast through the first week of April.
Victoria Kelly, Cary Institute Environmental Monitoring Program Manager and Senior Ecologist, prepared this report.
MILLBROOK — Since 1988 the weather station at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in the Town of Washington has been keeping track of our local weather — precipitation, temperature, wind, air quality, etc.
The News asked Cary’s Victoria Kelly what records showed about this winter. Were these months colder and snowier than last year? How do they compare to historic winters? Is this a normal winter?
December’s average temperature was 30.3 degrees Fahreneit, 1.3 degrees below the 1991-2020 average, which is what weather people refer to as “normal.” The January average temperature was 25.2 degrees, 1.1 degrees below normal, and the February average temperature was 28.4 degrees, 0.3 degrees below normal. So, it’s not your imagination, this has been a cold winter. Note that the 30-year average used to determine “normal” changes every 10 years and doesn’t include the warm winters of the last few years in the comparison.
The record high winter temperature was a balmy 78 degrees Fahrenheit on February 21, 2018, and the record low was a very chilly minus 27 degrees Fahrenheit on January 27, 1994.
Overall, the winter of 2024-2025 has been colder with less snowfall than normal. It’s not over yet though. Remember the blizzard on March 14, 2017? Or the April Fool’s Day blizzard March 31-April 1, 1997? March has been known to go out like a lion before, it could very well do it again. Total snowfall this winter so far is 22 inches. Our last accumulating snow was February 15-16. As with many of our events this winter, it began as snow and changed to ice and then rain. We call that mixed precipitation. If we get no more accumulating snow this winter, it will be the fourth winter in a row with less than average snowfall. Our record low snowfall was 13 inches in the winter of 2015-2016. Our record high snowfall was 92 inches in the winter of 1994-1995.
Reports from the suppliers or heating oil and propane estimate that demand increased 15% to 30% so far this winter confirming the findings of the Cary Institute.
The North East Fire house on the south side of Century Boulevard.
MILLERTON — The commissioners of the North East Fire District recently held their monthly meeting at the firehouse to discuss their current needs and general business.
Discussion centered around the current work on the 2025 budget and proposed expenditures, which ranged from upgrading their heating/cooling system to the possibility of replacing car no. 3.
The possibility of obtaining a new vehicle, such as a pickup truck, was also considered. In the end, the discussion was put on hold with chair Dave McGhee saying, “We have time.”
Updates on planning and training were discussed. Fire chief Keith Roger reported that 15 calls for medical assistance came in for the previous month, two calls came in for motor vehicle accidents, one call for a fire and one call came in for a propane issue which was quickly resolved. There were 35 calls for downed wires.
Physicals were also a topic of conversation. The fire district currently has 47 members, some of whom still need physicals. The district’s plan is that all members will be caught up on physicals by autumn.
The Easter egg hunt to be held on April 19 was discussed in addition to the need to look into hay wagons for the event.
As part of the chief’s report, Roger discussed equipment. Hose-testing is scheduled to be conducted on April 9. He also stressed the need to order brush equipment and side mirrors. Roger stated he needs to figure out exactly what is needed to fill department needs, but “bib overalls, radios and wands,” are on his wish list as well as new labels for equipment.
The discussion then turned to two events. On March 27, assistant county executive Gregg Pulver will be holding a closed meeting to discuss EMS issues. On April 18, Kelly Roger will be utilizing the firehouse for an event. Building use was approved for both events.
The subject of air packs then came up as one had sustained damage. Chief Roger also reported he is looking into which responders are in need of new equipment. Additionally, he has been trying to meet with new vendors. He has also started a log book for recordkeeping purposes around equipment to enable the department to track its movement and usage throughout the department.
Responder Chris Reyes discussed his work on the annual dinner and requested that $15,000 be made available for associated expenses. A motion was made to allow, which was officially passed.
No new members have recently joined the fire department, but recruitment efforts remain ongoing with interested parties being encouraged to come to the fire district on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. to learn more.
The next meeting at the firehouse will be a workshop on April 1. A regular meeting will be held on April 15.
