Forum dissects ‘crisis-level need’ for affordable housing in region

The housing panel, from left, Steve Rosenberg, Jocelyn Ayer, Gordon Ridgway, and Michael Polemis.
Photo by Maud Doyle
SALISBURY — Both affordable housing and conservation initiatives require land, rely on local financial and social support, and are necessary for a healthy, thriving community.
This was the premise of “Housing, Jobs, and Conservation: A Roadmap for Action,” a panel discussion convened by the Salisbury Forum at the Salisbury School on Friday, Sept. 22, before an audience of some 200 guests from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Moderated by Steve Rosenberg, longtime leader in conservation in Hudson Valley and co-convener of Hudson Valley Affordable Housing and Conservation Strategy, the panel invited three representatives from local government, housing, and land trusts to discuss how these sectors could better work together in the broader region.
The context for the discussion was what Rosenberg described as the “crisis-level need” for affordable housing. Jocelyn Ayer, director of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, noted that 1,100 households on affordable housing waitlists in Litchfield County may wait for 2-5 years, and that 28% of Litchfield County households are “cost burdened” by their housing situation.
“Housing has become unaffordable for almost everybody that our community relies on,” said Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway.
Litchfield County boasts the oldest population in the state, and the highest occurrence of 20-somethings living with their parents; declining school enrollments are putting pressure on educational resources; the prohibitive cost of housing excludes young people and families, as well as seniors who need to downsize—in Cornwall, said Ridgway, the average sales price of a house has climbed from $350,000 to $880,000 in just three years (at this, a collective gasp from the room).
Teachers, emergency services volunteers, qualified municipal workers and volunteers, healthcare workers (including young doctors), entrepreneurs and mid-level bank employees, as well as the perennial “man who works at the meat counter at LaBonne’s” were all identified as essential workers excluded from the region by housing prices.
“The historic motivation for a land trust was always protecting the land. We never actually had a good conversation about what were we protecting the land for—and more importantly, whom,” said Michael Polemis, chair of the Land Trust Alliance, which includes 948 land trusts across the U.S. “The ‘who’ has become critical.”
The regional emphasis on land conservation has actually become part of the problem, he said. “One of the unintended consequences of our success has been that, as we protect more and more land, the land values actually rise all around that protected area, which means it’s less affordable for people who have been living and working in any community.”
Meanwhile, as Ayer illustrated with an overview of completed local projects, affordable housing is typically the most sustainable housing built in rural communities: Affordable units emphasize energy efficiency and often take advantage of renewables like solar to keep costs low for residents; denser housing (i.e. half-acre lots or multifamily homes) is more energy efficient; robust village centers that can sustain grocery stores and shops are more energy efficient (they make for shorter or even walkable commutes).
Families raised in vibrant communities with greater outdoor access also create more meaningful, long-term civic engagement, and inculcate environmental stewardship in the next generation.
“Beyond giving tax breaks to wealthy landowners, which is the engine of land conservation,” said Polemis, “How do we, the land trusts, actually serve a community?”
“The funding ability of land trusts is—um—impressive to me,” said Ridgway. In Cornwall, he said, state forest comprises some 7,000 acres, and the land trust has acquired about 2,000 acres, whereas Cornwall and its housing non-profit own under 100 acres.
“The amount we actually need to make significant gains in housing is under 100 acres,” he said. “So it’s a very small percentage.”
Meanwhile, said Polemis and Rosenberg, property offered to land trusts as a gift or at a steeply discounted rate isn’t always best utilized for conservation efforts, due to its size, location, or prior use.
“I would like to see the common interest in the environment unite” conservation and the building of sustainable community, said Ridgway.
In response to the audience question of how to create change, Polemis was succinct: “Show up, volunteer. And if you’re a member of a land trust, tell them to get off their rear ends and get involved.”
The Salisbury Forum, a nonprofit organization based in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, hosts speaker forums that address global and local issues from wealth inequality to climate change to cybersecurity.
Fire hydrant replacements in the village disrupted water service for businesses on Main Street.
MILLERTON — Construction on Main Street last week disrupted traffic as crews worked to replace an outdated fire hydrant next to Oakhurst Diner.
The scheduled maintenance, which continued into this week, was part of a 2019 grant awarded by the New York State Department of Health under the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. Since then, the village has been upgrading undersized, damaged and outdated hydrants. A total of 25 hydrants have been replaced.
A statement on the village website reads, “This initiative aims to align our water system with the 10 States Recommended Standard for Water Works, enhancing safety by reducing the risk of hydrant vehicular strikes.” Water service was temporarily shut off at times last week and Monday as part of the scheduled work.
An employee at Oakhurst Diner said the water disruption caused the restaurant to open late on Friday at noon but had otherwise not affected business as of Monday morning.
Republican County Comptroller candidate Will Truitt currently serves as the chair of the Dutchess County Legislature.
Republican Will Truitt of Hyde Park is facing off against Democrat Dan Aymar-Blair for the county comptroller seat in the Nov. 4 election.
Truitt currently serves as the chair of the Dutchess County Legislature and has served as Hyde Park and Pleasant Valley’s representative in the legislating body for the past ten years.
Truitt, 29, made his first foray into politics as a student at Marist College at the age of 19.
After a stint interning in Marc Molinaro’s office, Truitt decided to run for office himself. At the age of 20 he unseated the incumbent representative of Hyde Park and he’s been reelected to the seat ever since.
“I was knocking on all my neighbors doors,” Truitt said. “A lot of them recognizedand kind of knew who I was. They knew that I really wanted to serve and they put their faith in me.”
Truitt said his experience as the chair of the county legislature’s Budget and Finance Committee, and his current full-time job at Metzger Construction Corp. in Hopewell Junction, have prepared him for the comptroller’s position.
“You have to understand dollars and cents, you have to understand finance,” Truitt said. “I went to Marist for business, finance and accounting and a minor in economics so none of the language felt foreign to me.”
The County Legislature chair cited the passage of term limit regulation as a major success of his 10 years in government. “I have always believed term limits should be in place for all levels of government,” Truitt said. “I brought forward term limits in my first term and it failed pretty miserably. I brought it back in my second year and it passed unanimously.” Now, all elected county officials are limited to no more than 12 years in a particular post.
Truitt reflected on a failed bid to unseat New York Assemblywoman Didi Barrett when he was just 22-years-old, saying he’s eager to return to Northeast Dutchess County and meet more people on the campaign trail.
“I got to really know so many people in that region,” Truitt said. “I ran for the state assembly when I was that young because I — just like I did when I ran for the Dutchess County Legislature — I thought I could provide a strong voice for the people.”
AMENIA — Three years in, the full-service health clinic at the Webutuck School District, known internally as the school-based health center, has been a resounding success.
The clinic is staffed by a full-time physician who acts as a participating student’s primary care physician at no extra cost to families. Looking to expand the scope of medical services Webtuck could offer to its students, school nurse Charlie Davis proposed the clinic three years ago.
Given that visits to the doctor can prevent students from attending school on a given day, they were something Webutuck was happy to bring in-house, said Deputy Superintendent Robert Farrier. “We schedule those visits during study halls. Students come down, they have the appointment, and half an hour later they are back to class,” he said.
Because many Webutuck students would not otherwise have access to proper medical care, an illness is something that could cause a prolonged absence and have a serious effect on students’ health. “Really one of the main reasons why we introduced this was to try and improve on our chronic absenteeism,” Farrier said.
“The school-based health center has been incredibly received by the student population and by the parents,” Farrier said. Currently, 77% of Webutuck students are enrolled in the free program.
The clinic is operated by Open Door Health, a healthcare provider which runs many similar clinics in Westchester County, Farrier said.
Even if a student does not have insurance, Open Door, which receives federal funding to run clinics such as the Webutuck Health Center, will provide care free of charge to the student. Having received more than $100,000 in grant funding toward the project, the only cost Webtucuk was required to incur was the construction of a suitable space to house the clinic. Beyond students and families in the district, the health program at Webtucuk has provided a model for other schools in the district, Farrier said. “Every school district in Dutchess County has come at least once to visit us and to learn about how we set the clinic up and how we run things at the school,” he said.
The clinic is part of a broader attempt by the Webutuck School District to improve student life through the allocation of school funds to projects beyond the basic responsibilities of the district, Farrier said.
“We offer free breakfast and lunch for all of our students. We’re trying to make sure that our students don’t go home hungry and that they’re getting proper meals during the school day,” he said.
The clinic has been such a success at Webutuck that other school districts in the county are attempting to replicate the program locally. “The Wappinger’s school district was really impressed with what they saw… this has really been a first for Dutchess County,” Farrier said.
WASSAIC — Fans of good wine attractively presented in a welcoming village ambiance will want to stop at the newly opened historic candy store turned wine shop in Wassaic, next to The Lantern.
The little shop that sold candy in the 1890s has been restored, opening as Ten Mile Table on Saturday, July 26, adding yet another reason to visit the village of Wassaic and absorb the reality that it is an imaginatively special place.
Owner Erika DaSilva paused for an interview on Thursday, August 7, reflecting on her new shop’s place in the community after a year of work preparing to open at 14 Main St., just next door to The Lantern.
“We’re doing wonderfully. We’re proud and excited to share with the community,” DaSilva said.
“It’s my own business,” DaSilva said, “but we would not be here were it not for the support of the folks who support The Lantern and The Wassaic Project.”
Adjacent to Ten Mile Table, between it and The Lantern is found the Newsstand, also restored to become a space that DaSilva described as being for community members who might have food, beverages or events to share with passersby, perhaps something like a lemonade stand or some other endeavor.
DaSilva said that she first began learning about wine more than 20 years ago, even working in European vineyards where protecting the environment was essential.Selections for the wine store are environmentally conscious.
“Everything is delicious, of course, but I like to feature natural wines that are good for the environment,” DaSilva said of her choices from wineries that keep the protection of the environment at the fore throughout the growing and production process.
“We’re able to support smaller producers,” DaSilva said.
The conversation was interrupted by a trio of customers seeking just the right wine.
“What are you going to do with it,” was one of the questions DaSilva asked in considering her range of choices that span mostly from $25 to $45, with a few outliers.
The outcome of the exercise was a wine deemed to be “light, but not wimpy,” just what the customers were looking for.
Thursdays at The Ten Mile Table offer festive wine tastings from 5 to 7 p.m. for a fee of $5 that includes upscale nibbles. DaSilva intends to invite chefs from among her broad field of talented friends to provide signature delicacies to enhance the wine tasting experience.
“I don’t want not to be creatively busy,” DaSilva said. “I just like trying things out.”
Ten Mile Table is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 7 p.m. And on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.
“I would love to be open more,” DaSilva said.
DaSilva resides in Kent with her family. Her husband, Minh Le, is the General Manager of The Lantern. Their daughter, Bibi, is 8, and son, Senna, just turned 3.
For more information about Ten Mile Table, go to www.tenmiletable.com or phone 845-570-5228.