Highlights from past two meetings
By Michael Turton
Cold Spring Mayor Dave Merandy expressed displeasure with the Putnam County Legislature’s choice of a name for the new senior center at the Butterfield development and that the county managed to find an additional $300,000 to fund it.
At the April 24 meeting of the Village Board, Merandy said the chosen name for the center, the Friendship Center in Philipstown (which the Legislature approved on May 1), should have included senior citizen center because “that’s what it was billed as” throughout the planning process.
The mayor also said he was upset that the county found $300,000 for the center while the village has been denied requests for tourism-related expenses such as public bathroom maintenance and garbage collection.
The county typically provides $7,500 annually for garbage collection but a request to increase that to $10,000 was denied, Merandy noted. “We ask for a few thousand dollars and we get nothing,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Marie Early said that county Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra, who represents Philipstown, is forming a working group to define what programs will be offered at the center, and that participation by members of the board would be welcome.
In other business on April 24 …
- The board approved the 2018-19 budget, which totals $2.2 million. The tax levy will raise $1.638 million, an increase of 2.7 percent. The village was allowed by the state to exceed the 2 percent tax cap. The board also approved the water ($669,000) and sewer ($546,000) budgets. The board will also consider an increase of $10 per quarter per unit; no comments were received at an April 24 public hearing on the change.
- Howard Broad, who owns 142 Main St. and Country Clocks, said he had severed the connection to the digital water meter installed as part of a village-wide upgrade because of radiation concerns. Trustee Lynn Miller described Broad’s claims as “dubious” and said he should be required to provide evidence of negative health effects from the meter.
- Jason Angell, one of the organizers of last year’s Philipstown Community Congress, requested permission to hold a “bike day” on June 16. Trustees said “no” to the date because it would conflict with a beer festival planned for Mayor’s Park. The board suggested that the event be held on a weekday east of Route 9D to avoid congestion in the lower village.
In business on May 1 …
- The board will consider increasing the base wage for village workers who have a commercial driver’s license from $15 to $18 an hour.
- The board approved a three-year contract with the Cold Spring Police Benevolent Association that increases wages by 2 percent in the first and second years and 3 percent in the third year.
- The board approved a bid of $85,858 from Home Pro Exteriors of Middletown for repairs to the firehouse roof.
- Merandy said he met with Metro-North officials about the need for maintenance at the Cold Spring station.
