By Jeff Simms

The Beacon City Council will hold its first meeting of the year, a reorganizational workshop followed by a regular meeting, at 7 p.m. on Monday (Jan. 7).

The council is expected to renew the contracts for city planning consultants and attorneys, in addition to setting its meeting schedule for 2019, naming an official newspaper and other administrative tasks. The council will also schedule a public hearing for the city’s 2019 capital plan.

It will return with a full workshop a week later, on Jan. 14.

The Beacon Planning Board will meet for the first time in 2019 on Jan. 8. Its agenda includes a public hearing on Industrial Arts’ request to amend its site plan approval for a brewery at 511 Fishkill Ave. and a public hearing on a request to convert the existing retail (and garage) space at 296 Main St. to a restaurant.

The board will also begin its review of the proposal to redevelop the former Beacon Department of Public Works site on Creek Drive to a mixed-use development with almost 14,000 square feet of commercial space and nine apartments. The city sold the property to developer Rodney Weber last year for $150,000.

Weber has proposed that the parcel share an entrance with the adjacent Creek Drive apartment complex, which he also owns. Conceptual drawings also include access for the Fishkill Creek Greenway and Heritage Trail as well as a publicly accessible park.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Simms has covered Beacon for The Current since 2015. He studied journalism at Appalachian State University and has reported for newspapers in North Carolina and Maryland. Location: Beacon. Languages: English. Area of expertise: Beacon politics