Questions for Candidates: Cold Spring Board

Mayor Kathleen Foley and Trustee Eliza Starbuck and first-time trustee candidate Aaron Freimark are running unopposed as the Forge Ahead team.

Foley, a consultant in historic preservation and land-use planning, was elected trustee unopposed in 2020 after serving on the Historic District Review Board. She was elected mayor in 2021. Starbuck, a Main Street merchant and former president of the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce, was elected trustee in 2021. Freimark is an executive with a healthcare technology company.

KATHLEEN FOLEY (Mayor)

Have village priorities changed since you took office, and as mayor what issues now top your priority list? 

Foley: They’ve not changed, but been amplified. Infrastructure is primary. We need engineered upgrades for intensifying storms, and we have to find funding for the work. The decades-old practice of band-aiding infrastructure isn’t enough in our changed climate.

What is your assessment of the Fjord Trail as currently proposed? 

In my own view, its impacts will outweigh benefits to the village. Connecting the trail to Dockside is a mistake for traffic flow and visitor draw — our streets aren’t built to host an entry point.

We need Fjord Trail for many reasons. I support it in concept, but its form and path must deemphasize the village to the greatest extent possible. There’s a planning rule for highways and parking lots: the more you build, the more cars come. Similarly, another trail route through the village — especially through beautiful Dockside — will bring more people through Cold Spring.

Rather than an additional entry, we need real improvements where trail-seekers already naturally flow – from the train station along Fair Street and Route 9D to trailheads at Little Stony Point and Washburn. Residents will enjoy improved trail access on these routes, too.

Done right, the design will benefit residents and visitors. We have major pedestrian and traffic-calming needs. The village deserves meaningful impact mitigation for the crowds the trail draws. The trail has generous donors who believe in the public good, and an amazing design team. Let’s optimize, together!

Fair Street has significant storm water management issues to solve. At the same time, it’s clear to our engineers that no matter how we address water coming down, Fair will continue to flood, heavily, from the river. HHFT’s design team has an opportunity to plan an inundation-ready, safe, shared pedestrian and vehicular way on Fair, with improved recreation amenities for residents and visitors.

On 9D, valued village walkability is poorly matched with our vehicular backbone. Cold Spring needs to be understood by HHFT, state parks and the Department of Transportation as an integral part of the traffic system that delivers commuters and visitors, not just an obstacle to get through. Traffic must be slowed and calmed, and pedestrians prioritized all the way through the village.

Lastly, while Dockside is a state park inside municipal bounds, it is one of the few places that villagers have relief from crowd density. Regardless of final route, the village should continue to control event permits there, so our community can control impacts. We should retain permit revenue streams, as well.

ELIZA STARBUCK (Trustee)

What challenges have you faced as a first-time trustee and how well have you handled them?

The hardest part about being a first-time trustee is learning all the rules and processes that apply to local government. It’s not like being in business or volunteering where you can get things done fast if you put in a little extra time and effort. Everything takes twice as long as you expect, and honest democracy requires many voices to be heard before you can move forward with anything.

Every proposal that is presented transforms through this process. That has forced me to gain a lot of patience and let go of my pride and sense of ownership. Trustees are responsible for seeing projects through and I am up to the challenge of sticking around for long-term projects.

What is your assessment of the Fjord Trail as currently proposed?

I believe that public parks and access to nature are good for everyone and should be publicly funded. Scenic Hudson has a long record of doing difficult projects well. I benefit from visiting their parks and hiking their trails regularly. However, the Fjord Trail is a little different. Under the current conditions, the Village of Cold Spring is stuck between a rock and a wall. The boom in tourism, especially hiker traffic, is colliding with the village’s aging infrastructure, minuscule staff and strained budget.

Implementing the new residential parking plan will relieve some of the pressure, but this kind of tourism management will continue to demand more time and money than we can muster by ourselves. We need support from the Fjord Trail, New York State and Putnam County, all of whom must help us address our infrastructure and visitor issues before making Cold Spring even more attractive to the world.

AARON FREIMARK (Trustee)

What aspects of your professional career and life experience qualify you to be a village trustee? 

In my 14 years in Cold Spring, I’ve worked as a volunteer with several community groups. I’ve been a board member of the Little Stony Point Citizen’s Association, and spearheaded the Haldane PTA’s technology help desk when COVID forced students to work from home. I’ve also helped dozens of local residents run for village and town office. I’m looking forward to stepping up myself as a candidate for trustee.

Professionally, I’ve been a successful technology entrepreneur, and now I’m an executive at a healthcare technology company. I have extensive experience with budgets, financial planning, procurement, contracting, large-scale project management and data analysis. There’s a lot to learn about municipal government, but I am a voracious student, and I have tremendous respect for the current village board and mayor.

This administration has an ambitious agenda and has already accomplished so much in just two years. After years of perpetual “planning,” our infrastructure is finally getting actual, significant improvements. Parking permits and meters are on the way too, benefitting residents and raising significant revenue for the village directly from the tourists who visit us each weekend. And thanks to this administration seeing through the comprehensive plan, the Marathon property is now subject to smart new restrictions and strict public review.

What is your assessment of the Fjord Trail as currently proposed? 

The Fjord Trail is certain to bring new visitors, and I understand many of us worry we will lose access the village we love. But, of course, unprecedented crowds are here already. I live in Forge Gate, and I walk on Main Street every day. It’s crowded, for sure. But to be honest and uncynical, I don’t much mind the tourists. Seeing them enjoy our lovely village reminds me how much I appreciate Cold Spring myself. I benefit from the wonderful stores and restaurants that wouldn’t survive on weekdays alone. And soon, we’ll all benefit from the direct parking revenue that will go towards projects that would otherwise raise our taxes.

The Fjord Trail can be scaled down even more than it has. I’m in favor of better data to make decisions, and the new data committee is key if it is properly enabled. But the trail is also an opportunity to bring better amenities and services to our village, not just on weekends but every day.