Notes from the Cold Spring Village Board

Busy year ahead for mayor and trustees

The Cold Spring Village Board, at its Jan. 29 meeting, began what will be a continuing discussion of a long list of projects as the 2024-25 fiscal year nears its end on May 31, and the 2025-26 budget year begins.

In the first quarter, the board is expected to deal with tasks as varied as its comment on the environmental review of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, major Fair Street drainage repairs, updating permits for commercial filming in Cold Spring, revising the short-term rental law, renegotiating the contract with Royal Carting for trash and recycling pickup, reviewing paid parking and pedestrian safety.

“We have a lot of competing priorities and overlapping timelines,” Mayor Kathleen Foley said, adding that the board needs to set realistic expectations for what trustees can accomplish individually and as a team over the next year.

Below are highlights of the Jan. 29 and Wednesday (Feb. 5) board meetings:

■ The board on Jan. 29 awarded a contract to Wind River Environmental EarthCare for video inspection of a sewer line that runs under private property between structures on Parrott and West Bank streets. The work is being done in conjunction with an application before the Planning Board to build an accessory dwelling unit. Although Wind River’s bid of $7,850 was the highest of three, it was the only firm that included a no-damage guarantee.

■ The board approved the lowest of three bids, for $15,115 from Bartlett Tree Service, for pruning and maintenance of village-owned trees recommended by the Tree Advisory Board.

■ The board rejected both bids for upgrading the entrances to Village Hall with impact-resistant doors, which are now required for municipal buildings. The lower bid was $44,850; both were much higher than anticipated. The village will issue a second request for proposals.

■ Patrick Ferreira’s request to build and install a gaga ball pit in the northeast corner of McConville Park as his Eagle Scout project was approved.

■ Hahn Engineering, which provides services to the village, will soon issue a request for proposals for repairs to the major stormwater drain along the northern section of Fair Street that failed during a severe storm in July 2023. Hahn’s William Angiolillo said construction could begin as early as late May. The project, estimated to cost $1.5 million, will replace the failed 30-inch pipe with two 42-inch pipes. The Fair Street drain receives stormwater from a 160-acre drainage basin that extends upstream as far east as Bull Hill.

■ The project will also include construction of a new sidewalk along a portion of Fair Street. Hahn is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Highway Administration to determine how much funding the project will receive.

■ Cold Spring will renew its participation for 2025-26 in a community choice aggregation (CCA) electricity program, in which municipalities purchase energy for residents and small businesses at what is typically a discounted rate. The mayor was authorized to sign a nonbinding agreement with Joule, the firm that oversees the program. Cold Spring was one of six founding municipalities for a CCA established in 2019; there are now 60 statewide, including 16 in the Hudson Valley.

■ The board approved a CCA plan that will purchase 50 percent of the electricity from renewable sources in New York state and 50 percent from renewable sources outside New York. The final pricing will be presented by Joule at the board’s Feb. 19 meeting. Residents are automatically enrolled but can opt out at any time. Central Hudson handles billing.

■ A public hearing was scheduled for Feb. 19 on a proposed law to grant a 10 percent property-tax exemption to volunteer Cold Spring Fire Co. firefighters after two years of service. Putnam County, Philipstown, Nelsonville and the Haldane and Garrison school districts already do so.

■ The board appointed Kimberly Sevilla to the Historic District Review Board.

■ Burke Electric’s low bid of $4,250 was accepted for replacing damaged surge protectors and adding lighting at the wastewater treatment plant. SK Electric’s bid was nearly $4,000 higher.