■ At its Wednesday (March 12) meeting, the Cold Spring Village Board authorized Mayor Kathleen Foley to call for bids for a Fair Street drainage and sidewalk improvement project. The work, estimated to cost $1.5 million, will replace a 30-inch stormwater drainage pipe that collapsed during the storms of July 2023 with two 42-inch pipes. It also will include the installation of a concrete sidewalk.
■ The board approved an agreement with the Cold Spring Fire Co. for coverage of Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown. The department will receive $143,126 toward its operating expenses.Cold Spring will pay 52 percent, Philipstown, 29.5 percent and Nelsonville, 18.5 percent.
■ Cold Spring retained Catania, Mahon and Rider to defend against a suit filed in state court on Feb. 18 against Justice Thomas Costello, Court Clerk Cathy Costello and the village. Daniel Branda alleges the judge and court clerk improperly reported parking tickets he had contested and alleged they violated state law by failing to disclose that they are married. John Furst, a partner at the law firm, acts as the village attorney.
■Two Cornell MBA candidates who are part of the university’s Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) will help Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown assess the impact of tourism. “What are the visitor numbers; what are the costs?” Foley asked in explaining the program. “How can we identify what costs we can attribute to tourism versus regular uses?” The assessment will help establish a no-cost framework for evaluating tourism.
■ A $40,000 grant from the Anahata Foundation has enabled the Tree Advisory Board to prune 80 village-owned street trees, including many along Main Street. The grant also funded 30 trees planted in November. Chair Jennifer Zwarich said it was the most trees the board has planted at one time.
■ New York University students will shoot a short film in the village on Tuesday (March 18) between 5 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. The 17-minute dark comedy, Nocaretown, will include a scene in front of Our Lady of Loretto and another in Depot Square. The production will use one vehicle, an electric generator and lighting equipment. Because it is a student film, the village waived its fees.
■ Officer-in-Charge Matt Jackson reported that the Police Department responded to 95 calls in February, including 16 traffic stops and 14 assists to other first responders. The department is accepting applications for part-time police officers and parking enforcement officers.
■ Fire Chief Matt Steltz reported that 20 volunteer firefighters responded to 15 calls in February, including five medical assists.
For those wondering about the many cones laid out and trucks parked this month on village streets, the Cold Spring Tree Advisory Board applied for and was awarded a sustainability grant to complete extensive, necessary pruning on village-owned trees. No village operating funds were used for this critical, long-range work. Proper pruning of trees prevents health and safety issues while helping to preserve our village treescape. As important as it is to plant new trees (and last fall we planted over 30 trees, thanks to this same grant), maintaining the ones we have offers even more long-term cost-savings to the village. Thus, this recently awarded grant offers real bang for its buck. To learn more, visit coldspringtree.weebly.com.
Riesterer is secretary of the Cold Spring Tree Advisory Board.