Something worth considering: This Petition >> Give Us Transparency Before Voting With Ailes

Here's something worth consideration:  

A July 30 petition launched by Putnam County Taxpayers for Transparency and Integrity calling for elected representatives in Putnam County, New York to be transparent, fiscally responsible, and to reconsider partnership with former CEO of FoxNews, the accused harasser, Roger Ailes.

Click the link below to read, sign and share the petition with your neighbors in Putnam County, New York.

Give Us Transparency Before Voting With Ailes

GOOD FOR COLD SPRING! :: A Public Tree Law

GOOD FOR COLD SPRING!  

Last night, the Village Board unanimously voted to enact a PUBLIC TREE LAW!

As we know from the development and adoption of our Formula Business / Drive-thru Restrictions Law, legislation worth enacting is legislation about which we must be deliberative.

Our Public Tree Law establishes a structure within which dedicated volunteers can organize in support of the health and maintenance of our Village's Public Trees!  This legislation answers long-called-for requests for an institutional commitment to development and maintenance of our Village Arboretum! 

Long before I was on the Village Board of Trustees, a few extraordinary Village residents spent countless hours nurturing and advocating for our Public Trees.  They were effective and inspiring in their projects.  Other resident tree enthusiasts were moved to build on that work, asking the Village to make meaningful commitments to tree health by establishing a shade tree commission, a tree nursery –  by formally demonstrating support for the health of our Village Trees. 

• Previous Village Boards have secured Urban Forestry Grants.  

• Our Village’s Comprehensive Plan calls for the protection and enhancement of our Village Trees.  

• The Cornell Cooperative Extension submitted its completed Village Tree Inventory in December 2011. 

• Spring of 2012, residents worked with the Village to plant trees on Chestnut, Morris and Main Streets and tended them throughout the year.  

• Spring of 2013 our former Mayor Phillips helped residents to establish a Tree Nursery, and enthusiastic residents - including Haldane students - stepped up to sponsor tree plantings on Main, Chestnut & High Streets, and then tended them throughout the year.  

• Last fall, still more residents stepped up with contributions of funding for the planting of trees on our Main Street. 

• Spring of this year saw shade-giving trees planted for pedestrians and business patrons along a previously shade-less stretch of Main Street. 

Recognizing enthusiasm worth harnessing and momentum worth seizing, just over a year ago - in November of 2013 the Village Board voted unanimously to appoint a Tree Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for a public tree law and tree management plan.  Over the last year, with legal assistance from our Village Attorney, Mike Liguori of Hogan & Rossi, Tree Advisory Committee members (Jennifer Zwarich, Mary Saari, Kory Riesterer, Kathleen Foley, Dick Weisbrod, Donald MacDonald, Dana Bol, Tony Bardes, Chuck Hustis and myself)  all demonstrated stick-to-it-iveness to see enacted legislation worth enacting.

Thank you to our neighbors in the Village and in the Town who have turned out repeatedly in support of the work of the Tree Advisory Committee and the adoption of the Public Tree Law.

Thank you to our friends and colleagues at the New York Sate Department of Environmental Conservation, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Central Hudson, and the Cold Spring Highway Department - all of whom have been invaluable resources for the Village in its work protecting, planting and maintaining our public trees, and in the development of this legislation!

HOORAY!!

Interesting, Informative, Noteworthy, Nice to hear, Necessary and Congested all in one meeting..... Our November 19th, Planning Board Meeting

Steve Laifer, thanks for recording our recent Planning Board meeting!

Great feature with the dual cameras!

Click here to view.

Interesting:  The Planning Board prepared concerted comments to explain and clarify their September 17th 'surprise & frustration' at being told they have no authority of mass & scale during Site Plan Review of the Butterfield Development.

Informative:  The Planning Board has been concerned with mass & scale since they first took up the State Environmental Quality Review process on the B4A Zoning Amendment and its attached Concept Plan in September of 2013.

Noteworthy:  There was a strong turn out of community support including: statements from seniors who look forward to a Senior Center and a Post Office at Butterfield; endorsements from County Legislator Barbara Scucciamara and news of County Executive Odell talking to the Ailes about their financial support, recollections of success at the waterfront - as constructed by Paul Guillaro!

Nice to hear:  Expressions of appreciation for the hard work of the Planning Board from Applicant's Attorney, Steve Barshov, Chestnut Ridge resident Shirley Norton and Paulding Avenue resident John Cronin.

Necessary: Corrections to the record by former Trustee Matt Francisco and Trustee Stephanie Hawkins.

Congested: A jury box of more amateur videographers including, Garrison resident and Nelsonville Church Pastor/PCN&R columnist, Tim Greco, Greco-church-member and Nelsonville resident Bridget Villetto, and former Cold Spring Village resident, Catherine Square.

....the facts of this issue... with hotlinks!

***

On June 27^, 2013, the Special Board discussed funding needs for completion of our Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, its suspension of further work on the LWRP, and it voted to notify the Village Board of available funding thru the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process  - deadline for which was August 12. (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

At the Village Board Monthly Meeting on July 9, 2013,  Mike Armstrong, Chair of the Special Board pointed out that funding to draft land use laws is available through the Consolidated Funding Application. Armstrong reported to the Village Board that Ted Fink of GreenPlan offered his services in preparation of that application.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  If he believed at the time the Village Board should not accept Fink’s offer, Armstrong remained silent.  (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

At its workshop on July 25, 2013, the Village Board voted unanimously (including Mayor Falloon & Trustee Campbell) to hire GreenPlan to work on the Code Update Project if GreenPlan's application for the $75,000 NYSERDA grant was successful.   (Minutes of that meeting are here.)  

The grant application was successful.  The Village was awarded the funding.

Both NYSERDA and the Village Attorney confirmed for the Village that an RFP is not required for the hiring of a consultant on this project. 

On a telephone conference call with NYSERDA on July 1, 2014, NYSERDA confirmed again, that an RFP for consulting services is not required for hiring of a consultant on this project.

However, Trustees Bowman & Fadde insisted the Village draw up an RFP for consulting services to replace GreenPlan.   (Minutes of that meeting are here!)

GreenPlan applied.  AKRF applied.  Barton & Logiudice applied.

On October 7, 2014 the Village Board voted 4-1 ( I dissented. ) to hire Molloy's preferred planning consultant, Barton & Logiudice, to replace GreenPlan – again, the professional consultant who had been unanimously voted on by the Village Board in July of 2013. (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

***

It looks like Fadde, Bowman and their friend Molloy have risked taxpayers over $7,500 through poor contract management and an inability to manage money, and yep! You guessed it, they want to blame me for it.

It appears Trustee Bowman & the PCN&R would have you believe that financial consequences of the Village Board’s change in consulting services are mine to pay.   

They would be wrong.

I have no personal liability for Trustee Bowman’s or Trustee Fadde's questionable financial initiatives that appear to be in service to their personal and political agendas.

Unfortunately, the Village as a whole appears to bear that burden.

We should all be watching closely as they continue to sponsor actions that can cost our Village time, money and quality service, and continue to oppose initiatives that represent real savings, meaningful service, real revenues & efficiencies!

***

As a consequence of replacing planning consultant, GreenPlan, with Barton & Logiudice for work on the NYSERDA grant / Code Update project, the Village received a bill from GreenPlan for more than $7,500 for the work involved in preparing the grant application.  

At last night's meeting the Village Board took advice of counsel on the matter.

(Watch the video of last night's meeting here.)

Thereafter, the Village Board voted to table the matter so the Village Attorney can reach out to GreenPlan in an effort to settle the dispute.

Unhappy with the consequences of his and Trustee Fadde's initiative to replace GreenPlan  (the professional consultant unanimously voted on by the Village Board in July of 2013) with the now-discredited Barton & Logiudice, and unhappy with the legal advice from the Village attorney,  BUT unwilling to take responsibility for those consequences, Trustee Bowman voted against settling the dispute ....

….but not before clumsily attempting to shift blame away from himself and Trustee Faddee –  and onto me – by asking for  Mike Armstrong’s well-known opinion of a funding opportunity he and his colleagues on the Special Board asked the Village Board to secure in service to their continued work.

…and not before suggesting I should ‘get out my checkbook’ and pay for GreenPlan’s bill myself. 

Our Village doesn’t have time or money to indulge anyone’s squandering of our Village’s limited resources:  our taxes , our staff’s time, our real property or the hard work of our volunteers.

Of course, I responded.  Dumbass:  Not as precise a word as it might have been – but it sufficiently conveys my opinion of Trustee Bowman’s financial acumen relative to this matter.

***

On June 27^, 2013, the Special Board discussed funding needs for completion of our Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, its suspension of further work on the LWRP, and it voted to notify the Village Board of available funding thru the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process  - deadline for which was August 12. (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

At the Village Board Monthly Meeting on July 9, 2013,  Mike Armstrong, Chair of the Special Board pointed out that funding to draft land use laws is available through the Consolidated Funding Application. Armstrong reported to the Village Board that Ted Fink of GreenPlan offered his services in preparation of that application.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  If he believed at the time the Village Board should not accept Fink’s offer, Armstrong remained silent.  (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

At its workshop on July 25, 2013, the Village Board voted unanimously (including Mayor Falloon & Trustee Campbell) to hire GreenPlan to work on the Code Update Project if GreenPlan's application for the $75,000 NYSERDA grant was successful.   (Minutes of that meeting are here.)  

The grant application was successful.  The Village was awarded the funding.

Both NYSERDA and the Village Attorney confirmed for the Village that an RFP is not required for the hiring of a consultant on this project. 

On a telephone conference call with NYSERDA on July 1, 2014, NYSERDA confirmed again, that an RFP for consulting services is not required for hiring of a consultant on this project.

However, Trustees Bowman & Fadde insisted the Village draw up an RFP for consulting services to replace GreenPlan.   (Minutes of that meeting are here!)

GreenPlan applied.  AKRF applied.  Barton & Logiudice applied.

On October 7, 2014 the Village Board voted 4-1 ( I dissented. ) to hire Molloy's preferred planning consultant, Barton & Logiudice, to replace GreenPlan – again, the professional consultant who had been unanimously voted on by the Village Board in July of 2013. (Minutes of that meeting are here.)

***

If the current composition of the Village Board believes the $75,000 NYSERDA grant for the Code Update project should be declined, the Village Board should vote to do so.  

I am one of 5 votes on the Village Board and Trustee Campbell and Mayor Falloon have demonstrated their openness to persuasion on less critical issues than those that currently serve as political football for Trustees Bowman and Fadde and those around them with similar interests.

Resident Video of the 11-13-2014 Code Update Committee Meeting :: 2nd & 4th Thursdays @ Village Hall 7PM (Meeting #2)

Many thanks (again) to resident videographer Steve Laifer for taking the time to record the 

second meeting of the Code Update Committee on November 13th, 2014

Clear Here to Watch!

Information about the Code Update Committee can be found on the Village of Cold Spring website at:

http://coldspringny.gov/Pages/ColdSpringNY_CodeUpdate/index

Resident Video of the 11-12-2014 Historic District Review Board Meeting .... updated designs for Butterfield....

Many thanks (again) to resident videographer Steve Laifer for taking the time to record the 

> November 12th meeting of the Historic District Review Board. <

Interesting proposed designs! 

Click to see the updated designs and hear discussion about them!