Millbrook Village Board meeting: Parking, guard rails and library coffee shop discussed

MILLBROOK — The Tuesday, Aug. 27, Village Board meeting was called to order by Mayor Rodney Brown at 6:30 p.m. 

Brown read a letter from teachers Alissa Kelly and Maxine McGowan of Elm Drive Elementary School, saying that the children in fourth and fifth grades are studying local government. In doing so, they talked about Millbrook, their favorite places and what they would like to see change.

Brown read aloud what the children sent and shared their artwork. Mentioned were the park, the library, the book store and Stewart’s Shops as popular hangouts. Stewart’s was a favorite, in fact. One child would like to see a coffee shop in the library; someone else wanted a splash pad and a sprinkler in the park; another wanted a play area at Stewart’s, and said more people would go there if there was one. Almost all of them said they love Millbrook.

Bill Bright of Delaware Engineering gave a presentation on the Dyna Filters for the sewage plant. The second-hand sand filter system would be purchased from a facility in Colorado at a cost of $25,500. The shipping would be $8,000. The system, which is in excellent working condition, would be sandblasted and painted; sand would then be entered into the system. The total cost would be around $50,000, a great deal less than a new system would be.  

Bright said these filters last a long time; Millbrook could expect to get 20 to 30 years from it as it is currently less than 10 years old. After the presentation, there was a question and answer session; at the end of that period the board voted to make the purchase. Bright also mentioned that there might be funding or grants available to help with costs.

Resident Dominick Molella asked the board for help with a problem concerning a village guard rail that he feels encroaches on his property on Dineen Road. The guard rail, or pieces of it, were moved at some point. It now cuts across part of the access way to his property. There is also a retaining wall involved. 

After much discussion among the board, village attorney Josh Mackey and Molella, it was determined that it might be feasible to remove, repair or replace that section of guard rail. An engineer will look at it, along with Highway Supervisor Bob Collocola, and if everyone agrees on a solution, Molella will be able to accomplish his goal.

Trustee Mike Herzog and Mackey have been working on bylaws for the Shade Tree Commission while leaving the coding intact. Herzog also mentioned training sessions being given at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County in the training of all facets of tree care and maintenance. He would like to take the training along with Trustee Kevin McGrane and possibly Collocola; the board agreed.

Trustee Joe Rochfort reported that he heard from Charlie Pierce of the Thorne Building  Community Center project; notices will be published alerting all heirs to the building that a sale is imminent and for them to come forth with any questions. This has to do with the “reverter clause,” which has been troublesome throughout the procedure. Regardless, it is expected that the deal will soon be completed. According to www.definitions.uslegal.com, “Reverter, in the context of real property, means the return to the grantor or his/her heirs of real property after all interests in the property given to others have terminated. Reverter occurs when the property owner transfers a vested estate of lesser quantum than he started with.”

McGrane, who spearheaded Millbrook Community Day on Saturday, Sept. 7, gave a rundown of events planned for the day. Church Street was closed for the duration of the event, from 9 a.m. through 2 p.m., and Franklin Avenue was shut down from 12:30 until 2 p.m. to allow for the parade.

Verbank resident Jane Geisler addressed the board about parking in Millbrook. She suggested they take a look at what Pawling has recently done about parking with the help of a grant. There are time limits for parking in Millbrook; also, many people think are privately owned actually allow public parking. There was a healthy discussion, parking details were clarified and future discussion was proposed.

The meeting adjourned at roughly 8:15 p.m. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at Village Hall.