Town Board welcomes ideas for 2020 CDBG, assesses Trail to Train

AMENIA — At its most recent meeting on Thursday, Sept. 19, the Amenia Town Board opened the floor to the public for the purpose of gleaning suggestions for the 2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

The public hearing on the 2020 CDBG program opened at 7:08 p.m. As the first and only public speaker during the hearing, Leo Blackman, an alternate on the Amenia Zoning Board of Appeals and a member of the Amenia Zoning Review Committee, offered several ideas for the town’s application to the program, including the installation of a sidewalk near Freshtown.

“I’ve seen a lot of elderly people and young people walking that route, and it’s very dangerous,” Blackman said.

Among his other ideas, Blackman suggested exploring the costs for installing a septic system at Amenia Town Hall and installing a solar field at the former town dump.

Amenia Supervisor Victoria Perotti reminded both the board and the public that the CDBG program has a list of priorities that the town of Amenia needed to follow when applying for a grant.

“Some of your ideas do fit within some of the priorities,” Perotti said, addressing Blackman.

Focusing on Blackman’s idea for a septic system through a wastewater treatment lens, Perotti suggested that the town conduct a wastewater feasibility study. Councilman Damian Gutierrez agreed it’d be a good idea to conduct a wastewater feasibility study for Amenia, suggesting that the town also look into conducting one for the hamlet of Wassaic. 

Posing her own suggestion, Perotti mentioned that the board received a CDBG grant a few years ago for a sidewalk along Route 44. While the town was only to install 188 feet of sidewalk, the program gave the town permission to complete the project in phases, and Perotti raised the possibility of the town extending the sidewalk to the town’s ball field at Beekman Park.

By 7:26 p.m., the board closed the public hearing and proceeded to evaluate town business.

Moving on to the board’s discussion of the Trail to Train project, Perotti reminded the board that they were looking for a project manager to oversee the work being done. She mentioned that someone had come to see her earlier that day, adding that the individual had been recommended to her by a local contractor. After taking down information related to what the position’s responsibilities would entail, Perotti said the individual would get back to her with a decision.

In consulting John Andrews, the town’s engineer, she informed the board that the average hourly salary for a project manager was anything from $45 to $65. Gutierrez suggested that the board set up a daily rate for paying the project manager instead of an hourly rate. Perotti reminded him that the project manager would serve as a temporary employee for a three-month period.

In the meantime, Perotti reminded the board that they needed to make a decision as to how much money they wanted to borrow for the project and that they needed to create a resolution if they decided to borrow money. No decision was made at the meeting.