Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Town makes appointments

AMENIA — The Town Board held its annual reorganization meeting on Friday, Jan. 2.

There were no oaths of office as no new board members were elected last year. Town Supervisor Victoria Perotti said that elected Assessor Wayne Euvrard would be sworn in the week of Jan. 5.

Councilpersons Stephen Perotti, Vicki Doyle, Gretchen Hitselberger and Mike DeLango and Supervisor Victoria Perotti were all in attendance. The members voted unanimously on all motions.

Paid appointments

Denise Fitzpatrick was appointed attorney to the town.

Karen McLaughlin was appointed bookkeeper. Lorna Sherman was appointed alternate per diem bookkeeper.

Jennifer Jaynes was appointed bank reconciliation clerk.

Tara Morey was appointed clerk to the water district. Katrina Gore-Alexander was appointed treasurer to the water district as well as building administrator assistant.

Hilarie Thomas was appointed town court special prosecutor.

Kimberlea Rea was appointed attorney for the Old Amenia Landfill.

Supervisor Perotti was appointed budget director.

Annette Culligan was appointed secretary to the supervisor.

Monique Montaigne was appointed typist.

John Fenton was appointed code enforcement officer.

Mike Segelken was appointed building and fire inspector.

Clerk Klingner was appointed registrar of vital statistics as well as tax collector.

Larissa DeLango was appointed Planning Board secretary.

Susan Metcalfe was appointed Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) secretary.

Joseph Fontaine was appointed Planning Board chairman.

Dave Everett was appointed Planning Board and ZBA attorney.

Cathy Whalen was appointed first deputy town clerk. Nancy Luther was appointed second deputy town clerk.

Donna Morrison was appointed assessor’s clerk.

John Lloyd was appointed data collector.

Christopher Klingner was appointed chief police constable. Jason Dean, Brett Johnson and Duewayne Jackson were appointed police constables.

Andy Wheeler was appointed highway foreman. Allan Wilbur, Darren Peterson, Megan Chamberlin and Arthur Parrotte were appointed highway laborers. Judith Carlson was appointed highway office manager.

John Culligan was appointed groundskeeper and cleaner. Charles Mayville was appointed assistant recreation groundskeeper.

Mike Flint was appointed videographer.

Lesley Toth was appointed animal control officer.

Michael Hagerty was appointed grant writer.

Kathleen Howard was appointed summer recreation director.

Unpaid appointments

Councilperson Doyle was appointed deputy supervisor.

Arlene Iuliano was appointed town historian.

Andy Wheeler was appointed deputy highway superintendent. 

Leo Blackman was appointed ZBA chairman.

Supervisor Perotti was appointed for all hazards mitigation.

Clerk Klingner was appointed records management office.

Cathy Whalen was appointed deputy tax collector.

Board appointments

Councilpersons Doyle and DeLango were accepted as Town Board auditors for the general fund. The two were also appointed to the Enhancement Committee.

Councilpersons Hitselberger and Perotti were accepted as Town Board auditors for the highway fund. The two were also appointed to the Amenia Housing Commission and the Emergency Response Committee.

Councilpersons Perotti and DeLango were accepted as Town Board auditors for the water district. The two were also appointed to the Ethics and Water District committees.

Councilpersons Perotti and Doyle were appointed to the Recreation Committee.

Councilpersons DeLango and Hitselberger were appointed to the Wastewater Committee.

Councilpersons Doyle and Hitselberger were appointed to the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and Trail to Train Committee.

Councilpersons DeLango, Perotti and Doyle were designated emergency interim successors for Dutchess County Emergency Response.

Deputy Supervisor Doyle was appointed to represent Amenia at the 2015 Association of Towns Meeting.

Committee appointments

Chair Dave Reagon, Arlene Iuliano, Mark Doyle, Michael Peek and Anna Hadjuk were appointed to the CAC.

Chair Dawn Marie Klingner, Stanley Whitehead, John Kelleher, Christopher Howard, Virgil Shook Jr., Marco D’Antonio and John Fenton were appointed to the Emergency Response Committee.

Kevin Cassone and Toni Castro were appointed to the Enhancement Committee.

Dave Reagon and Martin Grossman were appointed to the Trail to Train Committee. 

Chair Janet Reagon, Tony Robustelli, Allison Hale, Brad Rebillard, Martin Grossman, Marco D’Antonio, Darlene Riemer and Victoria Alexander were appointed to the Wastewater Committee.

Chair May Jones, Bill Carroll, Martin Grossman and Norm Cayea were appointed to the Water District Committee.

Designations

M&T Bank Corp., the Bank of Millbrook and Salisbury Bank & Trust Co., were named official depositories of town funds.

The Millerton News was designated official town newspaper.

Other business

The board accepted the Town of Amenia Rules of Procedure, Committee Guidelines and Procurement Policy and established the date, time and place for scheduled meetings: every first and third Thursday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

The board executed an agreement to spend highway funds in 2015. The agreement states that “the sum of $245,762 shall be set aside to be expended primary work and general repairs upon 31.69 miles of town highways.”

The board approved $1 million bonding for the following town officials: supervisor, deputy supervisor, secretary to the supervisor, bookkeeper, alternate bookkeeper, town clerk, deputy town clerk, tax collector, deputy tax collector, code enforcement officer, building administrative assistant, justices, court clerks, constables, highway superintendent and deputy highway superintendent.

The board established mileage reimbursement at the federal rate of .575 cents per mile.

The board continued a $30,000 contract with SEBI for water treatment to the water district.

The board authorized all boards to use tape recorders for aid with minutes with the understanding that tapes do not replace typed and accepted minutes.

The board resolved to pay utility, postage, meter, copy machine maintenance, rents, debt service and employee benefits bills by resolution.

The board authorized the supervisor’s bookkeeper to do pre-audit functions of vouchers including math accuracy, checking for sales slips, delivery slips and paid bills by a municipal employee receiving goods, as well as make certificates of deposit and money market investments of available funds. 

The board authorized a charge of $20 on each check tendered as payment and returned for insufficient funds, including lost payroll checks. 

The board resolved for Sedore & Company to perform annual cash audit procedures required by town and state law. In addition, Sedore & Company’s Linda Hannigan was appointed CPA support. 

The board resolved that monthly bank reconciliations of the town clerk and town bookkeeper be made by an outside party, that monthly budget reports be distributed to all department heads and Town Board members and that the complete monthly budget report be distributed by the town clerk for public viewing by the town bookkeeper.

The board resolved that it has responsibility to authorize attendance of all officers and employees at conferences and training sessions.

The board accepted 2015 schedules for the Planning Board and ZBA. The Planning Board will meet the second and fourth Wednesday and the ZBA will meet the third Monday. Both boards meet at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

The board resolved that the town clerk maintain custody of all original records, minutes, contracts, grants and documents from committees, boards and vendors.

Latest News

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds at an Aug. 27 town meeting.

Alec Linden

SHARON — Sharon voters unanimously approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds between the town’s ambulance service and a regional fund supporting addiction prevention, harm reduction and mental health services.

The decision Thursday, Aug. 27, came two months after voters rejected an earlier Board of Finance-backed proposal, 27-11, at a June 18 town meeting. Residents had expressed concern about directing all the money, which must be used for opioid remediation, to a regional organization rather than supporting the town’s emergency medical service.

Keep ReadingShow less
At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.