Crafting the City Budget

The Board of Estimate and Apportionment--the mayor (Kamal Johnson), the Common Council president (Tom DePietro), and the city treasurer (Heather Campbell)--is scheduled to meet three times this week. The sessions will be held in person only, and the topic of discussion each day has not been revealed. Here is the schedule for this week's sessions.

• Monday, October 28, at 2:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30, at 2:30 p.m.
• Friday, November 1, at 2:30 p.m.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

In a week filled with Halloween and early voting, which sees the end of October and the beginning of November, here is what's happening.

• On Monday, October 28, Hudson Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) holds a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. to consider the Hudson Housing Authority's request to extend its option to buy three properties owned by HCDPA and postpone the $25,000 payment due on October 31 until the end of the year. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

• There was a Planning Board meeting scheduled for Monday, October 28, but that meeting has been canceled. No agenda for the meeting was ever published, and there is no information about why the meeting was canceled.
• On Wednesday, October 30, at 4:00 p.m., Mayor Kamal Johnson holds a public hearing on the amendments to the Community Character Preservation Law, which prohibits formula businesses in Hudson, and the adoption of the Good Cause Eviction Law. The hearing takes place in person only in the Common Council Chamber at City Hall.
• Also on Wednesday, October 30, the Common Council ad hoc Truck Route Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

• On Saturday, November 2, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society celebrates the annual holiday illumination of the lighthouse, as part of the commemoration of the landmark's 150th anniversary. The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.

Photo: Andy Mitford andymitford.com

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Voter Prep

Early voting in New York started yesterday, and the line of people waiting to vote at 401 State Street went around the corner, at times, all the way to Columbia Street. One voter reported that voting yesterday took 90 minutes, from the time she got in line and to time she exited the building having voted. 

Photo: Lance Wheeler

Today the line is not as long.

Just a reminder. When you are voting, don't forget to turn the ballot over and vote on the propositions. Proposal One, which is statewide, is an amendment to the state constitution which would protect against "unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy." The amendment also protects reproductive rights.

In Hudson, there is a second proposal on the ballot, one that would increase the City of Hudson's annual contribution to the operating budget of the Hudson Area Library from $350,000 to $400,000--an increase of $50,000. There's a similar proposal on the ballot in Greenport, to increase the Town of Greenport's contribution to the library's operating budget from $85,000 to $95,000--an increase of $10,000. 

Voting continues today until 5:00 p.m. Here is the schedule for the next seven days of early voting:

• Monday, October 28--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 29--Noon to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30--Noon to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Friday, November 1--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, November 2--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, November 3--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.

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On the Eve of an Annniversary

Tomorrow, October 26, marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Hudson Dog Park. The opening of the dog park, with a ribbon cutting officiated by Mayor Rick Rector, was a joyous event, marking the successful culmination of more than a decade of struggle to make the dog park a reality.

Photo: Jonathan Simons

The park started out with the bare minimum required for a dog park: a big grassy space, fencing, poop bag dispensers, and trash barrels. In the past five years, there have been a number of improvements. The first summer, we brought water to the park. 

The next summer, we installed a shade pergola and furnished it with metal benches. That project, which cost about $10,000, was funded in part by a $5,000 grant awarded to the Hudson Dog Park in the PetSafe® Bark for Your Park™ grant competition.

We celebrated the park's third anniversary by unveiling the sign, newly erected to mark the entrance to the dog park. The picture of the sign below, taken at the unveiling, shows Scott Hotaling, who pro bono designed the Hudson Dog Park logo which was used for the sign.

This summer, we added a pool surround so that water sloshing out of the pool wouldn't create mud.

This fall, Hudson Dog Park undertook its biggest and costliest project yet: installing engineered wood fiber in the extensive area where the dogs' great love and enthusiasm for the dog park make it impossible to keep grass growing. 

It was the hope that the project would be completed in time for the dog park's fifth anniversary celebration, but snafus in getting materials in a timely fashion, has kept that from happening. This morning, Lance Wheeler created a video documenting the status of the installation on the eve of the anniversary. You can view the video here. (For those who wonder about that great heap of earth that appears several times in the video, in the spring, it will be sculpted into a berm, and trees will be planted on it.) 

In the meantime, although the dog park's fifth anniversary cannot be celebrated by the dogs' jubilant return to their favorite section of the dog park, the occasion will not go unobserved. Tomorrow, the anniversary of the Hudson Dog Park's opening day will celebrated with a Flea Market at the dog park. New and gently used dog gear--toys, sweaters and coats, harnesses and collars, beds and crate liners, carriers and crates, and much more--will be offered for sale at flea market prices. (There's even a robotic vacuum cleaner, because dogs do shed.) 

The Hudson Dog Park is situated on land owned by the City of Hudson, but it was built with funds raised by a stalwart and determined group of volunteers. The City of Hudson Department of Public Works mows the lawn, hauls away the trash, and plows the snow in winter, but everything else--from poop bags to major improvements--is funded by the generous donations of dog park supporters and users. 

Tomorrow's Flea Market is a fundraiser for the Hudson Dog Park. All items have been donated, and all proceeds will go toward maintaining and improving the dog park.

So, if there are dogs in your life, come to the Hudson Dog Park tomorrow between noon and 4:00 p.m. and buy your loyal companions something they will love. There are items worthy of being gifts, if it's not too early to start your holiday shopping. 

The park is located at 121 North Second Street, just north of the intersection with Dock and Mill streets (also known as the Empire State Trail). Dogs who come to the Flea Market will be treated to puppuccinos! 

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Dividing the Pie

At an IDA (Industrial Development Agency) meeting sometime in the past year, city treasurer Heather Campbell explained that, in the years that she has been in office, she has seen the Hudson City School District's share of the property tax pie get increasingly bigger, because every year HCSD increases its budget by as much as New York State law allows, whereas the City of Hudson and Columbia County try to hold their budgets in check and not increase the tax burden on property owners.

This year, it seems Hudson has decided to claim a bigger piece of the property tax pie, at least as it pertains to Hudson property owners. Intel from meetings of the BEA (Board of Estimate and Apportionment) is that the City of Hudson, following the example of HCSD, will be increasing property taxes in 2025 by as much as the law allows: 2.9 percent. That's tentative, of course. The city budget for 2025 has not yet been finalized.

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About the Wellness Hub

Many of us have heard about the Wellness Hub being developed in Greenport near the county jail, but most of us don't know very much about it. Today, in its monthly newsletter, RUPCO introduced the Wellness Hub with a video about its inception.

In partnership with the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, the City of Hudson, and Columbia County, RUPCO is thrilled to develop the Wellness Hub, a mixed-use project in Greenport addressing the urgent housing and support needs of vulnerable individuals. The Wellness Hub will feature approximately 25 Safe Haven Shelter units, 35 permanent supportive apartments, and up to 14 temporary beds for short-terms stays, offering housing and case management to individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance use disorder, and/or reentry from incarceration. In addition, the 5-acre campus will include a Welcome Center that will connect individuals to key services. The project will be designed with trauma-informed and sustainable principles, creating a secure, welcoming environment for healing and recovery.

The video about the Wellness Hub can be viewed here.

What About Those Townhouses?

The document that Eu Ting-Zambuto of Mountco distributed to members of the Common Council and Gossips reported on last week indicated that Phase 1 of the Hudson Housing Authority's redevelopment plan would include the construction of approximately ten townhouses. The following is quoted from that document:

Phase 1 is proposed to be comprised of new construction on "Site B," HHA's underutilized existing 1.4-acre site on its north end, which currently contains a basketball court, maintenance shed, and the new construction of Site A1, a vacant parcel to the west of the project's existing Columbia Apartments, along with the acquisition and new construction of approximately ten townhouses on City-owned land.

The drawing below, from an earlier conceptual plan for the project shows the location of the townhouses: nine on State Street near South Front Street; one at the corner of Warren and Front streets; and three at the corner of Second and Columbia streets. 

On Monday, at the meeting of the HHA Board of Commissioners, when Ting-Zambuto presented the Revised Preliminary Redevelopment Plan, there was no mention of the townhouses.

The three parcels on which HHA is proposing building houses actually belong to Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency (HCDPA) not to the City of Hudson. In 2022, HCDPA and HHA entered into an agreement whereby, for an annual payment of $25,000, HCDPA agreed not to sell the parcels to another entity but to hold them off the market for HHA. If HHA ultimately purchased them, the amount paid would be applied to the purchase price. If they decided not to buy them, the money would not be refundable. The agreement has been in place for two years now and is due to expire at the end of this month, on October 31, 2024.

At the HCDPA meeting last week, Dominic Merante, who chairs the HCDPA Board, brought up the fact the HCDPA's agreement with HHA expires on October 31. Revonda Smith, chair of the HHA Board of Commissioners, who in that capacity serves ex officio on the HCDPA Board, challenged the notion that the topic should be discussed. It was subsequently revealed by HCDPA legal counsel Christine Chale that members of the HCDPA Board had received an email from Mountco, HHA's development partner, requesting that the agreement be extended for two months, postponing the $25,000 payment until December 31, 2024. Because the request to modify the agreement came from the developer, who had not been party to the contract, and not HHA, the HCDPA Board decided to wait until after the HHA Board of Commissioners met the following Monday to address the issue.

At the HHA meeting on Monday, Ting-Zambuto said they were in discussion with HCDPA about extending their option to buy the parcels. Margaret Morris, treasurer of HCDPA, who was attending the meeting virtually, questioned the notion that HHA was "in discussion" with HCDPA and asked what they intended to do when the agreement expired at the end of the month. She was told they wanted the deadline for renewing the agreement and paying the $25,000 extended for two months. Morris responded by saying, "I do not understand why HHA cannot pay the $25,000 at the end of October."

Smith and Rebecca Wolff, who sits on the HHA Board, asserted it was not appropriate to discuss the agreement. Jeffrey Dodson, HHA executive director, noted, "HCDPA is not going to return the money if we decide not to go forward." Smith admonished Morris, saying, "Please think about HCDPA's mission before you speak on behalf of HCDPA," and continued, "You are making a mess of yourself. It's disgusting." Council president Tom DePietro chimed in, "Margaret does not speak for HCDPA. She speaks only for herself." Community member Ronald Kopnicki rebuked Smith, telling her, "It is the chair's obligation to keep order. Calling people 'disgusting' is not appropriate."

As it turned out, Dodson had a resolution prepared requesting that HCDPA extend the deadline for renewing HHA's option to buy the parcels until the end of the year. The resolution received the unanimous support from the HHA commissioners. A special meeting of the HCDPA Board has been scheduled for Monday, October 28, at 5:00 p.m. to consider the request.

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What's Happening This Coming Weekend

There are several big events coming up this weekend in Hudson--some Halloween-related, some not. 

On Saturday, October 26, the Hudson Dog Park celebrates its Fifth Anniversary! To mark the anniversary of its opening, the park is having a fundraising Flea Market of new and gently used dog gear. There are toys and treats; collars, harnesses, and leashes; beds, crates, and crate liners; and much, much more. There's even a robotic vacuum cleaner, because, as the donor put it, "most dogs shed." All will be offered at flea market prices, with all proceeds going toward maintaining and improving the Hudson Dog Park. To check out some of the items on offer, go to hudsondogparkny.org.

Come to the Hudson Dog Park, on North Second Street just beyond the intersection with Dock and Mill streets, to buy some good gear for your dogs and to celebrate and support the dog park. For dogs who come to the flea market to shop, there will be puppuccinos!

Also on Saturday, October 26, early voting begins in New York. The two polling places in Columbia County are the county office building at 401 State Street in Hudson and Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, 3211 Church Street in Valatie. Early voting continues for nine days. Here is the schedule:

• Saturday, October 26--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, October 27--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday, October 28--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 29--Noon to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30--Noon to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Friday, November 1--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, November 2--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, November 3--9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, October 27, is chockablock with events. In the morning, its the 24th Annual Ghostly Gallop, the 5K run to benefit the Hudson Area Library. The course, which begins at Hudson Jr./Sr. High School, takes runners and walkers of all ages through Hudson, past the library, and back to the Jr./Sr. High School. Because it's almost Halloween, there's a costume contest at 9:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., there's a Kids Fun Run for children 12 and under, with every participant receiving a finishing medal, a race bib with their name on it, and a free book, thanks to the Hudson Children's Book Festival. The 5K begins at 10:30 a.m.

You can register online for 5K race at the Ghostly Gallop website or in person on race day. 

At 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 27, there's a chess tournament at the Hudson Youth Center, 18 South Third Street. Players can compete in one of three categories--Expert, Intermediate, Kids.

Also on Sunday, October 27, it's Hudson Halloween! From 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., there is trick-or-treating on Warren Street. At 4:00 p.m., everyone will gather at Seventh Street Park for the parade down Warren Street to Hudson Hall, where the Costume Contest will take place at 4:30 p.m.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

As we move closer to Halloween and to what is probably the most consequential election in my lifetime, here is what's happening in Hudson.

• On Monday, October 21, the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meets at 6:00 p.m. The board is expected to discuss the Revised Preliminary Redevelopment Plan. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person in the Community Room at Bliss Towers and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

• On Tuesday, October 22, the Common Council Finance Committee meets at 5:15 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• Also on Tuesday, October 22, the Common Council ad hoc Parking Study Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

• On Wednesday, October 23, the Common Council ad hoc Truck Route Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

Update: Tonight's meeting of the ad hoc Truck Route Committee is being rescheduled for sometime next week.

• Also on Wednesday, October 23, the Furgary Park Visioning Community Roundtable Event takes place at 7:00 p.m. at The Spark of Hudson, 502 Union Street. Residents are invited to share their ideas for transforming the Furgary site into a community recreational resource.

• On Thursday, October 24, the Public Works Board, tasked with overseeing the city's Sidewalk Improvement District, meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• On Friday, October 25, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. The meeting includes public hearings on the plans for the rehabilitation of the Public Square and on the hardship application for 431 East Allen Street. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place on person in the Council Chamber at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

And there are a lot of things happening on the weekend, which Gossips will cover tomorrow in a separate post.

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BEA Budget Workshops This Week

The process of crafting the city budget for 2025 continues this week. The BEA (Board of Estimate and Apportionment--the mayor, the Common Council president, and the city treasurer) has three workshops scheduled for this week. The workshops are hybrid, taking place in person in the Council Chamber at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click on the topic of the workshop for the link to join the workshop remotely.  

• Monday, October 21
• 2:30 p.m.--Revenues
• Wednesday, October 22
• 2:00 p.m.--To Be Determined
• Friday, October 25
• 2:30 p.m.--To Be Determined

HPC to Hold Two Hearings on Friday

On Friday, October 25, the Historic Preservation Commission is holding two public hearings: one on the proposed rehabilitation of the Public Square; the second on 431 East Allen Street, the location of Catholic Charities.

There are currently cedar shakes on the mansard roof on the building at 431 East Allen Street. A certificate of appropriateness is being sought to repair the roof by replacing the cedar shakes with asphalt shingles. The HPC suggested that faux cedar shakes should be used instead of asphalt shingles, but the applicant maintained the cost of faux cedar shakes was not affordable. Because, according to the preservation ordinance, cost should not be a factor in deciding appropriateness, the HPC, at its September 27 meeting, denied a certificate of appropriateness and asked that a new application be submitted requesting a hardship consideration. The public hearing relates to the hardship application.

Set far back from the street, partially obscured by the garden beside St. Mary's Rectory, created in 2017, the house is easily overlooked, but it is a building of no small significance. Built in the 1860s, the house was designed by J. A. Wood, the architect for the 1877 Gothic expansion of the First Presbyterian Church. 

The house was originally located at the corner of East Court and East Allen streets. It can be seen, in its original location, in this historic photograph of courthouse square.

Photo courtesy Historic Hudson

The house was moved to its current location to make room for St. Mary's Church, the construction of which was completed in 1930.

Surely, this house deserves better treatment than it is getting. The HPC requested that the comparative prices of faux cedar shakes and asphalt shingles be presented at the hearing. Maybe someone of wealth, with a generous spirit and a desire to preserve Hudson's architectural heritage, will step up and provide the difference.

The public hearing on this project takes place at the HPC meeting on Friday, October 25. The meeting, which begins at 10:00 a.m., is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

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Finding Love on Warren Street

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 20, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., puppies looking for their furever homes will be on Warren Street near South Fifth. The puppies--there are eight of them, all adorable, vaccinated, and medically approved--are from Wonderdog Rescue on Church Road in Greenport, which transports dogs from overcrowded shelters in California to us here in Hudson. Tomorrow's pop-up adoption event is being hosted by Olde Hudson.  

There's reason to believe the pictures below provide a sampling of the cuteness that could steal your heart tomorrow.

You can find out more at wonderdogny.org or by calling or texting (518) 610-6088.