Of Interest on the Council Agenda for Tonight

At the informal meeting last week, Common Council president Tom DePietro noted there were not many resolutions to be introduced at that meeting, but there would be "quite a few next week." Some of the resolutions that will be introduced and voted on tonight are now available on the City of Hudson website. A couple of them are worthy of note.

There is a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a grant agreement with the Eutopia Foundation, the same group that has partnered with the Spark of Hudson to fund HudsonUP, the universal basic income pilot program. The grant is for $350,000 for "the restoration, enhancement, development and operation of Charles Williams Park." The possible projects to be funded include "the replacement, update, and refreshing of the park's seating, landscaping, playground equipment, basketball court, trash receptacles and plant care, and may include removal of extraneous structures or signs as mutually agreed between the City and the Eutopia Foundation." 

The park was originally built with a $250,000 grant from the NYS Environmental Protection Fund. The grant was awarded in 2007, but work on the park did not begin until around 2009. It was finally declared "all built out and complete" in 2015.

Also of interest on tonight's agenda is a resolution authorizing a settlement with Galvan Initiatives Foundation and Galvan Civic I in an Article 7 proceeding. It seems Galvan's request for property tax exemption for 614-620 Columbia Street (the former Community Theatre building) and 612 Columbia Street (the house just west of the theater building) was denied by the city's assessor. 

According to the resolution, the City and Galvan have agreed to settle the proceedings by deeming the two properties exempt from taxation. The resolution also indicates that Galvan has not paid property tax on the two parcels, together assessed for $1.375 million, since acquiring them in 2021.

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