Hudson Fjord Trail will prove a valuable asset

Will a $10 Million bridge will be needed?

Success in revitalizing the Hudson River waterfront is no easy undertaking, given complex bureaucracy and the diverse interests of stakeholders. We value the leadership of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in his support of the proposed Hudson Fjord Trail, an off-road route along the river linking the City of Beacon, the towns of Fishkill and Philipstown, and the Village of Cold Spring. Traversing one of the Hudson’s unique and highly visited stretches, the Fjord Trail will bolster tourism as well as Main Street economic development and keep the Hudson Valley on the map as an international destination. Each year, nearly 400,000 hikers, bikers and kayakers frequent the riverfront here to experience the Hudson Highlands’ dramatic scenery, but the Route 9D corridor remains a public safety risk because it offers limited access for pedestrians and bicyclists. Sen. Schumer, for the sake of our economy, safety and environment, we thank you!

Richard Shea
 supervisor, Town of Philipstown

Bob LaColla
supervisor, Town of Fishkill

Seth Gallagher
mayor, Village of Cold Spring

Randy Casale
mayor, City of Beacon

Steve Rosenberg
senior vice president, Scenic Hudson

Dutchess County $40 Million in debt

You think Fishkill is bad? This is going to impact us even more. The Fund Balance is nearly gone and positions have already been eliminated last year and there was still a 6% tax increase. Going to be worse this year.

What's ironic, is that blame is going to the previous County Executive as "inherited" debt. Why the Double Standard when it comes to the President who "inherited" much worse?

POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro will unveil a new initiative for public involvement in the 2013 county budget process at the session of the county legislature this evening.
Molinaro notes the county’s $40 million budget gap, which he inherited, must be addressed in next year’s spending plan.   He has assembled a team of county administrators to identify cost-saving measures in the current year.
“As we move forward we will have to outline significant decisions that are going to have to be made in order to confront the gap that I inherited as the budget condition moves forward,” he said.
Molinaro’s budget plan will be unveiled by his top administrators during the monthly county legislature session beginning at 7 p.m.  The meetings are webcast on the county website.

 http://midhudsonnews.com/News/2012/June/11/DC_budget_init-11Jun12.html

Check out this online newspaper, it's free.

National Flood Insurance Program.

http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/about/nfip_overview.jsp

Any Fishkill resident that needs insurance, check out this site. You could save hundreds.

'The old Fishkill' is missed here, too

I was pleased to see Ozzy Albra’s letter expressing concern about the excessive growth of housing in the Town of Fishkill (“Development boom is costly burden for Fishkill,” June 3). As a former town councilman, I have been upset about the loss of “the old Fishkill.” I compliment Albra for monitoring the government.


Maybe if more of us did the same the town wouldn’t be in the $5 million of debt that it is.

Hal Brilliant


Fishkill

6/6/12 Fishkill Town Board Meeting

http://www.fishkill-ny.gov/Agendas_Minutes_.htm

Big news of the night was police promotions and demotions. If you are interested, watch the meeting on Public Access.

In other news, the FEMA flood maps that were passed into law this year. (Local Law #3 2012) Were supposed to help Fishkill receive grant monies in a flood. This law instead, has resulted in banks. Contacting homeowners requiring them to have flood insurance at a average cost of $1,800 a year. Even though their properties have never flooded.

If the house has a mortgage. The lenders are sending out notices requiring the insurance ASAP. If insurance is not acquired. The lender is acquiring it for them and adding it into the mortgage.

This is a huge hardship to Fishkill taxpayers.

5/16/2012 Fishkill Town Workshop Meeting

Of importance: The board clearly supports a developers plan. To donate waterfront land to the town. So the town can then apply for a grant to build a $10 million bridge to gain access to the site. The town will not only pay for the bridge. They may have to build the park to the tune of $4 million. The developer then gets access to nearly 100 acres of waterfront land. Great deal for the developer. When Pagones was Supervisor, she had the developer build the bridge and the park.

 The board indicated that Merritt Park/Toll was not blending with village water. But will continue with the plan to connect to Brinckerhoff Water. They may also apply for a loan to do so. Another $1 million bond for a smaller sewer district was found to be loaned for other purposes. Even though filing false documents is illegal. The board is not going to move on holding those accountable for those action. Judges want a $9,000 pay raise to work 2 extra nights for traffic.

Board then went into Executive Session to vote on Police issues. There appears to be a growing conflict between the board and PBA. Note: These sessions are not televised and are just as important as regular meetings as this is where they discuss the issues. It's also a way of keeping info away from the public.

Officials warn of claim to reduce property assessments, taxes

TOWN OF FISHKILL – A Long Island based company is misleading local residents on property assessments and charging a fee for securing what it says are reduced values, Fishkill Town Supervisor Robert LaColla warned Thursday. “This company is sending letters using residents’ 2010 assessments and purporting to fight for assessment that have already been reduced,” he said. A cut in assessment results in reduced property taxes. Several Fishkill town residents have received mailers from Assessment Correction Group of NY Inc., which state: “Our fees are simple – you pay us only when we succeed.” The letter says the fee is 60 percent of the first year savings plus appraiser’s fee of $100. Christian Harkins, the assessor for the towns of Fishkill and Wappinger said the letter is a “blatant attempt to mislead homeowners into contracting for the company’s services.” He said the letter also states a “possible new assessment,” but he said that claim is also “extremely misleading.” Harkins said the number is not produced from a “legitimate analysis” of a property’s value, but is just the 2010 assessed value reduced by 25 percent. “The letter makes it appear that the ‘possible new assessment’ is the actual market value of the property, which is not attainable.” www.midhudsonnews.com A good source for FREE local news, check them out.