Friday April 26, 2024 
The Vision of the Town of North Greenbush
NORTH GREENBUSH – The Comprehensive Plan currently in effect contains a Community Vision Statement. This vision statement serves as the foundation for all policies, objectives and action items contained in the current Comprehensive Plan, which can be found on the Town webpage.
The Vision of the Town of North Greenbush reads, in part:
The Town of North Greenbush strives to balance future development with the conservation of key community features through progressive and cooperative local and regional planning. Our Town is a destination in the region. How we encourage and manage this demand is critical to our ability to remain a desirable location. Our waterfront, natural environment, rural areas, and open spaces are essential to our quality of life. Through thoughtful planning and design, we will protect these assets while allowing for smart and sustainable growth, encouraging more efficient use of land, and minimizing dense developments. Most importantly, North Greenbush will recognize the inherent value of community and always strive to preserve the safety, welfare, and general values viewed as crucial by its residents.
Town of East Greenbush Supervisor’s Report – February 27, 2020
EAST GREENBUSH – The situation at the Dunn Landfill in the City of Rensselaer continues to plague many Town residents as they endure odors, dust and debris from this inadequately regulated facility. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has begun to initiate new measures to control the problems but there is no excuse for the quality of life deficiencies suffered by our residents. More frustrating is that the Dunn Landfill is outside the jurisdiction of our Town Board. We receive no revenue and no benefit, and we have no official say over what happens at the site. We have not been silent as all five members of our Town Board have attended meetings and press conferences designed to put pressure on DEC to fix the problems. Now we’re going to take the next step and hold a Public Hearing so that our residents can express their concerns and share potential solutions. The details of the Public Hearing are as follows:
Public Hearing on Dunn Landfill – Wednesday, March 11, 2020. 6:00 p.m. Town Hall, 225 Columbia Turnpike in the Town of East Greenbush
Copies are now available of my 2019 annual report to the residents of the Town of East Greenbush. This is the fourth in a series of annual reports I’ve written to keep a campaign promise to work in a transparent manner and report all Town government activities to the people who pay for them. Copies of the report are available on the Town website, www.eastgreenbush.org , or at the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall. As a summary statement, 2019 was another successful year for our Town government. Our finances are robust, we’re making significant progress with infrastructure projects, we have made a number of great appointments, including our new Chief of Police, and Town operations are running smoothly and on time. The dedication and skill of Board members Tina Tierney, Hollie Kennedy, Rick Matters and Bridget Fritz continues to bear fruit as we move into 2020 with high hopes and great expectations.
Tracey Rex Reports to the People of Schodack
SCHODACK – I believe staying in touch with constituents is an important part of serving in elective office. This monthly report is an example of my commitment to keeping residents informed of the activities of the Schodack Town Board. All Town Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board meetings can be viewed live or at a later date at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/schodack.
During February, the Town Board approved the Transfer Station Fee Schedule, effective April 1. To view the Transfer Station Rules and Regulations and Fee Schedule, visit www.schodack.org.
We also finalized plans to hold the annual Spring Clean-Up Days on May 13, 14 and 15 from 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. During these days, items that normally have a fee can be brought to the Transfer Station for free or at a reduced charge.
Document Shredding Days will be held on March 28 at East Greenbush Town Hall, July 25 at Schodack Town Hall and October 24 at Rensselaer City Hall from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Residents of Schodack, East Greenbush and Rensselaer can bring up to three boxes of documents to any of these locations.
The Town of Schodack is ranked the 23rd safest community in New York State and the highest ranked community in the Capital Region, according to a survey conducted by the home-security website, www.alarms.org. Thank you to the men and women of the Schodack Police Department, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department and State Police who protect our community and keep us safe.
Congratulations to Castleton’s Mike Martin who was appointed by the East Greenbush Town Board as Recreation Supervisor of the Community and Recreation Department.
I was honored to be a guest speaker at the National Wear Red Day event sponsored by the American Heart Association and Bountiful Bread. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women, taking more women’s lives than all cancers combined. For more information on living a heart healthy lifestyle, visit: www.heart.org.
– Tracey Rex, Member of Schodack Town Board
Schodack Town Board GOP report
SCHODACK – While we’ve enjoyed a relatively mild winter so far, our highway crew remains prepared to handle any storms that may still come our way. That being said, as the calendar turns to March and we begin to look towards spring, our highway department will soon be making road improvements and repairs. If you notice an issue of particular concern please let one of us, Supervisor David Harris, or Highway Superintendent Ken Holmes know about it so it can be assessed and added to the list of summer projects.
We were very pleased to learn that in a recent survey, Schodack was ranked as the safest community in the capital district and twenty-third overall in NYS. While there are many factors that go into this, by far the largest reason is the excellent work the Town of Schodack Police Department does. We’re proud of the consistently high level of service our officers provide to town residents and this is a well-deserved recognition of those efforts. Thanks to everyone at the Schodack Police for all they do to protect our community, as well as to their partners in the NYS Troopers and Rensselaer County Sheriff.
Board members Bult and Swartz recently attended a meeting held at our town hall that was hosted by Rensselaer County Economic Development for the purpose of discussing the inclusion of properties into an Agricultural District. Properties in Agricultural Districts gain added protections under NYS Ag&Markets law for the conducting of farming practices. There is no cost to enroll property or penalty for removal, and inclusion does not qualify you for any tax breaks. Anyone interested in more information should contact Donna Murray at (518)270-2668.
And finally, in addition to the Pizza nights held by the East Schodack and Schodack Valley fire departments, and the breakfasts at Castleton V.F.D., South Schodack will be holding a fish fry every Friday during lent. We hope everyone will consider supporting these deserving organizations.
– Jim Bult, Scott Swartz, Mike Kenney
Town of Nassau Democratic Committee News
NASSAU – All enrolled Town of Nassau Democrats are cordially invited to attend our first meeting of the New Year on Sunday, March 15th, 3pm, at the Nassau Reformed Church located ¼ mile east of the traffic light on Rt. 20 in the Village of Nassau. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Nassau Dems is also welcomed to attend. We plan to discuss the need to recruit new members as well as talking about future plans and new directions and ideas for the Town Democrats to explore.
Join us for the fun of meeting and socializing with your fellow Democrats. Light refreshments will be served. If you have any ideas or concerns you wish to add to and discuss on our agenda, or to RSVP, please contact Pat at 518-577-0491 or email patpen1018@nullgmail.com.
Town of Schodack Tax Collection
SCHODACK – The Tax Office for the Town of Schodack will be open to receive 2020 Real Property and Water tax payments on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the month of March between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm. When the office is closed, you may leave payments in the secure mailbox on the wall outside of the Tax Office on the second floor of the Town Hall. All payments for 2020 Real Property Tax will only be collected at this office until March 31st then all payments must be handled by Renssealaer County Bureau of Finance (518-270-2754).
Submitted by Shawn Masters, Receiver of Taxes Town of Schodack
Meeting Dates for The Village of Nassau 2019-20
NASSAU – The following dates have been established for the Village of Nassau Board of Trustees Meetings. All meetings will be held at the Village Municipal Building, 40 Malden Street, Nassau, NY at 7:30pm unless otherwise posted.
March 11, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:30pm
March 18, 2020 Special Meeting Election 9:00pm
April 6, 2020 Annual Meeting 7:30pm
April 8, 2020 Public Hearing Budget 7:00pm
April 8, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:30pm
May 13, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:30pm
May 27, 2020 Year End Meeting 7:30pm
The Planning Board meets on the 1st Monday of each month (as needed) at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Municipal Building; The Zoning Board meets on the 4th Monday of each month (as needed) at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Municipal Building.
Town of Poestenkill’s Monthly Meeting Dates
POESTENKILL – The following are the dates for the Town Board of the Town of Poestenkill’s monthly meeting dates. March 19, 2020, April 16, 2020, May 21, 2020, June 18, 2020, July 16, 2020, August 20, 2020, September 17, 2020, October 15, 2020, November 19, 2020, December 17, 2020. The meetings are held the third Thursday of each month.
Susan Horton, Town Clerk
What is the Nassau Sunshine Fund Emergency Loan Program?
NASSAU – Are you a resident of the Town or Villages of Nassau? Has your household budget taken a hit? Got a car repair with nothing to spare? Or, are you having to choose between heat or eat? We know it happens, we’re here, we can help.
Norman Young, a well-known Nassau resident and antique dealer, had a birds eye view of the Great Recession of 2008. As his business involved buying household items from individuals needing to sell such items, he was struck by how hard hit many in the town were by the financial crisis. Norman came across an old cookbook that had been used as a fundraiser by a local organization called Open Porch Sunshine Society, which was around the early 1990s. While that organization had long faded away, he loved its neighbor-helping-neighbor philosophy. He conceived of a new Nassau Sunshine organization in which local residents would provide emergency financial assistance to other town residents dealing with a personal financial crisis.Norman and two friends agreed to reach out to others as well as religious and locally based organizations.
At its first meeting the attendees approved of a simple plan – create a non-profit that would offer interest-free loans to residents of the Town and Villages of Nassau facing a financial crisis that exceeded their resources and for which local agencies, public and private, were unable to offer assistance. As our first chairman, Sam Whaley said, “We decided on no-interest loans instead of just giving money away because it provides dignity, not a handout.
Entering our eleventh year, the Nassau Sunshine Fund has made 54 loans totaling over $21,000. Please contact us to ask about a loan or to make a donation. Nassau Sunshine Fund, PO Box 10, Nassau, NY 12123 (518) 256-2878; Please leave a message. www.nassausunshinefund.org;
info@nullnassausunshinefund.org
We remain faithful to our motto: Neighbors – Helping – Neighbors!
Stephentown Historical Society is creating Welcome To Stephentown package
STEPHENTOWN – Welcome to Stephentown! We can help you with that!
Moving is always stressful, and a hassle, and, let’s face it – a lot of work! And once you’ve moved to your new location, you have a whole new set of situations and obstacles to overcome. You need to find out where to send the kids to school, or where to find someone to fix your plumbing or wiring. Or maybe you want to check out the local organizations and get involved in area groups. So………. in order to help make all of that just a little easier to navigate, the Stephentown Historical Society is creating a “Welcome to Stephentown” package.
We envision this package having lots of informational “stuff”, like names and contacts to help people find just about anything in town. We’d like to provide information from our local organizations, such as the Fire Department, Library, Historical Society, Veterans, Seniors, local churches and synagogues, and any others that exist. We would like to provide a listing (along with business cards where possible) of all local tradespeople and businesses. We want to include any groups in town – for instance, the Heavenly Quilters and Boy & Girl Scouts. We’d love to have menus from restaurants and maybe “new customer” discounts or other coupon-type discounts.
As you can see, this is a formidable task and we do not want to leave anyone out! So, we are asking for your help. If you are a local business or tradesperson and would like to be included in this package, please contact us at shs@nullfairpoint.net. Let us know who you are and what you have to offer – be sure to leave us your contact information so that we can get back to you!
This project has been in the planning stages for quite a while and we’d like to get it off the ground in early 2020, so please act now!
We expect this project to be hugely helpful to new families, but also to our townspeople!