What's Happening in Town

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Rhinebeck Community Garden Looks Forward to Spring

Group welcomes new gardeners for flowers, veggies, and friendship

The Rhinebeck Community Garden steering committee is meeting regularly to plan the 2010 gardening season. Started in the spring of 2009, the garden's first year was full of challenges and great successes. Located in the Thompson Mazzarella Park behind the Starr Library, the grassroots project was the subject of many hours of planning, trouble-shooting, digging, sowing, nurturing, harvesting, and sharing for a dedicated group of Rhinebeck community members..

The Community Garden is "upgrading" in 2010 with a permanent water source, and the group is currently looking for new members. If you have always wanted to garden but don't have the space, consider having a plot in the protected confines of the Rhinebeck Community Garden, which is fenced to keep out deer.

The Community Garden steering committee encourages any Rhinebeck resident to join. "We are a diverse group, with a wide age range, from different backgrounds, ethnicities and walks of life. We share a passion for creating a beautiful, green, friendly space here in our community and welcome new members. There's a great sense of community and it's a great opportunity to make new friends, be outside, and eat delicious food!"

Members can rent a full plot (20' x 15') for $25 (half plots and scholarships are available) and agree to contribute several hours a month as a volunteer to help maintain the Community Garden. Volunteer jobs include general garden maintenance, organizing potlucks, keeping on top of garden supplies, doing outreach, helping with the community plot (whose harvests are donated to the Red Hook Food Pantry), etc.

Those interested in joining the Rhinebeck Community Garden can download an application and guidelines at www.winnakeeland.org or pick these up at the Starr Library (68 West Market Street). A limited number of plots are available and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Questions? Contact Raphael or Kim Notin at 876-6419.

• Town Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)

           March 4, 2010

CONTACT: Suzanne Kelly                                                      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHONE: 845.876.6436

EMAIL: suzmkelly@aol.com

Town of Rhinebeck Addresses Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Rhinebeck Town Board has authorized the creation of a task force to identify the Town's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and advise the Town Board on strategies to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. The task force will recommend goals to the Town Board.

Rhinebeck has made the Climate Smart Communities Pledge, joining 73 other New York municipalities in a pledge to combat climate change by making their communities more energy efficient and working toward a sustainable future.    

In determining how to best conserve energy and reduce emissions, the task force will establish an inventory of GHG emissions.   That inventory will be guided by The Climate Registry, http://www.theclimateregistry.org/, a non-profit organization that "sets consistent and transparent standards to calculate, verify and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions into a single registry." The Climate Registry will provide expertise to the task force in its efforts to determine the most accurate and complete data.

The Town Board has appointed Conservation Advisory Council members Raphael Notin and Suzanne Kelly to the task force. The task force is asking for additional members.  Concerned citizens, local experts and dedicated volunteers are welcome.  Applications for membership to the task force may be obtained in the Town Clerk's office in Rhinebeck Town Hall. 

• Town Board

Spring Clean Up

What a valuable way to celebrate Earth Day!

We ask residents to volunteer in this event sponsored jointly by Neighbors' Gun Club and the Boy Scouts. Community efforts are instrumental to a successful clean up each spring. Past events Volunteers hit the roads with garbage bags in hand to clean up trash left behind as the winter snow melts. Gather family, friends and neighbors' to maintain

The Attractiveness of Rhinebeck.

Is this calendar date taken? You may want to pick up litter prior our scheduled date and drop it off Saturday April 17th.

The Boy Scouts and Neighbors Gun Club do assigned roads, volunteers go individually or group together in their own neighborhoods.

*** Use your own plastic bags ***

All bagged litter/debris must be brought to

Royal Carting Services has offered their support by providing a container at no charge.

The DCRRA has offered their support to our clean up effort by accepting the roadside debris at no charge.

Your time and effort is certainly appreciated. Please take advantage of offered services to our community.

• Town Transfer Station and Recycling Facility

TREE COMMISSION**PRUNING WORKSHOP**

 THE NEWLY CREATED VILLAGE TREE COMMISSION WILL MARK THE

BEGINNING OF ITS MISSION TO SUPPORT AND UPGRADE RHINEBECK’S

URBAN FOREST BY HOLDING A PRUNING WORKSHOP ON

SATURDAY, MARCH 13 FROM 9 AM TILL NOON.      (RAIN DATE: MARCH 14)

WE WELCOME ALL THOSE THAT HAVE VOLUNTEERED FOR OUR PAST TREE

PLANTINGS, OR INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING IN THE FUTURE, AS WELL

AS THOSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO LEARN OR IMPROVE PRUNING SKILLS.

LEARN FROM EXPERT PRUNERS AND PRACTICE ON SOME OF OUR VILLAGE

STREET TREES, UNDER THEIR GUIDANCE.

*WE WILL GATHER AT THE MINI PARK AT SOUTH PARSONAGE & NORTH PARK.*

WEAR WARM BUT FLEXIBLE GLOVES AND, IF YOU HAVE THEM, BRING SHARP PRUNING SHEARS, PRUNING SAWS, AND/OR LOPPERS.

Attendance is limited to 25. Please RSVP to Tess McKellen at 876-8841 or tmac1337@gmail.com

• Village Tree Commission

• Town Highway Department

• Town Committee on Aging

• Town Committee on Aging

DRAFT Town Of Rhinebeck Fiscal Workshop Meeting
Monday March 8, 2010
Agenda
6:45 PM
Attendance:
Town Board

Tom Murphy M&T Bank
Shelly Day Office Manager
Members Finance & Controls Committee

Opening Remarks Supervisor

Adoption of fiscal reforms over last 2 years
A: Procurement policy
B: Purchase order policy
C: Investment policy adoption
D: Ethics policy adoption
E: Engagement of CPA firm (Sedore & Co)
• Annual Update Document
• Audit
• Internal controls document

: Guest Presentations
Linda Hannigan: Sedore & Co.
A: 2008 & 2009 Audits
B: 2009 AUD (Annual Update Document)
C: Internal Controls Document

Tom Murphy: M&T Bank
A: Purchase card presentation
B: Fraud control update (ACH filter)

Finance & Controls Committee
Internal Control Document
A: Outdated software
B: Segregation of duties
C: Software controls
E: Credit Cards
Implementation Items Suggestions
A: Software upgrade
B: New test P.O. Procedure
C: P-Card Implementation
D: Propose New Town Purchasing Position

Any town, by resolution, may establish the office of director of purchasing. Centralizing the
purchasing function in the office of director of purchasing can promote sound purchasing
practices by concentrating knowledge of purchasing laws, practices and market conditions in
one official. In addition, creation of this position segregates the purchasing function from
other components of the purchasing process, such as the receiving and audit functions,
thereby improving internal control (Town Law, Sections 20 (3) (e), and 41-b).

In attendance:
Svend Beecher
Gina Fox
Andrew Schulkind
Joan Winne

Gina asked how get news items posted to the site as announcements and included in the email newsletter. Was agreed that some items - generally very newsworthy items - don't "belong" to a particular committee and therefore don't get posted to a committee page. Gina will investigate how to appoint a member of the board to oversee these items. (Announcement that the Comp Plan passed, for example.)

The notice re: links to external Websites was discussed. Gina will ask an Internet lawyer for an opinion on exact language, and will also approach the Association of Towns for guidance.

Dave Kliphon reported via email that the site is being backed up regularly, both the source code and the content data.

Gina reported that the Zivtech contract is on the agenda for Monday's town board meeting.

The committee will also further encourage other committees to manage their own pages after receiving training.

Joan suggested a Weds morning 9:00am deadline for committee items to be included in each Friday's email newsletter. (Board meeting agendas will be exempt from the deadline.

Svend reported that the village is considering building its own Website. He will keep the committee posted.

Svend will be Village Tree Commission member responsible for getting news, announcements, and other information posted on behalf of the Commission.

Adjournment.

• Town Web Site Committee

Town of Rhinebeck

Web Committee

Meeting Notes

Present

* Andrew Schulkind

*Svend Beecher

* Gina Fox (new liaison)

* Kathy Kinsella

* Dave Kliphon

* Andrea Pyros

* Joan Winne

 
HistoricRhinebeckCalendar

-Sunny joined us in order to provide additional information on how the Historic Rhinebeck Calendar is updated. Currently, the site is restricted to not-for-profit, historic preservation-related organizations only. Data is emailed to Frank Cudilo in its final form for him to publish live.

-The Town/Village web site will link to the Historic Rhinebeck Calendar online, and provide clear indication that this is a link to an external site, and that we cannot be responsible for the content.

-The web committee on a periodic, ongoing basis should review links on the HRC.

 
 
Zivtech Contract Status

-Would it be necessary to send out this work to bid to various companies, or does it not fall within the scope of the type of work that calls for that? Andy and Kathy will speak with the town attorney to review.

-While we work on next steps, Dave will update Zivtech and explain that we have to put a hold on any work going forward until we resolve the issue.

-Dave will confirm that we have the site backed up on our servers.

Town Ethics Committee and Updating Committee Pages on the Site

-We have a link to an old code on the site. When this is fixed, it will resolve some other out-of-date local laws currently live.

-This brings up the issue that any Town or Village chartered committee has the responsibility to make sure they have an up-to-date page on the Town/Village web site that clearly outlines the committee's work, as well as their membership.

-Per Svend, Village just created a tree commission, which will need its own page and to have its events added to the calendar.

 
Mail Chimp Migration

- Andy to train Joan on sending out the newsletter via MailChimp

- New header images needed

 
Social Media

 - Committee reviewed Kathy's articles about local governments and their increasingly presence on various social media platforms.

-Would we want to register the use Rhinebeck Government on Facebook for possible future use?

 
Site Review & Improvements

-How to best review the site and compile a list of things that are lacking and/or missing. Identify duplication and holes.

 
Encouraging Wider Participation

-Discussion over the increasing positive use of the Town/Village web site as a way to communicate with the residents of Rhinebeck. Due to the increased use of the site and demand by Rhinebeck residents, would there be other committees interested in getting training in order to publish their own content and have ownership over their page?

-The Website committee would need to provide clear explanation for how to publish and what the guidelines are as far as appropriate materials to be on the site.

-What committees would be good candidates for training next? Possible Committee on the Aging? Planning Board agendas?

-Village has a part-time clerk who can handle web-related work.
-Svend will go back to the board to see what they foresee putting on the web.

 
Village Maintenance Protocol

-Svend circulated the report to the Village board, and it will be read and discussed by the next Village Board meeting. Svend will give the committee and update at next month's meeting.

Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM

Respectfully Submitted: Andrea Pyros

• Town Web Site Committee

Transfer station is closed today due to no electric and tree damage

• Town Transfer Station and Recycling Facility