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Cold Spring Board Discusses "Green" Options for Village
by Michelle Woods
The Cold Spring Board of Trustees held an Earth Day-themed meeting as their weekly workshop on April 17, 2007, discussing potential avenues for making the Village more environmentally friendly.
Trustee Seth Gallagher invited Walt Thompson from the Keep Putnam Beautiful organization to talk about possible ways to do this. Answering questions from the Board and Villagers, Mr. Thompson's visit led to a wide-ranging discussion about 'greening' the Village, from discouraging littering to the potential use of underwater turbines for the Village's energy needs.
Recycling was of major concern, with Villagers wanting clarification on what could be recycled where: Seth Gallagher and Mr. Thompson talked about the success of the Kent Recycling Center and Mr. Gallagher wondered if it would be possible to "expand the facility" at the Town's Recycling Center on Lane Gate Road, allowing it to accept a wider range of recyclables. Trustee Karen Dunn suggested that the Board "should definitely look into it" and analyze how the Kent Center was organized. Some Villagers suggested having an auxiliary point, perhaps the Fire House, where residents could bring items such as cardboard and batteries which would then be brought in bulk to the Philipstown Recycling Center, thereby making recycling an easier and a more attractive option. Seth Gallagher noted that if residents were able to recycle more materials then there would be less garbage and the Village's garbage collection costs would decrease.
There was a general discussion about ways forward for greening the Village. Gallagher noted that the New York Power Authority offered an "energy audit" through which the authority would come to the Village and suggest ways it might reduce energy use. He also noted that the Town, like the "majority of municipalities in the Hudson Valley" is buying green energy through Central Hudson at only a 12 cent per person per year cost, and that it was possible for individual Central Hudson customers to do so too.
Similarly, the possibility of using bio-diesel for Village trucks and for residents' boilers was discussed, with Mayor Anthony Phillips suggesting that the Village could team up with the Putnam Valley Highway Department and the Town of Philipstown to get their trucks fueled by bio-diesel. Some Villagers in attendance and Mr. Gallagher said they would informally canvass neighbors to see if they might be interested in using bio-diesel for their boilers and, if enough residents were interested, possibly approaching local oil suppliers to begin supplying it.
Trustee Dunn raised the possibility of exploring the use of underwater turbines that harness tidal power for the Village's energy supply, saying that they were "not as obtrusive as wind farms and less expensive than solar power." The turbines are at the cuttingedge of green energy resources and Ms. Dunn noted that Cold Spring, geographically, is ideally located for their use.
Mr. Thompson and Keep Putnam Beautiful had previously donated two 55 gallon drums as trash cans to be painted by Haldane students. The Board and Villagers present at the meeting voted on two winning designs.
In other business, there was some discussion about sign ordinances as related to the historical district in advance of the public hearing on Tuesday, April 24. Some issues were agreed on: that the Board would propose 180 days as a "very reasonable" time limit for temporary signs on Private property; that it would be 30 days for temporary signs on Village property; that commercial signs on Village property should not be higher than 3 ft from the ground; and that no more than five signs would be allowed per permit. However there was still strong disagreement over the issue of "notification" for temporary signs placed on private property, with Seth Gallagher adamant that Villagers should not need to notify the Village if they want to display a sign that adheres to the parameters of Village code, but with Karen Dunn insisting that the Village should be notified in order to properly ascertain the duration of the sign if it is to qualify as a temporary sign.
The Village Board meets in a weekly workshop every Tuesday at 7:30pm, except on the second Tuesday of the month when they meet at 7:30pm for their monthly meeting.
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