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Waterfront Illumination Options Considered at Village Workshop
Special Board invites DOT to make suggestions on new firehouse location
by Kevin Foley
Cold Spring waterfront illumination could change radically if the Village Board pursues a plan presented to the Board at their weekly workshop meeting at the Village Hall on Tuesday, February 5, 2008.
Andrew Chmar, executive director of the Hudson Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) was joined by two other landscape lighting aficionados in proposing that the village replace the existing lights on the pier and around the bandstand at the foot of Main St. with the latest in contemporary "dark sky lighting" technology.
According to Chmar and his associates, Tim Culbert of the New York City-based architectural firm Imrey-Culbert and Oliver Heller, architectural sales associate with ERCO Lighting, Inc. such a move would, among other benefits, enhance both visibility and security at night, reduce electricity usage, and be "dark sky compliant."
The latter feature refers to an environmental movement to reduce the amount of light humans project into the atmosphere. Light pollution is seen as a waste of energy, disruptive of ecosystems, a health threat and interference to observation of the stars.
Chmar said that the HHLT was spearheading an effort to reduce light emissions in Putnam County and nearby areas and he was working with public officials and property developers to encourage greater sensitivity to the damage excess light can cause.
He mentioned ongoing dialogue with the Philipstown government and officials at West Point as examples of the partnerships his organization is seeking in an effort to promote zoning code and development project changes that address lighting issues.
As to Cold Spring Chmar said he had worked with Mayor Phillips and Pidala Electric to change the lighting at the public restrooms located near the train tracks "and now we are proposing a much larger project."
Chmar turned the presentation over to Culbert who said he was a homeowner in Cold Spring and that he was "offering my services pro bono to the village."
Culbert distributed a presentation summarizing his views on the waterfront area and his vision of how it can be improved. The report included a number of computer-generated photographs illustrating the difference between present lighting and the potential of the new technology.
"You could see the shape of the mountain at night if you installed this lighting," said Culbert who said he enjoyed walking with his son at night down by the water and was struck by the inability to enjoy the scenery because of the lighting's glare.
Culbert proposed replacing all the existing tall pole lighting with much shorter hip height lamps called panorama bollards, which he said offered sharper more directed light beams and are also more durable. The lamps would be lit with metal halide bulbs that Culbert said were longer lasting and more efficient than fluorescent and even more so of incandescent bulbs.
"There is a misbelief that high light levels are safer," said Culbert, anticipating concerns over security. "But the fact is the cut off from light to dark is dramatic, creating areas you cannot see at all," he said.
At one point Culbert and Heller, whose German company manufactures the fixtures, demonstrated the lamp by switching off the lighting in the village hall meeting room allowing the much softer but effective light to speak for itself.
The trustees were generally impressed with the proposal but expressed other concerns. Mayor Phillips asked about durability and vulnerability to vandalism. Heller described the die cast metal lamp as virtually vandal proof declaring "if someone took a crowbar and banged real hard on it for over a half hour they might begin to damage it." He also said a waterfront installation in Denmark had survived being under water half the time given the sealed housing for the light source.
Trustee Edward Mancari asked about the likely cost of such an installation. Heller said the lamps would cost approximately $1,700-1,800 apiece and perhaps $900 to install. Although the actual number of lamps needed is a judgment call, it was clear from Culbert's presentation that it would involve more than a dozen, suggesting a daunting budgetary challenge.
"We will work with the manufacturer on the cost. This can be seen as a pilot project for the region," said Chmar, projecting optimism as to funding sources. He added that he thought grants, wealthy individuals and businesses dependent on the waterfront were all potential sponsors of the project.
"I would think the condominium developer and the Hudson House should be interested; they would benefit most from it," said Mayor Phillips referring to the businesses located adjacent to the bandstand area.
It was agreed by all that setting up a night time meeting down at the dock with the public and especially members of the Comprehensive Plan Special Board would be the best next step in moving the concept forward.
The trustees then turned to a potpourri of other business beginning with the upcoming publication of the village newsletter, deciding to save money by keeping it in a black and white format.
They next put further discussion of raising village fees and fines on the agenda for their February 26, meeting agreeing they were close to finalizing the changes before holding a public hearing.
Karen Dunn and Seth Gallagher asked for consideration of introducing a formal checklist for the various village boards to use when residents make application to them. "Some people feel they get uneven treatment from different boards as to what information is required," said Dunn. Mayor Phillips disagreed with that assessment and asked his two colleagues to research actual examples of such treatment, which they agreed to do.
Dunn then suggested, "we have to be more proactive about announcing agendas of our workshops," as she asked the Mayor to create a bulletin board for announcements that could be seen through the Village Hall windows. Although he didn't argue against the idea, the Mayor skeptically said he believed "people come to meetings when they have a reason to."
Trustee John Teagle reported he had met with Haldane School Superintendent Dr. Mark Villanti who had expressed a desire for good relations with the village and that the state Department of Environmental Conservation was pressuring the school district on water issues.
"The water that runs down Craigside Drive is coming from their heating system. They don't have the capacity for recirculation. It's a big waste of water and a problem for us. Let them deal with that and otherwise I wish him well," said the Mayor who has long felt the school system inattentive to village concerns.
Teagle also reported on a planned meeting to coordinate recreation possibilities with the school, Philipstown and Cold Spring officials, which the trustees welcomed as over due.
The last item discussed generated the most heat. Carol Casparian, chair of the Comprehensive Plan Special Board, announced that the infrastructure working group had invited state Department of Transportation officials to tour possible sites for a new firehouse in the village. Casparian said the intention was to "deliver neutral information to the trustees for their consideration."
"The DOT is going to pick another site on the Butterfield property and the developer is going to go nuts," said a clearly exasperated Mayor, who noted he wasn't invited to the meeting but intended to go.
"Why not have as much information as we can? We are fortunate to have these people willing to go out and research the issue," countered Karen Dunn.
"Some of the sites are ridiculous, Tots Park for instance, I can just imagine the reaction to that idea. The fire department has looked for six years. We're wasting people's time with this," said the Mayor, who then asked for an end to the discussion and the meeting.
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