PUBLIC NOTICES
Public Notice
Residents of the Craryville Fire District
Towns of Claverack, Copake, Hillsdale and Taghkanic
Notice is Hereby Given that the Proposed Budget of the Craryville Fire District, of the Towns of Claverack, Copake, Hillsdale, and Taghkanic, State of New York, will be presented to the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Craryville Fire District, for its consideration.
A Public Hearing will be held at 7:00 pm at the Craryville Fire House, 4210 Cty. Rt. 7, Craryville, New York, Town of Copake, State of New York, on the 17th day of October, 2023.
Copies of the Craryville Fire District proposed budget for 2024 may be obtained by contacting the Town Clerk in respective towns. Individuals may offer oral or written comments in favor or against any items or items herein contained.
Barbara L. Scutt, Secretary < br>
Craryville Fire District
Board of Fire Commissioners
COLUMBIA COUNTY HOUSEHOLD WASTE COLLECTION DAY

WHEN
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2023
8:00am — 12:00pm
LOCATION
Columbia County Fire Training Center
Columbia County Commerce Park
50 Grandinetti Drive,
Chent, NY
(Entrance at Route 66, Bender Blvd.)
Columbia County Solid Waste Stations collecting Food Scraps
The Solid Waste department is now collecting food scraps at all our stations (except the recycling center at the Town of New Lebanon). Effective January 1, 2022 the NYSDEC has required certain businesses and institutions to either donate excess edible food and/or recycle all remaining food scraps if near an organics recycler (very few Columbia County businesses are required to do such at this time). The Columbia County BOS has been proactive and is promoting food scrap recycling in an effort to stay ahead of the mandates and food donation and food scrap recycling laws that are being put into place. With that, the County has purchased an EcoRich 1000 that is able to take any food scrap (meat, dairy, leftovers, bones, fish, desserts, etc) and reduce the quantity almost 95% producing a food scrap compost that can be added to soil as a nutrient (4 parts soil to 1 part of the food scrap compost). The EcoRich is located at the Greenport Transfer Station. Residents can bring their food scraps to any station, free of charge.

Columbia County Highway Department
Six (6) Seasonal Labor Job Openings
THE COLUMBIA COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT is now accepting applications for Six (6) Seasonal Laborers, Temporary Positions. These are laborer class Positions in the Highway Department which will run from November 1, 2023 through April 1, 2024. GRADE 11A - $21.27/HR
- SHIFT: Potential for full time hours with the opportunity for overtime. There are NO paid holidays and NO medical benefits.
- SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Applicants must be able to commit to working snow and ice control and be able to respond to work at any hour of any day.
- TYPICAL WORK DUTIES: Include but are not limited to: erecting and dismantling snow fence, cleaning culverts and ditches, cutting brush and trees, flagging traffic in work zones, operating a wing during the performance of snow and ice control operations, clearing snow from bridges, cleaning equipment, and other related work as required.
Please submit an application/resume to or come by and pick up an application:
Anthony F. DeMarco, Jr., Director of Highways
Columbia County Highway Department
178 Route 23B
PO Box 324
Hudson, NY 12534
518-828-7011 / 518-828-8740 FAX
Lake Taghkanic State Park
Summer 2023 Visitor Survey
What do you think of your park?
Take the online survey by scanning the QR code
Or visit https:llwww.facebook.com/laketaghkanic/
Or fill out a paper copy while you are here!

TAGHKANIC TALKS PRESENTS:
SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
POLLINATOR RESTORATION
WITH INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT TO
CONTROL INVASIVE SPECIES
Come join Kristopher Williams from the CapitaL Region Partnership for RegionaL Invasive Species Management with a program on how to convert your yard and wood Lot into a smaLL and sustainabLe ecosystem. Restoration with invasive pLant management wiLL be a focus for the taLR. Resources and Invasive PLant Id with cuttings wiLL be shared. This program is free and all are weLcome.

Date and Location
September 9 starting at 10 am
Taghkanic Fire HaLL
OLd Route 82 Taghkanic, NY
To download ZOOM video recording of Sustainable Landscapes CLICK HERE
Columbia County Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan Survey
Columbia County resident, you’re invited to take a PUBLIC survey! Columbia County is creating a Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan and we need YOUR input. Fill out the short survey we’ve linked to below and tell us about what community assets and environmental impacts are important to you, what hazards you have experienced, and what is at risk in your community.

Help build a brighter and better Columbia County today!
Click Here to Take the Columbia County Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan Survey
Should you elect to print the survey, you may complete it and drop the survey in the box in Town Hall (back table) or the mailbox of Tony LaSalvia (646 New Forge 2...Rte 82 side), Peter Paden (Paden Farm Route 27 Near Churchtown), or Larry Kadish (178 Snydertown Rd).
FYI, if you pay taxes in Taghkanic, you live in Taghkanic, despite your post office address.
Contact
Audrey Kropp
Program Coordinator, Natural Resources & the Environment
ak963@cornell.edu
(518) 622-9820 ext. 102
RETURN THE F.A.V.O.R.
(Find& Assist Vets of Record)
The office of Holly Tanner (Columbia County Clerk) is asking for your help to inform our veterans of Columbia County's "RETURN THE FAVOR" Discount Program (Find & Assist Vets of Record).
This initiative continues to be a way that our county can recognize the service and sacrifices made by our returning veterans. Under the RETURN THE FAVOR Discount Program, eligible individuals will receive a photo identification card identifying them as an honorably discharged returning veteran. Participating merchants agree to offer discounts to these individuals as a way of "Returning the FAVOR".
Click below to download a PDF containing the flyer which can be displayed, a merchant application, a veteran 's application to sign up for the FAVOR program, as well as a flyer listing our current participating merchants. Feel free to check us out on Facebook at Return the FAVOR Columbia County Clerk and follow us!
We offer our sincere appreciation and support for those who keep us safe and fight for our freedom and we thank you for joining our efforts in "Returning the FAVOR".
Thank you,
Holly C. Tanner
Coordinator, RETURN THE F.A.V.O.R. Discount Program
TOWN INITIATIVES
Taghkanic Community Fridge
A community-sponsored program
The fridge is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can't
miss it - the cheery yellow building sits
alongside the back door of Town Hall. The fridge and pantry are stocked with all manner of foods,
including meals prepared by West Taghkanic Diner and Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.
There are many ways for folks to get involved. We welcome food donations - click on image to
download full-size PDF of Guidelines. If you'd like to join our brigade of fridge
volunteers and help manage, clean and stock the fridge, please contact Betsy
(betsyalbertfortaghkanic@gmail.com).
Donations made directly to the Fridge (either through VENMO (@taghkanicfridge) or by dropping a donation in the box inside Town Hall) are NOT tax deductible. However, if you'd like your donation to be tax deductible, OR if you have a matching donation program through your employer and would like to double your impact, you can make a donation to the Purpose Cooperative. The Purpose Cooperative is a 501c3 through which we receive our Shared Plate stipend. You can send a check to Purpose Cooperative, 95 Main Street #546, Philmont, NY 12565 and ask that it be earmarked for the Taghkanic Fridge.
Town Hall gets Heat Pumps
In June 2022 the Town Board voted to install heat pumps in the Taghkanic Town Hall,
which at the time was served by oil-based heating and window air conditioning units. The work
involved the installation of a total of 4 Mitsubishi air-source heat pumps, two upstairs and two
downstairs. See full
article.
Community Solar Campaign
The Taghkanic Climate-Smart Task Force sponsored a campaign from November 2021 through the end of January 2022 to encourage town residents to sign up for community solar. It was designed to benefit residents, who were to receive a Visa gift card for signing up, and once assigned to an existing solar farm were assured an annual savings of around 10% on their electric bill. The results of the campaign were well beyond our expectations, with Taghkanic residents signing up for 45 (official tally) new community solar accounts. The town, for its efforts, will receive $3950 from Ampion, and an additional $5000 grant from NYSERDA to be used in future climate/conservation-related programs. Thanks to all who participated in this small but important contribution to New York State's effort to move away from a reliance on fossil fuels and toward sustainable resources of electrical power.
Update on Community Solar Campaign - June 2023
The development of solar farms to provide electricity and savings for Taghkanic residents has been much slower than anticipated. If you signed up for Community Solar through our campaign with Ampion and were eligible for a $50 or $100 gift card, you should have received it long ago. If you did not receive your card, please notify Doug Craig at dcraig112@taghkanic.org, and he will help resolve the issue. As for the delay in getting connected with an active solar farm, the problem is not with Ampion. I have checked with other solar providers and learned they are facing the same issue. The bottleneck seems to be getting new solar facilities connected to the electrical grid. In addition, some developers have taken a wait-and-see approach while they wait for the roll out of the incentives in the new Inflation Reduction Act. The Climate Smart Communities Task Force is checking in with state officials regularly for signs of progress.

Official Town Newsletter