Welcome to the Town of Taghkanic
in New York's Upper Hudson Valley

PUBLIC MEETINGS

All meetings of the Taghkanic town boards and committees are open to the public. Meetings are held in person at the town hall, unless labeled "Zoom-Only". The town makes every effort to post meeting times and locations in advance, along with the meeting agenda and any additional relevant documents.

Attend In-Person or on Zoom

All meetings are available on ZOOM and can be accessed by clicking on the camera icon on the Upcoming Meetings calendar on this page.

View / Download Zoom Recordings

Zoom recordings of town meetings can now be downloaded for viewing. To locate a recording, click here Zoom Recs .

MEETINGS CALENDAR
Meetings scheduled for this week & next week
Date Time Meeting Agenda Docs Zoom
Feb 4 7:00pm Planning Board Meeting
Feb 10 7:00pm Town Board Meeting
Feb 11 3:00pm Taghkanic Senior Network
Feb 13 11:00am Financial Advisory Committee

A Look Back at 2024

In Memorium

2024 was marked by the loss of these friends who served the town of Taghkanic, though they were so much more than that.

  • Rob Burns - Taghkanic Highway Supervisor
  • Stephen Kling - Planning Board member, illustrator for many wonderful town posters.
  • Craig Surprise - Town Assessor

New Town Members

We welcomed in 2024 these new members of the Taghkanic community:

  • Eric Gaylord - Highway Supervisor
  • Brttany Santarelli - Town Assessor
  • Deborah Sweet - Court Clerk
  • Carol Callahan - Assistant Court Clerk
  • Eli Fieser - Assistant Building Inspector

Some Highlights

  • Short Term Rentals - After considering input from residents on all sides of the issue, the Board passed Local Law #3 2024 - Short Term Rental Law.
  • Accessory Dwelling Units - The Board passed Local Law #2 2024, allowing ADUs on residential properties. This update to the town's zoning code will make Taghkanic residents eligible for possible 2025 grant funding to support remodeling / construction of an ADU.
  • Highway Department - Our great Highway crew responded to calls from residents to improve Ronadale Ln and to create a turnaround for emergency vehicles at the end of New Forge II. They also made improvements to the following roads: Taghkanic-Churchtown, Livingston, Manor Rock, Tompkins, List By-Pass, Sheldon, Copake Lake, Copake Lake extension.
  • Fire Department - The Fire Department underwent significant change in 2024. It is now a Fire District governed by its own Board of Commissioners and responsible for its own finances. The Churchtown Fire Department is no longer an active department.
  • Copake Rapid Care - After being closed for a year and a half, the Copake Rapid Care reopened for patients in June. While not in Taghkanic, it's location makes it a primary choice for many Taghkanic residents.

Grant Funding

  • Climate Smart Grant - The town was awarded a $50,000 grant from NYSERDA. The money was used to install solar panels and heat pumps at the Highway Department garage, to purchase battery operated chainsaws for the Fire Department, and to buy various battery powered tools for the Highway Department.
  • Culvert Grant - The town was awarded a Climate Smart Grant of $136,435 to support the construction of a new culvert that will replace the deteriorating structure on Taghkanic-Churchtown Rd, near Cross St.

For Seniors

  • Taghkanic Senior Network - This newly formed committee has invigorated seniors and families with a variety of activities from fun BINGO nights to cookie decorating to informative presentations on health care and community services.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Taghkanic Talks Presents: The Forest in Your Backyard - A Homeowner’s Guide to Managing Woodlands

Saturday February 8, at the Taghkanic Firehouse from 10am to noon.

If you own land in Taghkanic, chances are at least part of your property is wooded, and if that’s the case, you own a portion of a regionally significant forest. It is a major ecological resource, and it faces a variety of threats. The Taghkanic Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC), the Columbia Land Conservancy, and the Gallatin CAC are co-sponsoring a year-long series to provide landowners with a basic understanding of the forest we live in and an appreciation for the importance of well-functioning forest land to all life.


The first session will take place on Saturday February 8, from 10am - noon at the Taghkanic Firehouse. Will Yandik, local farmer and conservation scientist, will describe the history and composition of Columbia County’s forests, their critical role in sustaining the health of the natural world and human life, and their unique and sensitive position in the broader regional landscape.

Over the course of the year we will offer insights from forestry experts on the current condition of our forests, various threats to its continued health, what individuals can do to maintain and improve the health of their woodlands, and why it is important to do so.

We hope to see you there. Please RSVP to rsvp@taghkanic.org. To attend via Zoom click on this link or paste it into your browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85036392021


NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TOWN OF TAGHKANIC, COUNTY OF COLUMBIA

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Taghkanic Town Board will hold a public hearing on February 10, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the Taghkanic Town Hall located at 909 Route 82, Taghkanic, New York, 12502 to hear all interested parties on:

Proposed Local Law No. 1 of the year 2025, entitled "local law providing real property tax exemptions for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers pursuant to §466-A and §466-L of the Real Property Tax Law.

All persons interested in commenting on the proposed local law shall be heard at such time.

A full and complete copy of the proposed local law is available at the office of the Taghkanic Town Clerk during normal business hours, or it can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

Dated: January 21, 2025
Cheryl Rogers
Town Clerk


The SENIOR SCOOP

Check out the January edition of the Senior Scoop - the newsletter from the Columbia County Office for the Aging.

Click HERE to download the newsletter.


PUBLIC NOTICE
TOWN OF TAGHKANIC

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Town Board of the Town of Taghkanic will be accepting letters of interest to fill the following open positions:

Clerk Secretary for the following two boards:

  • Planning Board
  • Zoning Board of Appeals

Open seats for the following Boards:

  • Planning Board Alternate
  • ZBA Alternate

All letters of interest for the above positions should be sent to Cheryl Rogers, Town Clerk, 483 County Route 15, Elizaville, New York 12523 or emailed to crogers42857@gmail.com.

Cheryl Rogers
Town Clerk


NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING

Churchtown Cemetery Association

A special meeting will be held for the lot owners and members of the Churchtown Cemetery Association for the purpose of electing directors and preventing abandonment. Without directors to manage the cemetery, the cemetery may become abandoned.

Meeting to be held February 5, 2025 at 7:00PM Churchtown Firehouse, 2219 County Route 27 in the Town of Claverack. Contact John Roberts, President with questions at 518 755 4351.


TOWN OF TAGHKANIC
NOTICE OF RECEIPT
OF TAX ROLL AND WARRANT

TAKE NOTICE that I, Cheryl E. Rogers, the undersign Collector of Taxes of the Town of Taghkanic, County of Columbia and State of New York, have duly received the tax roll and warrant for the collection of taxes within the Town of Taghkanic for the Year 2025, and that I will receive said taxes at 483 County Route 15, (Taghkanic) during regular business hours Monday thru Friday 9am to 4pm, and for the month of January only, Saturday 9am to 11am.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that taxes may be paid on or before February 1, 2025 without charges or interest. On all taxes received after such date, there shall be added interest of 1% per month until such taxes are paid or until returned of unpaid taxes to the County Treasurer pursuant to law.

  • 1% if paid before February 28
  • 2% if paid before March 31
  • 3% + $2.00 if paid before April 30
  • 4% + $2.00 if paid before May 31

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that pursuant to the provisions of law the tax roll of the Town of Taghkanic will be returned to the County Treasurer of the County Columbia on the 1st day of June 2025.

Cheryl E. Rogers
Town Clerk/Collector
Town of Taghkanic


DID YOU KNOW? The Highway Dept can accept metal for recycling throughout the year. Please e-mail Highway Superintendent Eric Gaylord at taghkanichighwayone@yahoo.com to arrange a time to drop off your recyclable metal waste at the town garage. Items for metal recycling must be at lease 75% metal.

TAGHKANIC TALKS

2025 - The Year of the Forest


Taghkanic Talks is a program developed by the Taghkanic Climate Smart and Conservation Advisory Committees to host public presentations on a variety of topics of interest to the Taghkanic community. Past presentations have spotlighted community solar programs, heat-pump technology, and programs to assist with home weatherization. Another series focused on pollinators and native plant species, highlighting small but meaningful actions individuals can take to restore and preserve the ecology of our beautiful county.

In the upcoming months Taghkanic Talks will host a series of presentations we're calling The Forest in Your Backyard. Taghkanic and Columbia County reside within a vast stretch of contiguous forest stretching from Dutchess County to Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. This forest provides essential habitat for a wide variety of plant, bird, insect, amphibian, aquatic, and mammalian species - and plays a critical role in providing clean drinking water for all of us.

If you own property in Taghkanic, chances are you own a portion of that forest. We hope you will join us for these presentations - and conversations - about what we can do to preserve and restore our forest resources.

Zoom Recordings from this Series

Feb 8 - History of CoCo Forests - Will Yandik

Energy Tracking - Town Hall

Poster highlighting the heating and cooling capacity of heat pumps In June 2022, four Mitsubishi air-source heat pumps were installed at Town Hall to replace the existing oil-based heating and window air conditioning units. In the summer of 2023, the lighting system at Town Hall was converted from a combination of incandescent & fluorescent fixtures to all LED fixtures. A recent analysis by the Climate Smart Committee shows how these changes affected energy use and energy costs at Town Hall. The results indicate an annual cost saving of around $1076 and an annual reduction in energy use equivalent to 5.8 metric tons of CO2. This corresponds to the CO2 emitted by 1.3 average gasoline powered cars over a 1-year period.

But how much CO2 is that? It's not easy to visualize, right? Well, imagine a block of Dry Ice measuring one meter high X one meter deep X 3.72 meters wide, weighing over 12,000 pounds - that would be 5.8 metric tons of CO2 in its solid form. See full article.

TAGHKANIC SENIOR NETWORK

Taghkanic Senior Network announcement

If you are interested in helping Taghkanic's seniors and caregivers, please contact TSN co-chairs Celine Kagan and Susan Silverman at taghkanic60plus@gmail.com.

2024 Zoning Amendments

STRs & ADUs in Taghkanic

In 2024 the Town Board passed two local laws updating the town oning Code. Local Law #3 2024 permits and sets forth the regulations for Short Term Rentals in Taghkanic. Local Law #2 2024 defines and allows for Accessory Dwelling Units. The permitting of ADUs was enacted so that Taghkanic residents would be eligible for NY State grant funding to help residents with the costs of building or restoring these structures. The county has applied for the grant and will be notified of the outcome in 2025.

Taghkanic Community Fridge

Free-fridge guidelinesThe community 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 Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.

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).

Here are three ways to donate directly to the Fridge: Venmo (@taghkanicfridge); PayPal (@TaghkanicFridge); or drop a donation in the box at Town Hall. Donations 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.

Official Town Newsletter