December 2023

Table of Contents

From the Supervisor's Desk

Solar Update

Copake Bicentennial Historic Markers Project

Historic Marker at First Meeting House

Church Street Municipal Parking Lot

Copake Rapid Care

Bicentennial T-Shirts

Grange Events

Roe Jan Historical Society

Copake History

What's Happening at the Library

Columbia County Climate Change Adaption and Resilience Plan Survey

Columbia County Mental Health Center

Memorial Bricks

Septic System Replacement Fund

From the Supervisor's Desk            

As I write my last Supervisor’s report, I have two emotions. One is pride – I am enormously proud of what this Copake Town Board has accomplished. The other emotion is gratitude. I am thankful to all of the people who have helped me through these four years.

When I came into office, people warned that it would be a thankless job. I have not found it to be so. I have found people to be helpful and patient. In four years, I can count on one hand the number of times I have received an angry or rude call. People have said thank you.

And now I want to say thank you, back.

Many people have helped me, but I want to mention a few: Larry Proper – without Larry I don’t know how we would have gotten through the first year. Bob Haight – for his support and advice. Edgar Masters – for his good counsel. Roberta Roll – for her tireless work on grant applications and as editor of the Copake Connection. Roberta is Copake’s champion. Thanks to Bob Patterson, our accountant, and Jon Tingley, our attorney, for their expertise and guidance. And, of course, a huge thank you to Bob Callahan, my friend.

I want to thank all those in Town Hall – Lisa DeConti, Liana Jensen, Linda Senk and Lorraine Strohmier. Copake is lucky to have them. Also, thanks for the professionalism and dedication of Assessor Lynn Hotaling, Code Enforcement Officer Erin Reis, Judges Hilary Thomas and Glenn  Schermerhorn, and Administrative Assistant Gwen Menshenfriend, who has been such a help to me.

The Highway Department – for the late nights and early mornings. For braving snow and sleet and hail and wind so that the rest of us are safe. A huge thank you to Bill Gregory. The roads in Copake are the best in the county. Bill’s expertise extends to budgeting and planning and running the Highway Department. His employees love and respect him. So do I. Bill is simply one of the best, most decent people I have ever known.

Lynn Connolly. First of all, she is a really good town clerk. I hear her talking to the people who come to her for death certificates, garbage bags, fishing licenses, and dog licenses. She shows respect to everyone who walks in the door. She is patient, she is knowledgeable, she is kind. But I also want to say how much Lynn has helped me. I did not know Lynn when I started this position, and I did not know how much I would come to depend on her. Lynn has been an invaluable partner; I rely on her not just for all the actual assistance she gives me, but also for her insights and advice – her friendship. I could not have done this without Lynn.

The Town Board. In our first year, there were just four of us. First came Hecate, and then came COVID. It was a one-two punch, but in that first year we never had a split vote. We always reached a consensus. In the next year we were joined by Jeffrey Judd, and for the next three years we rarely had split votes, and we never had a proposal that was voted down. On the rare occasions when we disagreed, we did it civilly, and no one held a grudge.

Thank you to Jeffrey for your work on the EV chargers. Stosh, for the generators and the LED street lights. Terry for your work with the park, and, in the past year, the example that you set for all of us. In spite of the challenges you faced, you remained engaged town issues, and you were always of good spirits. Thank you, Terry Sullivan. 

Thank you to my friend Richard. Richard was my sounding board. He was always ready to listen, to reflect, to respond. Copake relied on Richard to lead us through the challenge posed by Hecate. Richard is not just smart, he is thoughtful. I relied on Richard for his willingness to see every side of an issue, as well as his moral compass. Copake is fortunate to have Richard as our next supervisor, and I wish him and his board every success.

The other emotion that I am feeling right now is pride. I am so proud of this board. 

I posted a list of what this board achieved on the town board webpage. In the past four years, the town built a storage building at the Highway Department, expanded and paved two parking lots, built four pickle ball courts, restored the Memorial Garden, paved Yonderview Road and built two retaining walls at Copake Lake. We passed laws to address affordable housing and updated our policy manual. In spite of all of the projects we pursued, we never raised taxes and the town has more money now than when we took office.

I am enormously proud of what this town board did, and the way they did it. 



Before I close, I want to thank all of you who have spoken up, and written letters and put up signs with regard to Shepherd’s Run. You have expressed varying views, but what you share is your concern for Copake. Your civic engagement on this issue has been an inspiration. 

I want to say something about democracy.

In early 2020, as I was leaving Town Hall at night, I noticed that light on the American flag in front of Town Hall no longer worked. This board voted to install a light to shine on the American flag. For me, that simple gesture spoke volumes. The American flag is a symbol of what this country stands for. It is a symbol of democracy, a symbol of the hope we share that this form of government which we cherish, will continue to thrive.

In this little town, in these 42.1 square miles of land that we call home, democracy thrives. Government works.

Being supervisor of this town has been one of the greatest adventures and greatest honors of my life. I cannot end this without thanking the most important person, my wife Pat Placona. She has been by my side, at my back for this whole extraordinary experience. I could not have done this without Pat, and I certainly would not have wanted to.

Thank you, Patty. Thank you all.

Jeanne E. Mettler

Copake Supervisor

Solar Report

On October 24, the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) issued a draft siting permit for Hecate Energy to construct and operate a utility-scale, 267-acre solar energy factory in Craryville.

If built, “Shepherd’s Run” would run mostly south of Route 23, along County Route 7 all the way down to Cambridge Road. Its almost 200,000 solar panels, inverters, transmission lines, other equipment, access roads, and laydown yards would be installed mostly on the east side of Rt. 7, and a substantial number would be placed in the large field adjacent to the Taconic Hills School campus, west of Rt. 7, between Route 23 and Birch Hill Road.

ORES will be conducting public comment hearings in Copake Town Hall in January. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will preside over four in-person hearings: two on Tuesday, January 9, at 1:30pm and 6:00pm, and two on Wednesday, January 10, also at 1:30pm and 6:00pm. There also will be two virtual hearings on January 11.

Regardless of your position regarding the proposed Shepherd’s Run project, I hope you all will take the opportunity to present your comments to ORES. If you intend to speak at an in-person hearing session, you must pre-register by 10am on Monday, January 8. You can register by sending an email to hearings@ores.ny.gov or by calling (518) 473-4590. Either way, you must provide your first and last name, the organization you represent (if any), and your address, email address and phone number. You must also reference “Shepherd’s Run public hearings” and the hearing session at which you’d like to speak. Depending on the number who sign up, the ALJ may limit speakers to three minutes. It may be possible for speakers to present comments at more than one session, but speakers must sign up for each session. Note that ORES will accept written comments as well. If you do not intend to speak, you do not need to pre-register.

If you prefer to attend one of the virtual hearing session on January 11, you must pre-register, regardless of whether you wish to speak, by 10am on Wednesday, January 10. You can register electronically through Webex or by telephone: (518) 473-4590. If you intend to log in through Webex, please contact me at rtwolf@townofcopake.org and I will send you information for the somewhat complicated procedure. 

All speakers and attendees at the in-person public comment hearing sessions should refrain from shouting out, chanting, or demonstrating. The ALJ intends to conduct dignified hearing sessions.

I hope all Copakeans will make every effort to attend one or more sessions.

Richard Wolf

Deputy Town Supervisor

Copake Bicentennial Historic Markers Project

The Town of Copake is underway in implementing the Bicentennial Historic Markers project, led by the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC), to raise community awareness about town history as part of its 2024 bicentennial celebrations.

To date, Supervisor Mettler has sent out more than 80 award letters to eligible property owners town-wide. Markers will be distributed prior to April 2024 to owners to commemorate residences, farmhouses, barns, churches, and civic structures from Copake’s first 100 years. The first marker was given to the Copake Grange, where it is today mounted at the front door for all to see.

For questions or to learn more about the historic markers, please reach out to CopakeHPC@gmail.com.

Historic Marker at “First Meeting House” is Restored

The historic marker which has long stood at the intersection of Main Street and Farm Road commemorates the house where the first Copake town meeting was held, in 1824.

The sign reads “Site of FIRST TOWN MEETING - April  4, 1824 -  in this Building on this Site”. The sign was probably installed in the 1920s, when the NYS Historical Marker program was first initiated. With passing traffic and one hundred years of rain and snow, the sign had, in recent years, become tarnished, rusty, and almost unreadable.

With the bicentennial of Copake fast approaching, Bicentennial Committee member Bob Callahan offered to restore the sign, using the New York State-approved paint ("#7727 Royal Blue" and "#7747 Sunburst Yellow") and following the guidelines offered by the New York State Museum.

The heavy aluminum sign was removed by the Copake Highway Department in late October and brought to Copake Town Hall. Bob spent countless hours sanding and preparing the sign to be repainted. He then painted the sign with the New York State colors: yellow letters against a bright blue background. In early December, the highway department returned the sign to the pole where it had stood for the past century.

The town is indebted to Bob for his extraordinary skill and the careful way he restored this sign to its former beauty. It stands now as a tribute to Copake’s founding–and to the loving care that one Copake resident took to honor Copake’s history.

Church Street Municipal Parking Lot is Open

The new Church Street Municipal Lot is now open to the public. Although the final work on the lot will not be completed until the spring, the first course of asphalt has been installed, the curbs are done, and the wiring in preparation for the installation of EV chargers has been completed. 

Still to be completed is a low fence along the east side of the lot, striping of spaces, signage and landscaping. The lot will provide parking for just under 40 cars.

 

The former lot was expanded by the elimination of the lawn along Church Street, and was constructed by A. Colarusso & Son, Inc. The lot was constructed completely on town property and provides easy access to the Fire Pond by the Copake Fire Department. The lot was designed by the engineering firm Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. This firm will also assist the town in designing the green area around the Copake Memorial Clock and in installing street lights and other amenities, such as park benches and bike racks. This additional work will not begin until 2025, when the county reconstruction project begins. The lighting for the Church Street lot will also be designed and installed in conjunction with the 2025 streetscape.

No overnight parking is allowed in the Church Street lot.

Spring Opening Planned for Copake Rapid Care 

Although Copake Rapid Care will not open on January 1, as was hoped, Columbia Memorial Health (CMH) is still aiming to reopen in 2024 and has mounted a significant fundraising effort to make that happen. 

In a recent statement, President of the CMH Board of Trustees Kirk Kneller said, "We are hoping to reopen Copake Rapid Care within the first quarter of 2024. We had two hurdles – one was staffing, and we think we have resolved that. The other is financial. We are looking for contributions from the community to jumpstart the operation, and as soon as we make our goal, we will reopen the doors. If our fundraising goes well, we will open sooner rather than later.  But make no mistake: CMH is totally committed to reopening Copake Rapid Care. It will happen. Once the Rapid Care gets back to its 2019 pre-Covid visit numbers, we will be back to at least break-even numbers, which should be within a 2-3 year period."

A fundraising letter from CMH was recently mailed to 1900 households in Ancram, Copake, Copake Falls, Craryville, Hillsdale, Taghkanic and Gallatin.  The letter is targeted to raising funds for the reopening of Copake Rapid Care and explains how residents can make a contribution earmarked for the Copake facility. (See below).

Design a T-Shirt for Copake's Bicentennial

Are you a budding artist? Do you want to try your hand at some catchy graphics?

The Copake Bicentennial Committee is looking for you!  

Copake's bicentennial will be celebrated all year long, starting on April 4, 2024. As part of the festivities, there will be T-shirts designed especially for the occasion. The Bicentennial Committee is taking design submissions from now until December 21. Copake's history is something to celebrate, and the T-shirts will be a happy reminder of our history and the town's celebrations.

Send your submissions to Copake Town Hall, 230 Mountain View Rd., Copake, NY 12516. You can also email them to Copakebicentennial@gmail.com . All submissions

must be received by Dec. 21, 2023.

Grange Events

Friday, Jan. 5, 7-9pm - Open Mic Night. Live open mic is on and it’s great! The first Friday of every month. Come on down to the Grange and join us with your instruments, songs, poems, stories, skits, etc. Or just come to relax, have fun and be inspired. We have a piano. For more information, contact copakegrange@gmail.com.

Sunday, Jan. 14, 3:30pm - Classic Movie & Soup Night. “In the Heat of the Night” A 1967 mystery drama, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. A black Philadelphia police detective is wrongly accused of a local murde while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town.   After being cleared, he is reluctantly asked by the white police chief to solve the case. Lee Grant and Warren Oates round out the cast and the music is by Quincy Jones. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Lenny Barham will offer commentary before the film. Stay for conversation and a delicious dinner of soup (veg. options available), salad and dessert afterward.  Movie by donation. Dinner $10. Tickets at the door.

Saturday, Jan. 20, 5-7:30pm - Chili Cook-off. Our second annual favorite chili cook-off. Tastings, prizes, chili to go. Bring your entries by 4:45pm. Snow date - Jan. 27.

Saturday, Feb. 3, 7pm - Copake Quintet. The fabulous jazz quintet right here in Copake.  Put it on your calendar and stay tuned for more details.

For more information about the Grange and events or to join, go to copakegrange.org. The Copake Grange is located at 628 Empire Rd., Copake, NY 12516. Parking for Grange events is limited - please park at the Municipal Lot on Church St. if the Grange parking area is full.

Copake History

Albert and Gladys Bristol in 1918

Albert Bristol founded Bristol Lumber & Supply, Co., which operated for more than 60 years in Copake. Albert and Gladys were married on Nov. 7, 1918, the year this photo was taken, during World War I.

Immediately after their wedding ceremony, bells began to ring. Some thought that because Mrs. Bristol was the daughter of Hudson’s mayor, she was being given special treatment. That was not the case.

At the time of the wedding, Mr. Bristol was an ensign on a World War I transport ship. After the wedding the couple and two of his fellow officers traveled down to New York City after an unusually long wait at the train station. Arriving they found that no public transportation was operating, and they had to walk many blocks to the hotel. In the hotel itself, they found that the reservation had not been kept and they had to look elsewhere. It turned out that everybody was celebrating because they thought the war had ended. In fact, this was the False Armistice. The real end of the war was three days later, November 11.

On his return from the war, Bristol founded his company which provided the lumber and other materials that were used to construct many of Copake’s homes.



Photo: contributed by the Bristols’ grandson, Galen Gobillot, in response to a request for old photos of Copake.

Without such contributions we’d have far fewer of these great old images of our town. To contribute contact me, Howard Blue, at copaketownhistorian@gmail.com

What’s Happening at the Library?

Take Our Community Survey!

The Roe Jan Library wants your input and opinions! The survey is for both those who use the library and those who do not. You do not need to have a library card to participate. The information gathered will guide our decisions on library collections, programs, services, hours, communication, and more. We hope you can spare five minutes to help the library better serve our community! Click the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RJCLSurvey2023

Hard copies of the survey are available in English and Spanish at the Library as well as at the fire departments and town halls in Ancram, Hillsdale, and Copake.

On Display at the Library

Camilla Mathlein. An artist, an interior designer, a professional basketball player, a model, and a cancer survivor, Heta Katja “Camilla” Mathlein was born April 9, 1963, in Stockholm, Sweden, to an architect father and a textile designer mother.

In addition to being an artist, Camilla played Division 1 basketball, survived a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis, and spent ten years traveling throughout Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan working as a model for Elite. In 2000, Camilla enrolled at Parsons School Of Design for interior design. It was there that she honed her drawing skills, developing a symbiosis between her understanding of architecture and her creative design abilities. She later moved to the Hudson Valley where she currently resides and continues her work as an artist and interior designer. She loves the opportunity for creative freedom that her artistic drawings provide.



Please join us at the library to celebrate Camilla and her work. Camilla’s work will be on display at the library through the month of December.