[0:00] I'd call the full board meeting to order. Please rise and proceed to the

[0:04] flag followed by Oh, sorry. Sound fair followed by the

[0:08] salute to the flag.

[0:13] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

[0:17] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with

[0:23] liberty and justice for all.

[0:31] » We have to do a special finance committee meeting. I'm going to turn it

[0:34] over to finance chair Jim Jennings.

[0:36] » Yes. >> Okay. So, I can call the special finance

[0:39] committee meeting to order by resolution number 201-2026.

[0:43] » So moved. >> Second.

[0:45] » I have a motion and a second. All in favor?

[0:47] » Aye. >> Opposed? Carried. Motion to adjourn?

[0:51] » So moved. >> Second.

[0:52] » Motion and a second. All in favor? >> Aye.

[0:56] » Carried. Thank you. >> Yeah, I'm going to ask her

[1:00] » Clerk, call the roll.

[1:03] » Buttenschon. >> Here.

[1:05] » Miguel. >> Here.

[1:06] » Holmes. >> Here.

[1:07] » Simmons. >> Here.

[1:09] » Stats. Adams.

[1:12] » Here. >> Cole.

[1:14] Owens. >> Here.

[1:15] » Sommer. >> Here.

[1:17] » Eldridge. >> Here.

[1:18] » Helsley. >> Here.

[1:19] » Porchuck. >> Here.

[1:21] » Zeronian. >> Here.

[1:22] » Raguero. >> Here.

[1:23] » Nia. >> Here.

[1:25] » O'Brien. >> Here.

[1:26] » Mustain. >> Here.

[1:28] » Ferrara. >> Here.

[1:29] » Dezi. >> Here.

[1:30] » Goldman. >> Here.

[1:32] » Brown. >> Here.

[1:33] » App. >> Here.

[1:35] » Scott. >> Present.

[1:37] » 18 present, 8 absent have a quorum. >> Thank you.

[1:43] Here, we have a series of public hearings that we're going to be doing.

[1:46] The first public hearing uh I'm going to open. It's for local law

[1:50] 2 of 2026. It's a hearing to impose an additional

[1:55] mortgage tax. When when additional it means keeping mortgage tax at the same

[2:00] level. Um

[2:03] in Columbia County. So I'm going to ask the clerk to read

[2:06] the notice. >> This is a notice that the Columbia

[2:09] County Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing on the 12th day of August

[2:13] 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 401 State Street,

[2:18] Athens, New York 12534, concerning the proposed enactment of a local law 2 of

[2:23] 2026 to continue to impose an additional mortgage tax in Columbia County. Copies

[2:29] of this proposed local law are available in the Clerk of the Board's office or

[2:32] online. Uh by order of the Clerk of the Board,

[2:35] Kelly S. Santoro, dated August 1, 2026. >> Okay.

[2:39] All right. Do any supervisors have any comments?

[2:45] Supervisor uh Simmons. >> I just want to say it again. You You did

[2:50] say it, but every year it seems to leave out of here with some kind of confusion.

[2:54] So this is not an addition to, it is a continuation of a current

[3:00] mortgage tax. So that's clear. Thank you.

[3:03] » Thank you. Um

[3:07] Any public have any comments?

[3:11] Okay, with that I'm going to close the public hearing and we need to vote on

[3:15] the local law.

[3:25] » Wallace. >> Yes.

[3:26] » Ryder. >> Yes.

[3:28] » Holmes. >> Yes.

[3:29] » Simmons. >> Yes.

[3:30] » Stark. Uh Adams.

[3:33] » Yes. >> Wohl.

[3:35] Allens. >> Yes.

[3:37] » Silverberg. >> Yes.

[3:38] » Aldrich. >> Yes.

[3:39] » Holsapple. >> Yes.

[3:41] » Borrego. >> Yes.

[3:42] » Adonya. [clears throat] >> Yes.

[3:43] » Madero. >> Yes.

[3:44] » Miya. >> Yes.

[3:46] » O'Brien. >> Yes.

[3:47] » Lussier. >> Yes.

[3:49] » Valera. >> Yes.

[3:50] » Hazelton. >> Yes.

[3:51] » Coleman. >> Yes.

[3:52] » O'Connell. >> Yes.

[3:53] » Nack. >> Yes.

[3:55] » Skoda. >> Yes.

[3:56] » 182 days, 18

[3:59] accents, and local law passes.

[4:03] » Thank you. Uh next, I'm going to open the public

[4:06] hearing for local law three of 2026 establishing income levels for

[4:12] senior citizens real property tax exemptions.

[4:15] I'm going to ask the clerk to read the notice.

[4:18] » Okay, the the notice is for local law three and four together. Um that was

[4:22] published in the paper. This please take notice that the Columbia County Board of

[4:26] Supervisors shall hold a public hearing on the 1st day of August 2026 7:00 p.m.

[4:30] held in the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chambers 401 State Street,

[4:33] Hudson, New York concerning the proposed enactment of two local laws.

[4:37] Uh local law three of 2026 establishing income levels for senior citizens real

[4:42] property tax exemption pursuant to section 467 of the real property law.

[4:48] The Columb- The County of Columbia hereby adopts the

[4:50] following sliding scale um schedule relative to income levels

[4:55] and the percentage of assessed valuation exempt from taxation.

[4:59] And it goes to say here the percentages. And there's local law four of 2026

[5:04] establishing income levels for disabled and low-income real property tax

[5:09] exemption pursuant to law 459 {slash} C of the real property tax law. The County

[5:15] of Columbia hereby adopts the following sliding scale schedule relative to

[5:19] income levels and the percentage of the assessed values

[5:22] um exempt from taxation. Copies of the proposed local laws are

[5:26] available in the clerk of the board's office or on the Board of Supervisors

[5:30] website. By order of the clerk of the board, Kelly S. Skinner, August 1st,

[5:33] 2026. >> Thank you.

[5:36] Uh so, are there any supervisor comments on local law number

[5:41] three? Supervisor Adams.

[5:44] » So, I was on the County Government that committee that approved this resolution

[5:48] and moved it to this public hearing. But I've had some time to do some

[5:53] additional work on this and just for example, in the town of Canaan,

[5:58] 34 people received this exemption and 28 of those earn less than the

[6:03] $34,000 ceiling at this point and six earn over that. So, with this new change

[6:10] in exemption levels, all 34 of them will be eligible for 50% exemption. And I

[6:16] think we Mark gave us really good data to work from. He told us that, you know,

[6:21] best back of the envelope was that we could expect probably 3 to 5% more

[6:26] uh people to come in as a result of the change in income level.

[6:30] Um the thing that's always troubled me is

[6:33] not I want to help seniors, obviously, but the thing that's troubled me about

[6:36] this is that we don't consider um

[6:39] household income and we don't consider the value of assets. And I have people

[6:45] in property that's valued over $450,000, $500,000

[6:49] who are eligible for the 50% income exemption based on their

[6:55] income. But we don't consider household income

[6:58] and we don't consider the value of their assets.

[7:01] The other thing that concerns me about this is that we

[7:04] um

[7:07] But I I want us to consider because I think

[7:10] Mark also presented that we're trying to transition as the county state is going

[7:14] to encourage us to look at higher income levels over the next couple of years

[7:18] because the cost of living in New York State is high.

[7:21] But I think who are we trying to help here because those 28 people that are

[7:25] already getting this 50% exemption are not going to get anything more. They're

[7:29] not This is not going to help them anymore. So, while I'm not opposing this

[7:34] tonight, I just want us to be thoughtful as we move forward with this discussion

[7:39] and future analysis of this and to evaluate this program as a whole and to

[7:43] think about, you know, who are we really trying to help and what kind of help do

[7:48] we need to give them. >> Thank you.

[7:51] Any other supervisors? >> I concur with supervisor Adams.

[7:56] » I know what your numbers are, too. Um

[7:59] I I'm not educated enough about this, but

[8:02] my assessor came to speak to me about it and he has some real

[8:07] concerns about this going forward and that's

[8:12] exactly what supervisor Adams was saying.

[8:15] » Okay.

[8:18] Okay. Supervisor >> Question. I you can say personally, but

[8:22] um so are you saying that the

[8:26] the layout of it is it is proper as you think in your mind?

[8:31] » I just think that there I think there's some gaps in it in the decision-making

[8:35] or the review process and if if we were not if if this had not moved through the

[8:40] committee, I would suggest that we step this a little more slowly, that we have

[8:43] a top level of 40,000 as opposed to 45,000 because we're raising the level

[8:48] $10,000. >> Yeah.

[8:49] » So and I think Mark posited something that was really important for the

[8:53] committee, which was that we want to make sure that because of cost of living

[8:57] increases to social security that we're not people are not falling out just

[9:01] because they got a cost of living increase to their social security. I

[9:04] think that $40,000 ceiling would cover that group of people, but now we're also

[9:10] uh enlarging the group of eligible people.

[9:13] So you see I would like more time eventually to look at this systemically,

[9:18] not just a single piece as a single piece.

[9:21] » Thank you. Any other supervisors?

[9:24] » Supervisor Adams. >> Yeah, I just want to to Brenda's

[9:27] comment. I don't disagree that there's some gaps in this this this is uh not

[9:32] the director's here, but this is a state law that enables us to do this and they

[9:36] have enabled us to go to this level. As you know, uh it was a few years ago that

[9:41] they brought that to $35,000, and we went part way, you know, and now

[9:46] we're picking up a little bit more. I believe the state will be at $75,000

[9:51] pretty soon, you know, and we're not going to that max, but to your point

[9:56] about who who gets credited and who gets faulted, those are things that we could

[10:01] talk to state legislators about changing this legislation because all we can do

[10:05] right now is about that. That right, Rob?

[10:07] » That's correct. So, this is enabled enabled by the New York State Real

[10:09] Property Tax Law, and they set the framework for how the exemption can be

[10:12] adopted. You get to pick the numbers, obviously.

[10:15] And just for public consumption, this is as the county taxes, the towns, each of

[10:19] the town boards will consider whether they do it as to the town tax and the

[10:22] school district as well, right, Mark? >> Yes. Yeah, there's a local option that

[10:26] has to be adopted by each taxing authority.

[10:30] » And I And I don't disagree with that, but I think the impact of the 50% uh

[10:35] reduction in tax on a $450,000 house is very

[10:40] different from a $250,000 house, and we have to remember that the We still

[10:45] collect the towns will still collect the same amount of tax. It's just

[10:47] distributed over the other taxpayers. So, I really want to

[10:51] » Don't bring lunch. Just distributing it. That's all it is.

[10:53] » I I support this. I just want to be more

[10:56] thoughtful about it going forward, and I understand Rob's point that, you know,

[11:00] or yours, but we've been done with state legislators and make sure that they have

[11:03] that information as well. >> So, we're going to hold off?

[11:07] » Um so, I thank Mark for his work on this, and um I do also agree with

[11:13] Supervisor Adams. I'm going to vote yes on this law tonight. Um I do

[11:18] think that it's important that towns adopt the same levels, and I can say

[11:21] that my assessor also has expressed some concerns.

[11:25] I don't know the assessor world. Uh it is a foreign language to me. My assessor

[11:30] often sits down and tells me all about things, and I say please speak to me

[11:33] like a kindergartner for this one cuz I it's it's Charlie Brown talk. So,

[11:38] what I typically do is I've worked with my assessor for 6 years. I know she

[11:42] knows a lot about what she's doing and I really defer to her. And in this

[11:45] instance, I know Mark knows what he's doing so I'm deferring to Mark.

[11:49] But there is a potential not on the same page between the two and so while I am

[11:54] going to vote on this tonight, what I'd love to see happen in the near future,

[11:59] um maybe a a group Brenda seems to know a lot about it. Maybe bringing some of

[12:03] the town assessors a little bit more into the conversation with Mark because

[12:07] I think if there can be more consensus between the town assessors, which I

[12:10] think a lot of town supervisors and town boards do defer to when it comes to

[12:14] local laws having to do with these things and the county

[12:18] can find a compromise position where we might have different viewpoints. Um and

[12:22] that way it's much easier to then also get us all on the same exemption level.

[12:26] So I I'm going to vote yes tonight, but I would like sooner than later for

[12:30] Brenda's point of further kind of analysis and maybe getting the town

[12:34] assessors. I don't think there's a ton of them cuz like my assessor works for

[12:38] three different towns. So, you know, getting the town assessors kind of into

[12:41] those meetings and into those conversations. I would love to see that.

[12:46] » Can I add something? >> Yeah.

[12:48] » Yes. Um for those of you that don't know me,

[12:50] I'm Mark Taylor. I'm the director of real property for Columbia County.

[12:53] Um so, I've heard a lot of discussion here about including assessors and all

[12:58] that, but I just want to explain the situation with the process that I

[13:02] followed. It shouldn't have been a surprise to any of your assessors

[13:05] because I consulted with all of them prior to bringing this to the county

[13:09] level. Um they all knew that what income levels

[13:12] we were looking at and they all expressed comfort with with going with

[13:16] the 45 factor. Um and they all were kind of

[13:21] um glad to see us taking in a step forward in increasing the the incomes.

[13:27] So, I'm kind of surprised to hear tonight that there is all this concern

[13:31] amongst your assessors when it wasn't communicated directly to me. Um so, I

[13:36] don't I just wanted to be clear to everybody in the room that it wasn't

[13:40] like I was just doing this on my own. It was I consulted with all the assessors

[13:44] prior to developing this this thorough analysis. And I gave them the

[13:49] opportunity to to share information with me and be a

[13:53] part of the analysis and they basically said, "No, you you can handle it." So,

[13:58] » [laughter] >> just wanted to share that.

[14:00] » Can I ask the director one thing about a mechanism?

[14:05] The state has granted the ability to give an exemption over 50%, correct?

[14:10] » That's correct, but the software does not allow that to happen.

[14:14] » It has to be done manually. >> Correct. You have to manually calculate

[14:18] those. >> To each parcel that qualifies for the

[14:21] exemption. >> Correct. For each homeowner.

[14:24] » So, to what >> Supervisor is saying is the state also

[14:28] modified the law to where the maximum exemption can be changed from 50% up to

[14:34] 65%. When when I mentioned that to

[14:39] um the several assessors I spoke to, they did not like the the idea of moving

[14:44] to that until the software could handle that

[14:47] um because it it is labor intensive for them to have to basically manually

[14:52] calculate all these exemptions. Um Some towns have more than others. Uh so,

[14:59] that is why it wasn't incorporated in this current changes to the laws.

[15:05] Uh and I from what we understand from state state office of real property,

[15:10] that will not become eligible the software that we are currently using

[15:14] will not be modified to be able to to accept that that increase in the level

[15:20] because they have nobody at the state that can

[15:24] currently program in the in the language that the software is built in. So, they

[15:29] were trying to roll out RPS online, which is a new system that they had to

[15:35] pull the roll out of because it wasn't properly developed. And they hadn't

[15:40] tested thoroughly. Um so, only three counties that it was

[15:43] only rolled out of three counties and now it's on hold until they finish the a

[15:47] full assessment calendar with the new software. So, there is basically what

[15:52] I'm saying here is there's nothing in the immediate future that's going to

[15:56] change that would enable us to just get that 65% without having to manually

[16:01] calculate. >> Unless someone knows Fortran.

[16:03] » I'm sorry. >> [laughter]

[16:06] » I'm sorry you can't hold software. >> Well, once the software got to that

[16:10] ability we could pass another local law. >> You could.

[16:13] » Absolutely. >> Yeah, this could be reconsidered at any

[16:15] time, you know.

[16:19] Thank you, absolutely.

[16:22] » Any other supervisors? Anybody from the public have any

[16:27] comment? With that, I'm going to close the public

[16:31] hearing and we'll vote on the local law. >> Watts? Yes.

[16:37] » Whitehead? >> Yeah.

[16:38] » Holmes? >> Here.

[16:39] » Yes. >> Simmons?

[16:40] » Yes. >> That?

[16:43] Adams? >> Yes.

[16:44] » Wolff? Allen?

[16:47] » Yes, but I think I would have rather seen smaller increments and other people

[16:50] are going to have to write the check for this, so.

[16:53] » Silvernail? >> Yes.

[16:55] » Eldridge? >> Yes.

[16:57] » Kelsey? >> Yes.

[16:59] » Wozniak? >> Yes.

[17:00] » LeDonne? >> Yes.

[17:02] » Madera? >> Yes.

[17:03] » Nia? >> Yes.

[17:05] » O'Connell? >> Yes.

[17:06] » Eastman? >> Yes.

[17:08] » Palermo? >> Yes.

[17:09] » Pesce? >> Yes.

[17:10] » Poulin? >> Yes.

[17:12] » Morelle? >> Yes.

[17:13] » Ryan? >> Yes.

[17:14] » Schouten? >> Yes.

[17:16] » And 182A-18 absent. Um

[17:20] » law passes. >> Okay, thank you. Uh

[17:23] I'm going to open the public hearing for local law four

[17:26] of 2026 establishing income levels for disabled and low income real property

[17:33] tax exemption. I'm not sure if you have to be noticed

[17:36] again. All right, is there any uh

[17:40] supervisor comments?

[17:43] Okay, any public comments?

[17:47] That, I'm going to close the public hearing.

[17:49] Uh and we need to vote on the local law. >> Bucks.

[17:52] » Yes. >> Why go?

[17:53] » Yes. >> Holmes.

[17:54] » Yes. >> Simmons.

[17:55] » Yes. >> Stats.

[17:57] Adams. >> Yes.

[17:58] » Wolfe. Collins.

[18:00] » Yes. >> Silverberg.

[18:01] » Yes. >> Aldridge.

[18:03] » Yes. >> Ousley.

[18:04] » Yes. >> Fourchak.

[18:05] » Yes. >> McDonald.

[18:07] » Yes. >> Madera.

[18:08] » Yes. >> Dian.

[18:09] » Yes. >> Okay.

[18:10] Eastman. >> Yes.

[18:12] » Palera. >> Yes.

[18:13] » Huzzy. >> Yes.

[18:14] » Olden. >> Yes.

[18:15] » Morell. >> Yes.

[18:17] » Nuts. >> Yes.

[18:18] » Skoda. >> Yes.

[18:19] » 182A, 18 uh 18 absent, it passes. >> Okay, thank you.

[18:26] Uh the last public hearing, we're going to open the public hearing

[18:30] uh resolution number 301 of 2026 regarding the Columbia Greene Community

[18:36] College budget. Do we need to first read the notice?

[18:39] » Please take notice the public hearing will be held before the Columbia County

[18:42] Board of Supervisors in the Supervisors Chambers located at 401 State Street,

[18:47] Hudson, New York 12534 on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 at 7:00

[18:53] p.m. Uh therefore concerning the proposed

[18:55] 2026-2027 operating budget of the Columbia Greene

[18:58] Community College. At such time and place, all persons interested in subject

[19:03] matter will be heard concerning the same. Dated August 1st, 2026, Hudson,

[19:07] New York, Kelly A. Ferro Clerk of the Board.

[19:12] » Okay. Any supervisor have any comments?

[19:16] » Is anyone from the college here tonight? >> Hi, I just had one question this year.

[19:22] Chairman, would you mind if I just ask a question on some of their data?

[19:25] » Sure. >> Um

[19:27] in 2026, you have a revenue line for other revenues, number 30.

[19:32] Um you went from $949,000 to a projected 135 for 27. What was the

[19:38] major contribution to that? >> I'll just tell you who's here from the

[19:41] team and then they can respond. So, I'm It's Laurie Walsh, I'm the president.

[19:46] Who would you like to do? Who's the chief of staff? And Dr. Brian Boland,

[19:49] who is the interim CFO. So, I'll pass it over to you, Brian.

[19:54] » That is the >> Yes.

[19:56] No, that's a good question and then a lot of people who review the budget

[19:59] asked that question. Up until the end of this year, this

[20:02] fiscal year, for many years, maybe decades, the college served as the

[20:07] fiscal agent for uh uh uh

[20:12] labor uh development grants uh here in this area. Uh federal grant money that's

[20:18] uh that's managed through the state. Um and

[20:22] that amount that uh

[20:25] is there includes the assumption that there are about $650,000

[20:31] worth of salaries and wages that are paid through the college that are

[20:35] reimbursed by that grant money.

[20:38] Because as of uh July 1st, we ceased to be the fiscal agent for those funds.

[20:44] We're we're no longer receiving money and we're no longer paying uh

[20:50] individuals through our payroll for that. So, that's that's the major

[20:54] uh change that has taken place here.

[20:58] » The grant money is what goes down. >> Correct. Yes, the what goes down.

[21:03] It was media pass-through from the state.

[21:07] » Okay, thank you very much. >> Thank you.

[21:10] » Good luck with your budget. >> So, I just like to thank representatives

[21:13] of the college tonight. I've sat through your budget meeting

[21:16] patient twice and asked all my questions.

[21:20] I wanted to just say that I appreciate your efforts to make the most efficient

[21:23] use of taxpayer dollars because I really think you've made an extraordinary

[21:27] effort to to do so. And I'd also like to say I

[21:31] appreciate at least as much or more your efforts to develop programming that's

[21:36] going to better meet the needs of our community and businesses. So, thank you

[21:39] for both of those things. >> And I support this budget.

[21:44] » Any other comments?

[21:47] Okay, any public comments?

[21:51] Okay, with that I'm going to close the public hearing.

[21:54] And this will be voted on packet of resolutions.

[21:58] So, you have to wait a little longer.

[22:07] I need a motion to pay the bills, accept the treasurer's report, and file the

[22:10] minutes with the clerk's office. >> I'll move.

[22:13] » Second. >> All in favor?

[22:15] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[22:17] » Aye. >> Uh we have a couple of proclamations.

[22:21] Proclamation

[22:25] » Motion to suspend the rules. >> Yeah, I'd like to have Supervisor

[22:28] Oakland read a proclamation recognizing the Regional Food Bank

[22:34] under acting month. And we have a representative

[22:39] from the Regional Food Bank. >> My name is Beth Sachs.

[22:49] Thank you. County Columbia proclamation

[23:01] recognizing the Regional Food Bank Hunger Action Month. Whereas the

[23:04] Regional Food Bank has been faithfully feeding our neighbors in need since 1983

[23:09] and serves 23 counties across New York State from the Lower Hudson Valley to

[23:13] the New York border, including Columbia County. And whereas a recent national

[23:17] study conducted by Feeding America shows that 12% of the total population and

[23:23] 16.2% of children within the Regional Food

[23:25] Bank service area struggle with food insecurity. And whereas the Regional

[23:30] Food Bank collaborates with more than a thousand partner agencies to supply and

[23:34] support neighbors in local communities and serves more than 355,000

[23:39] meals per month to those in need. And whereas the Regional Food Bank

[23:43] relies on the generous support of volunteers with 30,000 individuals

[23:48] donating over 74,000 hours of service last year, the equivalent of 36

[23:53] full-time workers. And whereas the Regional Food Bank works closely with

[23:57] local leaders and the business community to raise the funds needed to address

[24:01] this expanding need and provides essential programs such as the Summer

[24:05] Backpack Program, Food as Medicine, and Mobile Pantries to ensure access to

[24:10] fresh nutritious nutritious fruits, vegetables, proteins, and dairy

[24:14] products. And whereas in Columbia County specifically, 11.9%

[24:19] of residents struggle with food insecurity. And whereas in 2025 with the

[24:24] support of many local agencies, the Regional Food Bank provided more than

[24:27] 1.4 million pounds of food and 1.1 million meals to residents of Columbia

[24:33] County. And whereas despite these efforts, the meal gap in Columbia County

[24:37] remains more than 1.3 million meals this year, underscoring the ongoing need to

[24:42] work together to end hunger. Now therefore be it resolved that the

[24:46] Columbia County Board of Supervisors hereby recognizes the extraordinary

[24:50] impact of the Regional Food Bank and its partners and proclaims September 2026 as

[24:56] Hunger Action Month in Columbia County, encouraging all residents to join in the

[25:00] effort to end hunger by raising awareness, volunteering, and supporting

[25:04] local hunger relief initiatives. Given under my hand and the privy seal of the

[25:08] county of Columbia at the supervisors chambers in Hudson, New York in Hudson,

[25:12] New York this 12th day of August, 2026. Matt

[25:16] Matt Beemer L chairman of Columbia County Board of Supervisors. And please

[25:20] go online tonight and make a donation to Regional Food Bank via their website.

[25:39] » It'd be nice if Adam Strong had a right to

[25:46] » Thank you very much, Supervisor. Um I think the last time I was here was about

[25:50] 2015 at a Veterans Recognition Ceremony when

[25:54] I worked for Congressman Chris Gibson in Kinderhook. So, it's great to be back.

[25:59] And I just want to reintroduce myself. My name is Rich Harris. I'm the Chief

[26:03] Strategy Officer at the Regional Food Bank. And we'd like to extend our

[26:07] deepest appreciation to the Columbia County Board of Supervisors for allowing

[26:11] us to speak this evening on an incredibly important topic of food

[26:15] insecurity. The mission of the Regional Food Bank is

[26:18] to lead a network of partners to alleviate hunger, prevent food waste,

[26:21] and nourish the communities we serve. We serve a 23 county We serve 23 counties

[26:26] of Northeastern New York from Rockland County all the way up to Clinton County

[26:30] on the Canadian border. Feeding approximately 355,000 people

[26:34] in the every month.

[26:37] I'd like to acknowledge the network of 21 food pantry partners that work with

[26:42] us to address community needs in Columbia County. And today we're joined

[26:45] by Judy Matthews, the co-president of the Chatham Area Silent Pantry.

[26:49] Each September, Hunger Action Month unites millions of people across the

[26:53] United States to raise awareness and provide nutritious food for our

[26:57] neighbors who are facing hunger. A few statistics specific to Columbia

[27:01] County based on recently released map the meal gap data.

[27:06] Almost 11.9% of the population or 7,300 people in Columbia County are food

[27:10] insecure. Of those 7,300, 1,550

[27:14] are children. And last year we distributed over 1.4

[27:18] million pounds of food within Columbia County, which is the equivalent of 1.2

[27:22] million meals. And despite these efforts, the meal gap

[27:25] continues to exist with over 200,000 missing meals.

[27:31] And due to federal changes in the SNAP program and the increase in the cost of

[27:34] living, we anticipate that that number will increase.

[27:37] We want to close the meal gap and appreciate the support of the county to

[27:40] help us alleviate hunger. Thank you again to this board for

[27:43] acknowledging Hunger Action Month and your support of the Columbia County

[27:47] residents who face food insecurity every day.

[27:50] Together we can ensure that all people have nutritious food they need to

[27:54] thrive. And I'm going to leave behind um a copy of our

[27:59] State of Hunger report, which serves the entire capital region. And then I also

[28:04] have a uh specific Columbia County report, which I'll leave uh for

[28:07] distribution for you. So, thank you.

[28:20] » I think we have those to Kelly and make sure they share with everybody.

[28:24] » You have to send them out in the mail to them.

[28:39] » I want to request the clerk read resolutions.

[28:42] » Resolution 275 of 2026 to 301 of 2026 by Supervisor Owens.

[28:48] » Mr. Chairman, I'll second >> resolutions for adoption.

[28:51] » I second motion. All in favor? >> Aye.

[28:54] » Opposed? Carried.

[29:01] Do any supervisors have any comments or questions?

[29:06] Supervisor Collins. >> Yeah, I'm just glad that the recent

[29:10] flooding I wanted to thank all the highway departments, both municipal,

[29:13] county, and state. I would just put in an extraordinary job. All the first

[29:17] responders that were out there, the fire departments, and everyone else, public

[29:20] safety. Um I just thought for the amount of

[29:23] damage we had, the amount of rain we had, that we were in good hands the

[29:27] whole time. So, I wanted to thank those. And I would like to recognize Judy

[29:30] Matthews from the Chatham food pantry. She

[29:33] uh handles a massive amount of food. She sees a lot of people, and it's really an

[29:37] extraordinary service. So, thank you very much, Judy.

[29:46] » Back to the Department of Public Works. The amount of DPW

[29:51] fire firefighters and any emergency management DPW

[29:56] who helped that day in those those few days in those days.

[30:00] » I I'd also like to echo that sentiment. Uh you know, Germantown got hit pretty

[30:05] hard. 55 years, I've never seen that much water

[30:08] in that short amount of time. And and yeah, there's yeah, to get a phone call

[30:12] and be you just you know, initiate a state of emergency. Uh okay, I'm awake

[30:16] now. Um but no, the uh

[30:20] the everybody from the county DPW, the emergency management, and you know, fire

[30:24] company, everybody I just really would like to commend their work.

[30:27] Uh personally, the uh fire chief and the assistant chief of

[30:32] the town of Germantown, while they were out helping everyone, their house was 5

[30:35] ft under water. Uh they lost everything. But it just

[30:38] shows commitment that they have to the community, and um

[30:42] I would like to to thank them personally. I have to thank them

[30:46] personally. >> Thank you.

[30:48] Any other supervisors? >> Yeah.

[30:51] Thank you. >> Yeah, I'll second everybody's comments

[30:54] on what was handled during the flood. It was very good service for our community.

[30:59] But I also wanted to uh share public works. I just wanted to especially thank

[31:03] our commissioner of public works, Ray Jurkowski, and along with all of our

[31:07] facilities crews, NYS crews. And the last two, in case you haven't noticed,

[31:11] we moved probation, public defender, and board of

[31:14] elections office and board of elections to the new 11 Warren Street office.

[31:18] This was a phenomenal project. If you asked me, this started years ago. When

[31:23] we purchased the building, we reached out to all those department heads and

[31:25] said, "What do you need?" We designed them the building specifically for what

[31:29] was asked for. That work was completed on time and on

[31:33] budget. And it was a lot of work and then actually moving the crews there.

[31:38] Anybody that's ever rearranged someone's office can just understand what this is.

[31:41] We moved an entire department down the

[31:43] street. I understand that it moved quite well.

[31:46] Everybody seems to be pretty pleased. So, I just want to thank all that staff

[31:50] for that work that they did. Thank you. >> Thank you, supervisor.

[31:55] Any other comments?

[31:59] Okay, with that, I think we do have some board appointments.

[32:03] I'm going to appoint Layla Catlin, Joyce Thompson

[32:07] to the Columbia County Housing Task Force.

[32:10] And not as a board appointment, but actually

[32:13] we just passed the resolution. I want to congratulate Mark Chmiel,

[32:18] who is our newest uh representative to the Columbia Greene

[32:23] College Board of Trustees. So, Mark, congratulations.

[32:32] And then I I'd like to do a moment of silence.

[32:36] Actually, we lost two two

[32:40] one employee and one volunteer and flood. We used to be the former CDC

[32:45] and planning board director passed away as well as Larry Saltzman who was a

[32:49] one-time member of the county planning board. So, we'll be taking a moment of

[32:53] silence.

[33:00] I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. >> I move.

[33:03] » Second. All in favor? >> Aye.

[33:06] » Opposed? >> Carried.

Full Board || August 12, 2026

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