[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.