1 September NY Forward Community Survey & Public Workshop Announcement September 1, 2022 By Danyelle Barrett General 0 NY Forward Community Survey & Public Workshop Announcement Community Survey: Complete prior to Sept 9th Public Workshop: Sept 15th Related Articles Community Feedback Survey Help the Economic Development Advisory Committee by completing their Community Feedback Survey to assess the initiatives most important to our community! Click Here to View Survey Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop Unfortunately, it has become necessary to reschedule the Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop, originally scheduled for this evening at Munger Cottage. Neither videographer that the town uses is available to live stream tonight’s meeting. The meeting is rescheduled for Monday, October 27, at 6 pm in the courtroom at Town Hall. I apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to seeing you on Monday evening Wynn Gold Chairman [email protected] Public Workshop - Climate Trends, Risks, Extreme Events, & Planning for Adaptation - 1/31/24 Dr. Radley Horton, a climate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, will be the keynote speaker at an educational presentation about the science of climate change, including emerging findings about recent trends and priorities for adaptation to more extreme rain events and longer and more intense heat waves. This program will be held at Munger Cottage Senior Center in in Cornwall, NY on Wednesday, January 31 at 7:00 pm. This talk is free and open to the public, and it will include time for questions and discussion. This program is sponsored by the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN), which is supported by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Adaptation Partnerships program. Dr. Horton is the Lead Principal Investigator for CCRUN, which is focused on the corridor running from Philadelphia to New York City and up to Boston. CCRUN’s network of scientists conducts stakeholder-driven research to support assessing and managing risks from climate variability and change, and advance opportunities for adaptation in the urban Northeast. Dr. Radley Horton will be speaking on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at Munger Cottage Senior Center, 40 Munger Drive, Cornwall NY 12518. For more information, contact Simon Gruber, the local coordinator for this program, at [email protected] Community Pool Project For generations, the Cornwall community pool has been an important part of summer in our community. Our existing pool and supporting infrastructure are aging, and the Town now has a significant opportunity to replace them with a new, modern community pool complex. The Town of Cornwall has been awarded a $5.587 million NY SWIMS grant from New York State, covering approximately 80% of the eligible project cost. The proposed project would replace the existing pool and create a larger, modern and more accessible community pool complex designed to serve Cornwall families for decades. Preliminary plans include: -A new, larger community pool -A zero-entry/beach-entry area designed for young children and families -Mushroom-style water fountains and splash features for younger swimmers -New piping, filtration and electrical systems -Upgraded pool decking and fencing -A new bathhouse with restrooms, showers, changing areas and family changing rooms -Four-season public bathrooms accessible from outside the pool area, providing year-round restroom facilities for park users -Outdoor showers -Improved parking and drop-off areas -Updated site infrastructure and accessibility improvements The total estimated project cost, including appropriate contingencies, is approximately $7.5 million. With nearly $5.6 million in State funding, the Town’s anticipated local share is estimated at approximately $2.5 million, which would be financed over approximately 20 years. Based on current assessed values and tax rates, the estimated annual property-tax impact of financing the project would be approximately: $31.98 per year for a home assessed at $300,000 — about $2.67 per month $42.64 per year for a home assessed at $400,000 — about $3.55 per month Potential Project Timeline If the Town moves forward with final design and the competitive bidding process in late 2026 and early 2027, construction could potentially begin in late summer or early fall 2027, with the goal of completing the new facility in time for the 2028 swimming season. This schedule is preliminary and would depend on final design, regulatory approvals, bidding, contractor availability and construction conditions. This represents an opportunity to leverage nearly $5.6 million in State funding toward a roughly $7.5 million investment that would replace an aging community asset while creating a more accessible, family-friendly and modern recreational facility for Cornwall. Before moving into final design and construction, we want to hear from you. With approximately 80% of the eligible project cost supported by State funding, are you ready to make this investment and move forward with building a new Cornwall community pool? Take the Survey: Pool Survey 2026 For More information, visit: Town of Cornwall Recreation Department > Our Programs > Community Pool Joint Public Statement from the Town of Cornwall & Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Boards For Immediate Release May 19, 2022 Subject: Proposed 3-Year Contract Between Cornwall and the New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Services As most residents understand, individual municipalities are responsible for providing and maintaining an effective and sustainable ambulatory service to their communities. Of recent, it has become more difficult to provide this critical volunteer service due to soaring costs and the dwindling number of available volunteers. This issue has been a topic of debate within the New York State legislature recently, with legislation introduced to establish EMS (the provision of urgent pre-hospital treatment and transport for medical care) as an “essential service.” Long overdue, this effort could potentially reconfigure how ambulatory services are administered across New York State. Unless and until the County and/or State elect to make certain changes, municipalities must seek effective methods to sustain and improve services. Experts contend that the paradigm is evolving and that mergers, or consolidation, exist as an intermediate solution. For over a year, New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) has contracted with the Town and Village to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to Cornwall residents for a fee, while Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COVAC) provides Basic Life Support (BLS) coverage for a fee, as well. ALS includes the highest level of emergency medicine – paramedic-level treatment – and NWVAC (or another EMS provider with ALS capabilities) has long answered calls within Cornwall for mutual aid, bereft of a contract. COVAC, staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians, or EMTs, has remained a fixture in our community since 1955. A number of years ago, COVAC made the request to bill patients directly and a decision was subsequently reached to dissolve the “ambulance district” overseen by the Town. By billing insurance providers directly, this was to be a more efficient process that allowed for the Corps to remain solvent without monies allocated from Cornwall. The global pandemic and an attendant paucity of available volunteers has made staffing across the past several years a concern. This, coupled with significant debt accrual resulted in COVAC’s appeal for subsistence from the taxpayers – which the Town and Village jointly agreed to support. Despite the provided financial support, there continue to exist a number of issues that have not been resolved, as relates to the professional administration of ambulatory services to our residents. Public safety is of paramount concern. Both the Town Supervisor and Village Mayor have met privately with COVAC leadership and members of COVAC’s elected board and operational membership appeared before a joint boards’ special meeting on January 11, 2022. While COVAC maintains they have mitigated their insolvency issues and improved their first-call response rates, it is the consensus of both boards that NWVAC – widely regarded as the “gold standard” for local ambulatory care – will be contracted to cover both BLS and ALS responsibilities for Cornwall residents. This assumption of responsibilities can be considered a consolidation. Current COVAC members who wish to continue to serve Cornwall residents may interview with NWVAC, and be afforded opportunity to operate out of 1 Clinton Street location, be attired in Cornwall EMS uniforms, and respond to Cornwall service calls in a Cornwall-branded ambulance. This serves both professionalization and training standardization efforts. On balance, we believe that this decision for establishment of a contemporary public/private partnership model -- created and supported by multiple municipalities, including Town of New Windsor, Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson -- will ensure our residents receive the high-quality emergency medical care they deserve. NWVAC enables Cornwall leadership to remain confident in the model’s financial viability and sustainability, administrative transparency, leader oversight, and accountability while serving as an example for the region. This was not an easy decision. Careful consideration was given to all impacted equities. Town and Village elected officials reflected deeply on the many decades of selfless service that COVAC and its volunteers have provided to our community; indeed, it is an honored local institution. But the primary responsibility of public officials is ensuring their constituents are afforded best available services for their hard-earned tax dollars. In our estimation, the proposed three-year contract with NWVAC ensures this. Know that we have explored innumerable options to guarantee confidence in the provision of EMS. And we have reviewed a number of similar municipal consolidated-services agreements. This is the best path forward for Cornwall. On Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., inside the Edward C. Moulton, Jr. Village Board Room, located at Village Hall, 325 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York 12520, the Town and Village boards will convene a joint special meeting to address this matter publicly. Meeting will be publicly-noticed and contract provisions will be disclosed. The public will be afforded an opportunity to speak and boards will address some factors that led to this decision. On behalf of the Town and Village Boards, Joshua Thomas Wojehowski Supervisor James A. Gagliano Mayor Community Pool Opening The pool will open on June 29th! Passes can be obtained through the Recreation Office at Munger Cottage Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. We look forward to a great pool season! Registration Forms can be found on the Recreation Departments Website: https://cornwallrecreation.com/Our-Programs/Community-Pool Comments are closed.