Message from the Mayor: Art exhibits, TMTTR, CCA Update, Uniontown, Hastings Helps
Posted on: September 7, 2017 - 9:45am
Fellow Residents -
Enough going on that yet another email is merited.
"How High the Moon" Art Exhibit opening Thursday, today
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The "How High the Moon" exhibit formally opens Thursday at the Municipal Building. Come check it out, meet the artists, and enjoy the company of your fellow residents from 6PM to 8PM. This curated exhibit involved the selection of 22 art works from over 150 submissions, as well as a substantial component of historical artifacts from the Historical Society focused on Hasting's contribution to astronomy - including the first photo (ever) of the moon and one of the first of a solar eclipse. If you’re a commuter, drop on by on the way home – I will be doing so at 6PM myself.
Take Me To The River
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This Saturday is your (last) chance to experience the wonderful "Take Me To The River" music concert performance. Doors open at noon, bands starts at 1:00PM and occupy two stages for the next eight hours as local and regional bands ("Active Bird Community", The Mammals!) and arts, activities, food, drink, and crafts co-mingle in an event that is in its tenth year and has always been worth every penny of its cheap admission - ( here ) for advanced tickets. The vibe is intense and unforgettable. Go. And bring friends.
Art Exhibit at The Fitness Gallery
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Marilyn Kalish's works go on exhibit on Sunday, September 10th at the Fitness Gallery on Main Street - opening reception is from 4:00PM to 7:00PM.
Update on CCA
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A little over a year ago, we cut over as a village to green electric power (non-nuclear, non-fossil fuel-generated electric power) as the default source for all residents, instead of the usual Con Edison "brown" electric you defaulted to in the past if you did not sign up for an alternate electricity provider. (This is known as Community Choice Aggregation or "CCA".) This cut-over was done after a bidding process where we selected a provider who agreed to provide green power at a fixed price that was well below the average cost of the brown energy provided over the previous year. This was always a gamble as any fixed price contract is - would electricity prices for brown energy drop during the duration and make the decision uneconomical? We can report after a year that the average price of the green energy still resulted in savings over the average "brown" rate during this period. There were a handful of months (four) out of the last fourteen where the brown was cheaper than our current green, but overall, you're all ahead. The savings won't make anyone rich - a few dollars a month, but collectively that's $100K that stayed in Hastings and, well, that sounds like a pretty good deal, especially since it didn't cost us anything. A background update can be read here.
Uniontown Final Plans
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The Uniontown baseball field and playground face a substantial overhaul in the next half year as a design process comes to an end. Among changes, the ball field will grow a bit so it is fully regulation Little League size and we can host championships. We will also substantially increase the parking lot from the current ten or so (unsafe) slots with no turnaround to 32 spaces with a room to turn around. This should substantially relieve the parking impact on the local community on weekends when practices and games were held - and, with a built-in turnaround be much safer. The playground will shrink - but be completely renewed with new equipment. This has been a decade in the making and represents a collaboration between the Parks & Rec department, the Parks & Rec committee, and Little League. A lot of work went to get us to this point. See the plan here on the last page of a presentation made last month to the board. (HERE).
Hastings Helps Houston
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With another storm barreling in, it is hard to remember that Houston is still reeling - and the Girl Scouts and Village are joining forces to collect donations for Houston. Please bring them to the Community Center. They are looking for diapers, baby formula, new or gently used clothing, new underwear, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, and travel-size hygiene items. Drop off Thursday from 9:00AM to 8:00PM and Friday from 9 to noon.
And, finally, an acknowledgement of a loss to the community. Rhoda Barr passed last Friday. She lived a full life and demonstrated devotion and generosity to our Village. She served 34 (thirty-four!) years on the Planning Board, probably a record and certainly amazing, as well as created the Youth Employment Service and played an instrumental role in establishing the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. I always enjoyed her supreme common sense and fairness. She will be missed.
Remember to be doubly careful driving in the start of this school season.
Sincerely,
Peter Swiderski
Mayor