Choosing goals is next step for Comprehensive Plan Committee

WASHINGTON — The Comprehensive Plan Committee held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 4, to decide on an approach to selecting goals for the new comprehensive plan for the town of Washington now that consensus on the vision statement has been reached. Josh Mackey, Planning Board chairman and member of the Comprehensive Plan Administrative Committee, acknowledged that village resident Tony Sloan, a retired city planner, was a member-at-large of the committee and asked him to explain his goal-setting approach. Sloan, who reminded the committee of the importance of performance measures in setting targets and measuring success for years, presented his own matrix of goals, more detailed objectives and possible metrics. He said that the plan should be used as a management tool. Margaret Irwin of River Street presented a compilation document with the goals and objectives discussed at the May 2010 public hearing, assorted comments by participants and subcommittees and River Street’s synthesis of the comments. Resident Howard Schuman pointed out that the minutes distributed for approval specifically stated that comments would be weighted to reflect the majority voice, not just a single individual’s one-off comments.While Sloan’s and River Street’s goals are similar, with the exception of the development of Mabbettsville, they diverge in specific objectives. For example, Sloan’s version has four specific objectives for preserving rural character while River Street’s includes 11. Both versions will be posted on the comprehensive plan website, comp.washingtonny.org.Despite the disjointed discussion that followed concerning commitment to the vision and the difficulty of identifying measurements for goals, there was finally agreement on Sloan’s matrix, if not his specific goals and objectives. Irwin endorsed Sloan’s approach as a “deliverable,” and all agreed that when the goals and objectives were completed the town of Washington board’s interim approval should be sought. Committee member and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Chairman Jerry Baker reminded the group that it is the Town Board that must approve the final plan.The committee agreed that at the next meeting specific goals would be agreed upon with some objectives, if there’s time. Committee member Kate Farrell reiterated, “We’re not turning our backs on the vision statement.”March 5 Draft Vision StatementWe envision the town of Washington will remain a rural community with great scenic beauty, a healthy, natural environment and a high quality of life for its residents. We envision protecting our town by ensuring that our working farms, beautiful historical landscapes, water resources and natural habitat for our plants and animals are preserved for the future. We believe in managing our fiscal house responsibly. We believe in maintaining a vibrant and diverse local business community located in the village center and we want to maintain our historical character because of its importance in preserving the look and feel of our community.

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less