VILLAGE OF TIVOLI
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 8, 2025
The workshop meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Tivoli was opened by Mayor Majer at 6:05 PM at the Historic Watts dePeyster Village Hall, Tivoli, New York, 12583.
Present: Mayor Emily Majer, Deputy Mayor Bill Shilling, Trustee Peter Baldino, Trustee Sarah Imboden, Trustee Mangieri
Also Present: Clerk Kris Cleaveland, NYCLASS Representative Chris Starr, Dan D’Oca
The first order of business was a discussion with Chris Starr from New York Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System (NYCLASS) about the Village potentially investing in a high-yield interest bearing account that functions similarly to a high-yield personal savings account. The board must pass a resolution to join NYCLASS. The board will also need to determine what M&T Bank requires for minimum account balances. The final takeaway from Chris Starr was that it is easier to do everything to set up the account in full, thoroughly and carefully because it is more difficult to make changes after opening account, as it is a government banking account and will have only one or two primary contacts allowed access to the account.
The next order of business was a discussion with Dan D’Oca, a resident of Tivoli who came to the board about a project funding opportunity called NY Forward. NY Forward is a grant program from the Department of State that awards $4.5 million for downtown revitalization projects to create healthy, walkable, and vibrant in villages, hamlets, and other smaller communities. Building off the success of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, this project calls for both public and private projects.
The mayor had three items on her agenda to discuss with the trustees. They were the Firehouse Expansion Project, the EMS Crisis in NYS, and recapping the Trash Forum and discussing the proposed contract for cooperative services with Red Hook Village.
The board has decided to move forward with a Bond Resolution at the next board meeting to get the ball rolling on the Firehouse Expansion Project. This will allow the board to open the project up for competitive bidding and get an updated estimate of the actual cost of the project.
Northern Dutchess Paramedics was purchased by the private equity firm that owns Empress, which is a privately operated ambulance service, now the only ambulance service other than Beacon’s municipal ambulance and the Tivoli Fire Department’s Rescue Squad. A daytime gap in coverage has been identified by Cheryl Hilbrandt, the Captain of the Rescue Squad, and two people are currently still in training.
The last order of business was the Trash Forum and discussion of the intermunicipal cooperative agreement with the Village of Red Hook. The board will need to pass a resolution authorizing the execution of the contract for cooperative services with the Village of Red Hook for trash services, and another that will set the day of trash collection and any fees associated with said collection.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Cleaveland
Village Clerk