There is a lot of news in this issue. To be sure you see it all, click here to view the newsletter as a web page..

The January Town Board meeting will be held on Zoom. For the two Public Comment sessions during the meeting the Zoom moderator will ask attendees if they want to be unmuted in order to make a comment or ask a question. Zoom attendees will be muted at all other times.

According to the CDC, 58.4 percent of residents 65 and over have received a booster shot; as have 51.4 percent of those over 50; and 41.6 percent for those above age 18.

2022 town tax bills, which are payable by January 31, are now posted online. You can search for your bill by completing any one field on the search page. If you do not receive you bill in the mail by the second week of January and want the paper copy, email [email protected] or call 518 325-5537.

Do you engage in deltiology? Many people interested in local history do just that.... collect postcards. In the Hillsdale Historians's most recent blog post you'll learn about the history of postcards as well as more Hillsdale history through the pictures on old Hillsdale postcards. There is Cullen Park, before and after the monument was added. Local motels and inns. Private homes. And the historians have included lots of links for more information on the places and buildings pictured. But perhaps what is most interesting are the messages. "You said soon some time ago? When will it be?" "Received your card was glad to know you were alive." Usually postcards with written messages are of lower value than cards that were never sent but some messages tell much about the people who lived in or visited Hillsdale long ago, while others leave us wondering. 

When new law is approved the board will be approving all current town laws  and all the clarifications and edits adopted as part of the Code as if the local laws, ordinances and resolutions had been previously formally amended to read as such. All changes are detailed in Schedule A of the law re codification.

In accordance with Gov. Hochul's mandate, masks are now required in Town Hall.

Seven hundred K95 masks have been provided to Hillsdale by the state and county for distribution free to town residents. Masks are available (until all 700 are given out) in packets of five at the Hillsdale Supermarket, the Roe Jan Community Library and between 10:30 and 12:30, Monday - Friday or by appointment in the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall.

The Highway Department has has received and assembled the two radar speed signs that the town recently purchased. Each sign is mounted on a hand truck so it can easily be moved and chained to a utility pole. One sign is now in operation on Mitchell Street. The signs will be used on town roads where residents have concerns about speeding drivers.

As previously announced, the Columbia County Solid Waste Department is switching from bags to a tag system. The Hillsdale Town Clerk has tags available for sale between 10:30 and 12:30 and by appointment. A tag must be affixed to each bag being disposed of. The tags are for up to 10, 30 and 56 gallon bags and must be purchased as a sheet (5 tags/sheet). The Clerk has been assured that the 10-gallon stickers may be used for up to 13-gallon bags. and the 30-gallon stickers for up to 33 gallons. Residents can continue to use the current county bags (without tags) until their supply runs out.

The Town Clerk also has 2022 Recycling Permits for sale between 10:30 and 12:30 and by appointment. Permits, which are good for a calendar year, are required for disposing of recyclables at any county transfer station. Permits for residents are $50 per year. Senior citizens pay $35 per year. Each permit entitles you to two stickers in case your household uses more than one vehicle.

As most people have realized, Columbia County has a shortage, exacerbated by the pandemic, of affordable, workforce and market rate housing. Home prices have skyrocketed and continue to climb. That was confirmed in a presentation made at a recent meeting of the Roe Jan Housing Task Force by Joe Czajka, a community development and housing expert at Pattern for Progress, a not-for-profit policy, planning, advocacy and research organization whose mission is to promote regional, balanced, sustainable, and equitable solutions that enhance the growth and vitality of the Hudson Valley

While the median house price in Columbia County increased from $355,000 in the third quarter of 2020 to $365,000 in the third quarter of 2021, the number of houses for sale dropped 45.3%, more than in any other Hudson Valley county.

Czajka focused on housing cost burden. Housing is affordable if a household spends less than 30% of gross income on housing. If a household spends more than 30% housing is unaffordable and if the household has to spend more than 50% of gross income on housing the cost burden is severe. In Columbia County, 57% of renters have an affordable housing cost burden, 21% have an unaffordable burden and for 22% the burden is severe. For home owning households the percentages are 74%, 15% and 11%.

As in the county, renters in Hillsdale have more burden than homeowners. 53% of renting households have affordable housing, 30% have an unaffordable cost burden and 17% have a severe burden. Of homeowners on Hillsdale, 78% have an affordable burden, 13% have an unaffordable burden and for 9% the burden in severe.

Czajka also discussed strategies for addressing the housing crisis that can guide the task force as they develop ideas for workforce housing in the Roe Jan area.

The Town Clerk has recently received a number of inquires from residents re problems with dogs. The town does have a "leash law." The law states that a dog is not allowed to run at large, unless the dog is restricted by an adequate collar and leash and/or unless accompanied by its owner or a responsible person able to control the dog.

January programs at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library include a Tech Lab on using Googles Drive, history webinars and Balance and Strength classes for adults. There will be story times, Homeschool Wednesdays and a Story telling by Caldecott award-winning author and illustrator Emily Arnold McCully 

for kids. The library is located at 9091 Route 22.

The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Tuesday January 4 at 7:30 PM at the Hillsdale Town Hall to consider an application by James and Pamela Carden.

The Planning Board will meet on Monday January 10 at 7:30 PM.

Dial in: 646 558-8656 Meeting ID: 897 6985 8085

Passcode: 371781

Dial in: 646 558-8656 Meeting ID: 838 4577 3426

Dial in: 646 558-8656 Meeting ID: 826 3655 5784

Have you seen the Hillsdale Business Directory? From plumbers to galleries, restaurants to inns, businesses have a lot to offer in Hillsdale.