Mayor Merandy Seeking Third Term as Mayor in Cold Spring
By Examiner Staff
Mayor Dave Merandy wants to continue his work improving the quality of life in Cold Spring if elected to a third term November 5.
Facing off against Charles Hustis, a former village trustee, for mayor, Merandy believes his management skills, experience in public policy and “genuine” interest in public service makes him the best-qualified candidate to lead the village.
“I’ve successfully led our Village Board and village staff expanding existing sources of revenue, creating new sources of revenue, maintaining services thru multiple staff retirements, and investing in the improvements to village life for all residents and business owners,” Merandy, 64, said. “I want to continue this work for our village.”
Hustis didn’t immediately respond in time for this article.
If re-elected, Merandy, a general contractor, wants to develop and adopt a fair and enforceable local law that will allow the village to manage short-term rentals, explaining that short-term rentals have made an impact on the availability of housing for residential use, the villages character, noise and parking.
“As more and more people visit Cold Spring to enjoy what we love so much – our beautiful Village and the natural beauty of our surroundings – we need to be thoughtful and deliberative about how we manage the impact of those guests,” Merandy said.
With residents and business owners expressing their concerns overtime, Merandy said he plans to work with the Village Board to mitigate those issues while balancing individual property owners’ rights.
Merandy also hopes to finalize and adopt an updated Cold Spring Village Code. He said the village’s Code Update Committee has spent five years conducting an “exhaustive” review and preparing recommendations for the board. Once publicly heard and adopted, the updated code will be an essential tool for village departments, board and committees, he said.
Additionally, Merandy will throw his support behind repairing the Upper Reservoir Dam, asserting his position to finalize the agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to ensure village access to the aqueduct water system. He added his desire to completing a land use easement that will secure village access to the dam through adjacent private properties.
“I have already reached out to all of the property owners where potential easements are needed and have met with a few,” Merandy said. “Once an agreement is reached with NYCDEP, I will work with village engineers on the best routes to access the dam and resume conversations with the property owners.”
Noting his efforts to enhance the village by preserving taxpayer dollars, generating thousands in revenue, overseeing capital investments and improvements, and improving transparency and communication between officials and residents, Merandy said he’s a candidate people can rely on.
“It’s my responsibility to ensure our limited resources and funding are used responsibility and to set a course for a safe, sustainable future of our village,” Merandy said. “By balancing short – mid-range – and long-term goals with daily priorities and sensible spending, I’ve been able to demonstrate to the trustees on the board that the direction our village is going in is worth supporting.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/