The Members of the Comprehensive Plan Committee

· Sally Mazzarella, chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, served on the 1989 Committee, as well. She presently serves as co-chair of leading gifts for Starr Reborn Campaign - the capital campaign to fund the library's expansion. Sally is past chair of the Rhinebeck Planning Board, serving in that capacity for 20 years. She is president of the Winnakee Land Trust; treasurer of the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center; and serves on a variety of human care, planning, and arts and cultural organizations throughout Dutchess County. She feels that one goal of the Comprehensive Plan Committee is to ensure that someone who has lived in this community might leave for some years and upon their return, while finding a changed community, discover that Rhinebeck's special qualities, historic character and sense of place is still intact. ^ back to top ^

· David Baldauf is chairman of the Town Zoning Board of Appeals, on which he has served for 15 years. He was a member of the last Comprehensive Plan Committee. He is experienced in planning and zoning issues, and understands the importance of legislating property development, signage and cell phone usage. Dave is a retired IBM engineer, who has lived in Rhinebeck for more than 20 years. ^ back to top ^

· Jim Closs works for the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation - a non-profit, county-funded organization dedicated to business retention and expansion. Jim's father was mayor of the Village. His mother was the first chair of the Rhinebeck Village Planning Board. Jim is past treasurer of the Starr Library and presently, first vice commander of American Legion Post 429 and a member of the Lion's Club. He was a banker for some 18 years. ^ back to top ^

· Paul Hallenbeck came to Rhinebeck in 1974. He has been a real estate broker for 18 years, and is principal partner of Paul Hallenbeck Real Estate on Oak Street in Rhinebeck. Prior to that, he served as a guidance counselor and team leader at Bulkley Middle School. Paul is particularly interested in preserving Rhinebeck's historic resources and ensuring that housing is available for such populations as those entering the work force, municipal workers and the elderly. He is dedicated, as well, to the economic viability of Rhinebeck. ^ back to top ^

· Nancy Kelly, who was a member of the Town Board for 11 years, chaired the immediately prior Comprehensive Plan Committee. One of its successes was Burger Hill Park, designated by that Plan as a high potential resource for public access. It is now public property, having been purchased by Scenic Hudson and developed as a park by the Winnakee Land Trust. Nancy presently serves as Rhinebeck Town Historian. She is interested in preserving viable agriculture in our area, and in such matters as signage and billboards, for example. ^ back to top ^

· Richard Kopyscianski is a trustee of the Morton Library, and serves on the Town of Rhinebeck Dock Committee. He started weekending in the Rhinebeck area in the early 1980s, and relocated to Rhinecliff, full-time, in 1990. Richard invests in residential and commercial properties in Rhinebeck and Rhinecliff, develops them for re-use, and manages them. He spent some 25 prior years in the advertising business, achieving the position of creative director. When Richard was just ten years old, his neighborhood - in fact, his playground - was demolished to make way for the New England Thruway. The New Rochelle tollbooth was constructed in his back yard. It was then that a community servant was born. ^ back to top ^

· John Lyons is an attorney with a specialty in zoning, environmental and land use law. He looks forward to the opportunity to apply his land use planning experience to this process. John assures us that Rhinebeck's Comprehensive Plan revision is timely, given local zoning-oriented activity. "Good planning and laws are of great help to communities; bad laws create substantial problems," says Lyons. ^ back to top ^

· Dennis McGuire, Town supervisor, was born and raised in Rhinebeck. A volunteer fireman for some 30 years, Dennis is a retired New York State trooper and a Viet Nam veteran. His wife, Leslie, was raised in Rhinebeck. The McGuires have two children and one grandchild. Dennis welcomes the committee to this "difficult but gratifying task, dedicated to Rhinebeck's future." ^ back to top ^

· Carl Meyer is president & chief operating officer of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation. He was born and raised on a farm in Greene County, and there experienced what it meant for the land to "belong to everyone." He serves on the board of directors of Winnakee Land Trust and Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress, a regional planning organization. As such, Carl will be able to assist the committee by referring to other areas' best practices. ^ back to top ^

· Melodye K. Moore has been the Historic Site Manager at Staatsburgh State Historic Site (formerly Mills Mansion) since 1986. In this capacity she is responsible for overall site administration and serves as the coordinator of the strategic plan for the restoration of the mansion, its collections and its landscape. Ms. Moore has 25 years experience in museum administration and historic preservation and was the first Director of the Dutchess County Historical Society. In 2000 she participated in the Community Leadership Alliance Program of the Glynwood Center and was a member of the local organizing committee for the Northern Dutchess Countryside Exchange sponsored by the Glynwood Center. In 2002 she was a member of the Center's Swale and Ure Washlands Exchange to the North Yorkshire Moors. Currently, she is the chairperson of the Great Estates Consortium, the secretary of the Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce and the treasurer of the Northern Dutchess Alliance. Ms. Moore and her husband have been residents of Rhinebeck since 1987 and are active in many local organizations. She is particularly interested in a Comprehensive Plan for Rhinebeck that protects the unique character of the town and village and, at the same time, encourages strategies for compatible economic development. ^ back to top ^

· Mary Myerson, principal partner of a national executive search firm, also enjoyed a prior public relations career with both non-profit and corporate organizations. She looks forward to helping stimulate broad community interest and participation in the comprehensive planning process. Consensus is possible, she feels, and the process, itself, should elicit "many voices," ultimately reflecting Rhinebeck's community-wide vision. ^ back to top ^

· Madeleine Post moved to Rhinebeck some 33 years ago. Having run for local office four times over the years, she takes her community memberships seriously. Over a period of many years, she has served on the boards of directors of the Astor Home for Children, Daytop Village, and the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center. She was a charter member of Hudson River Heritage, which prepared the application for the designation as "Historic District" of the 16-mile strip along the Hudson River, from Staatsburg to Tivoli (excluding the hamlets), on the National Register of Historic Places. Madeleine says that she continues to be comfortable and happy living in Rhinebeck. Her membership on the Comprehensive Plan Committee is dedicated to future generations, whom she hopes will have reason to feel the same. ^ back to top ^

· Steve Rosenberg, executive director of The Scenic Hudson Land Trust, Inc., gets involved every day with communities grappling with land use, conservation and development issues. A former practicing attorney, he serves on the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), chairs the State Region 3 Open Space Committee, and is a founding member of Rhinebeck Community Nursery School. Steve wants to see the whole community get involved in the planning process, so that the Plan will reflect the perspectives of local citizens, including strategies that the community supports. ^ back to top ^

· Pierce Smith is a member of the Rhinebeck Town Zoning Board of Appeals. A trustee of the Starr Library, he co-chairs the capital campaign for its expansion. Pierce is a retired financial institutions executive. He is pleased to be on the Comprehensive Plan Committee because of the impact it is likely to make on Rhinebeck's future. He's hoping to contribute to conceiving a plan that is targeted, workable and economically viable. ^ back to top ^

· Warren Smith is a member of the Rhinebeck Town Planning Board, and as such, has helped to set design and other standards for new construction in this area. He is currently president of the Rhinebeck Historical Society. An architect by profession, he is responsible for the design of the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center, and deeply committed to Rhinebeck's sense of place and diversity of architecture. ^ back to top ^

· Herman Tietjen, Town Board liaison to the Comprehensive Plan Committee, has been an attorney in private practice in Rhinebeck since 1964. Before his election to the Rhinebeck Town Board in 2002, he had served as Town Justice for 28 years, and in his early term as Town Justice, the Town's judges also served on the Town Board as Town Councilmen. He was a Board member from 1971 to 1973, when Rhinebeck faced its first test of the then new zoning law: the development of an 800-unit Planned Unit Development - PUD - that had been proposed for the former Astor land on River Road. As a result of an energetic, well thought out and passionate effort, the Town Board, with the assistance and support of a lot of its residents, successfully defeated the proposal. In serving as an at-large member of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, Judge Tietjen is fulfilling a campaign promise he made to his constituents in 2002: a review and revision of the 1989 Plan to enable Rhinebeck to proactively address growth pressures faced by the entire mid-Hudson Valley region. "Growth," he says, "must continue to be orderly, controlled and gradual, with the goal of maintaining the special sense of place that Rhinebeck enjoys." ^ back to top ^

· Dean Vallas, an artist whose works hang in public and private collections, has lived in Rhinebeck with his wife, Debra Pemstein, and their two daughters Zoe and Sophie, for five years. Additionally, Dean has worked as a consultant for the New York Philharmonic and other arts organizations. Elected to the Rhinebeck Board of Education in 2002, and a founding member of Community In Support of Public Education (CISPE) Dean is honored to represent the Board of Education on the Rhinebeck Comprehensive Plan Committee. He says, "Rhinebeck has a unique opportunity, because of its size and history, to develop a Comprehensive Plan that can stand as a model of cooperation between Town, Village and School District." ^ back to top ^

· John Varricchio chairs the Town Planning Board, having been a board member for some 25 years. John explains that the Planning Board and other Town boards will be called upon to adopt and implement the Comprehensive Plan, so it is important that he and other Town board members serve as at-large members of the Committee, playing a role in the comprehensive planning process, as it evolves. John was born and raised in Rhinebeck. He is retired from the construction industry. ^ back to top ^

· Kay Tremper Verrilli, a Red Hook native who raised her family in Rhinebeck, is a long-term community volunteer. She served on the 1989 Comprehensive Plan Committee, in addition to participating in many other community initiatives over the years. She serves as president of the Museum of Rhinebeck History and is past president of Quitman Resource Center for Preservation and a member of its board of trustees. She is a member of the board and past president of the Starr Library. She served as chair of the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), and on the first board of directors of Hudson River Heritage. ^ back to top ^

· Bob Wills is geographic systems coordinator for Dutchess County and a licensed architect. Having taught architecture at Dutchess Community College, he developed the GIS program there. Bob has assisted in converting county tax maps to digital format, and with his considerable mapping skills, has helped to provide the county with aerial photographs and data sets. He serves on the board of the Winnakee Land Trust. Bob resides in Rhinecliff. ^ back to top ^