Code Enforcement Update

Dear Residents,

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and New Year. Below is an update on code enforcement. We will have an additional update in the months ahead after we review and revise our processes to better align with the needs of our residents. 
 
– Welcome our new Code Enforcement Officer
– CEO priorities
– New hours and contact information
– Enhanced Enforcement Program with the Sheriff’s Office
– Update to our code book
 
Welcome our new Code Enforcement Officer. Please welcome Trevor Bean as the village’s new code enforcement officer. Trevor is a lifelong resident of the village with extensive experience in constructing residential homes. We all look forward to working with Trevor in the months and years ahead! 
 
CEO priorities. The CEO’s priorities over the next year include: 
 
1. Establish positive working relationships with residents and contractors so that they can complete their projects quickly, safely, and in accordance with the NYS building code.  
2. Enforce the code equally and fairly to everyone. 
3. Work with residents and contractors to achieve voluntary compliance of the code.
4. Be a resource for residents and contractors to answer questions and navigate the NYS building code. 
 
New hours and contact information. In order to meet the demand of an increase in permits and provide timely responses and inspections for residents, we doubled the hours of the CEO to 25 hours per week. Office hours at Village Hall will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:30-10:30 am and Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00-10:00 am. The remaining hours will be allocated for inspections made by appointment Monday through Saturday up to 7 pm. 
 
Office: Village Hall at 6 Chatham Street
Cell phone: 518-229-3240
Email: CEO@villageofkinderhook.org (effective Thursday, January 5th). Emails sent to pbujanow@villageofkinderhook.org will be forwarded to the new email account.
 
Enhanced Enforcement Program with the Sheriff’s Office. Last month (December 2022), we entered into an Enhanced Enforcement Program with the County Sheriff’s Department. This program enables local municipalities to hire Sheriff Deputies to conduct speed enforcement and other security needs. On December 9th and 10th, we had Sheriff Deputies conduct speed enforcement throughout the village. During these two eight-hour shifts, they issued 24 speeding tickets. We have deputies scheduled again early this month (January 2023), and we will continue speed enforcement in the village in the weeks and months ahead. Ultimately, I want people to know that when they pass through Kinderhook, they better slow down! 
 
Update to our code book. With the exception of the passing of various local laws, the last time our entire code book was reviewed and updated was twenty years ago in 2003. About six months ago, we contracted with General Code to begin the process of reviewing and editing our code book. We expect the first round of suggestions and edits sometime this spring for our review and feedback. The suggested edits will be made public and all will be encouraged to provide feedback. 
Thank you for your patience as we welcome and onboard Trevor, as well as make much needed improvements to how the village conducts business to better support our residents. Any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me at mayor@villageofkinderhook.org.
 
Sincerely,
Mike
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