Board approves Center Street change order, advances TAP agreement; crosswalk engineering draws debate

The Village of Rhinebeck Board of Trustees approved change order number 6 for the Center Street project, authorized a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) consultant agreement to begin a federally funded multimodal project, and held an extended discussion about engineering and maintenance of a proposed crosswalk at East Market and Center Street.

Change order number 6 addressed two outstanding items from the Center Street project: a surface puddling issue near the northeast corner of the project area and a manhole frame and cover in East Market Street that requires replacement and raising to match the new pavement crown. Brandy (village staff) reported that project reconciliation produced $15,833.57 in net savings but the custom manhole frame and cover replacement will cost about $12,000. After questions about milling and the planned contractor work, trustees voted to approve change order number 6; Brandy said the net result remains about $3,833.57 under the authorized budget.

On a separate agenda item, the board approved a consultant agreement to begin the TAP project — preliminary engineering and right‑of‑way work funded through a $2 million TAP grant, with $430,000 allocated for initial consultant work. Rick Lewis, the deputy mayor and locally responsible official for the grant, was authorized to enter the agreement and serve as the locally responsible public official (LRPO). Trustees noted the agreement will carry the project through concept plans and public hearings; detailed engineering will come later and remain subject to the federal grant cap.

Trustees extensively discussed a staff‑proposed task order for design work to add a rectangular rapid‑flashing beacon (RRFB) crosswalk at East Market and Center Street. Brandy presented a $15,000 engineering scope to prepare permitting, design and bidding documents. Several trustees raised concerns about whether user‑activated flashing beacons are required, their brightness, annual maintenance costs (battery replacements for solar units) and the visual impact in a historic village commercial corridor. Trustee Lydia Sladey proposed asking staff to revise the task order to exclude the flashing beacons if that produces a lower cost below the $35,000 bidding threshold; staff agreed to explore alternatives and return with revised documents and maintenance cost estimates.

Board members also heard a staff briefing on a multi‑road paving RFP under preparation. Public works staff described two procurement options: (1) mill and repave roads as currently configured or (2) mill/pave with selective lane‑narrowing (two feet in selected locations) to slow traffic and add sidewalks in places. Staff noted clean fill and driveway tie‑in work drive costs and said completing a larger batch of roads at once reduces per‑unit mobilization charges; a full package could exceed $500,000 and use $265,000 in state CHIPS money with the balance from capital streets or fund balance.

Votes recorded in the meeting transcript were conducted by voice; the transcript shows "aye" responses for the motions to approve the Center Street change order and the TAP consultant agreement.