- The Bedford Central School District rescheduled the public bond vote on its capital plan from March to October. On Jan. 9, 2013, Superintendent Jere Hochman gives his recommendation to the Board of Education, which will vote on it at its Jan. 23 meeting.
- Progress on Mount Kisco's hazard mitigation plan will pick up speed in 2013. The plan, which is funded by a $100,000-grant from FEMA, including a 25 percent match from the village, takes a comprehensive look at flooding, a problem for the village when tropical storms hit, as well as other potential hazards like, for example, an explosion at the Halstead-Quinn propane storage facility. In January, the Hazard Mitigation Plan Committee, made up of community members and village officials, is scheduled to review the first incarnation of the plan, with help from representatives of environmental consulting firm Environmental Technology Group. On April 10, the committee submits the first draft of the final plan to the New York State Office of Emergency Management for FEMA review. This draft is expected to be posted on the village website and a public meeting will be held. The final plan, revised based on community input, will be submitted to the NYS OEM and FEMA on Aug. 16 for final approval.
- In January, the Bedford Central School District plans to implement a new emergency text message system designed to immediately alert parents of any critical situation. This adds one more communication strategy, which includes the new BCSD Twitter and Facebook pages initiated during Hurricane Sandy to relay information about closings and power restoration progress; the district's reverse 911 calls; and the school messenger email system, among other methods. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, there are a number of safety improvements on the table for the new year.
- Miscellaneous school building improvements are in the queue for the coming year, including a new steam boiler for Mount Kisco Elementary School and a new hot water boiler for Bedford Hills Elementary School, which plans to be installed by early summer 2013.
- Improvements at Northern Westchester Hospital is one of 27 projects in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, a number of them health care-related, that are expected to receive state grants from the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council next year. The Mount Kisco hospital will receive $1 million in 2013 to construct six operating rooms, 13 post-anesthesia care units and new surgical space.
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