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corporation had no interest in leasing its land to a competitor . “ It ’ s your enemy , so usually you don ’ t work with your enemy ,” Mensch told the board . “ We offered , but they said no .” The Maybrook complex had a previous life as the Matthews Buses garage , so the potential establishment of the East End depot would be a return to a busier time for the facility . “ It used to be a bus yard ,” Maybrook Deputy Mayor Robert Pritchard said . “ They took buses from other districts and brought them in here and remodeled them . They upgraded the interiors and then shipped them back out . So it was an overnight type of operation . In that parking lot there were probably 200 buses at any given time .”
As part of its deal with the school districts , the Medford company will purchase a fleet of 150 new buses , with the larger vehicles running on propane . As part of the company ’ s proposal , a fueling station would be installed at the depot with supplies of diesel , gas and propane , with the latter 8,000-gallon tank being housed underground . The State Department of Environmental Conservation and the county will both have to greenlight the fueling station specifics before the deal is potentially approved . The only other amendment that will be made to the existing site plan is a new sidewalk on the property .
When asked about the potential benefits the new bus yard could bring to Maybrook , Pritchard was quick to reply . “ Jobs ,” he said . “ They ( East End ) have come before
Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , April 19 , 2017
Crawford ’ s solar law draws more interest
Continued from page 1
acres on Route 52 near Hill Avenue , owned by Howard Dubois , who declined to say how much he would be paid . He inherited the farm from his grandfather but found that “ a large piece of land can be a financial encumbrance ,” he said , considering taxes , insurance , and maintenance .
Dubois makes his living as a used car dealer and leases the land to a farmer who grows hay and corn there . Of the 23 acres to be leased , only 11 acres would be occupied by solar panels , but the rest would be “ affected ” by access roads , utility lines and required buffer , he said .
Later , Anne Waling , Cypress Creek zoning manager also declined to disclose lease terms , but an Associated Press report noted leases of up to $ 2000 per acre . Waling introduced a similar application at the Town of Montgomery council meeting on Thusday night , and a second application in Montgomery is in process , she says .
Asked about interest in more land nearby , she said , “ Currently we are not actively seeking new land in these areas , but if a landowner is interested we may be able to request that our land acquisition department do a check to see if the area is feasible .”
So far , Cypress has no constructed solar projects in New York State , but they are pursuing “ about a dozen ” Orange County projects , including sites in Wallkill , Greenville , and Blooming Grove , Waling says . They own and operate projects in about fifteen states , including North Carolina , South Carolina , Oregon , Illinois , Texas , and New York , producing a total of one gigawatt of power in the U . S .
As Governor Andrew Cuomo aims to have 50 percent of power in the state come from alternative sources by 2030 , hastened by financial incentives , Cypress aims to help , says Waling .
Because of home rule in New York , solar laws vary widely , she says . “ Some are extremely restrictive and don ’ t allow large-scale solar at all . Some don ’ t regulate it much .”
Laws that are not so restrictive provide useful guidelines for pursuing a solar project that may ease and shorten the process , Waling says . She finds solar laws in Montgomery and Crawford to be much alike .
“ Both are thoughtful and a good balance between needs of developers and the town ,” she says .
As for potential obstacles , she says , “ The biggest challenge to power production is often transmission capacity . We are trying to create relatively small 2 Megawatt projects which fit under the ‘ community distributed generation ’ umbrella . These smaller projects are easier for the grid to accommodate , and they allow more areas to receive the benefits of solar .”
Geographical features , such as slopes and rocks can also create siting challenges , but in New York State , wetlands present the most common challenge , she says .
As the Borrego application , steps ahead of Cypress , moves forward to review by the town planner and engineer , Borrego civil engineer Steve Long also thinks about wetland issues . Further along in the process , after a public hearing on their application , New York State Department of Environmental Conservation representatives will check to see where wetlands are on the site . “ But wetlands move around ,” says Long . The Army Corps of Engineers will then make a determination about the effect of the project on the wetlands .
The application process can go on for a year or two , he said .
Bus company readies Maybrook plans
Continued from page 1 the Village Board and the board was quite receptive to this . We ’ re in the process right now of rezoning our downtown business district to try to draw more Main Street diners , that kind of thing . So having 200 employees here looking for a place to eat and everything else should make our Main Street breathe again .”
The site plan for the depot includes ample parking with room for 87 large buses , 56 smaller buses and 56 employee parking spaces . The exclusive entrance and exit for buses will be on Route 208 , while cars can enter from Charles Street or Volunteer Place . The company will have to supply the board with a traffic analysis before the plan is approved . “ I think the board was most concerned about the traffic , and the second issue is the fueling station that will be there ,” Planning Board member Michael D ’ Angelo said . “ The residents want to feel safe . If a fueling station is going to be there , they want to make sure it ’ s secure and safe , and that they ’ ll be able to drive past and feel okay about it .” The board scheduled a public hearing on the project for its next meeting on May 11 , despite East End asking for the hearing to be waived . The project will also have to go through the SEQR review process .
The site currently stores lumber , but is minimally staffed , so the arrival of the bus terminal would funnel a significant amount of jobs to the area . “ We haven ’ t had anybody that ’ s supplied a steady stream of consumers for our downtown in years ,” Pritchard said . “ It ’ s probably been since the Matthews bus garage went out of business .”
Police Blotter
Town of Montgomery Police
Margeline B . Flores , 24 , was charged April 7 , with endangering the welfare of a child , and criminal contempt , 2nd by court mandate .
Max Sandmeier , 49 , was charged April 8 , with stalking 4th and criminal contempt 2nd / disobedience .
William L . Reichal , 45 , was charged April 9 with unlawful possession of marijuana .
Brian T . Amrhein , 19 , was charged April 13 , with assault 3rd / intent to cause physical injury .
Joshua M . Parliman , 2 , was arrested April 11 on a bench warrant .
Three juveniles were arrested April 13 . Each was charged with grand larceny 3rd , criminal possession of stolen property 3rd , conspiracy 6th and trespass .
Nicholas M . Olin was charged April 14 , with attempted assault 3rd / intent to cause physical injury .
Natalia M . Figueroa , 19 , was charged April 16 with unlawful possession of marijuana .
Alvin M . McShaw , 21 , was charged April 16 with unlawful possession of marijuana .
Donna M . Ljuljic , 58 , was charged April 16 , with a violation of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law .
On April 11 , Sgt . Farina , PO Arestin , and PO Venditti were called for an unconscious , unresponsive male lying on the ground . Police arrived to find the male showing signs of narcotic drug overdose . Officer Arestin administered 2 mg of nasal Narcan .
Five bags of heroin were found in the subject ’ s car and were seized . The subject was observed to be in severe danger and in danger of dying .
Thanks to a quick response from Narcan and EMT trained officers , the subject was revived and the overdose was reversed with 4 mg of nasal Narcan .
No charges were filed due to NY 911 Good Samaritan Law regarding overdose .
On April 13 , at approximately 10 p . m ., the Town of Montgomery Police arrested three teenagers aged 16 and 17 years old and a juvenile in the theft of three performance motocross motorcycles valued at more than $ 16,000 .
The investigation began after the motorcycles were taken from a trailer at a residence in the Town of Montgomery at approximalely 3:00 a . m . As a result of the investigation and arrests , the three motorcycles were recovered and are in the process of being returned to the owners .
All four were charged with Grand Larceny , Criminal Possession of Stolen Property , Conspiracy and Trespass . The three teenagers were remanded to Orange County Jail on bail , and the juvenile was released to a parent .