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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, April 24, 2019
B riefs
Montgomery town board approves
second opinion on highway garage
The Montgomery town board approved a structural
engineering company for a second opinion on the
highway garage, which was deemed unsafe by Anderson
Design Group in a previous report.
The board contracted M.A. Day Engineering, P.C.
for $750 to conduct a structural assessment of the
highway garage. A report issued March 12 by Anderson
Design Group outlined four main life and safety issues:
structural concerns; non-compliance with life and
safety components such as an eyewash station and fire
alarm system; combustible construction materials; and
hazardous materials.
The report concluded the highway department
should vacate the building immediately and the entire
structure be demolished.
As of April 17, the highway department was still
using a portion of the garage for storage of vehicles.
Mechanics were still entering that portion, which
Superintendent of Highways Charles Woznick said is
safe.
Board member Cindy Voss presented the motion,
saying a second opinion from an unbiased source is a
good idea.
Town Supervisor Rodney Winchell disagreed with
the motion, and said he is not sure of a company that he
has done no research on. He also threatened not to sign
the check.
“I don’t agree, I want to research who it is,” Winchell
said.
The motion received three ayes from Voss, board
members Sheryl Melick, and Mark Hoyt; and two nayes
from Winchell and board member Daniel Dempsey.
Pine Bush to host Recruit NY event
The Pine Bush Fire Department will host a Recruit
NY event on April 27.
An initiative of the Firemen’s Association of the
State of New York, the state-wide event gives residents
an inside look into their fire departments and serves as
a recruiting tool.
Second Assistant Chief Tyler Carlson said the event
will include an open house, lunch, fire house tours and
an extraction demonstration.
“It’s for anyone interested in the fire who may have
some questions, or who just want to check it out,”
Carlson said.
The fire department is always recruiting for not only
firefighters, but volunteers who support the firefighters.
The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pine
Bush Fire House, 2405 State Route 52, Pine Bush.
Montgomery grants liquor
license to new deli
The Village of Montgomery board of trustees
granted a 30-day advance notice for Hero’s Deli to sell
wine, beer and cider.
Located at the old Benson’s Deli at 118 Clinton
Street, Hero’s Deli will open around July 1, co-owners
Eric Tonnesen and Edwin Rodriquez said.
The deli will serve simple breakfast and lunch
food. It will have a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere, with
seating for as many as 50 people.
“It’s a sit down and relax atmosphere,” Tonnesen
said.
ZBA determines batteries
permitted for solar projects
The Town of Crawford Zoning Board of Appeals
(ZBA) determined battery storage are allowed under a
special use permit for solar projects.
The town zoning code prohibits containers, and Town
Building Inspector John Calaca determined battery
storage for Svenski and Dubois Solar constituted a
container. Project Attorney Doug Warden appealed to
the ZBA, which reversed the interpretation.
Project Associate Charles Grady Mecay said each
project includes one two-megawatt battery facility,
which can store and release power at night and when
the sun is not shining.
The Svenski solar project is a two-megawatt project
with 20 acres of panels on Route 17K, near Collabar
Road. The project has the capacity to power between
400 and 500 homes in the Orange and Rockland Utility
district.
The Dubois solar project is a two-megawatt facility
with approximately 15 acres of panels on Dubois Road,
off Route 52. It has the capacity to power between 400
and 500 homes in the NYSEG district.
Both projects are developed by solar company
Cypress Creek Renewables.
Climate Smart to host community
outreach at Popp’s Park
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in
connection with Wallkill’s annual Clean Sweep event,
Climate Smart will have a table at the Popp Memorial
Park on Route 208 at the south edge of the hamlet
of Wallkill, staffed by Committee members with
information and offers of assistance: This is for people
who may be thinking about growing a vegetable garden
for the first time but may need encouragement and
suggestions about getting started, and for seasoned
gardeners as well.
Shawangunk region author and historian and CSC
member Marc B. Fried, who has been an organic
gardener for some 46 years, will be on hand to help
beginners and others with their gardening questions.
Also available will be hand-outs with tips on saving fuel
and energy usage in everyday life.
The Climate Smart Communities program
was established by the State of NY as a state-local
partnership to help communities reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, prepare for a changing climate and assist
in building a green economy. State agencies provide
guidance and funding to help localities implement
strategies that work toward these goals.
The Shawangunk Town Board voted in December
to join this program, and a committee of volunteers
began monthly meetings in January under the initial
guidance of the town’s Environmental Management
Council. Andy Domenech of Wallkill has been elected
as the CSC’s first coordinator. The committee is always
looking for new members!
Refreshments will be served. In case of significant
rain, both the Clean Sweep and the CSC table will be
postponed till Sunday.
(If the weather looks to be a problem, you can phone
633-5136 or 895-3756 to confirm.)
Pine Bush School Board approves $119 million budget
Continued from page 1
this year. In the 2020-21 school year, an additional two
teachers would be added so seventh grade students could
take Spanish the whole year.
Another new item on this year’s budget was the
addition of a Collaborative Academic Social Emotional
Teaching and Learning Environment (CASTLE) program
at Pine Bush Elementary School (PBE).
The CASTLE program is for students with severe
delays in social emotional regulation and is geared
towards bringing up to six students in kindergarten
through second grade back to their home district instead
of being educated at Boards of Cooperative Education
Services (BOCES).
Other program enhancements include one new
Advanced Placement Computer Science class, the
creation of a varsity girl’s golf team, the addition of
Big Brothers/Big Sisters at Pine Bush High School,
Crispell Middle School, and PBE; and materials for a new
social and emotional learning program in kindergarten
through second grade.
Superintendent Tim Mains said the number from
the fund balance was scaled from as high as $750,000,
as recommended by the board, to $474,000, in order
to maintain a fiscally responsible budget. Several
recommendations were removed from the budget while
still maintaining the programs that facilitate student
success.
“In order to lower the impact on fund balance, we took
a couple of the recommendations that we had previously
made off the table so that we can present to you what we
consider to be a fiscally responsible budget,” Mains said.
The majority of the proposed budget—78.8 percent—
directly benefits students. Another 10.6 percent is
allocated to the capital component, and 10.4 percent is
allocated to administrative costs.
Polls are open on May 21 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Residents
of Gardiner and Shawangunk will vote at the Walker
Valley Fire House, Crawford and Montgomery residents
will vote at the Pine Bush Fire House (Station One),
Mount Hope and Wallkill residents will vote at Circleville
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and Mamakating
residents will vote in Mamakating Park in Bloomingburg.