Wallkill Valley Times Aug. 09 2017 | Page 3

3 Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, August 9, 2017 Gardiner Town Hall gets spruced up Gardiner’s Town Hall is “shining like a new penny once again,” according to Town Supervisor Marybeth Majestic, thanks to the generosity of neighbors at the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (Jehovah Witnesses). “They volunteered to supply the labor to power wash, prime and paint the town hall, but they did so much more than that,” Majestic said. Work included replacing rotten window sills, corner boards and areas of the belfry, re-framing windows as well as addressing an issue with the gutter on the flat roof. Prior to painting they sanded sections of the building to create a uniform surface for the paint to adhere to. They hand painted four coats of trim on the windows in green to emphasize the buildings beautiful architecture. “The job was done with impeccable craftmanship and extreme measures were taken to keep the area safe and have the building open throughout the entire process,” Majestic said. “Words cannot express the satisfaction and gratitude that I have for our friends and neighbors at Watchtower, and on behalf of the town I would like to express our sincere appreciation.” Photo courtest Marybeth Majestic A volunteer from the Watchtown Bible & Tract Society repairs a window, last week, at the town hall building in Gardiner. Montgomery working on solution for brown water Continued from page 1 However, the filter is not a simple device like one that would be installed in a home. Nelson explained after the meeting that it would require professional designs, a new building and piping. While the village would do as much work “in house” as possible, the project is anticipated to cost about $350,000. The bill would be paid from the village water funds and may mean a bond and increase in village water rates, depending on how the village board decides to fund the undertaking. According to Nelson, there is a two month wait once the filter is ordered, but if everything comes together it could be ordered as early as next month. The building and other parts of the project could be started at that time to get ready for the arrival of the filter. Weather permitting, village residents could see clearer water in time for Christmas. In the meantime, work is continuing on the replacement of the burst water main on Clinton Street. At the request of the contractor, the village board approved a three-day extension for the project at their meeting last week, pushing the expected completion date to Aug. 18. During the public portion of that same meeting, village resident Don Berger questioned the board about discrepancies he had noticed in the year end actuals. H e asserted that the village was under budget in some line items, but that surplus—tens of thousands of dollars—seemed to have evaporated. “I’ve got to tell you, Steve…there’s a lot of oddities in the paperwork I have,” Berger said, addressing the mayor. “Where did that money go? It has to be somewhere.” Trustee Walter Lindner offered to meet with Berger to explain the figures and Berger accepted. “It’s not like it disappeared or went into some slush fund,” assured Mayor L. Stephen Brescia. In other business, Trustee Mike Hembury noted that an individual has been going door-to-door, looking to list village homes for sale. He advised the realtor that a village ordinance requires him to first obtain a peddler’s permit at the village hall, for the safety of residents—which was confirmed by the village attorney at the board meeting.