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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Project Sailfish FEIS released
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for
Project Sailfish has been released, moving the project one
step closer to approval.
Located near Interstate-84 (I-84) and the intersections
of NYS Route 17K and 747 in the Town of Montgomery,
the project will turn 188 acres of vacant land into an
approximately 1-million-square-foot warehouse with
more than 1,000 car parking spaces and 225 truck trailer
spaces, according to planning board documents.
Charles Utschig, Principal Engineer for Langan
Engineering, said the changes to the proposed project are
minimal since the project’s last iteration presented in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
“The changes that we’ve made have been very subtle,”
Utschig said at the planning board meeting on Aug. 12.
Concerned residents at the meeting continued to express
concerns over the project about traffic, stormwater
management, visual impacts and other impacts to their
quality of life.
Since the DEIS, planners reconfigured the entrances
slightly to address comments from the planning board
engineer and members of the board, Utschig said.
Planners also modified the grading to decrease the
amount of soil to be excavated.
According to the FEIS, the stormwater pollution
prevention plan (SWPP) and stormwater management
systems have been modified to address technical
comments from the planning board and planning board
engineer.
“These changes resulted in an overall reduction in the
size of some of the stormwater management practices
and reduction in the overall project disturbance,” the
FEIS states.
Utschig said planners also supplemented the
landscaping plan to provide more screening on the west
side of the site, where the truck bays are located.
The historic Arnot-Harber house will be relocated
from its current site slightly to the north to allow for
construction of the proposed access drive and to minimize
adverse impacts on wetlands, according to the FEIS. This
is a change from the DEIS, which proposed demolishing
the house.
At the suggestion of the planning board engineer, the
developer will also install porous pavement to minimize
stormwater related impacts. However, according to the
FEIS, the porous pavement will cover 1.2 acres in non-hot
spot areas in a parking lot consisting of more than 1,000
parking spaces.
The SWPP identifies green infrastructure techniques
and stormwater management practices to minimize
stormwater related impacts, such as porous pavement,
soil restoration, bioretention basins, and more. Onsite
catch basins within the paved roads and parking areas
will collect stormwater, which will be pumped by closed
pipes to stormwater management features.
Stormwater from hots spots at fleet storage areas and
loading docks will be collected separately and transferred
to bioretention basins with an impermeable liner.
During non-peak seasons, the updated traffic study
in the FEIS shows between 617 and 641 cars and trucks
traveling to and from the site at peak morning and
evening hours. During peak season, there will be between
975 and 1032 cars and trucks traveling to and from the site
at peak morning and evening hours. The vast majority of
these trips are employee passenger vehicles.
However, the traffic study predicts the increase in
traffic will not greatly impact most intersections around
the site beyond their present traffic volumes.
When a couple of residents questioned the board’s
ability to properly review such a large document,
Planning Board Chair Fred Reichle assured the public
the project is being thoroughly and properly reviewed.
“The entire project has been under our constant
review with an engineering firm very thorough with a
lot of disciplines since June of 2018,” Reichle said. “So, I
believe this board will feel confident when the time comes
that everything will have been addressed to the best of
our abilities,” Reichle said.
The complete FEIS is available at townofmontgomery.
com. Physical copies are also available at town hall at
110 Bracken Road, Montgomery; the Montgomery Free
Library at 133 Clinton Street, Montgomery; and the
Josephine-Louise Public Library at 5 Scofield Street,
Walden.
Written comments on the FEIS will be accepted until
12 p.m. on Aug. 27. Comments may be delivered to town
hall or emailed to Planning Board Secretary Suanne
Hadden at [email protected]
Gardiner Resource Committee to host seniors’ luncheon
The Gardiner Senior Resource Committee (GSRC)
invites all Gardiner area seniors to enjoy their next
gathering at the Gardiner Library on Monday August 19
from 12 to 3 p.m.
This will be a Potluck luncheon with participants
bringing a protein, vegetable, fruit or dessert. After an
hour of fun and food, attendees will break out the games
and play. Those that are not in games are free to sit and
talk and enjoy some coffee/tea.
Space is limited in the Community Room so those who
wish to attend are asked to call 255-4442 to reserve a spot.
If no one answers, please leave a voice mail specifying if
you need transportation; this cannot be guaranteed, but
every effort will be made to accommodate. Although this
is a free event, a small donation is requested to defray
library and club expenses.
Events take place in the library community room, 133
Farmer’s Turnpike in Gardiner.
The community room is equipped with T-coil
technology for those with compatible hearing aids and
cochlear implants.
For directions or further information call 255-1255 or
visitgardinerlibrary.org or the library’s Facebook page.
P olice B lotter
Walden Police
A 19-year-old male from Newburgh was
charged on July 17 with aggravated unlicensed
operation 3rd. He is scheduled to appear in
village court on Aug. 14.
Olivia Zagoya, 26, of Walden was charged on
July 19 with criminal possession of a controlled
substance 7th and possession of a controlled
substance outside of original container. She
was arraigned, remanded to Orange County Jail
and returned to village court on July 24.
Brian Caputo, 28, of Walden was charged on
July 20 with operating a motor vehicle without
inspection and suspended registration. He is
scheduled to appear in village court on Sept. 11.
Bruce James, 34, of Newark, NJ was arrested
on July 23 on an arrest warrant. He was
arraigned in village court
Erica Cruz, 36, of Beacon was charged on
July 24 with aggravated unlicensed operation
3rd. She is scheduled to appear in village court
on Aug. 28.
Zachary Steinhilber, 25, of Walden was
charged on July 26 with criminal possession
of a controlled substance 7th and aggravated
unlicensed operation 3rd. He is scheduled to
appear in village court on Aug. 28.
An 18-year-old male of Walden was charged
on July 27 with misapplication of property. He
is scheduled to appear in village court on Aug.
28.
Charles Williams, 38, of Poughkeepsie was
charged July 29 with harassment 2nd. He was
arraigned and scheduled to appear in village
court on Aug. 14.
State Police
The New York State Police is expecting
unusually long delays coinciding with the
50th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival on
Rt-17 and Rt-17B in Sullivan County beginning
Thursday August 15 – Sunday August 18.
Traffic is expected to be particularly heavy on
ST-17 westbound between the New York State
Thruway tolls in Harriman and exit 104 onto
ST-17B in Monticello. Peak traffic for westbound
lanes is anticipated between the hours of 1:00
p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and eastbound between the
hours of 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Motorists are
encouraged to make alternate travel plans and
avoid unnecessary travel during these hours
on all four days of this anniversary concert
weekend.
Additionally, heavy traffic at ST-17 exit 104
westbound may necessitate detours being put
into place and motorists should be aware of
alternate routes and plan for these detours and
heavy traffic accordingly.