T IMES
WALLKILL VALLEY
Vol. 35, No 33 3 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017
A vital infrastructure project in
Walden is winding down, as the village’s
new Department of Public Works facility
is expected to be fully operational by
the end of the month. Last June, the
village board approved a $999,500 bond
resolution to fund the construction of the
new DPW headquarters, and 14 months
later the council awarded a bid at its Aug.
8 meeting to LP Builders of Walden to put
the final touches on the new building.
The company submitted a bid amount
up to $102,000, and was chosen last
Tuesday as the lowest of two bidders to
complete finishing work on the project,
including sheetrock, flooring, painting
and trimming work. The village could
cut down on that outlay if they choose to
do the painting in-house, which Village
Manager John Revella noted they are
inclined to do. The new DPW facility is
located at the same site of the previous
space. “They took what was there down
and increased the size,” Walden Mayor
Susan Rumbold said of the 13,000-square-
foot project.
ONE DOLLAR
Eagle
project Citizen of
the month
Page 16 Page 22
www .W allkill V alley T imes . net
Walden DPW facility nears completion
By TED REMSNYDER
3
After years of planning, the village
decided last year that the prior DPW
building, which dated back to 1949, no
longer fit the modern needs of the village
and the agency. “The other facility was
very, very old and it couldn’t house
all of our equipment and all of our
vehicles,” Rumbold said. “So a lot of
the vehicles were outside in the weather,
which obviously isn’t good for that kind
of equipment. This way everything will
be housed inside and the mechanic will
Continued on page 4
Pretty planters
The latest innovation of the Walden Beautification Committee are four painted bicycles adorned with flowers along Main Street. Shopkeepers
and Walden Community Council Members do the watering.
Shawangunk
Democrats
regroup
By TED REMSNYDER
Building a local political party from
the ground up is no easy task, but a
group of enterprising Democrats in
Shawangunk are attempting just such
an undertaking in a town that has
been controlled politically for decades
by Republicans. With the entire town
administration controlled by the GOP,
including the supervisor’s chair and
the whole town board, the Shawangunk
Democratic Party has a long way to go,
but the organization hopes to give voters
options going forward in a town where
general election Republican candidates
usually run unopposed.
The group was formed in the spring,
and has held four meetings to date on
the second Saturday of each month at
the Shawangunk Town Hall. “We started
in May with six people, then increased
to 13 the next meeting and 22 the next
meeting,” Democratic Chairperson
Adrienne Gelfand-Perine said. “Over that
time, we elected a board, we set up a bank
account, we have a fundraising committee
that’s operating. So people are very, very
energized, and just want a chance to talk
and share information.”
While the Democrats will not contest
the two town board seats up for grabs
this fall in Shawangunk (Councilmen
Adrian DeWitt and Matthew Watkins
are up for re-election in November – the
Republicans are supporting DeWitt and
newcomer Alex Danon) and Republican
Ulster County Legislature Chairman
Kenneth Ronk will also run unopposed
this fall, a pair of Democrats on the
ballot that are challenging for spots
Continued on page 4
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL