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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , January 11 , 2017
Walden bans big trucks
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permitted to travel on Bank Street from Route 208 to High Street ; Edmunds Lane from Coldenham Road to Penny Lane ; the entirety of Elm Street and Grant Street ; Oak Street East from Main Street to the Thruway Shopping Plaza ; Orchard Street from Main Street to Scofield Street ; Scofield Street from Orchard Street to Main Street and Woodruff Street from Route 208 to the dead end of Woodruff .
During the Jan . 3 session , the board hosted a presentation from Rod Freeman of the Small Biz Up website development company regarding the state of the village website . Freeman , who also serves on the Valley Central Board of Education , was hired six years ago to update the village site , and put forth a proposal last Tuesday that included various options for how to upgrade the security and aesthetics of the webpage .
Freeman reported that the website attracts 25,000 unique visitors per year and that the percentage of mobile users that access the site has grown from six percent to a robust 51 percent over the past six years . Freeman noted that the site was not designed to be mobile responsive , and could use an upgrade in that area . He also highly recommended to the board that the village should fortify some security aspects of the site to prevent hacking .
The current annual cost for the village to maintain the website is $ 3,200 and the page is located on a shared server . The board will determine the extent of the village website overhaul and how much they want to spend on the project during budget season in the spring . “ The work we ’ d done on the website was quite old , and you need to upgrade those things ,” Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold said . “ Technology changes and there ’ s also security concerns , so we wanted to get an overview of what the system looked like that we had in the village , and to see if we needed to make adjustments to it .”
While no changes have been finalized , the board is weighing the possibility of amending its fire and safety inspections to increase the frequency of checkups on multi-family residences . The village code could be amended to set a yearly inspection schedule for dwellings with three or more units ( instead of the current 24-month schedule ). “ We think about how we ’ re doing things and how we do our inspections ,” Rumbold said of the deliberations . “ Given the fact that there ’ s been issues about public buildings in the news , we just thought that we might lower the timeframe to do these inspections . Because it is important to keep the public safe , and to make sure that all of the landlords and all of the buildings are in compliance . So we just thought that it was a prudent thing to do .” The main obstacle for more frequent inspections is the lack of personnel in the village to handle the visits . Village Manager John Revella noted that officials from the fire department could be named part-time village employees to handle additional building inspections if Walden alters the regularity of the walkthroughs .
John Pennings is named Montgomery town historian
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retirement from IBM in May . While he had just finished 38 years on the job , he was ready to take on the role at any time . Hayes took him up on the offer the following month .
Although the position comes with a small stipend , Pennings chose not to accept it last year . He explained that he spent last year “ getting his feet wet ” as he explored the new position , working on replacing historical markers , naming roads , joining site walks of properties with proposals before the planning board , and serving as a consultant for different boards in the town .
Pennings also pointed out that historic preservation efforts also cost money and the historian position has a budget that has not been increased in a while . Like other town departments , his budget is affected by efforts to stay within the tax cap and his hands are tied as to how much he can do .
Meanwhile , Pennings said he is still “ digging through ” the office , discovering the town ’ s treasures and sorting them , all while puzzling out the “ antiquated file system ” that was in place .
Pennings grew up in Orange County and said he has a “ passion ” for its historical roots , amassing his own personal collection of local maps and other historical items . He is also a long-time member of the Historical Society of Walden and the Wallkill Valley , and noted he served as a trustee on their board many years ago .
“ It ’ s a passion for the both of us ,” Pennings said , referring to his wife , Rose , who serves on the town ’ s planning board .
Pennings said he also has a strong passion for “ timber framing and post-and-beam construction .” This is a traditional method of building a structure without today ’ s commonplace 2x4 lumber and metal nails . Instead , heavy squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers are secured with wooden pegs .
Pennings said he has constructed five of the structures within the town , including his own home and barn . He also participated in the design and construction of the 19th century style farmhouse located at the Orange County Farmers Museum in Montgomery . The structure is a reproduction of the Abram Brian Farmhouse of the Gettysburg National Military Park , often used by the 124th New York State Volunteers for their Civil War era reenactments .
Pennings is also a member of the Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum in CT and has been asked to join their board . He is in the process of writing a book on author and artist Eric Sloane , and is involved in the museum ’ s colonial-era cabin restoration project .
The reorganization meeting also saw the reappointment of Councilwoman Cindy Voss as Deputy Supervisor and the reappointment of the town ’ s various consultants . Fred Reichle and Rose Pennings were reappointed to the Planning Board for three year terms , however a vacancy now exists as planning board member John Lynch moved outside of the town .
The board also approved the purchase of radios and tactical body armor at a cost of $ 3,630.31 .
Approvals were also made for the road bonds and road names for the project known as Meadows at Ponds Edge with Haines Lane ($ 436,782 ) and Hattie Scott Lane ($ 378,177 ).
Police Blotter
TOWN OF MONTGOMERY POLICE Alphonso Thurman , 36 , was charged Dec . 21 , with aggravated unlicensed operaton 3rd , speeding in a posted zone and equipment violation .
James P . Kelly , 42 , was charged Dec . 21 , with unsafe lane change , driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of . 08 percent .
Melbourne A . Ridge , 39 , was charged Dec . 25 , with two counts of assault 2nd , resisting arrest , obstruction of governmental administration , driving while intoxicated , no / expired insurance , operating an unregistered vehicle on a highway , operating a motor vehicle with improper plates and operating with a restriction .
Christine M . Contestabile , 24 was charged Dec . 26 , with speeding and aggravated unlicensed operation 2nd .
Alfredo Vanterpool , 43 , was charged Dec . 30 , with petit larceny , and grand arceny 4th / credit card .
Jordon R . Mims , 39 , was charged Dec . 31 , with unlawful possession of marijuana .
Parker J . Saintmire , 19 , was charged Dec . 31 , with unlawful possession of marijuana .
Steven S . Auerbach , 52 , was charged Jan . 1 , with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property , 5th .
Phillip M . Young , 19 , was charged Jan . 4 , with criminal contempt 2nd .
Stanley M . Redner , 38 , was charged Jan . 7 , with unlawful imprisonment 2nd and harassment 2nd – physical contact .
James E . Caston , 23 , was charged Jan . 8 , with assault 3rd , three counts of criminal mischief 4th with intent to damage property , and obstruction of breathing or blood circulation .
TOWN OF CRAWFORD Shaun Cargill , 21 , Kiamesha Lake was charged Jan . 1 , with criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th and Unlawful Possession of Marijuana . He was processed and released to appear in Town Court on January 3 .
Anthony Meehan , 27 , of Woodridge was charged Jan . 2 , with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Unlawful Possession of Marijuana . He was processed and released to appear in Town Court on January 23 .
Jeffery Longfield , 32 , Pine Bush , was charged Jan . 4 , with Suspended Vehicle Registration . He was issued tickets to appear in Town Court on January 9 .
Robert Darling , 36 , of Bloomingburg , was charged Jan . 7 , with Suspended Vehicle Registration . He was issued tickets to appear in Town Court on February 6 .
Tara Garcia , 36 , of Pine Bush , was charged Jan . 7 , with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle . She was processed and released to appear in Town Court on January 17 .
Markita Shevlin , 26 , of Pine Bush was charged with suspended Vehicle Registration . She was issued tickets to appear in Town Court on February 7 .
MAYBROOK POLICE
Nicholas Urgo , 26 , of Warwick was charged Dec . 9 , with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Unlawful Possession of Marijuana , Operating Moving Vehicle Using Port Electronic Device . He will return to village court on Feb . 14 .
Scott Caston , 52 , of Maybrook was charged Dec . 11 , with harassment second degree - Physical Contact . He was due back in village court on Jan . 10 .
Michael Luis , 22 , of Highland Mills , was charged Dec . 13 , with unlawful possession of Marijuana . He will return to village court on Feb . 14 .
Michael Stennett , 58 , of Newburgh , was charged Dec . 19 , with unlawful possession of Marijuana . He will return to village court on Feb . 14 .
Kimberly Olgee , 22 , of Danbury , was charged Dec . 28 , with unlawful possession of Marijuana . She will return to village court on Feb . 14 .
Johan Rae Capozzoli , 19 , of Unionville was charged Dec . 31 , with unlawful possession of Marijuana . He will return to village court on Feb . 14 .