TIMES
WALLKILL VALLEY
Vol. 34, No 3 3 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016
With growing interest in solar and
wind energy, the Montgomery Town
Board is crafting local laws that would
govern future projects within the town.
At the board’s regular meeting on
Monday, Town Supervisor Mike Hayes
noted that Montgomery—along with
many other towns—currently does not
have any codes regulating solar panels or
wind turbines.
Board members said various items
need to be considered before such projects
are approved, such as aesthetics, height
and appropriate zones.
Town Councilman Dan Dempsey
asked to include a requirement to notify
the local fire department when a solar
panel is installed. He noted that the panels are “live all the time” and a firefighter
could be in danger if he doesn’t know the
panels are there.
“They’re never dead,” agreed Highway
Superintendent Charles Woznick.
Woznick said there are currently no
ONE DOLLAR
Lady
Bushmen
cruise
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Montgomery to regulate energy projects
By RACHEL COLEMAN
3
codes about leaving space for access to the
roof, leaving firefighters unable to access
the roof in the case of a fire.
“They actually help burn houses,”
said Woznick, adding that if a firefighter
did get on the roof, he would be “energized” by the panels that are always producing electricity, even at night.
The board directed town attorney
Andrew Gilchrist to conduct research
into other local and state laws to draft a
Continued on page 2
Leadership Day Honorees
Local
labor
FedEx makes
no promises for
Montgomery project
By RACHEL COLEMAN
The Village of Walden held its sixth annual Leadership Day Awards program last Thursday. Pictured with Keynote Speaker Mike Anagnostakis
(far left) are this year’s honorees: Betsy Barton of Hannaford, Kerron Barnes, Rebecca McNally and Kassandra Mochi. Story, photos on page 5.
Responding to the earnest requests
of union workers to keep construction
jobs local, FedEx Ground is making no
promises regarding the multi-milliondollar facility they have proposed for
Montgomery.
Last week, a public hearing on the
project before the Town of Montgomery
Planning Board was unexpectedly well
attended, with hundreds of electricians
flooding the room past capacity and spilling out to fill the hallway, stairwell and
lobby of the town hall.
The strong showing by the Hudson
Valley branch of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW
363, was made out of concern for who
would snag the construction jobs for the
more than 248,000-square-foot facility proposed for Neelytown Road.
The project includes parking, offices
and 63 loading docks, all on 43.7 acres
of vacant land on Neelytown Road, next
door to their existing FedEx Freight facility. The 24/7 operation would take in packages from its New Jersey hub and distribute them locally on delivery trucks.
“As with all FedEx Ground facility conContinued on page 4
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