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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Walden Board
approves plan
for riverfront park
By TED REMSNYDER
In the doldrums of the bleak winter months, summer days and nights
spent outdoors in glorious nature can
seem a long way off. But Walden residents received a glimpse of a future
of outdoor adventure when the Village
Board unanimously approved the
Waterfront Evaluation Plan for Maple
Street Riverfront Park at its meeting last
Tuesday night. The plan was crafted after
Walden received a state Greenway Grant
from the Hudson River Valley Greenway
Council.
A draft of the plan was completed last
year and circulated to Orange County
and state officials. After the state weighed
in with its comments on the proposal
(including an inquiry requesting more
thorough descriptions of the current conditions of the park) the board was able to
close the public hearing on the matter on
Jan. 19th. After the plan was greenlit by
the board, it was immediately sent to the
state in the hopes that it will be funded.
If implemented, the plan would transform the Maple Street Boat Site by providing greater waterfront access to the
Wallkill River for patrons to enjoy hiking, boating and fishing in a picturesque
environment. The renovated spot would
include trails, picnic facilities and the
addition of a floating dock. Under the
plan, the park would also be outfitted
with a wooden walking and fishing pier
that would stretch the length of the riverfront from Maple Street to Rifton Place.
The site would also include educational signs informing schoolchildren
about the wildlife and vegetation found
in the park. Trustee Gerald Mishk, who
led the board meeting in the absence of
Mayor Susan Rumbold, is optimistic that
the project will get the go-ahead from
the state. “I think we’re on line to get it
approved,” he said. “We’re expanding on
the parks in the village and addressing
the needs of the people. They’ll be able to
utilize the waterfront. People that like to
do water sports, canoeing and kayaking
will have better access. There will be a
better spot for people to see some different scenery.”
During last week’s meeting, the board
also approved the third local law of the
year, as the trustees unanimously passed
legislation that is meant to simplify parking tickets in the village. The new system
will allow police officers to leave traffic
tickets on violator’s vehicles with a box
ticked on the slip of paper. The infractions will correspond with a new uniform
schedule of fines set by the village. The
penalties will range from as little as $10
per violation up to $250 for more serious
charges. “What we’re trying to do, is that
in the past we used to have different levels of fines depending on what you did,”
Mishk said. “If you violated the law once,
it was one fine, if you violated the law
twice, it was a second fine. So what we’re
trying to do is streamline it so people can
mail the tickets in. But if they had put
all those other caveats on the ticket, it
wouldn’t fit on the ticket. If the person
doesn’t agree with the fine, they’re certainly able to come to court and let the
judge know that. Then the jud