Village of Maybrook enacts water restrictions
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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , July 20 , 2016
Gardiner Highway superintendent
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arrangement required visitors to step out and down when exiting the building , whereas now the exit is flat with the front door . “ It ’ s safer and the door is four inches taller , so for people of height it ’ s much better ,” Majestic said . “ It ’ s a commercial-grade door that should last longer . But we used all of the old hardware and we were frugal with our money .”
The construction work began on June 23 and finished last Tuesday with the completion of a new rail . The funding for the project came from a grant supplied by the New York State Unified Court System . The town applied for $ 30,000 in funds and received $ 18,500 . There were a number of items in the state request , and the front entrance work constituted $ 14,000 of the application . Gardiner has spent $ 10,652 so far on the project , and still needs to have the area painted . The balance of the grant money can be utilized to address the gutters and downspout on the flat roof area of Town Hall and could go towards sealcoating and striping the parking lot . “ Hopefully with the balance we can get the blacktop paved ,” Majestic said .
The board has long hoped to beautify the Town Hall and make it stand out in the local landscape to passersby on Route 44 / 55 . “ When I came into place , that grant had already been submitted ,” Majestic said . “ The front entry , the door was rusting on the bottom , the stairs were wobbly , the bluestone was cracked and water was getting in . There was a leak from where the belfry meets the siding . There was water damage and they felt that was important to get that cleaned up .”
With area residents increasingly adopting roof or
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for the position of Dog Control Officer after the board accepted the resignation of previous office holder Darlene Devlin at Thursday ’ s meeting . The administration is potentially looking at hiring two people for the position if the town can attract qualified candidates for the post . “ It ’ s a part-time position , it ’ s on-call ,” Valk said . “ You just have to love and have an understanding about dogs .” At the meeting the board also approved the hiring of a full-time police officer , Eric Cussick , who left the Town of Saugerties Police Department to accept a job with the Shawangunk force .
Last week ’ s meeting also included a detailed presentation from Joe Harrington of Hudson Valley Audio Visual in Modena , who showed off a potential speaker system that could be installed at Town Hall . The current setup in the main gathering hall does not feature speakers , a situation that the town is looking to rectify so attendees can hear better at court hearings and Town Board and Planning Board meetings .
The town has received three proposals for audio systems , with two of the bids utilizing speakers that would feed sound down into the room from the ceiling .
wants a 4-year term
ground-mounted solar panels to take advantage of state tax credits ( and to combat climate change ) Gardiner could be following in the footsteps of the Village of Walden in enacting a solar facility moratorium . Walden recently authorized a six-month moratorium on certain solar arrays , and the Gardiner board has scheduled a public hearing at its August 9 board meeting to discuss adopting a nine-month moratorium on the issue .
Since the technology is advancing at such a rapid pace , many municipalities are working diligently to make sure that they have proper laws in place to deal with solar panels . “ We have nothing in our zoning now to address it ,” Majestic said . “ Right now an applicant would come before the Town Board for a special use permit , and what do we have to fall back on ? So we ’ d like to get something on the books . That would detail where we would allow them , what the setbacks would be . Right now , it ’ s kind of like who knows ? So there ’ s a lot of unknowns . The moratorium gives us a chance to gather information and make informative decisions .”
The moratorium would not affect homeowners who want to place panels on their roofs or groundmounted units on their property , nor would the freeze stop businesses from installing ground units as long as the power was for their own use . The town simply wants to hold off on commercial large-scale solar panels that could be used to generate excess power that would be sold off . “ It ’ s allowed as long as it ’ s not sold back to the company , that ’ s the intent ,” Majestic said . If the moratorium is put in place , it could be lifted before the nine months are up if the town is able to formulate an action plan and resolve the issue before the moratorium expires .
Shawangunk Town Board meeting
Hudson Valley Audio Visual took a different tact , as Harrington demonstrated in person a setup that would include two main wall-mounted speakers in the back of the room with the sound funneled into six wired microphones that would installed on the dais at the front of the hall . The system would also include two wireless hand mikes that could be handed out to residents in the audience who are addressing town officials . “ This guy had a different approach ,” Valk said . “ Instead of speakers that bounce off the floor , I really liked the presentation . It made sense .”
The board will have to make a decision on an accelerated timeline to take advantage of the funding that is available for the speaker project . “ We received a grant from the court system , and the work has to be completed by October ,” Valk said . “ The money has to be spent by then and there are two other quotes and they ’ re all about the same price . We have to look at the quotes because it ’ s different equipment .” Valk noted that the current setup in the meeting room is inadequate , with audience members straining to hear during meetings at times if the building ’ s air conditioning or heating system clicks on while a board member is speaking .
Police Blotter
Town of Montgomery
Liam Gallagher , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 7 and charged with unlawful possession of marihuana and criminal possession of controlled substance .
Christopher Pelliccia , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 15 and charged with obstructing governmental administration 2nd , two accounts of criminal mischief in the third degree , and resisting arrest .
Stephen Thompson , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 13 and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana , attempted assault in the 3rd degree , criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child .
Anthony Romero , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 13 and charged with aggravated harassment , endangering the welfare of a child , and assault in the third degree .
Stefon Stackhouse , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 12 and charged with obstructing governmental administration .
Megan Veenstra , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 11 and charged with harassment .
Richard Manny , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 10 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument .
Ryan Willis , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 4 and charged with driving while intoxicated .
Richard Merring , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 7 and charged with criminal trespassing and criminal mischief .
Frank Rifflard , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 7 and charged with trespassing .
Zachary Surrett , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 7 and charged with trespassing .
Dolores Rooney , of Montgomery , was arrested on July 5 and charged with petit larceny .
Village of Maybrook enacts water restrictions
The Village of Maybrook is experiencing a water shortage in their wells due to the lack of rainfall currently . Village officials are advising that residents become more conscious of their water usage and they are also enacting mandatory water restrictions immediately .
As of July 17 , the village prohibited outside use of water for washing vehicles and watering gardens . They are advising that you water your gardens and plants with a sprinkling can only . Watering your plants in the morning on alternate days instead of every day will make plants and grass develop deeper roots and early morning watering minimizes evaporation . If must add water to your pool , please do so only during 7-9 p . m .
Maybrook is currently down to 7 to 9 inches and if the drought worsens , there will be a ban on all outside use of water .