Vol. 37, No. 30 3 WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019
Freedom
Fest
Page 16
3
ONE DOLLAR
State
champs
in action
Page 32
w w w .W V T I M ESON L I N E . c om
Grassroots group forms
Residents Protecting Montgomery favors ‘smart growth’
Walden
opts in for
Climate
Smart
By TED REMSNYDER
Residents Protecting Montgomery, a grassroots concerned citizens group mobilizing in opposition to large proposed warehouse
projects, met for the first time on July 17.
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
Montgomery residents are organizing
in opposition to large-scale development
in the town with the formation of the
group Residents Protecting Montgomery
(RPM).
“We’re for smart, sustainable growth,”
RPM member Karina Tipton said. “We
understand that this is a town with
businesses, and it needs tax revenue,
but we want it to be done the right way.”
Tipton said the group’s main focus
is to build a sense of community
engagement by giving residents a voice
during the comment process.
“The process can be very opaque,
and it can feel very overwhelming. We
want to demystify that process and help
people understand how they can take
a role in how Montgomery is being
developed,” Tipton said.
RPM member Don Berger said
another focus of the group is to spread
the word about the large projects before
the town planning board. The group
wants to make themselves visible before
the planning and town board.
“We’re letting the village and the town
boards know where we stand and what
they should be doing in support of the
residents,” Berger said. “We feel that the
town and village do not lend the village
residents any support on this. They’ve
seemed to have taken a direction and
they’re sticking to that direction and
not listening to the concern of the
residents.”
The group met for the first time at the
Village of Montgomery Memorial Park
on a drizzly Wednesday night. Signs
sporting the words “No Medline” in bold
red, white and blue lettering surrounded
Continued on page 2
After hosting a presentation on the
issue, and a subsequent vigorous debate,
the Walden Village Board voted 4-3 during
its July 16 meeting to adopt a resolution
to join the state’s Climate Smart
Communities program. Kate Schmidt
of the Orange County Department of
Planning presented the council with
the county’s arguments for joining the
initiative during a presentation during
last Tuesday’s board meeting. She noted
that the county was part of a pilot
program in 2011 and was the first in the
state to be certified as part of the state
program.
Schmidt said the initiative is designed
to funnel state grant funding to local
towns and villages who become a certified
Climate Smart Community. “It’s an
incentive program to get municipalities
to become more green, more climate-
sensitive, aware of what is going on with
the climate,” she explained. “It’s free, it’s
voluntary. The reason to do it is money.
If you want grants, this is what you have
to do.”
The Village of Maybrook, the City of
Newburgh, the Town of Woodbury and
the Village of Highland Falls have all
signed up for the program so far. Walden
Continued on page 21
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL