Vol. 36, No. 25 3 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018
PB student
honored
by ADL
Page 18
3
ONE DOLLAR
Salute to
Roaring 20s
Page 12
w w w .W a l l k i l l V a l l e y T i m e s . n e t
Valley
Central
budget
approved
Wallkill Center plans presented
By TED REMSNYDER
The second time was the charm for the
Valley Central School District budget,
as voters approved the $104,023,293
spending plan by a wide 1,710 to 1,118
margin during a public vote on June 19.
Taxpayers had rejected the district’s first
proposed 2018-2019 budget on May 15,
but after the administration cut $180,418
out of the original $104,203,711 proposed
budget, residents gave the new plan the
green light on Tuesday.
The approved budget includes a 3.11
percent tax levy increase. The original
budget sported a 4.09 percent levy
increase, but the spending cuts, plus the
application of $400,000 in excess fund
balance, reduced the levy to $60,998,614 in
the budget that was approved this week.
The Valley Central Board of Education
approved a revised budget on May 29 that
included cuts to conferences and staff
retreats, ES team leaders and 7th-grade
and 8th-grade team leaders in order to
shave off $180,418 from the initial plan.
If the spending plan had been rejected
on Tuesday, the district would have been
forced to adopt a $101,785,726 contingency
budget that would have necessitated an
additional $2,237,567 in spending cuts
to district staff and extracurricular
activities. But the majority of voters
backed the district’s proposal on Tuesday,
rendering the contingency budget moot.
Images provided
The Wallkill Center would have nine buildings, which would house 40 market-rate residential and two commercial units with access from
NYS Route 208 and Park and Pleasant Ave.
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
A proposal before the town of
Shawangunk planning board would
turn the empty grass lot behind the
police station into a residential and
commercial hub, fostering economic
development in the hamlet of Wallkill.
The Wallkill Center would have nine
buildings, which would house 40 market-
rate residential and two commercial
units with access from NYS Route 208
and Park and Pleasant Ave. The site
would include sidewalks, lighting, road
improvements, landscaping and green
space. Sidewalks would complement the
paths the town already installed across
the street.
“It’s been a collaborative effort
between us, the town board and the
planning board to come up with a mixed-
used development that we all think
fits into the hamlet’s existing vibe,”
President of Development Construction
Consulting Keith Libolt said. “And
coupled with the sidewalks and lighting,
access to the rail-trail, it all just kind of
fits together.”
Three buildings would contain
apartments, four would contain multi-
family duplexes, one would be a
single-family home and another would
contain commercial units. Libolt hopes
to acquire New York State Energy
Research Development Agency grant
money to install clean energy, such as
solar and geothermal, in one or more of
Continued on page 4
Another view of a proposed duplex.
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL