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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 20, 2019
B riefs
Montgomery residents
oppose building projects
Concerned residents gathered together in opposition
to Montgomery’s largest proposed building projects
at Montgomery Village Hall on March 13, led by the
Wallkill River Watershed Alliance and Orange County
Planning Commissioner David Church.
Residents packed the little village meeting room to
voice their concerns about Medline and Project Sailfish,
two million-plus-square-foot warehouses proposed in
the Town of Montgomery. They also expressed concern
about the recently proposed BHT-Montgomery, an auto
sales lot near Browns Road.
“[BHT] is absurd to be allowed anywhere near a
stream or an aquifer,” Church said.
Residents are concerned about groundwater
pollution, storm water run-off, wildlife, visual, noise,
property value, traffic and quality of life impacts.
The residents also discussed the possibility of
forming a Tin Brook Watershed Alliance, which would
be led by the Wallkill alliance.
Wallkill River Watershed Alliance Jason West said
the Tin Brook alliance’s main focus would be to protect
the watershed in the face of development, but it would
also conduct water quality samples and educate the
public.
“Our waterways are the barometer of what we’re
doing on the land,” West said.
To join or learn more about the Tin Brook Alliance,
contact West at [email protected].
n
Petroleum spill in Crawford
The New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) is in the process of cleaning up a
gasoline and diesel spill in the Town of Crawford after
a tanker truck overturned on March 10.
A westbound tanker truck transporting petroleum
lost control and overturned on Route 17K, spilling about
9,300 gallons of gasoline and diesel onto the roadway
and surrounding area, according to the DEC.
On the first day of the spill, the DEC, the New York
State (NYS) Department of Transportation, the NYS
Office of Emergency Management, the NYS Police, the
NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Orange
County, the Bullville Fire Department and other local
responders arrived on scene to ensure the area was
secure for the safety of the community and to start the
cleanup.
The DEC has contracted two agencies to conduct
cleanup. The contractors have installed measures to
contain and remove the spill and have begun to excavate
contaminated soils. The Town of Crawford building
inspector and DEC have visited the site everyday to
oversee the cleanup.
n
No traffic impacts expected for
Lake Osiris Road church
A traffic study for Good Canaan Land church, a
Local residents gathered together on March 13 to discuss ways to fight development in the Town of Montgomery.
proposed church on Lake Osiris Road in the Town of
Montgomery, revealed little impact on the road and
surrounding residences.
The local residents of Queens-based Good Canaan
Land Church are planning to build a church on land
subdivided from a large farm on Lake Osiris Road in the
Town of Montgomery. The two-story 12,000-square-foot
building has a footprint of 7,800 square feet.
The traffic study completed by Stephan Maffia,
Principal Engineer, concluded the estimated additional
traffic generated by the church is low, even during its
peak Sunday service time period. The study estimates
approximately 40 additional vehicles at peak Sunday
traffic times traveling in either direction on Lake Osiris
Road for a total trip generation of no more than 80
vehicles.
All other hours during the week and the rest of the
weekend will generate significantly lower traffic rates
of no more than 15 vehicles to both sides of the road.
“Traffic related impacts for the proposed development
will be minimal,” the study concludes.
While the traffic study was conducted in the winter
months, it did take into account pedestrian and bicycle
traffic, which are significantly higher in warmer
months. However, due to the low traffic volume, the
study concluded pedestrian and bicycle traffic would
not be impacted on Lake Osiris Road and such traffic
could travel safely.
The Lake Osiris Country Club, which is across the
road from the proposed church, was closed during
the traffic study, which took place in January and
February. So, additional traffic was also estimated to
account for the Country Club traffic, based on industry
standard trip generations.
The church will have two accesses from Lake Osiris
Road approximately 650 feet east of the intersection of
Lake Osiris Road and Fairway Drive, adjacent to Zwart
Lane. The project is expected to be complete in 2021.
To evaluate the potential worst-case impacts of the
development, manual turning movement counts were
conducted at the intersections of Lake Osiris and High
Meadows Road and Lake Osiris and Borden Road,
as well as the driveways to Faith Baptist Church
in Montgomery and Freedom Road Bible Church in
Walden.
Traffic counts were collected on one typical weekday
and a Sunday morning.
The bottom floor of the church houses a sanctuary, a
common area, bathrooms and offices while the top floor
contains four apartments and a balcony for overflow
during services.
Lawrence Marshall, Principal Engineer for MNTM,
said the four two-bedroom apartments will house the
church’s caretaker, pastor and visiting clergy and
pastors.
- Laura Fitzgerald
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Wallkill Firehouse vote is Tuesday
Residents will decide the Wallkill Fire District’s fate
on Tuesday as they vote on a new firehouse.
The proposed 17,500-square-foot site would be located
across the street from the Wallkill Middle School and
would require about $5.6 million in borrowed funds.
The five-bay fire house would offer more space for
the fire department, who are in cramped quarters in the
current firehouse behind Shawangunk town hall. The
building has remained relatively unchanged since its
construction in 1964 and is too small for the fire trucks
and the member’s equipment.
Voting will be on March 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the
current fire house, 18 Central Avenue.