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PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , MARCH 22 Crawford Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 121 Route 302 , Pine Bush . Village of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m ., Village Hall , 133 Clinton Street .

MONDAY , MARCH 27

Maybrook Village Board , 7 p . m . Government Center , 111 Schipps Lane . Town of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery .

TUESDAY , MARCH 28

Walden Village Board of Trustees , 6:30 p . m . Village Hall , 1 Municipal Square .

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The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

By JESSICA COHEN

As the Town of Montgomery board fine-tunes its new solar law , their reluctance to regulate old energy sources is making some residents sick , according to two Benedict Rd . residents . They spoke during the town council public comment session on March 13 .

Virginia Moore said that she and her neighbors had presented the council with a petition in June of 2014 with their concerns and requests regarding wood boilers . They had asked for an investigation and regulations for new wood boilers , prompted by a boiler at 159 Benedict Rd . that produces “ smoke and foul-smelling emissions .”

“ Thirty-three months have passed . We had no feedback until Supervisor Hayes returned my call last Friday ,” Moore said .

Moore said she now lives between two wood boilers , one five doors away , one two doors away . She described the boiler ’ s gaseous emissions as an “ alphabet soup of toxic effluent ,” including benzene , carbon monoxide , dioxin , formaldehyde , PCB ’ s and other chemicals . She also said she found dark particulate matter on her deck and elsewhere around her house . A retired elementary school teacher , she provided samples of the particles to council members as a kind of “ show and tell .”

“ Particulate matter entering the lungs can cause , emphysyma , cancer , allergies , and heart problems ,” she said , information she found in the state attorney general ’ s report on wood boilers , titled , “ Smoke Gets in Your Lungs .” In 2014 , the Environmental Protection Agency imposed new restrictions on wood boilers , and Moore found that other municipalities , such as the Town of Wallkill and Mount Hope , have regulations for them .

“ Smoke , odor , and particulate matter are raining down on my house ,” said Moore ’ s neighbor , Madeline Lennon . “ I have to wrap a scarf around my head to approach it . The fumes come into the house through the garage and cracks and dryer vents .”

Since the woodboiler was installed several years ago , she found the fumes aggravated her asthma , and she began having other lung ailments , including pneumonia , six weeks of pleurisy , and repeated bouts of bronchitis . Now her son gets headaches , and she has nodules on her lungs , which are being tested , she said .

“ My pulmonologist told me to get away from the house , but I can ’ t ,” she said .

She contacted the New York State

Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , March 22 , 2017

Virginia Moore , a retired elementary school teacher , provided samples of particles from a neighbor ’ s wood boiler to council members as a kind of “ show and tell .”

Department of Environmental Conservation , and they sent a representative .

“ But he wasn ’ t a certified air tester ,” said Lennon . “ The only one is in Albany , and he would have to come at 9 a . m . on a sunny day . I was told to file a personal lawsuit . But I shouldn ’ t have to pay a lawyer .”

“ Was there any change when the stack height was increased ?” asked Michael Hayes , town supervisor . The building inspector , Walter Schmidt , had suggested that .

“ I ’ ve been outside when stuff ’ s coming down from the sky ,” said Lennon . “ You can see pieces of things in the smoke .” Hayes said he would call her . “ I ’ d like to try to figure out why it doesn ’ t hit everyone ,” said Hayes .

He noted that “ people are concerned with their rights ,” but Moore pointed out that many local laws restrict rights for the greater good . Swimming pool fences , for instance , were required after pets and children fell into unfenced pools and drowned , she said .

A week later , Hayes said , “ I don ’ t know how to handle this yet . If we put something in place , would it work ? We ’ ll do research to see what would help . I haven ’ t been able to get there this week . Maybe next week .”

Hearing set for solar law

Meanwhile , the solar law is set to move ahead for a public hearing on April 13 , Hayes said . The proposed law was influenced by other municipal solar laws , he said . Setbacks would be one and a half what would be required for an accessory use , and screening will also be required .

“ Most of the regulations are aesthetic ,” he said . “ Commercial facilities can enter into a pilot agreement . Roof installations will be overseen by the building department . Installations for utilities will be overseen by the planning department and require a site plan .”

Town may give 28 acres to Maybrook

Meanwhile , the town may allow Maybrook to annex 28 acres for an 80-acre corporate park . Engineer Ross Winglovitz introduced the proposal as a representative of New York Waterway , parent company of Galaxy , Ltd ., which owns 750 acres along the Maybrook railway . Because the property spills over into the town , complicating land and infrastructure transactions , New York Waterway seeks to have the town property annexed to Maybrook .

“ This is all speculative , but there ’ s much county interest in rail-served buildings ,” Winglovitz said later . This is an opportunity to revitalize what the property was used for 70 years ago . Goods would be brought in by rail and taken out by rail or truck . This property was all rail sitings . There ’ s 71 miles of rail ,” including spurs off the main track for cars and storage , he said .

“ The annexation would be neutral for the town ,” Hayes said later . “ The property is difficult to develop because of wetlands . The 28 acres is not wetlands .”

Winglovitz will make a formal presentation , and a public hearing will follow , he said .

Municipal sharing

As for the kinds of municipal sharing requested by Governor Andrew Cuomo , Hayes said the town is already doing its share . He cites road work shared with the county and IT services shared with New Windsor . Hayes said Cuomo suggested a vote in November on service sharing plans , but neither the town nor county would be ready for that . He noted Cuomo ’ s threat of funding cuts if municipalities fail to institute efficiencies .

Spring upgrades

As spring stormily approaches , efforts are afoot to give playing fields in Berea Park what those in Benedict Park received — new fences and dugouts , said Hayes . A new fence to separate the field from the road will be installed for $ 6750 , and $ 5900 will be spent on new dugouts , he said . Also , the government center will be painted for about $ 5300 .