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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Town highway department ordered to vacate garage
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
The Town of Montgomery highway
department is looking for a new home
after an inspection report by Anderson
Design Group found the old and
dilapidated highway garage to be in
danger of collapse.
The building is old and deteriorated
and poses a serious safety risk to highway
workers, the inspection report concluded.
“The structural integrity of the
building is seriously compromised and
poses a life safety hazard,” the report
Ramble
Grand Marshal John O’Brien smiles at the crowd
during the St. Pat’s Ramble Parade Saturday in
Montgomery. More photos on page 20.
states. “It was observed that the steel
building structure has degraded to a
point where the structure is likely not
able to support itself under the loads it
was originally designed for.”
While the exact age of the building
is unknown, the report estimates the
western addition is between 40 and 50
years old and the east building was
constructed many years before that.
The report documented deterioration
of a concrete pier, the foundation,
roof purlins, flooring, and general
deterioration of the building. The neglect
of the building and the lack of rain gutters
has also contributed to leaks from outside
elements to the interior of the building.
The employee area doesn’t meet current
standards of commercial construction
and applicable building codes.
The building also lacks a fire
protection/sprinkler system or fire alarm
system. The building design contains
several combustible materials that are
not permitted.
The report recommended the entire
building be demolished and the building
immediately ceased to be occupied
because of structural concerns. The
report concluded the building has
exceeded its useful life after years of
neglect.
“It is recommended that the building
be demolished due to the extensive
deterioration resulting from a lack of
preventative and protective maintenance,”
the report stated.
Town Supervisor Rodney Winchell
said Highway Superintendent Charles
Woznick was supposed to move his
department immediately when the report
was received on March 14.
As of March 22, the highway
department was still occupying the
building. Woznick and Winchell are
currently finding alternative locations
for the department and are considering
moving to other buildings on-site or
sharing services with the villages to use
their highway garages.
Crawford Petroleum spill cleanup
could take a month to complete
The initial cleanup of a gasoline and
diesel spill on March 10 in the Town of
Crawford may take a month.
Approximately 7,000 gallons of gasoline
and 2,000 gallons of diesel were leaked
after a Terpening Trucking tanker truck
overturned on NYS Route 17K on March
10.
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 NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) is overseeing the
ongoing cleanup, which Environmental
Products and Services of Vermont and
American Petroleum Equipment and
Construction are completing.
The spill impacted two homes, owned
by Ann Buckmaster at 1956 NYS Route
17K and Christopher Malley at 2027 State
Route 17K, which is a rental property.
Trucks blocked Buckmaster’s driveway
during the cleanup process before the
companies expanded her driveway to
allow her free access to her property.
The tenants and all of the contents of
2027 State Route 17K were removed from
the house. Brian Brundige, Terpening
Operations and Safety Manager, said at
the March 21 town board meeting the
family was still displaced, and Terpening
was working with the family to find a new
residence.
“We greatly regret the impact on
the local community,” Brundige said.
“Obviously it was not our intention to
affect anybody’s daily lives in this regard,
but speaking for Terpening Trucking,
we’ll do everything in our power to correct
the situation to everybody’s satisfaction,
including the DEC, who is monitoring our
daily activities.”
Of the six wells tested, gas has been
detected in one well on Malley’s property.
Three and a half acres have been impacted
by the spill, Brundige said.
Currently, the companies are excavating
for contaminated soils and vacuuming as
part of the cleanup process. They also
placed soft and hard booms and copper
dams to halt and soak up product. The soil
that is being excavated will be replaced
with the same soil composition.
“We’re working to recover every drop,”
Brundige said.
Brundige said the immediate clean up
and recovery could take a month, after
which the DEC will switch to weekly,
monthly, semi-annually and annual well
inspections.
- Laura Fitzgerald
Maybrook to see 9% tax increase
Continued from page 1
in previous years, the village has undertaxed its residents
in an attempt to keep taxes and expenditures low. The
village’s expenditures in 2018-19 was approximately $3.58
million, the lowest of the three villages in the Town of
Montgomery and the third lowest in Orange County.
At the same time, the village is still recovering from the
loss of its elementary school and the recession of 2008.
The board has also pushed for economic development and
several public works projects with a fiscally conservative
budget.
Despite the tight budget, Leahy said the village will
continue to promote economic development by working
with investors and developers to entice businesses to
open shop in the village. The village is in frequent
conversation with representatives from the Galaxy
project as it moves forward.
“Our plan is to stay the course with economic
development, continue infrastructure upgrades and
continue to keep an eye on our expenditures in the
coming year,” Leahy said.
The final budget is due to the state on May 1. The
village will hold a public hearing for the proposed budget
at its reorganization meeting on April 8 at 7 p.m. at village
hall, 111 Schipps Lane.