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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 27, 2019
B riefs
Incumbents win village elections
All four incumbents won in the Village of Montgomery
elections on March 19.
Steve Brescia won the office of mayor, JoAnn Scheels
and Darlene Andolsek won the positions of trustee, and
Tina Fassnacht won as village justice.
Brescia won 565 votes, while mayoral candidate Maria
Beltrametti received 273.
The trustee race was won by a thinner margin. Scheels
garnered 490 votes and Andolsek won 527, while trustee
candidate Donald Berger received 406.
Fassnacht handily beat out her competitors, with
474 votes versus 241 for former Village of Montgomery
officer in charge Jack Byrnes and 108 for resident Joe
Marrero.
Beltrametti said this would be her last bid for election,
after running for village office three times previously.
“I’m done with my political career, I don’t want to play
this game anymore,” Beltrametti said.
Brescia declined to comment on Wednesday.
In the neighboring villages of Walden and Maybrook,
all of the incumbents were unopposed.
In Walden, Mayor Sue Rumbold and Trustees Faith
Moore and Lynn Thompson were re-elected. In Maybrook,
Trustee James Barnett and Trustee Kevin Greany were
elected for another term.
Village of Montgomery
introduces proposed budget
Village of Montgomery residents might see a minimal
tax increase this year as the village managed to stay
under the tax cap.
The proposed 2019-20 village tax rate is $15.76 per
$1,000 home valuation. Last year’s tax rate was $15.48, a
1.8 percent increase. The 2019 village property tax cap is
2 percent.
The overall budget increased by $70,000, from $2.85
million in 2018-19 to $2.92 million in 19-20.
The public hearing for the proposed budget will be on
April 2 at 7 p.m. at village hall.
Historic Preservation Commission
to discuss Milliken Farmhouse
The Town of Montgomery Historic Preservation
Commission will hold a public hearing for the demolition
of the Milliken Farmhouse, located at 18 Coleman Road.
The demolition request was placed by Church
Communities of New York, Inc., also known as the
Bruderhof community. The community wants to make
the land into open space.
The Bruderhof community applied for a permit to raze
a portion of the house in 2006, just before it was added to
the local historic register because of the notable families
that lived there. The demolition permit was denied
because the house is on the historical register.
If the Bruderhof are denied their request, they may
appeal the commission’s decision to the town board.
Commission member Mary Ellen Matise said this is
the first demolition request the commission has received
since its creation, and the commission’s decision will set
a precedent for future cases.
“This decision will define the law,” Matise said.
The commission will also discuss the potential
impacts on historic sites for Medline, Project Sailfish,
Matrix Solar and Campbell Freightliner.
The meeting is on March 28 at 7 p.m., at town hall, 110
Bracken Road.
Shawangunk makes Top 20
Safest Cities in New York
Shawangunk residents can rest easy knowing the town
was ranked the 14th safest in the state and 48th in the
country in Safewise’s 5th annual Safest Cities report.
“The town is very proud of this award,” Town
Supervisor John Valk said.
The annual report ranks towns based on violent
crimes reported in the 2017 FBI Unified Crime Reporting
Statistics. In the event of a tie, property crimes are also
considered.
Shawangunk had a violent crime rate of .14 per 1,000
and a property crime rate of 5.56 per 1,000. The town has
ranked as one of the safest communities in the state for
several years.
“Our residents should be very pleased that we have a
safe town,” Valk said.
This is compared to the state average of 3.57 violent
crimes per 1,000 people and 15.14 property crimes per
1,000 people. The national rate of violent crime is 3.83 per
1,000 people and 23.62 property crimes per 1,000 people,
according to 2017 FBI Unified Crime Reporting Statistics.
Valk commended the Shawangunk Police Department
for its role in keeping the community safe. He also
attributed the ranking to Shawangunk’s quiet, small-
town atmosphere.
Each city in the top 20 safest New York cities reported
a violent crime rate of less than 1 per 1,000 people and
fewer than 10 property crimes per 1,000 people.
Safewise also reported New York had seven
communities report zero violent crimes, the most of any
state.
“Low crime isn’t always what comes to mind when you
think of New York, but the Empire state had more cities
than any other state that reported zero violent crimes—
seven,” Safewise Security Analyst Rebecca Edwards said.
“And among all 20 cities, there were no counts of murder
reported and only two counts of rape.”
Plattekill ranked 65, the Town of Newburgh ranked
71, Crawford ranked 92 and Walden ranked 97 safest
community.
Town of Montgomery IDA
adopts Local Labor Policy
The Town of Montgomery Industrial Development
Agency (IDA) recently adopted a local labor policy,
requiring projects that receive the agency’s tax benefits
employ local labor for the construction of each project.
The law was adopted unanimously at the March 11
meeting.
The law requires the developer engage or hire at
least 85 percent of their construction workers from
the Town of Montgomery and the local labor market.
The local labor market is defined as workers living in
Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland
and Westchester counties. A third-party auditing firm
will be engaged to monitor construction.
The law will promote economic growth in the local
area by using local labor.
“The agency has determined that construction jobs,
though limited in time duration, are vital to the overall
employment opportunities and economic growth in the
Town of Montgomery,” the law states.
The law does grant exemptions for warranty issues
whereby the manufacturer requires installation by only
approved installers, specialized construction is required
and no local contractors or construction workers have
the required skills, there are significant cost differentials,
no labor is available for the project and the contractor
requires key persons having special skills that are not
available in the local labor market.
Prescribed burn due Shawangunk
Grasslands Wildlife Refuge
The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service may be conducting
a prescribed burn in April 2019, on warm season
grasslands at Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife
Refuge in Ulster County. The actual dates will depend
on weather conditions, favorable winds for smoke to rise
and disperse, and the availability of trained wildland
firefighters.
The objectives of the prescribed burn are to maintain
and enhance migratory and wintering habitat for
grassland breeding birds and foraging raptors, by
stimulating growth of native warm-season grasses and
reducing undesirable plants. The timing of the burn will
hinder invasive, non-native plants and woody vegetation
while promoting the growth of existing native grasses
that provide habitat for State-listed birds such as the
upland sandpiper, grasshopper sparrow, vesper sparrow,
horned lark, and short-eared owl. A controlled burn will
also reduce the chance for future wildfires by removing
standing dead vegetation that burns easily. The proposed
burn units at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR total 258
acres. Grasses will regenerate quickly following the
prescribed burn, ensuring that this area continues to
provide valuable foraging and nesting habitat for State-
listed grassland birds, foraging raptors, song birds and
other grassland birds.
The 2019 prescribed burn will be conducted between
April 1-23 when ground vegetation is dry enough to
burn, but wet enough for the fire to be easily controlled.
Fire breaks will be established around the burn units
to prevent the fire from spreading on or off Refuge
lands. Local emergency personnel, including the local
police and fire departments will be notified prior to
the prescribed burn. Specially trained personnel with
specialized equipment will ignite and control the fire and
its resulting smoke within prescription. The burn will
only take place under the right weather conditions. It
is estimated that the burn will be completed in one day,
with an active burning period of 3-4 hours.