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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Shawangunk seeks funding for Popp’s Park
By TED REMSNYDER
Shawangunk is exploring ways to
modernize Popp Memorial Park. The town
recently met with the State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) about
the possibility that the agency will fix the
boat launch at the park, which would be
an identified site for access to the river.
The DEC would mow the site and place
it in their pamphlets, which could attract
tourists to the public area. The town is
seeking funding for a handicap-accessible
dock in the park.
The town is also applying for state
grants through State Senator John
Bonacic for between $50,000 to $100,000 in
municipal funding that could be used to
fix the roof at three pavilions in the town.
Shawangunk would utilize the money for
a new roof for the pavilion at Popp Park
and for work on a pair of pavilions at
Verkeerderkill Park that need sealing.
“We want to just take the shingles off
and put metal roofing on it that’ll last 40,
50 years,” Town Supervisor John Valk
explained of the Popp Park project. “That
would probably outlast the rest of the
pavilion. The cost for maintaining the
shingles is high. Verkeerderkill Park has
a metal roof and it’s really nice and
simple to maintain. The snow slides off
it.”
If the state funding can be procured,
the town can use the money to make
the parks safer and more inviting for
residents. “They have some very colorful
metals today that look attractive,” Valk
said of the new roofs. “But the big thing is
the metal underneath, because the birds
sit on the rafters and I think they have
a contest to see which picnic table they
can hit. Then when somebody rents the
park, the tables aren’t very sanitary and
they have to put tablecloths on and scrub
them. So we want to make them sanitary.”
During a Town Board meeting on May
17 with a light agenda, Valk delineated
some of the items the town would like to
cross off their park maintenance to-do
list in the coming months. The town
might not get to every task this year,
but they hope to make some progress
this summer upgrading local parks. Valk
noted that Garrison Park needs two new
commercial-grade basketball hoops,
which the town has priced out at $1,200
to $2,500 apiece, and surveillance cameras
to dissuade people from vandalizing the
basketball courts. The Rotary Club could
be enlisted to help raise funds for the new
basketball hoops and cameras.
At Schoolhouse Park in Walker Valley,
the parking lot needs grading and the
grass needs to be mowed, while at
Galeville Park the town wants to clear
brush at the site and clean the bathrooms.
At Verkeerderkill Park, the tennis courts
are due to be weeded, while a crack in the
basketball court needs to be repaired.
The council held its Thursday meeting
two days after a powerful spring storm
battered the area, toppling trees and
power lines with heavy rains and gusting
winds. Town Councilman Robert Miller
praised the Highway Department crew
for the work they did clearing local roads
in the aftermath of the storm. The town
received a call from the state asking if
they needed assistance from the National
Guard. But Valk said that they declined
the offer because the town didn’t need
manpower, they needed help from the
power company so the roads could be
cleared.
The highway team had to wait for
the go-ahead from the utility company
before they got near the downed power
lines. “They did more than they could
do, because we’re waiting for the power
company to certify that the wires
were dead,” Valk said of the highway
crews. “They can’t touch the trees until
somebody from the power company tells
them that, and we couldn’t get anybody
out here. But they made a lot of progress.
It’s only 48 hours after the storm, and we
have 95 percent of the power restored.
We had approximately 95 percent of the
town out of power. Central Hudson said
that 84 percent of their customers in our
town were out of power, and I think all
of NYSEG was out on the other end of
town.” All of the electricity in the town
was expected to be back up and running
by May 18.
The Rose Sheeley American Legion
Post #1034 is raising funds for a good
cause in advance of Memorial Day on
May 28, as the organization is running a
program to adopt a veteran’s grave. The
group is collecting donations in order
to decorate approximately 1,600 graves
in local cemeteries with American fla gs
for the holiday, and contributions can be
dropped off at Shawangunk Town Hall.
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