4
Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Montgomery projects press onward
Continued from page 1
neighboring water supplies, to questions over who will
own and run the property.
A major issue for Zahakos was the proposed hours of
operation for the complex.
“All of a sudden in July, it changed to be a 24/7, 365-day
operation,” said Zahakos. “I didn’t like the hours to begin
with and I hate them even more now.”
Zahakos was also concerned that the unknown future
user will dictate the operating hours regardless of the
town’s input.
“If they don’t agree to whatever hours and conditions
you set, they should be told to move on and find somebody
else who will operate to what you want,” said Zahakos.
“You’re all that I have to support me and protect me.
They’ve got lawyers, real estate agents, and they’ve got
the money. I don’t. I’m counting on you guys to do the
right thing.”
Adjoining property owner Sue Reichardt said she was
very concerned about their water supply and became
emotional as she explained that she had grown up with
the property owners. While she wanted to support
them, the reality was that she was facing industry in her
backyard, running 24/7 with the accompanying lighting,
noise and traffic.
“It’s just a sad moment for us in the community,” said
Reichardt. “I wish I could support it, but I can’t.”
Reichardt also pointed out that warehouses are not
exactly a tourist destination or the best first impression
Discount
R AT E S
without discount
SERVICE.
for someone looking for a quaint community to spend
their weekend.
“It just changes the fabric of our entire community
and it’s one of the saddest moments I can remember of
my life,” said Reichardt.
Town resident Cheri Zahakos told the board that the
town is seeing a “redundancy in warehouse use” that is
like “putting all our eggs in one basket.”
Planning Board Chairman Fred Reichle stated that
the consultants had not completed their comments on
the applicant’s recent submission and the public hearing
would be continued to Oct. 15, to follow the public
hearing on Medline.
“I really feel for these people, that they had to spend
their whole summer doing this. Coming to these meetings
with a pain in their stomach because of dereliction of
duty. This should never have been allowed to happen,”
Susan Cockburn told Planning Board members. “You
guys should have asked for new tools a long time ago. If
the board was asleep, you could have been awake.”
The trend of warehouses continued with a
presentation by Red Birch, Inc. for two new warehouses
on the north side of Route 17K, near Harmony Lane.
The Planning Board previously approved their plan
for a self-storage facility on the site, however engineer
Larry Marshall stated that the applicant has been having
trouble marketing the site.
Their hope is to swap out their original designs for
the third lot with two 35,000 square foot warehouses with
no more than two loading docks. The rest of the original
project—including two climate controlled self-storage
buildings—would remain in a smaller scale.
Marshall assured the board that the warehouses
would not be a distribution facility with a lot of traffic,
but a location where businesses would store goods that
would arrive perhaps twice a week by tractor trailers and
leave the facility with a trip or two a day from UPS.
SEMI-ANNUAL HYDRANT FLUSHING
THE VILLAGE OF WALDEN WILL BE
DOING THE SEMI-ANNUAL FLUSHING
OF FIRE HYDRANTS DURING THE
ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER
YOUR WATER MAY BE DISCOLORED,
BUT IT WILL BE SAFE TO DRINK
316 Blooming Grove Trpke
We are a Spanish-speaking offi ce.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Not in NJ), Bloomington, IL
PLEASE CONSIDER WAITING UNTIL AFTER 6PM TO
DO LAUNDRY. TO AVOID DISCOLORED WATER IN YOUR
RESIDENCE PLEASE ATTEMPT TO USE AS LITTLE
WATER AS POSSIBLE DURING THE FLUSHING HOURS
The board made a motion to declare lead agency as to
SEQRA.
The public hearing on the Felizzi project on Ridge
Road, was continued to Oct. 28 after it was pointed out
that they cannot move forward until the applicant meets
with the local fire department.
Meanwhile, the board continued the public hearing
for a proposed battery energy storage facility at the
intersection of Route 17K and Browns Road. The
applicants advised that they decided to install noise
reduction kits, updated their landscaping plan, provided
a rendering of the building and are working to meet with
the local fire department.
Residents expressed safety concerns after the
applicants stated that they would be using lithium ion
batteries. They noted that the batteries are “highly
explosive” and would endanger the public being situated
alongside Route 17K.
Attorneys and engineers for the applicant stated that
there is an “inherent fire risk” with the lithium batteries,
but the facility would be equipped with a fire suppression
system and monitored 24 hours a day, every day with a
computer system and remote operator that would be able
to shut down a portion or the entire operation.
Other members of the public spoke of the project’s
impact on the Tin Brook and pointed out that there are
several large projects currently before the Montgomery
Planning Board that are proposed either on the banks
of the waterway, or within its wetlands and buffer,
including the battery storage facility and Project Sailfish.
They urged the board to keep in mind and review
the cumulative effects of these projects, not just the
anticipated impact of the individual projects.
The public hearing was continued to Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The busy evening before the Montgomery Planning
Board last week also included a public hearing for ASAP
Scrap Recycling, which intends to build a facility on
Route 208 to recycle motor vehicles.
Residents were upset over the project’s possible
environmental and noise pollution, but the applicants
assured them that they will not be shredding, they
are not accepting manganese, and the vehicles will be
drained of all fluids before being crushed in a covered
steel box.
While the consultants are preparing additional
comments, the board voted to close the public hearing
and will begin work on a negative declaration for SEQRA.
The project will return to the board’s agenda when that
document is ready.
taxi
Open 6am-10pm
Medical Transportation
There may be reduced pressure at times due to water flow and
closing of valves throughout the distribution system. We apologize
for any inconvenience, but this is necessary to remove
debris that naturally accumulates in the mains
Call the Village of Walden Water Department with any
questions or concerns Monday – Friday between the hours
of 7am and 3:30pm (845) 778-2177 ext. 1521
TRAVIS TRANSPORTATION, LLC.
MODENA, GARDINER, WALDEN, MONTGOMERY & SURROUNDING AREAS
845-883-0828 • WE DO CASH CALLS