Vol. 36, No. 43 3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
MHAL
champs
Page 48
3
ONE DOLLAR
Pastor
celebrates
45 years
Page 2
w w w .W a l l k i l l V a l l e y T i m e s . n e t
Rules for rentals
Lake battle
continues
Village of Montgomery contemplates Airbnb law
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
The Village of Montgomery Board of
Trustees is weighing revisions to the draft
of a new short-term rental law.
William Freeman, former owner of
the Borland House, told the board in a
regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 16
that Airbnb hosts should be required
to follow the same regulations as bed
and breakfasts, including fire and health
codes, disability accessibility, parking
regulations and more.
“I believe that failure to require Airbnb
hosts to be held to the same standards as
Bed and Breakfast owners is an invitation
to Bed and Breakfast owners to simply
remove their signs, list on Airbnb, and
ignore all regulations currently required
by the Village,” Freeman said in a letter to
the village board.
Freeman said Bed and Breakfast
owners are put at a disadvantage because
Airbnbs aren’t required to pay the 5
percent room tax required of bed and
breakfasts, motels and hotels in Orange
County. Currently, 25 New York counties
collect a room tax, according to Airbnb.
Village of Montgomery Mayor Stephen
Brescia said if the law allows, the village
will tax Airbnbs, a reversal from the
board’s earlier statement.
Freeman was also concerned about
Continued on page 6
Project Fit
Laura Fitzgerald
Montgomery Elementary students celebrate at a ribbon-cutting event for a new outdoor fitness circuit made possible by a Project Fit America
grant. Story on page 24.
Friends of Tillson Lake
to hold benefit concert
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
Friends of Tillson Lake, Inc. will host a
benefit concert on Oct. 28 to support the
effort to save Tillson Lake.
The concert will feature music by
Soul Purpose, dancing, refreshments,
raffles and door prizes with merchandise
provided by local businesses. Proceeds
will fund Friends’ expenses in its efforts
to conserve the lake, such as lawyer
fees, Hudsonia’s biodiversity and fish
assessment and payment for wetland
delineation.
The Palisades Interstate Park
Commission (PIPC) recently put the State
Environmental Quality Review (SEQR)
process of the dam removal and habitat
restoration on hold and will commission
a cost study to fix and upgrade the dam.
“We’re hoping that as a result of the
study they come up with a reasonable,
realistic amount to upgrade the dam and
that they request that amount from the
state legislatures,” Friends of Tillson
Lake president Morey Gottesman said.
PIPC Executive Director James Hall
said the study will take at least six
months to complete, after which the state
will have to decide if it can fund repairs
for the dam through the Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historical Preservation.
“Once we have the information we’re
still going to be in the same place in
figuring out whether the state is going to
fund the repairs or we have to seek out
Continued on page 6
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL