Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
(none)   
SJ FB page   

Gutter Gutter
Shul Sparks?
Camp Kasho Debate Returns To Planners With Public Input...

WAWARSING – The July 15 Wawarsing planning board meeting started out easy enough. But then the issue of a new shul at a local camp returned, bringing with it a heated debate left off last summer.

Things started off with John Gavaris, director of support services for Ellenville Regional Hospital and a former town board member, standing before a handful of residents prepared to answer questions regarding the hospital's proposed 7,200 foot expansion that would include an MRI suite and passageway to the Institute for Family Health. Few changes had been made since the last meeting and mainly concerned the amount and placement of windows along the corridor connecting the two buildings, he said, and the expansion would in no way affect the helicopter pad.

The only problem remaining, according to board attorney Mary Lou Christiana, was that certain land easements had not yet been filed and without them the board would not be able to grant a final approval.

So the board granted the hospital conditional approval, providing that the easements in question were reviewed by Christiana and town engineer John Lanc.

And then the meeting stalled as emotions and past decisions muddled with new projects... and talk of possible violations.

An attorney and engineer for Camp Kasho stood before the board, maps and papers rustling, prepared to outline the site plan for construction of a new two-story dormitory to relocate 28 camp counselors from one building to another. The Geiger Road space would be outfitted with a basement, for storage and recreational purposes, and have various sidewalks linking the new building to other parts of the camp, including its kitchen and a shul, or synagogue-like meeting space.

A resident stood and said that the shul was being occupied without a certificate of occupancy... and she offered photographic proof.

"I don't know if it is or isn't, obviously I can't comment," the camp's attorney replied.

But the board and building inspector, Bryant Arms, kept at the subject given that such a violation would adversely affect their current application. "I have very good reason to believe they are using that shul unlawfully and once it is confirmed and they don't correct the problem immediately it will jeopardize their current application with the planning board," Arms explained after the meeting.

If the camp is in violation, Christiana confirmed, the board could not legally approve the site plan and special use permit before them until said violation has been cleared.

Another resident asked the board to consider how many more buildings the camp owners could or would build on that site, and if there would be future water table issues.

It was determined by both the town's and camp's engineers, after conversations with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, that the proposed dormitory, shul and sidewalks plan would require a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan unless sidewalks (impervious surfaces which create greater runoff) were concentrated around the proposed dormitory.

Then came the issue of a fence, with the camp's representatives asserting that they'd rather not install one around the site's garbage compactor. The planning board found their reasoning unjustified.

John Constable, planning board vice chairman, suggested that since businesses like Walmart and AutoZone have fences around their compactors, the camp should too, no matter whether it was only occupied during summer months.

As for the earlier question regarding possible build-out potential, it was noted that the 42.7 acre site has not nearly reached its construction threshold of 25 percent yet; even with new construction, the percentage will be at only 2.4 percent. This caused murmurings from those in attendance, with the words "Bloomingburg" and "Fallsburg" rising out of the din.

With all things considered, the board decided to continue the public hearing to next month.

On a lighter note, an application for a proposed café in Kerhonkson is nearly complete and should be ready to send out to Ulster County planning by August.

"We want you to open this," planning board chairman Brian Schug told the applicants.



Gutter Gutter






Gutter