WAWARSING – The town board voted in a 3-2 split vote to allow itself three instead of two unions henceforth.

"I could have helped, and would have liked to," councilman Dan Johnson said during the August 21 meeting. Instead, he added, he felt forced to vote against the measure because he felt he was kept in the dark about its details.

"I felt the board should have authorized negotiations by a vote," Johnson added. "I feel the board should have hired a negotiator by a vote and the two representatives of the board that were going to do the negotiations should have been appointed by the board."

Johnson — while stating that he's in favor of the six town employees becoming unionized — criticized the process used for approval and, along with Councilman Stephen Bradley, voted against the collective bargaining agreement with Council 66 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represented the town's clerical unit. Three votes, from supervisor Leonard Distel and councilmen Mike Durso and Terry Houck passed the measure, but minutes afterwards Wawarsing Historic Preservation Committee member Kay Hull questioned the board's growing lack of unanimity.

"There is dissension in the board and Danny seems to be odd man out. It's unfortunate because I think the people that elected each and every one of you deserves the courtesy of being able to sit here, in the audience, and know that each one of you is respectful of one another and that is not happening," Hull said. "I am very disappointed, Terry, that you seem to not care enough that you can have a separate conversation going on; that's not productive, in my opinion."

The process, regardless, had been done right according to Distel.

"The supervisor appoints the liaison, so I appointed Terry Houck to do the negotiations," he said.

And despite only minor changes for part-time employees, he added that the procuring of a third union has been done fairly with adequate review by union representatives and himself. Had Johnson felt the need to discuss issues with him, the supervisor went on, he could have taken advantage of the supervisor's open door policy, which Distel pointed out was open to the public and board members alike.

But, Distel added for emphasis, Johnson hasn't shown up at his door.

On the flip side, the board unanimously approved the last resolution of the night, authorizing the town clerk to advertise for bids — upon the approval from the federal Office of Community Renewal— for required work on the Napanoch Sewer district.

"It's a pre-emptive strike," Bradley said.

He explained that one portion of the community development block grant (CDBG) is to replace the two sewer pump stations — both are old and in bad shape. Very often, he continued, OCR would give their approval directly after a board meeting, then require further action within 30 days... difficult to accomplish when a board only meets bimonthly. This time, he said, the board was going to be ready.

Additionally, progress has been made with the rail trail, Houck explained.

The board approved a memorandum of understanding between Wawarsing and the NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervisions regarding a sought-for rail trail easement on Eastern and Ulster correctional facilities properties.

"That solves some of the puzzle that we have with the rail trail in Wawarsing," Houck said.

The next step in expanding the rail trail is to settle the agreement with the Nevele regarding a five mile easement the resort gifted to the town, as well as to close out a 1999 grant.

In other news, the state Department of Environmental Conservation started draining Honk Lake on August 15, much to the dismay of Distel.

"There is no concern by the DEC for the thousands of fish, different species of fish, that are in Honk Lake," he said. "There's a beaver hut, snapping turtles, and eagles; it's pretty sad that the DEC doesn't have more concern for a lake."

Nor a concern for Napanoch residents who cannot open their windows due to the stench of the draining lake, he added.

"I don't know what their plans are but I have a suspicion that their goal is to breach the dam, to take out the dam entirely," Distel went on, again citing rumors he's heard that in order for them to fix the leaking aqueduct tunnel, the city will have to take millions of gallons of water from the Rondout reservoir. And the dam would be in the way.