Wurtsboro’s runaway-truck-brake problem, intensely discussed lately by worried locals, again came up at the Mamakating town board meeting this week.

The intersection of Route 209 and Sullivan Street, home to Wurtsboro’s sole traffic light, has seen several crashes in the past 10 years, including one just a few weeks ago. Most have involved big trucks whose brakes failed on the descent from County Road 172, also known as Mountain Road.

In response to community concern, the Sullivan County Legislature’s Public Works Committee last week agreed to contact the Department of Transportation, DOT. District 9 Legislator Terry Blosser-Bernardo and District 4 Legislator Nick Salomone co-introduced the resolution. County officials have suggested installing a signal under the pavement of Mountain Road that would monitor truck speed and trigger the Wurtsboro traffic light to warn drivers and pedestrians that a possibly out-of-control vehicle is approaching.

Blosser-Bernardo asked the Mamakating and Wurtsboro governments to support the proposal, and at the town board meeting Mamakating Supervisor Mike Robbins asked the board to approve a resolution to that effect.

But some people who live on or near County Road 172 gave public comment that raised questions about the traffic-signal scheme. One warned that it wouldn’t solve the problem.

“It’s just creating a different danger,” she said. The better solution, she suggested, would be to keep trucks off the road altogether. Barring that, erecting stop signs on the road would at least slow the trucks. Two other women agreed that trucks should be banned from the road and directed to Route 17.

Robbins said there is only so much that Mamakating can do about the problem on Mountain Road.

“The tough part for us is, it’s not a town road, it’s a county road,” he said. “Everything has to be approved by the state, and we’re just trying to get them to go along with some of the ideas we have.”

The board approved the resolution.

Robbins also said the town may soon be in the kayak day-rental business at the Bashakill. Town staff are communicating with a company that provides kayaks in much the same way as bicycles are rented in many U.S. cities. The kayaks are stored in cages, which customers open by creating an account with their cellphones, and paying with a credit card. The town would have to pay for the cages, Robbins explained, and would need to sign a five-year contract. Start-up costs for Mamakating would be $19,000, and that investment would take three to four years to recoup. But the town would split the rental fees 50-50 with the company.

“I think it’s a positive for the MEEC,” Robbins said of the Mamakating Environment Education Center, whose headquarters is next to the Bashakill. He added that he will give more details at the next town board meeting.

The board approved the town library’s creation of Story Walk, a permanent project that cuts a children’s picture into pieces and places sets of two pages on pedestals, every fifty or so paces on the Wurtsboro canal trail. Story Walks nationwide encourage kids and families to exercise and promotes child literacy. Mamakating’s will be the first permanent story-walk structure in Sullivan County.

Robbins described several projects that he and the board are working on.

In the past, the Brazilian United Soccer Academy has conducted soccer camps for kids at the Mamakating town park at the end of the summer. The company brings Brazilian teachers to sports camps nationwide, and Robbins said the town is working on having one this year.

The board also discussed the fact that the property tax exemption for senior citizens in Mamakating kicks in only if the homeowner’s income is less than $32,500. But Social Security payments increased this year, which has put people over the income threshold who used to be under it. Robbins called the situation, and the possibility of raising the income limit, “something the board should be looking into.” He vowed to do more research “and be a little bit better prepared for the next year.”

Robbins said that he and council members James Post and Tyler Wood have been brainstorming about getting a kennel built for the Dog Control Department. “We don’t have kennels here,” he said, and dog control officers often “are running out of shelters to bring these dogs.” A town kennel could possibly be sited behind the town barn, he said.

One plan is already in effect – a stern one. Soon, unruly yards will cost Mamakating homeowners money.

“We’re going to start working on the laws about lawn maintenance,” Robbins said. If someone gets a warning about not mowing their lawn, he said, they will have seven days to do so, and after that the town will mow and the cost “will go on their taxes” along with garbage charges.

Another project may make garbage disposal a little easier. Paper-shredding will be offered on July 20, at no charge to town residents. A truck with shredding capability will be available “for anyone with a ton of papers,” Robbins said. He added that last year’s turnout for the free service was good.

The board also changed the dates of some future meetings. Usually, they happen on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. But on April 2 the Democratic and Republican Party primary elections for president will put voting machines and voters in Town Hall, displacing the board. So, members changed the meeting to the following day, April 3. There’s also a change in June, when the board will meet on the 4th and 18th of the month.

(Editor's note: The final paragraph of this story has been corrected to provide the correct date, June 4, for the first June meeting of the town board.)