The Town of Mamakating is revving up for summer by vowing to crack down on rule-breaking summer camps – and other such centers whose violations are blurred from community oversight by Mamakating’s lush, green forests.

At the Mamakating Town Board’s latest meeting on June 18, Town Supervisor Michael Robbins told board members that the town just got a settlement from its litigation against one camp: Eisek Hatorah D’Rachmistrivka. It’s at 450 Walker Valley Road in Pine Bush.

The facility covers some 40 acres and was bought by Eisek Hatorah D’Rachmistrivka in 2019. “Rachmistrivka” refers to the town of Rotmistrivka in Ukraine. A Chassidic rabbinical dynasty started there in the 19th century. Now, it’s mostly in Brooklyn. And the Pine Bush summer camp has turned into a problem.

“Last year they had a camp going there without coming to us about any approvals,” Robbins said at the meeting. “And all of a sudden they bring kids there.”

In June 2023 the state health department inspected the camp and found an unapproved water supply and no health department permit. Next month, the violations were still not fixed, so the health department sued the owners. Mamakating also sued in July 2023, after finding unsafe building conditions and lack of permits.

At the town board’s June 18 meeting, Robbins announced that a settlement had been reached, with Eisek Haftorah D’Rachmistrivka agreeing to pay Mamakating $42,000. “They still have to get usage approval from the planning board, to get permits for work they still need to do,” Robbins said. He added that the children will not be allowed back until all violations are taken care of. Camp administrators “have to go to the Mamakating Building Department and get permits,” he said.

Robbins talked about the lesson of Mamakating’s lawsuit: “We put it out that we’re not going to play around with some of these things where they just come in and build things.” He said the town found another out-of-compliance property this week and has started doing legal paperwork. In addition, “We’re going to be doing another one that all of a sudden two brand new buildings are built with no permits, no approvals, no nothing.” He said that the offending property is “back in the woods,” so no one noticed it. “But then somebody turned them in. Luckily for us.”

The town also announced that it previously called for bids to remove dead trees, but the deadline passed with no one bidding. Robbins said a new opportunity will be announced on July 11, and additional media will be used to get the word out. Meanwhile, there are “quite a number” of large, dead trees that need to be removed, Highway Department head Thomas Morrow said. He told the board that his department is already marking the trees.

Robbins said the town has finally collected all monies due from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair damage wrought by the hurricane that affected the area two and a half years ago. FEMA spent $2.73 million on fixing damaged local resources, including replacing a bridge and a dam.

Owen Messenger, an Eagle Scout with Troop 92, described his plan to build a replica of what he called a whirling post at the D&H Canal Trailhead. Whirling posts, he explained, were stone pillars with metal around them, and were used to secure boats traveling on the canal during the early 19th century. Messenger said the troop will also install kiosks, including one with information about the history of the canal and Wurtsboro. With the board indicating enthusiasm for the project, Messenger said he would go back to his troop and start planning the installations.

The Wurtsboro Board of Trade is putting up murals throughout the village, and they would like to add one for a year at Moore Park. “It won’t cost the town anything,” Robbins said. He said he’d seen a visual for the park mural and “I don’t know what it means,” but the Board of Trade liked it “so that’s all that matters.” The town board approved the mural.

The board also approved hiring Kristin Haas to work full-time in maintenance. Parks and Recreation has been shorthanded after another employee left in February. Haas will begin the job June 24.

Electronic door fobs for the town park’s drama and kitchen buildings sparked a bit of controversy. They would cost almost $13,000, for only four doors. They would provide automatic opening and closing of the facilities, with unlocking and locking conveniently controlled via computer at the town office. Robbins was all for spending the money. Fobs, he said, would make “accountability at the park a little bit better.” Both buildings are rented every weekend, from Friday to Sunday – “that’s how well we’re doing with rentals.” Currently, he noted, people who’ve rented for Friday night sometimes stay on until Saturday. Programming the fob to lock at the end of Friday would prevent overstays and free up the facility for the Saturday renter. Ward 6 Councilman Tyler Wood said he disapproved of spending so much money for only four doors. But in five-to-two vote, the board approved the fobs.

After the board approved funding summer camp jobs for directors, counselors, lifeguards. Robbins proposed spending more money. He said that for the last two years, “we’ve rented a golf cart for the summer for almost $3,000.” He wants to spend $18,000 to buy two carts: one for camp and the other for maintenance workers during the summer. “I got some prices,” he said, and he is working on getting more.

Meanwhile, the town pool is “open and beautiful.” Robbins said that Mamakating collected $700 in pool usage fees just in one weekend. People have been coming in for day passes almost every day in the past week, he said. In other park news, the Town of Wallkill will be assisting Mamakating with adding pickleball facilities, and Wallkill will also “do the road by the pool for us.” But, Robbins said, the Mamakating Environmental Education-sponsored kayaks will probably not arrive and be ready for use until mid-July.

In other summer news, Robbins said the town board will have a tent at Wurtsboro’s Founders Day celebration on July 13, and he encouraged the community to attend because “it supports the local businesses.”

Even more germane to supporting Wurtsboro businesses, Robbins announced that on June 12, state Sen. Peter Oberacker came to Mamakating to support the town’s efforts to keep New York State Route 17’s Exit 114 open. Congressman Marc Molinaro was in Washington, but he sent staff, as well as letters, in support of Exit 114 to the state and federal Departments of Transportation. Councilman Matt Mordas thanked District 4 County Legislator Nicholas Salamone Jr. and his 2022 challenger, former Ulster County legislator and local resident Terry Bernardo, for also sending letters of support. Robbins noted that in its effort to keep Exit 114 open, Mamakating collected 3,500 petition signatures in just one a week.

The Town Board meeting ended with an announcement that Mamakating will meet on June 28 with the Federal Highway Administration and the state DOT regarding the Exit 114 issue. “We’re gonna slug it out” there, said Mordas. “Hopefully we’ll get a good outcome.”