WURTSBORO — The Town of Mamakating Town Board and Planning Board, through the law firm Jacobowitz and Gubits, sent a letter to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to oppose a move by former Supervisor Duane B. Roe Jr. to expand a mine town officials claim violates zoning laws.

According to the letter, Roe and partner Philip Reinhardt began extracting materials from a property they owned on Winterton Rd., south of Bloomingburg. They asked for a permit under the New York State Mined Land Reclamation Law. The property is in the Neighborhood Residential zoning district.

The letter continues, “In the Town of Mamakating, as in all municipalities in New York, the authority to interpret or vary a zoning law is vested in the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). In this instance, the property owner requested an interpretation that the proposed mining activity - removal of sand and gravel for the purposes of constructing a barn and increasing lands available for farming and hay production - would be considered ‘excavation in aid of agricultural activities.' Notwithstanding the clear prohibition in the zoning law, the Town Board - not the ZBA - adopted a resolution in April 2003 determining that the mining activity - as proposed - was permitted as ‘excavation in aid of agriculture' and would not be prohibited by the zoning law.

“Armed with that resolution the property owner applied to DEC and received a DEC permit to commence mining, which permit relied on and was conditioned upon the completion of a reclamation plan committing to reclaim the land for agricultural activities.”

The letter said the original intent was not carried out, and the property owners later applied for a subdivision.

In December 2014 the applicants asked the DEC for permission to expand the mine to work on a clearing for the subdivision. The attorney's letter noted that the original request for a subdivision had expired and an extension had never been asked for. In addition, there is a moratorium on subdivisions while the town reviews its Comprehensive Plan and zoning laws.

In conclusion, the letter asked the DEC to “to place this application on hold in order to allow DEC the opportunity to review the issues raised in this letter.”

HIRING A PR FIRM

In a move to stem what it perceives as negative publicity the Town of Mamakating Town Board last Saturday voted to hire the Washington, DC-based West End Strategy Team to ensure accuracy in media articles.

The basis is the article written in national and regional media about the various lawsuits developer Shalom Lamm has launched against the town and Lamm's charges of anti-semitism. The Washington Post, New York Daily News and Newsweek have all weighed in.

Because the press and media coverage has been perceived as faulty, Supervisor Bill Herrmann Is seeking to stem the rumor mill and “discard other false claims made against Mamakating and Bloomingburg.”

Village of Bloomingburg Attorney Steven Mogel ventured to say the recent article in Newsweek was sloppy journalism and had a disregard for objective journalism.

A relatively small but vocal group attended last Tuesday's town board meeting and had with divergent feelings about the decision hire a PR firm.

“I think it's a good idea,” a resident, under condition of anonymity said. “We need to let the truth come out.”

Taking an opposing view is Chris Leser, a regular at board meetings. “I think it's a political move,” he said, noting that 2015 is an election year.

Its his contention that there should have been a public hearing for such a matter to get the public's take on it. The cost is said to be approximately $25,000.

Outside of town hall, Leser pointed to what he feels are lengthy repair jobs that should take precedence over hiring a PR firm.

HACK AWAY

The resident computer expert, Councilman Matt Taylor, said he has addressed the “hacking” of the town's information a few months ago. He feels the problem is solved, but gave this caveat: “Even the CIA has been hacked,”

Luckily for the town, no social security numbers were hacked and the job was seen as a possible prank.