Fallsburg hires Sorensen, holds master plan meeting

FALLSBURG, NY — The Fallsburg Comprehensive Plan Committee has announced the hiring of former Sullivan County Planning Commissioner Alan Sorensen and his firm Planit Main Street to assist with the update of the town’s master plan. An informational session will be held to kick off the planning process at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8 at the Seelig Theatre at Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake.

The committee selected Sorenson from among four planning firms who submitted proposals for the project due to his knowledge of the community and his emphasis on leveraging grants to implement the recommendations in the plan.

Carmody undergoes emergency surgery

HONESDALE, PA — Robert V. Carmody, a Wayne County commissioner and president/owner of Century 21 Gold C Realty in Honesdale and Tyler Hill, is recovering from major emergency surgery on February 28. Carmody and his wife, Flossie, were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC, when Carmody was rushed to the Conway Medical Center where he underwent quintuple by-pass surgery. He is recovering and is expected to have a good prognosis. He is expected to remain in South Carolina for approximately two weeks.

Bonacic worried on port security

ALBANY, NY — Citing a Washington Post article reporting U.S. Coast Guard concerns, State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/I/C-Mount Hope) has called on the New York congressional delegation to urge President Bush to order a further investigation of the potential risks associated with the sale of Port of New York operations to Dubai Ports World.

Senator Chuck Schumer is already sponsoring legislation that would block the deal and give Congress the power to scrap it if they are not satisfied with a 45-day review. Senator Hillary Clinton is sponsoring legislation that would block foreign governments from controlling U.S. ports.

Clean Water Act threatened

WASHINGTON, DC — Two cases currently before the Supreme Court could have an impact on water quality and flooding in the Upper Delaware River Valley. The cases involve two Michigan developers seeking to build on wetlands that they claim are not covered by the Clean Water Act, because they are not part of a navigable river. The Bush administration and 33 states have filed briefs in support of broad interpretation of the milestone 1972 law that provides legal basis for stopping the pollution of the nation’s waterways. The group argues that narrowing the coverage of the act would render the government unable to prevent “the discharge of sewage, toxic pollutants and fill into... the large majority of our nation’s rivers, streams and other waters.” Environmental groups also argue that the degradation of wetlands in the Mississippi delta contributed largely to the flooding problems that occurred after Hurricane Katrina.

Bonacic bails out Sullivan West and Tri-Valley with bus money

ALBANY, NY — Pending legislation by Senator John Bonacic will allow the Sullivan West and Tri-Valley school districts to be reimbursed for transportation expenses for the school years ending in June 2004 and June 2005. The amount for Sullivan West is $600,000. Tri-Valley expects $110,692.

Bonacic said the issue came up because “someone was asleep at the wheel,” and the two districts did not send out the paperwork “in a timely fashion.”

Staff members at the New York Department of Education say they never got the necessary paperwork required to release the funds to the school districts.

The senator said this sort of issue crops up from time to time, and it’s not unusual for lawmakers to introduce legislation to resolve the problems. Typically, he said, fellow lawmakers allow the legislation to pass without putting up any roadblocks because “they understand that human error happens.”

Bonacic predicted the school districts would have the disputed funds in question in three or four months.

Casino impact reports may not be ready for hearings

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Nick Hays has said he could not predict when the reports detailing the impacts of proposed casinos on traffic, crime and other aspects of community life will be released. The board will try to have the reports available for inspection at the board’s Harrisburg office, or have copies that can be obtained by mail for a fee before the first hearing is held in Gettysburg on April 5, but cannot guarantee it. However, some individual applicants and municipalities have already released the reports, including Paradise Township, the location of the proposed Mount Airy casino.

Those who wish to speak at the hearings must complete and submit a registration form by March 6, disclosing their topic, a summary of their points and any supporting materials they will submit. In many cases, they will have to do so without benefit of the information in the impact reports.

Highland approves firefighters’ ambulance corp tax exemption

ELDRED, NY — The Highland Town Board unanimously approved Section 466-f of the Real Property Tax Law, a tax exemption for incorporated volunteer fire company members, during a public hearing on February 27.

The local law calls for a partial exemption from real property taxes equal to 10 percent of the assessed value of such real property for city, village, town, part town special district, school district, fire district or county purposes, not to exceed $3,000 multiplied by the latest state equalization rate, as written in Local Law No. 2 of 2006.

The exemption applies to enrolled members of an incorporated volunteer fire company and department or voluntary ambulance service. Those members who have active service status for 20 years will be granted the exemption for the remainder of their lives.