Controversial town road may get makeover

Woodstone developer working deal with town

By FRITZ MAYER

SMALLWOOD, NY — Town Road 62 in Bethel ends with the locked gate that separates one community from the rest of the town-a spot that has been the center of controversy for six years. Now, in a deal with the Town of Bethel, the developer who installed the gate has offered to make repairs to the road and bring it up to town specifications.

At the town meeting on April 10, councilman Richard Crumley said the town had reached a tentative deal with developer Steve Dubrovsky and his Woodstone Companies, under which Dubrovsky would “take over” Town Road 62.

Asked if Dubrovsky would then be the legal owner of the road, supervisor Dan Sturm said Crumley had done a good job of explaining what had happened so far, and didn’t directly address the question. Richard Stoloff, Dubrovsky’s attorney, did not return a call seeking clarification.

Crumley noted that the private road that Dubrovsky built, and that connects to Town Road 62, is still the subject of dispute. In February 2007, Judge Robert Sackett ruled that members of the general public have no right to use the private road to gain access to the Toronto Reservoir. That ruling is being appealed, and lawyers for all sides will present arguments in Albany on April 29.

In the meantime, Crumley said, “If the appeal succeeds, the public will have a nice new road to travel on.” He added that the town’s overburdened highway budget will be helped significantly if Dubrovsky’s companies pay for the repairs to Town Road 62.

Not everyone is convinced that the transfer will actually happen. Smallwood resident Bob Barrett, who is suing Dubrovsky over access to the reservoir and related matters, noted that in April 2005, Dubrovsky offered to donate to the town the private road he built, which would have allowed members of the public to use it to get to the reservoir. At the time, the town board voted five to zero to accept the road, but the deal was never completed, and each side blamed the other for blocking it.

In a related development, Sturm said Senator John Bonacic has secured a $175,000 grant to pay for extensive repairs to Pine Grove Road, which is the road that leads to Town Road 62. The winter weather wreaked havoc on the road surface, making it practically impossible for emergency vehicles and other vehicles to traverse it. Over the past month, however, the Bethel Highway Department has worked on the road to make it passable. More extensive work will be done later.

Over the past two years, several new homes, which are not part of the Woodstone developments, have been built on the isolated stretch of Pine Grove Road.