Creek banks to be stabilized

By FRITZ MAYER

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Youngsville resident Bruce Bell breathed a sigh of relief on September 28 when the Callicoon Town Board voted to move forward with a plan to stabilize the bank of Callicoon Creek, which may be further eroded with the next serious storm that passes through.

During the flooding of July 30 and 31, a great chunk of the bank was washed downstream, threatening the value of Bell’s home and integrity of his septic system. Another big event like that could also threaten homes and businesses downstream. The fix will be expensive, up to $100,000 or even $150,000, though the exact details of the repair remain to be worked out.

Callicoon supervisor Linda Babicz secured a promise of a grant of $100,000 from Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther to help pay for the work.

Before the project could move forward, the town board was required to vote to become lead agency on the project, and also to provide the money up front, which will then be repaid by the state grant. In order to do that, the board was required to transfer $100,000 out of the emergency highway vehicle repair fund into another emergency fund.

Councilman Dave Kuebler expressed concern that the vehicle fund would be left empty. Babicz responded that the town is not anticipating any vehicle repairs or replacements in the near future, and reiterated that the money would be reimbursed by the state.

Ultimately, the board voted to become lead agency for the project and scheduled a public hearing on the transfer of funds for October 12.

Before voting, however, councilman Tom Bose noted that the decision to address this specific flooding problem before others in the town was made by the Sullivan County Soil and Water Conservation District, not by the town board.

Another section of the creek that was also damaged in the flood will be stabilized with a $50,000 grant from the NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee in Albany.

Rodney Gaebel, who was formerly a county legislator representing the area and is currently the Sullivan County Republican Board of Elections commissioner, said that the matter of keeping the emergency fund financed to a certain level was serious enough that the board should consider a “one, two or three percent tax” on town residents specifically targeted to building the emergency fund.

In this economic climate, however, the board is unlikely to consider passing any new taxes.