NARROWSBURG, NY — At the Tusten Town meeting on May 12, the town board voted to put the bid out for the rebuilding of the Main Street deck. However, before the vote there was more discussion about the design and cost of the deck, with many points being rehashed, such as whether or not the foundation needs to be rebuilt.

Councilman Ned Lang and local business man Rick Lander announced that they hired a contractor to take a look at the deck. At the previous meeting they did not disclose any details, but now they said they have hired Joseph Gottlieb of Monticello and that he looked at the deck. Also at the previous meeting, Lang mentioned that the original plans for the deck could be used again. The plan was made by Robert Meyer in 1983. Lang said that Gottlieb thinks the plan can be used, and they could rebuild the deck exactly how it stands now for a lesser amount of money than the Chazen plan.

The Chazen design has an estimated cost of $250,000, and members of the board think that is too high. However, Councilman Tony Ritter said he thinks they need to move forward, as they have been debating it for the past few months. The Chazen design needs to go to public referendum, and Ritter said he hopes it can be on the November ballot. But other members of the board think it won’t be ready in time.

After Ritter said they need to go forward and put it out to bid, the board made a motion and four members voted “yes” with Lang voting “no.” Plans will now be made to go out to bid, which could take more than a month and will cost money.

Prior to this meeting, Lang sent out an email with questions about the deck proposed to Joseph Lanaro of Chazen. Some of the questions related to soil tests and the retaining wall. Lanaro emailed back a response answering his questions. For the full documents, go to riverreporter.com.

In other news, Robert Wiegers came to the board to ask if Eagle’s Nest Estates, which he and his wife own, could take ownership of a road that he built. They have spent many years working on both the property and the private road leading to it. The road is 2,500 feet in length and 20 feet in width. Eagle’s Nest Estates has four houses for sale. Wiegers said that he has previously asked the Tusten Town Board to own the road, but they declined. Now he came before the board again, and they all agreed that the town should own the road. They asked Highway Superintendent Glen Swenson if it would be a major cost and he said “no.” He also added that the road is very well made and would be easy to maintain. Although they agreed they should own the road, Supervisor Carol Wingert said they should first talk to their attorney to make sure everything is legal, and at the next board meeting they will make a motion and vote on it.