WHITE LAKE, NY — Dan Sturm, supervisor of the Town of Bethel, ticked off the steps he has taken in response to the New York State Department of Health (DOH) declaring the Toronto access a bathing beach, which has lead to a partial closing of the facility.

Speaking at the town meeting on September 15, to an audience that included more than 20 residents who attended specifically because of the reservoir issue, Sturm said he had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to determine who has been filing complaints about the reservoir.

He also sent a letter to DOH insisting that the department rescind its determination about the access area, which is located within the bounds of the gated Chapin Estate community. Sturm wrote on behalf of the board, “We respectfully request that you immediately remove the signage at the access area. It is not now nor has it ever been a bathing beach,” which is classified as a federally mandated recreation area.

Sturm said he also attended a meeting with DOH staff that included the presence of Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther. He said at the meeting, “We insisted on the record that they rescind the order. They said that would be difficult to do, that there were higher ups that needed to be contacted.”

No one, including Sturm, has yet received an explanation from DOH as to why this one access area was targeted but not two others that operate under the exact same set of circumstances as the one that was closed.

Members of Friends of Toronto, and specifically Nino Nannarone, wanted the town board to immediately file a lawsuit against the DOH, but Sturm, with support from board member Vicky Simpson, countered that it might be better to wait to see if the DOH responds to the board’s efforts without a lawsuit. Sturm finally said, however, that if there were no action in another month, the board might consider a lawsuit.

Bob Barrett, who has long been a champion of the Toronto access, noted that it was only one resident of The Chapin Estate who is likely to have caused the access to be partially closed and that others in the community had been supportive of the access area being opened to the public.