Planning Board SNAFU
Town Officials Mull Who’s To Blame With An Olivebridge
Subdivision Road
By Tree McElhinney
A town planning process that appears to have gone awry has resulted
in a serious water problem for a Brown Road property owner.
Olivebridge resident Eugene De Mayo told town board members
last week that a private road leading to a 23.6 acre subdivision
behind his home has blocked the drainage of water from his property.
De Mayo said he chose to bring up the matter during the town
board meeting because he wanted it on record that the subdivision
was “approved improperly” and that a building permit
was issued even though the town Highway Superintendent never
signed off on the construction of the road. “I want this
recorded because according to state law subdivisions have to
have a road completed first and inspected,” he said. “The
road surface should have never been put in the way it was with
no planning or engineering and the [building] permits should
never have been issued.”
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It’s More
Than Play
Linda Burkhardt Speaks Her Mind
By Annie Nocenti
Twenty-eight years ago a blind date with a young man
named Frederick brought Linda Burkhardt to Olive, and
she’s been here ever since. “That first
date was the worst date I ever had in my life.”
And the second date? “I fell in love.” Linda’s
main interest is her family, her second is politics.
She started her community work with the Olive First
Aid Unit and as Explorer Post Adviser in the 1970s,
went on to coordinate a “rent a kid” youth
program, was appointed to the recreation committee,
and ended up as a Town Councilwoman. “I’ve
alwaysbeen involved in local politics, now more than
ever.” Her third love is the Shandaken Theatrical
Society in Phoenicia. “I went to see a play there
eight or nine years ago. I was impressed with the talent.”
She started as a volunteer, and is now the stage manager.
“All the things I’ve done, I did for my
community or my family. But the theater? This was for
me.”
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RED EFT OR RED-SPOTTED NEWT?
Both the same thing. This one, of the salamander family, was
found in West Shokan. Seems they start life in water, crawl
ashore, and then eventually return to water. Sort of like this
summer, wouldn’t you say?
Tax Issue Closure
Time
A Massive Onteora Meeting & Now It’s Time For The
Board To Make Its Decision...
By Violet Snow
Olive residents pleaded with trustees not to apply the large-parcel
tax law which would raise their taxes by 56 percent at a standing-room
only August 4 Onteora board hearing. 44 people spoke and the
Onteora school board just listened. A smaller number of Woodstockers
demanded equity in tax payment throughout the district.
The board heard from five Olive town council members and about
21 other Olive residents, Woodstock supervisor Jeremy Wilber
and seven other Woodstockers, county legislator Mike Stock,
three people from Hurley, and two from Shandaken, plus Shandaken
supervisor Peter DiModica. Despite frequent and ardent applause
from the audience, predominantly Olive residents, the meeting
remained orderly, withboard president Marino D'Orazio several
times urging civility and once threatening to close the meeting
if a brief spate of booing directed at a speaker from Woodstock
was repeated.
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Protesting City Closures
Local Residents Say Enough Is Enough; Open The Lemon Squeeze
Back Up!
By Tree McElhinney
Olive residents made it clear last week that they believe
prohibiting vehicular access to Monument Road does more to
inconvenience the town and jeopardize the safety of residents
than it does to prevent a
terrorist act.
The forum was a question and answer session with four New
York City Department of Environmental Protection officials
who attended the August Town Board meeting to
discuss the agency’s decision to close
the road. Present from the DEP were Deputy Commissioner Mike
Principe, Director of Police Ed Welch, spokesperson Ira Stern
and District Engineer Todd West.
“You have given us a 2.5 mile detour on a road that
was never meant to bear the traffic that is using it today,”
said Samsonville resident David Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum
was referring to the alternate route to/from the dividing
weir whichanswer.
The majority of Olive residents, however, disagreed with the
DEP’s conclusion that prohibiting vehicular traffic
would stop a terrorist act.
“A car bomb is not going to take [the dam] out,”
said Olive Fire Chief Tom Plantz, who lives in the reservoir’s
flood plain. “The biggest threat is on the bottom,
not the top. I could go down there with a pack of C4 explosives
and blow it up tomorrow.”
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