ELLENVILLE - Good news for residents of Ellenridge — it seems as though progress on resolving some of the development's various issues has finally begun to move forward.

At the March 23 village board meeting, Building Code Enforcement Officer Brian Schug reported that the dumpster which has sat un-emptied on Mountain View Lane was finally removed by its owner On Time Disposal that day.

"I played poker with the guy that owns the dumpster," said Schug. "Basically, I told him that I was going to ask the board tonight to seize the dumpster if he didn't have it removed…'The village is going to take possession of that dumpster if you don't have it out of there.' He said the dumpster costs $6,000…this and that. I said, 'It's up to you.' This afternoon it was out of there."

In addition, signs of life in the long-delayed project to construct a booster station for the development's water system have started to surface. It was discussed at the meeting that a letter was sent to the Board of Health from attorney Jay Zeiger and Mike Gutterman's Ellenridge Development Corporation, requesting them to pull the files out and review them for approval — which would then allow them to move forward with construction of the project.

Currently, the Ellenridge development is without sufficient water pressure to meet code standards. Over the last several years, the project has been stalled because of a long-running dispute between the former and current Ellenridge developers — Mike Gutterman (of Ellenridge Development Corporation and the affiliated company DLK Construction), and Moses Braver's Ellenridge Holdings, LLC, respectively. In the past, it was reported that the two companies have each claimed that the other was responsible for the station's construction. In the meantime, Ellenridge residents have suffered through years of low water pressure, and have even been forced to come before the Ellenville Village Board to request that the municipality shoulder the costs to conduct mandated tests of their water system. The board agreed, seemingly reigniting their efforts to ensure that the booster station finally gets built.

To that end, the board sent notice to Ellenridge Holdings, LLC informing the company of the village's plans to withdraw funds from a bond of a little more than $223,000 to build the station. The bond exists for just such an occasion, where a developer fails to do work it is required and has previously committed to do.

"It's like an insurance policy to make sure that they are building everything according to the approved site plan from the planning board," said Schug in a phone interview. "And if they don't do that — if they don't construct everything according to the site plan, then the village has the option to access that bond, or that insurance policy, and have it constructed, and have the money taken out of the bond."

If the village were to do the construction of the station, it's likely that it would cost more than if the developer itself contracted out for the job, as the developer wouldn't be held to the strict guidelines that bind a municipality's hiring and bidding practices. Schug estimated that the project would be at least a third more expensive were the village to build the station.

However, now it seems as though going to the bond may not be necessary after all. Jay Zeiger, the attorney representing Mike Gutterman's Ellenridge Development Corporation, confirmed this week that the project's start was indeed awaiting Board of Health approval, corroborating what was reported at the village board meeting last week. Whatever dispute existed between Ellenridge Holdings, LLC and DLK Construction seems to have been resolved, as Zeiger's letter to the Board of Health would suggest.

"It's about as clear as mud," said Schug of the situation.

"We've been going round and round with [the developers] for at least two years now regarding this pressure booster station, with letters written to them from my department, with letters written to them from our attorney's office, and then discussion and passed resolutions at public meetings," said Schug.

"My biggest point is that we're approaching the construction season. You can't put this pressure booster station from mid-November 'til April, probably, because of the weather conditions and the ground being frozen. So, I just don't want to miss another season and not have this done."

COMMENTS about this article (58)