WAWARSING – Emotions ran high at last Thursday's town council meeting, as Rally New York representatives and Wawarsing town residents butted heads and traded verbal barbs, culminating with a unanimous town council decision to nullify the racing company's three year contract with the town. Taking up the majority of the two-and-a-half hour meeting, discussion of Rally New York's alleged breach of contract was loaded with accusations and recriminations from both sides of the issue.

The vote came just two weeks after the same motion was defeated at the last town board meeting, where the four present council members deadlocked in a 2-2 vote. This week, the second floor courtroom of town hall overflowed with people, with residents filling the room's seats and Rally New York participants and supporters crowding in and around the doorway, clearly illustrating the divide between the two groups.

The impetus for this conflict was a racing accident that occurred on Rogue's Harbor Road on June 20, during a one-day event known as a rally sprint. The residents on and near the road, a portion of which was closed for the day's race, alleged that Rally New York had violated the terms of their contract with the town by not notifying the residents and property owners in the area of the day's event. They also accused them of further violation by not notifying the various emergency services in the area, such as the local fire companies, and state and county police agencies. The residents were joined by representatives from the Napanoch Fire Department, the Ellenville Fire Department, and DEC Forest Ranger Rob Dawson, all of whom contended that they'd never received any official notification of the day's event.

However, this time around, Ivan Orisek, president of Rally New York, Ltd., was on hand, offering an animated and energetic defense of the company and its adherence to the contract with the town. Orisek vehemently denied that the company had violated the terms of the contract, pointing out that the contract never called for the company to contact or notify the emergency services. He read from section 11 of the contract, which states that the company "shall take all necessary steps to coordinate with the Ellenville First Aid and Rescue Squad, the Ulster County Sheriff's Department, the New York State Police, and any and all fire companies with jurisdiction over the areas [where races will take place] so as to adequately provide the necessary means to comply with the terms of their safety plan and which are reasonably necessary to for [sic] the public's health, safety, and welfare."

Indeed, there was a definite difference of interpretation regarding the meaning and implications of the word "coordinate" in the minds of the town board members and Orisek. To the board, contacting and officially notifying were a necessary part of coordination. However, it was Orisek's contention that because of the small size and short time of the day's event, it wasn't necessary to contact the emergency services before the race in order to comply with its safety procedure, which he said worked fine during the crash despite some disagreements with the fire and sheriff department representatives who came to the scene. He did admit that in hindsight it would've been wise to contact the sheriff's department beforehand, but that they had not violated the contract for not doing so.

In addition to denying other alleged contract violations, Orisek also defended the character of Rich Otis, the representative who was present at the previous meeting, and whose integrity and honesty had been called into question by Town Councilmember Theresa Hyatt, as well as some residents.

In the end, despite appearances from Ulster County Tourism's Rick Remsnyder and Hudson Valley Resort Manager Orest Fedash speaking to the potential economic benefits Rally New York brings to the area, the board voted to cancel the contract, causing the assembled residents to applaud.

Drive with Caution: Litigation Down the Road
Over the weekend following the meeting, Orisek informed the Journal via e-mail that the company "is studying a legal action against the Town of Wawarsing and an injunction to protect the International Rally New York, scheduled to take place in part in the Town of Wawarsing on October 23 - 24, 2009, on the grounds that the Town of Wawarsing lacks sufficient reasons for the early termination of the three-year License Agreement signed with Rally New York, Ltd."

"In addition, Councilwoman [Theresa] Hyatt, Mrs. Darmstadter [one of the residents speaking against Rally New York at the meeting], at least one member of the Napanoch Fire Company and several other individuals yet to be identified by name will be named as defendants in a defamation lawsuit," continued Orisek in the e-mail.

In response to the news that she may soon be named in such a lawsuit, Councilmember Hyatt seemed unfazed.

"When you have one person standing, no matter who it is, and saying whatever it is they're saying, and seven, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen people saying just the opposite…the ten or twelve or fifteen people can't all be wrong and that one guy is right," she said of the alleged defamation of character.

"They're trying to protect their business, whatever it is they're doing in that racing business —they're protecting that by carrying out this lawsuit, I guess. And my focus is protecting the town and its residents. So I'll do that on my end, and they'll do whatever they feel they need to do."