MAMAKATING – After more than a month of foot-dragging and legal wrangling, members of a girls' camp operating out of the old Homowack Lodge appear to have complied with a judge's order to vacate the premises. The order, which was issued by Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Burton Ledina two weeks ago, had originally called for the members of Congregation Bais Trana to leave the camp no later than 5 p.m. last Thursday, August 6. However, the camp's administrators, citing the fact that many of the children's parents were overseas, were successful in getting Judge Ledina to grant a temporary reprieve until this past Sunday at 5 p.m. — at which time several buses were seen entering the camp, along with a large rental truck, the latter apparently for the removal of the campers' belongings.

"I'm happy that they've left," said Mamakating Town Supervisor Robert Fiore. "Though I wish the circumstances were different."

Fiore went on to say that his only concern had been for the safely of the children who were attending the camp. Earlier, a number of the campers were seen wearing respiratory masks, which would appear to be a tacit acknowledgement that many of the buildings contain a serious mold problem. The town will be looking closely at the facility in the coming weeks, and could end up condemning the old resort.

"We don't want it to become an attractive nuisance," Fiore said.

The former Homowack Lodge has been the source of much consternation over the past several months, as the owners of the property had been running the girls' camp without the proper town and county permits. Also, the property no longer has what is known as a "certificate of occupancy," a document which certifies a building's compliance with local building code. The lack of such documentation means that the owners — who are currently listed as Congregation Ahavas Chaverim Gemilas Chesed of New Square, NY — were operating the camp illegally.

Porco Over a Barrel

An inspection by the New York Department of State Division of Fire Safety (DOS) of the propane storage facility being built by Porco Energy on Route 209 in the Town of Mamakating has apparently revealed a lengthy list of violations at the site. In a June 23 letter, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Robert Smith, a Code Compliance Specialist with DOS, enumerates a host of concerns about the facility. The most important of these is that it appears a full fire safety analysis of the facility has not been conducted; this type of analysis is designed to ensure that a facility is not a danger to the public.

Smith's list of concerns also includes the fact that the storage tanks are too close to buildings, property lines, and Route 209; the foundation and "support saddles" for these tanks may not be sufficient; the tanks — which appear to have been build in the 1940s, when the site plan called for new tanks — may not have been recertified, and are also mounted improperly; bollards, short iron posts designed to prevent vehicles from colliding with the tanks, have not been installed; and there are a number of open wires in the facility's electrical system.

Smith's letter, which was addressed to town building inspector Mary Grass, goes on to say that DOS is concerned that town government may not be equipped to handle the process of bringing Porco back into compliance.

"It concerns me that [Porco Energy] may be attempting to take advantage of the town's lack of expertise in this subject," Smith's letter states.

Smith goes on to say that, though DOS has no authority to enforce code in the Town of Mamakating, his office stands ready to assist should it become necessary. "[We] will help you in any way that we can," the letter concludes.

In recent months the town building department has been the subject of much criticism when it comes to local building code being enforced, after a group of citizens voiced complaints to the town board. The building inspector's office is now in the process of identifying, and enforcing, code violations, with several hundred "orders to remedy" having been sent out.