ROSENDALE – Festival organizers and town personnel have been working to resolve the numerous concerns with this year's Beltane, and the progress was sufficient for the board to approve the event's application —conditioned on the green light from the town chief of police, who was out of town during the April 9 town council meeting.

That hopeful note for Beltane was sounded the same night that over a quarter million dollars in donations was announced for the town's pool fund, which has now crested the $1,000,000 mark.

Worries over the safety and security plans for Beltane were brought up first at the April 2 meeting of the board. Chief Perry Soule was also not in attendance at that time, but passed on through supervisor Jeanne Walsh that he would not give the festival his approval, nor would he allow his officers to direct traffic there whilst off-duty. Soule's concerns over lax security — which led to a drug-related emergency at another event held at the site, Stone Mountain Farm, last year — dovetailed with questions over preparedness for handling medical problems. Board members pointed out that the parking plan included areas which won't be available, such as the community center lot, and failed to include details concerning the shuttle bus route.

Robin Larsen, owner of Stone Mountain Farm, attended the April 9 meeting with two event organizers. They laid out a much more aggressive set of plans that call for four emergency medical technicians and ten state-licensed security officers to be on site. The bulk of the parking will be on the property itself, with the idea of arriving via the adjacent rail trail being actively encouraged. The security plan makes it possible to ensure that those biking or walking to Beltane via the trail will not be able to enter unobserved.

Camping is being eliminated entirely this year, and Larsen said that efforts to send people home will begin at 9 p.m., with the official closing time being 10 p.m. Security officers will assist in making sure no one parks their cars illegally on neighboring roads, and particular attention will also be paid to make sure that litter is not strewn about nearby.

Nothing was said about the suggestion that bags of attendees be searched.

As of press time, Chief Soule had not yet granted his approval of the revised plan. Staffers in the supervisor's office advised that she and the chief were working to bring the matter to a conclusion.

The momentum to restore Rosendale's pool has gotten a couple of big bumps, and now stands at $1,070,000 towards the estimated $1.2 million price tag. Part of the latest funding comes from the pockets of the real-estate brokers who sold town hall. Harris Safier, owner of Westwood Metes & Bounds, and selling agent Brian Cafferty have donated their commissions in the amount of $6,030 to the pool restoration fund. Senator John Bonacic didn't dig into his own coffers, but he did secure a $250,000 economic development grant for restoration of the pool and refurbishing the bath house. A recent fundraiser which headlined the Elderly Brothers also brought in another $2,000, Walsh said.

Like many other boards statewide, Rosendale's has been asked to weigh in on reorganization of the postal service which has had disastrous effects for towns. The Association of Town Clerks passed a resolution decrying more centralization of mail sorting, which has led to a spike in delays to local mail. Mail that was sent within a single ZIP code, such as for property taxes, were sorted at the local office until near the end of 2013. The nearest sorting facility for mail going to adjacent locales was in Newburgh. That office is now closed, and all mail is sorted near Albany. Similar situations have cropped up statewide, which is why the town clerks acted.

The board passed a resolution in support of the clerks' complaints.