The Marbletown town board made their YouTube debut at their March 4 meeting, in which they discussed six resolutions, dog safety issues, and a new development regarding Marbletown Community Center (MCC). Supervisor Rich Parete, who often touts broader use of digital platforms, said he was glad to reach more constituents using this popular video sharing platform.

Spring rain and melting snow led to discussions of clean water via the Lower Esopus Stream Management Plan (known as a SMP). The plan is for state government, county government, and nonprofit organizations to focus on, in the words of the resolution proposing it, “a unified goal of ensuring that the Lower Esopus is a clean and vibrant creek providing value to all communities along its route.”

With seven municipalities along the waterway, Parete feels “we’ve been a little lax.” This resolution simply approves the SMP which will look closely at floodplain conservation, invasive species, flood risk studies, and related factors. Funding considerations will be made once the surveys and studies bring back data about damage to this particular waterway.

“Marbletown applied for and received grant funding to conduct a beach sanitary survey of the town beach,” states the agenda.

Continuing a conversation started at the February 18 meeting, a resolution was passed for a $40,000 agreement with environmental consultancy Tighe & Bond to complete a sanitary survey at the town park’s beach on the Esopus. Water quality issues have kept the beach closed since 2016. The engineering firm will work with the Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District and Riverkeeper for these chemical surveys. Riverkeeper, a small subcontractor from Ossining, will receive $8,500 in this collaboration.

“This is all covered under the grant,” Supervisor Parete adds. “At the end of the day it will be budget neutral.”

Parkland

A grant application to improve walkways at Marbletown Meadows was recently turned down. Even with this setback, the board is “getting bids for the loop – the ADA compliant trail around the outside,” Parete said. This resolution entered in an agreement with Hudson & Pacific Designs Landscape Architecture for $9,900 to develop parking, trails and similar features at this Cooper Street outdoor attraction.

In related business, members of the Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee were appointed. Marissa Sherry, Jonitha Keymoore, and Juliette Daniels Stokes will serve terms until December 31, 2028 and Kim Wozencraft’s term ends on December 31, 2026. Board members Tim Hunt and Daisy Foote are committee liaisons.

It was mentioned that dogs have been running around off leashes on both the rail trail and the new Marbletown Meadows. A child was unfortunately bitten recently at the Meadows and Daisy Foote and others expressed a desire for more prominent signs at these locations for both human and pet safety. Walden Engineering will discuss aqueduct leak problems at the next meeting also. Engineer Ken Brezner will reportedly meet with affected property owners and observe leak damage on the rail trail.

Real Estate

The town is selling two local properties. One is an eight-acre property on Barbary Road, which was willed to a charity after the owner passed away, but the organization wasn’t able to sell. The second of these, a half-acre property on Duck Pond Road, was essentially donated to the town. Parete says that the town will “declare these as surplus and sell them” with an arrangement similar to the recent 1925 Lucas Avenue firehouse sale. “I don’t think that they’ll be a shortage of people,” Parete stated regarding potential purchasers. Realtor listings and newspaper ads should appear soon.

The public comment portion set the stage for the upcoming March 18 meeting. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) will again be a major topic as Supervisor Parete said “the state wants these things built.” RUPCO has been awarded the money for their Ulster County Plus One ADU program. If properties are “shovel-ready” to use Parete’s term, the next meeting should have extensive info about obtaining a second ADU on a given property.

Marbletown Community Center (MCC) was mentioned briefly. No fireworks, but the topic remains an enormous one with a $79,000 grant written by Partners for Climate Action for MCC repairs still in limbo. There was news near the end of this meeting that the grant has been extended another 6 months. As a side note, it was reported that some heating repairs can be made to “existing vents” on the premises. At several recent board meetings, the MCC has been the dominant public comment topic.