The Wallkill Fire District is nearing a public referendum vote on its proposed new firehouse on the Borden family property in Shawangunk. Fire District Commissioner Michael Croce noted during a Jan. 12 presentation to the Town of Shawangunk Democratic Party that a tentative date has been set for March 26 on the long-gestating project. District 64 is asking taxpayers to approve $5,582,469 in borrowed funds for the new firehouse, with the district chipping in $1,500,000 in reserve monies to complete the project.

Croce, who was joined during the presentation by fellow Commissioner Rich Freer, explained that the tentative late March date was chosen so that residents wouldn’t have to trek out to the polls in the dead of winter in January or February to cast their ballots. The new 17,500 square foot headquarters would be funded via a 30-year bond, and if the referendum is approved, fire taxes in the municipality would increase $1.65 from the current rate per thousand of $6.38 to $8.03.

The Town of Shawangunk is potentially interested in purchasing the current firehouse property to act as a new police headquarters if the project is approved by taxpayers. In their presentation, which the pair of commissioners also gave at recent meetings of the Shawangunk Town Board and the Wallkill Board of Education, the fire officials detailed the problems with their outdated current facility, which was built in 1964. The roof of the building is in need of repair, and space is tight inside the firehouse, with little room for firefighters to maneuver between the trucks and their lockers.

Freer said the district kept the cost of the proposed firehouse down by reducing the site’s planned 300-seat social hall down to a 150-capacity space. The homey design of the firehouse has also been crafted to fit in with its surroundings. “Our property is in the historical district, and we have to comply with the regulations that govern any construction that goes on in the historical district,” Freer explained to the public. “Because we’re on part of the old Borden home farm, we have to have the throwback look of the Borden estate. If you go up to the Borden home farm and the old barns up there and the mansion up there, they have that type of architecture. So we must be in compliance with that. I must say, in my personal opinion this is a beautiful building. If you notice, most firehouses are basically flat-roof truck garages, whereas a building like this would actually enhance the property of homes in that area of our village.”

The Shawangunk Democratic Party has been gaining momentum over the past two years, and during its meeting on Saturday afternoon in the Town Hall meeting room, the organization discussed new ways to spread its message in the town. The group agreed during the session to offer scholarships for the second straight year to high school seniors at Wallkill Senior High School and Pine Bush High School, as a pair of $200 prizes will be awarded to one student from each school who wins an essay competition.

During the meeting, the party also celebrated its accomplishments in 2018, which included securing representation for all seven election districts, participating in the Shawangunk Day and WOW Weekend festivities and their successful endorsements of the campaigns of newly elected Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa and New York State Senator Jen Metzger.

“What’s amazing to me is that it was my focus to get representation for all of the election districts, and I’m new to this so I didn’t know anything about electioneering and petitioning and I was able to get people who would represent their election districts involved, so at least we can go to the county and tell them we’re covered,” Party Chairperson Adrienne Gelfand-Perine said. “So that was a very big achievement. The other thing is that our participation varies with who we bring in, but I’d say on average we have 15-20 people. We have our consistent people, but then we have new people. The other thing is that because I’ve been involved in so many things in the community, people know who I am, so they know I come with a whole backing of people that have concerns. I think that the Town Board, this is the first time they’ve seen this, and I think that’s a good thing.”

The entire five-member Shawangunk Town Board is under Republican control, and in recent general elections the Democrats have often not even fielded a candidate, but with the local party increasing its profile, the organization is hopeful they will be able to recruit qualified candidates to run this November when Town Supervisor John Valk and Town Councilmen Brian Amthor and Robert Miller are up for re-election.

With Ulster County Executive Mike Hein announcing his intention to leave his post for a job in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the race to become his replacement is wide open, with the nominees for both parties expected to be chosen at upcoming party conventions. Shawangunk Democratic representatives will be able to vote at their party’s convention, and the group will hear from one of the candidates when Pat Strong attends the next party meeting on Feb. 9. “When we’ve had candidates, we’ve had more people showing up because it’s the first time they’ve had the chance to talk to people,” Gelfand-Perine said.