Dumpsters and pickleball were the highlights at Shawangunk’s Town Hall meeting last week.

The meeting kicked off with an active public comment section, where residents Phil and Joan Kirschen brought some roads in need of repair in town to the board’s attention, including Strawridge Road. They expressed that though they have no desire to ever leave the community, the deep erosion and potholes in the middle of the road pose a concerning problem.

Mrs. Kirschen also mentioned some potholes — comparing them to sinkholes — outside of the public library that need to be filled in, as they make parking in the lot very difficult. While the board, including Highway Supervisor Richard Blazeski, agreed this was not a problem that could be fixed this year, it is something they had their eye on and would hopefully be able to work on amending soon.

Part of the ongoing parks revitalization at all of Shawangunk’s parks, two to four pickleball courts are going to be put into Galeville Park. Town Supervisor Ken Ronk Jr. and Town Councilman Joe LoCicero recently took a drive to the park and said they decided the far side of the trees toward the bird sanctuary was possibly an ideal place to put them. One major initial concern about this project, according to Ronk, was the noise the sport tends to omit with the balls bouncing on the courts and the paddles hitting them back and forth in rapid succession.

“That wouldn’t be so great here in the middle of the hamlet, but would be tolerable out of Galeville,” Ronk said. “There is also a wide open space there where it is sort of a blank canvas.”

Though the official timeline of the court’s completion is dependent on the course of the total parks revitalization project, Ronk said he anticipates the courts being open for use sometime next year. The board is still in conversation surrounding whether to use cement or blacktop for the project. While concrete tends to be more expensive — potentially reaching around $2,200 in cost — it contains a traditionally longer lifespan. Ronk also highlighted the option to put in blacktop and seal it in order to preserve its life further.

Additionally, a wooded area now stands between where the pickle ball courts are intended to go and the pavilion and bathrooms center. Ronk said the potential idea would be to clear some of the trees out of the way and put a pipe in where there is a drainage ditch and some fill so that people can easily walk over to the bathrooms from the courts.

The one-way road resolution for Main Street, between Wallkill Avenue and Church Street, was also officially adopted and sent to the state, hoping to decrease the number of accidents that occur when people exit onto Wallkill Avenue.

Dumpsters were on people’s minds as the board began discussions surrounding implementing a new law regulating dumpsters in the town. New Paltz has some items in their code, Ronk said, concerning dumpsters. The two main regulations the board discussed adding were that a dumpster is not allowed on a property unless there are ten residents and that the dumpsters must follow the zoning setback rules from the sides of the property.

There is no official law drafted yet as the board has just started floating possible ideas for this change in regulations.

Ronk said he has received many complaints from residents, as well as the Highway Superintendent about dumpster placement.

“On some of our more rural roads it becomes a problem if people have their dumpster right up against the road because then it can get hit by the plow wing,” Ronk said. “As the truck goes to lift the dumpster, if it is right on the edge of the road, then you are putting all of the weight of the truck on the edge of the road and it breaks up the edge of the road so it is actually damaging our assets.”