Town to bond for culverts

Concerned about delays in receiving federal funding, the Warwick Town Board authorized the town to issue bonds up to $4.53 million to potentially finance culvert improvements on Hoyt Road, Cascade Road, Ball Road, Pumpkin Hill Road and Old Ridge Road.

“We’re slightly concerned about the potential delays that may come from an unstable federal government that’s kind of shaking things up a little bit,” said Warwick Town Supervisor Dwyer. “We don’t want to use our town money and then have FEMA come back to us and say you’re going to have to wait three years to get reimbursed that would be a big a big hit on our fund balance if we were to do something like that.”

The resolution authorizing the bonds acknowledged the town’s anticipation of funding from FEMA and other sources and noted these funds may be applied toward the cost of the project, to redeem the town’s bond anticipation notes, or to budgeted for offsetting taxes to be collected for the payment of the principal and interest on the notes.

Dwyer said the issuance of bonds was a precautionary measure and that the town does not expect to borrow the funds. He explained the town will use short-term assets within its bank account to cover the costs and then will go to FEMA for reimbursement.

In other road news, the town has developed a plan for paving 5.75 miles of roadway at an approximate cost of $900,000, Dwyer said, noting that the list of roads to be paved, along with costs and size details will be posted on the town website.

Dwyer reported receiving a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informing the town of their intentions to do a wetlands mitigation or a wetlands recreation project in the black dirt region. He shared the board’s concern over the impact on the nearby farms and sent the proposal to the Orange County Soil and Water Department for evaluation, as well as to the neighboring properties. Dwyer said the town has met with all the stakeholders in the area and will have more information to share soon.

In preservation news, Dwyer reported that the town is closing on the Burt Farm property located at the entry to the village of Warwick at Route 17A, as well as on a 15-acre property on Four Corners Road. He also reiterated the town’s desire to amend the Community Preservation Fund Law to enable the town to use these funds for improvements to water quality along with its already established purpose of land stewardship, parks management and open space preservation.

According to Dwyer, this change would better enable the town to comply with unfunded MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) regulations, which are getting more prevalent and more expensive each year. He noted that a bill putting this change into effect is before the New York State Legislature and the town expects the legislation will be passed by the summer.The renovated Airport Park Playground is now open, which was a grant-funded project, Dwyer reported. Furthermore, the town has accepted the proposal from A Plus Striping of Vernon, NJ, to stripe the basketball court at Airport Park for a cost not to exceed $1800. A Plus Striping will also be tasked with striping the tennis courts at Pine Island Park at cost not to exceed $31,000.

The town is submitting a grant application for $25,000 on behalf of Winslow Therapeutic Riding Center, as part of the 2026 Orange Urban County Consortium Community Development Program. Dwyer also shared the town submitted a grant application for the construction of an amphitheater at the Transformation Trails park in the Wickham Woodlands area.