Town of Warwick announces new digital portal for the delivering public information

Acknowledging public demand for transparency, Warwick Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer said the town will be using a new digital portal from MuniCollab to provide easier and more efficient access to information regarding Town Planning applications.

“One of the big goals of ours is to create more open government and provide the public with more access to information,” Dwyer said at the March 27 Warwick Town Board meeting. “And we’ve seen that the planning board is an area where the public has so many questions and they want to see the progress of applications they want to get more details on applications,”

The MuniCollab portal will provide the public with information on each Planning Board project as it progresses through the application stages and streamline the application process for engineers, architects and other professionals, Dwyer said.

The new portal also will reduce costs and improve efficiency. Dwyer said it takes about six hours under the current system to collate and put files together for every application, not including the time spent answering questions and handling FOIL requests.

The public also will be able to view every planning board meeting via Facebook, YouTube and on Channel 21.

This change has come as the public has shown great interest in the application for the proposed Beth Medrash Meor Yitzchok College, with overnight accommodation for 200 to 300 students, to occupy existing buildings (historically used by NYU) located on Old Forge Road near Sterling Forest State Park.

Dwyer welcomed residents to attend the public hearing about the project, which is expected to be held during the April 16 Planning Board meeting at the Warwick Town Hall.

In other business: Water and sewer

The town received approval from the state health department to connect the new water source for the Pine Island Well, Water and Sewer Deputy Commissioner Matt McPherson said.

McPherson acknowledged the frustration of residents over the project, which began in 2020, taking longer than expected. He said his department is pricing equipment to install the well pump and the remaining equipment needed to turn that well online.

Meanwhile, McPherson said he and other members of his department have been going door to door in Wickham Village to gather income surveys to help the town secure grant funding for required upgrades to the Wickham Sewer District wastewater treatment plant.

He and Dwyer both encouraged residents to turn in the forms or submit them online.

Mountain Lake Park

Warwick Town Recreation Director Samantha Walter discussed progress on the Mountain Lake Park bunkhouses, noting that the electrical upgrades were completed and other work was underway to ensure they will be open for the season. Walter also she believes the town is going to hire about eight new guards from among the attendees at a recent lifeguard job fair.

Trails and culverts

Town Councilman Russell Kowall said that he, Dwyer and DPW Supervisor Ben Astorino checked out the construction progress on the bike/hike trail which would connect the Hickory Hills Gold Course to Cascade Road. Dwyer also said that he thought it was a beautiful trail that was suitable for all hiking abilities.

Dwyer reported that the town was progressing with its culvert replacement project, which would cost about $4 million dollars for both the acquisition of the culverts and the related infrastructure work. He said he was delighted that one of the companies selected to work on the project is Ground Control Excavating, located in Warwick.

“It’s very nice to see that we have qualified, competent good local construction companies and contractors that can win big projects like that,” Dwyer said, “because that’s supporting our local economy.”