Warwick honors two residents for conservation efforts

The Town of Warwick recognized the contributions of community members Geoffrey Howard and Bill Olsen, during a presentation by Warwick town historian Dr. Richard Hull at the October 24 town board meeting.

Hull shared the effort both Howard and Olsen have devoted toward conservation and ensuring important assets of the town will be preserved for future generations. Speaking about Howard, Hull said that he played a key role in Community 2000, developing goals for the town as it moved into the 21st century, was influential in restoring the Wawayanda waterway and served as director of Sustainable Warwick, among other accomplishments. Regarding Olsen, Hull shared that his accomplishments included leading efforts to protect and preserve Cascade Lake and Greenwood Lake, serving as a founding trustee in the Warwick Conservancy, and, as a former member of the Warwick Village Board, helping to draft the 2002 village comprehensive plan.

Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer reiterated the importance of preservation to the town of Warwick, noting that the town is soliciting applicants for the Conservation Board. The board’s responsibilities will include looking at easements and farming operations, as well as other tasks as dictated by the town code. All interested persons may submit a letter to the town board at 132 Kings Highway, Warwick, NY 10990 or via email: supervisor@townofwarwick.org.

Water protections

Dwyer also spoke about the town’s efforts to protect its water bodies and shared that as a MS4-designated area, which requires communities to manage stormwater runoff and prevent pollution, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will be conducting a comprehensive audit to ensure compliance with MS4. Dwyer said the town will work with DPW, the town engineer, and the town attorney to comply with all requirements. In addition, the town board appointed Tectonic Engineering as inspectors of the dam at Cascade Lake. Dwyer explained that the firm will inspect the dam and produce a comprehensive report on its status.

In other water-related news, Dwyer shared that the town met the deadline for completing its lead service line inventory and identified the known and unknown status of service lines. Dwyer shared that those living in an area where it is unknown if the service lines are lead-based will receive a notification informing them that they may have a lead service line. If anyone determines that they do have a lead service line, Dwyer added, the town will replace those lines.

Filming locally

Acknowledging the growing number of production companies looking to film in the town, Dwyer reported that the town was working on refining its film permit code, as well as assessing additional costs to them. The supervisor noted that these film companies often close roads and utilize town services, so the town wants to ensure that it is generating revenue from them.

During the public comment period, resident Danielle Sinisi asked if the code would differentiate between smaller, independent films and larger productions. Dwyer responded that the fees would be assessed on different components, one being staff size. He explained that smaller production crews (giving the estimate of under 50 people) would continue to pay the $250 per day fee, however larger crews, such as ones produced by Netflix, which can often have more than 100 people on site, will potentially have to pay a larger fee.

Dwyer added that the reasoning behind this assessment is largely due to the impact of filming on the residents, noting that smaller productions shoot on private property are not impacting the town in the same way as larger productions, and that the town is not looking to get any more money from independent or small film crews.

Other business

Dwyer shared that the town is progressing toward completing its 2025 budget and thanked the board and the town department heads for their hard work. A public hearing on the preliminary budget will be held on November 7.

During the meeting, the town put out a call for bids for town services including emergency contractor with equipment, electrician, plumber, HVAC, cemetery maintenance and Kings Estate maintenance. All sealed bids must be received by the town clerk on or before December 9.