Chase: "... do not see how this relates ..."

Salenger:  "What can we do for the town ..."

MONTICELLO – Last fall, there were impassioned feelings, on both sides, over Forestburgh resident Stuart Salenger’s request to include his Cold Springs Road menagerie in the Sullivan County Agricultural District.

Salenger is back, with a request to add two isolated parcels, of about 100 acres and seven acres respectively, off private Hatchery Road, in the pristine Neversink Gorge area. 

The Forestburgh Town Board is already on record opposing the inclusion. 

So are several Hatchery Road residents and property owners, including long-time environmentalist and sportsman Philip Chase, who owns a five-acre parcel.

“I don’t know where you can find a better area that’s unique, than the Neversink Gorge.  We have to do everything we can to keep it that way.  Even though I have a background of agriculture, I do not see how that relates to the Neversink Gorge.”

Salenger argued his plan would do exactly what Chase wants. “What can we do for the town and what can we do for the county, is my only goal.  Open space is what I’m planning to do for the future.”

Defenders, including attorney Nicholas Cass, said this proposal largely uses the land in its natural state: growing moss and ferns, which already grow in the area. 

The Ag District designation would also permit beekeeping, causing one letter-writer to worry about whether that would be an open invitation to local bears.

Other Salenger supporters noted his vast contributions to Forestburgh in particular, and to Sullivan County. 

“Thanks” said some, but that’s not the issue here, critics argued.

The resolution calls for including seven new parcels in Agricultural Districts 1 and 4.  As the resolution stands, the parcels cannot be voted on individually. 

There appears to be no controversy on the other parcels, which are spread throughout the county.

A vote on the Ag District was tabled.  A special meeting is scheduled for August 6.  Between now and then, the Planning Department will work up an environmental assessment.