Church, left, with one of several graphics used during the session

MINISINK – Town of Minisink residents were invited to a public information meeting Wednesday where the possible acquisition of the 7.5 miles of abandoned rail trail connecting Westtown and Unionville was discussed.

In 2008, the Middletown-New Jersey Railroad officially abandoned the property that is south of Slate Hill and it was agreed upon by both the towns of Minisink and Wawayanda that the piece of property should be preserved and used for the benefit of the public at large. To that end, Orange County filed and received a federal grant in the amount of $340,000, to be matched with a 20 percent county contribution, that would allow for the purchase of the property for a conversion to a rail trail.

County Planning Commissioner David Church said there is support for this project.

“We know already there is public support for this because we have been working with the two towns for nearly a year-and-a-half,” he said.

The residents on hand were in favor of the conversion of the property to a rail trail.  However, one resident did question the wisdom of using such a grant for the improvement given the state of the economy.  A second resident also voiced concern about security on the trail, security for the property of landowners who lived near the trail and the quality of life that the current landowners have being maintained.

County Parks Commissioner Richard Rose said that rail trails actually improve the quality of life for the landowners who live near them and raise the property values.  Rose also said that there is a government agency, the Rails and Trails Conservancy, which provides statistics on these matters and that “it’s a nationwide phenomenon.”