Middletown

By Geoff Samuels
The idea of installing more “city funded” sewer lines in the Town of Middletown has sparked many a spirited debate among residents and town officials to say the least. And since Hurricane Irene, the concept is ever more prescient.

Margaretville — The Middletown Republican Committee will host a dinner on Saturday, April 27 with a social hour beginning at 6 p.m. at the Margaretville Firehall. The dinner will be catered by Mary’s Cookin’ Again. Wines for dinner and sangria for the social hour are being provided by Steve Yaekel of Margaretville Liquor.

By Geoff Samuels
At last Tuesday’s Town of Middletown Board meeting, Supervisor Marge Miller said she had met with Assemblymen Cliff Crouch, Pete Lopez, Senator James Seward, Davenport Supervisor Denis Valente, and Department of Labor representative Tim Grippen in an effort to unravel the problem of the large discrepancy in the state’s prevailing wages across Delaware County.

Margaretville — Ever wonder what stories your old house could tell if its walls could talk?
The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) will host a program Saturday, April 20 by two local homeowners who will recount the history of their homes and will try to give voice to some of the people who lived there.

“House History Hunting,” the first HSM program of 2013, will begin at10 a.m. at the Society’s Hall, 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville. Admission is $2 for members, $4 for all others.

Unearthing tales

By Geoff Samuels
“We want to get everybody on the same page” said Marjorie Miller, chair of the East Branch Flood Commission as she opened last Monday’s monthly meeting.

Topics of discussion at the meeting ranged from FEMA land buy-outs, to this summer’s Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) projects, to the possibility of swapping parcels of land with New York City.

Kent Manual from the Delaware County Planning Department gave an update on the FEMA land buy-out program.

Staff Report
Building activity in the Town of Middletown showed a slight decline in 2012, according to Code Enforcement Officer Patrick Davis.

The CEO presented a report from the Building and Zoning Department to the town board at its February meeting.
The total number of building permits for the township, outside the villages of Margaretville and
Fleischmanns, totaled 117, down two from the previous year.

By Geoff Samuels
Comments on a resolution in support of the continuation of insurance subsidies from the National Flood Insurance Programs’ (NFIP) were aired at Mondays’ Flood Commission Meeting in Middletown.

By Geoff Samuels
Big ideas for solving big problems emerged at Monday mornings’ Flood Commission meeting, but along with them came the stark reality of today’s severe funding limitations. With two major hurricanes having hit the Northeast within a little more than a year’s span, a new sense of urgency could be felt.

By Geoff Samuels
While Delaware County grapples with a roughly five percent surge in its upcoming budget, the Town of Middletown is striving to pare its own expenditures in an effort to stay at or below the state mandated two percent limit on property tax increases.

By Geoff Samuels
A special meeting of the Town of Middletown Board was held on Friday, October 19 to discuss the current achievements in budget reductions and to prepare for the upcoming public hearing on November 7, and the actual budget vote on November 13.

The first order of the meeting was to announce a plan to switch health insurance providers by moving from Mohawk Valley Physicians (MVP) to the Capitol District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP).

If enacted, this would result in a total savings of $53,450, a major reduction.