Walton get stormwater grants; Phoenicia loan approved

MARGARETVILLE, Feb. 18, 2009 - The Town of Walton will receive funding for three stormwater improvement projects following action by the Catskill Watershed Corporation Board of Directors February 3.

A total of $290,742 from the CWC’s Stormwater Retrofit Program will assist the Town in stabilizing road banks and ditches, installing culverts, and improving drainage infrastructure on Bob Gould and Walton Mountain Roads, and the Oxbow Hollow drainage basin, which includes Oxbow Hollow, Budine Hill and Crawford Roads.

The town will contribute more than $51,000 in in-kind labor and materials towards the projects, which will be designed by C&S Engineers of Syracuse.

The improvements will reduce erosion and sediment transport to the tributaries of the West Branch of the Delaware River which feeds the Cannonsville Reservoir.

At its regular monthly meeting February 3, the CWC Board also approved a low-interest loan to Brian Battista and Sara Loughlin, owners of the Phoenicia Motor Village, to acquire an adjoining property, the former Woodland Valley Inn.

The couple plans to renovate the building to provide additional lodging quarters. They will also improve the landscaping to create a unified outdoor seating area for the two properties.

Battista and Loughlin acquired the six-unit Phoenicia Motor Village in 2005 with assistance from the CWC and Ulster Savings Bank

The next meeting of the CWC Board of Directors will be held Tuesday, March 3 at 1 p.m. The public is invited.

For more information on CWC’s environmental protection, economic development and education programs, visit www.cwconline.org, or call 845-586-1400.