At its October 6 meeting, the Mamakating Town Board voted to waive a $10,000 parkland subdivision fee to resolve a 55-year-old property dispute, approved $55,460.95 for a new parks vehicle, and addressed allegations surrounding a cleanup of the historic Roosa Gap Cemetery.

The decision to waive the parkland fee followed a detailed historical overview of the original Cook Farm on Roosa Gap Road, a 55-acre family property held since 1913. In 1971, the land was divided into lots under county regulations. Although individual tax map identification numbers were generated and the family paid separate property taxes on the lots for 55 years, a building permit application filed by a descendant in 2026 was blocked by building inspectors. The town had labeled the division an “illegal subdivision” because the original 1971 map was missing from municipal records.

Board members noted that the town formally stamped a map of connected parcels in 1996 showing the disputed boundaries and that eight separate deeds had passed through town channels without incident. The board voted unanimously to waive the $10,000 retroactive fee for the two lots. Trustees added an explicit justification to the record, noting that the division occurred before modern town zoning and parkland fee laws existed. Officials emphasized that the action does not establish a blanket precedent for nonconforming properties, which will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

A sharp debate emerged during committee reports when Town Historian Virdanna Lawrence presented a letter from the New York State Division of Cemeteries. Lawrence alleged that the town had violated state law during a recent cleanup of the historic Roosa Gap Cemetery, where Revolutionary War soldiers are buried. She claimed that heavy excavating machinery entered the grounds, scraped the grave marker of soldier James Ivory, and left the town vulnerable to lawsuits from descendants.

The town supervisor and board members rejected the claims, describing them as inaccurate and potentially libelous. Officials countered that heavy machinery never approached the cemetery boundaries. According to the board, an excavator dug an access path hundreds of feet away, while crews used only hand-powered leaf blowers inside the burial grounds to clear debris. Board members stated that any structural damage to stones could be traced to boulders that shifted naturally down the mountainside during a residential construction project in 2006.

As of Thursday, October 15, the town had received no notice of an investigation or any violation charges.

The board advanced several financial and asset-related resolutions. Trustees authorized $55,460.95 to purchase a 2024 Dodge Ram 2500 equipped with a plow and light bar for the Parks and Recreation Department. To offset the expenditure, the board approved listing the department’s rusted 2017 Dodge Ram for surplus sale through Auctions International.

The board approved a one-month contract extension for Rutledge Excavating on the O&W Trail FEMA project, allowing the timeline to be adjusted as needed to ensure final seeding occurs before winter weather sets in. Trustees also approved a letter of support for a grant application by the Friends of MEEC (Mamakating Environmental Education Center) to fund an educational intern.

Community updates highlighted upcoming local activities and patriotic events. Councilman James Post promoted the Hudson Valley Honor Flight event at Stewart Airport on October 17, which will honor local Vietnam and Korean War veterans. He described the ceremony as an important display of patriotism. Other events include a Town Hall award ceremony on October 15, the library’s monthly science program featuring a 1970s science-fiction film, and a recent Mamakating Lions Club wellness event that hosted local emergency services and police drone demonstrations.

The board formally scheduled the public hearing on the 2027 preliminary budget for October 20, 2026. Trustees are evaluating cash reallocations to keep the final tax levy safely below the state-mandated tax cap before the budget package goes to a public vote.