Woodstock should reinstate environmental panel chairman

Dear Editor,

On May 17, 2019, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided three properties used by Joseph Karolys as dump sites, resulting in 39 violations of clean water and solid waste disposal laws. DEC test results presented at the end of July indicated the presence of heavy metals such as mercury, lead and zinc; coal ash, coal and slag; and nine chemicals deemed to be “probable carcinogens,” including the banned pesticide, DDT.

In early 2020, it was discovered Karolys had delivered construction and demolition material to 10 Church Road in Shady. At the request of the Woodstock Environmental Commission, the Town Board in October 2020 passed a resolution requiring Vincent Conigliaro to remove the debris from his property. Since learning of the dumping of the construction debris in Shady, the commission has been tenacious in its attempts to have the material tested and removed.

The commission recently learned that test results, which had been available since October of last year, had been withheld from the commission. Not unexpectedly, harsh words were exchanged, and Councilwoman Laura Ricci insisted the solution was to remove Alex Bolotow as commission chair.

This action is inappropriate. The dumping of construction debris in Woodstock is a serious issue, and the town has been well served by Alex’s dedication and perseverance. Woodstockers deserve no less.

A group of Church Road neighbors attended the last Town Board meeting to protest the removal of Alex Bolotow as chair of the environmental commission, and after three years, the lack of action by the board to remove the construction debris.

The Town Board should reappoint Alex as chair of the Environmental Commission.

— Kenneth S. Panza, Woodstock, N.Y.