Damascus discusses farming easements

By TOM RUE

DAMASCUS - A statewide referendum to be voted this November was a topic at the September 7th meeting of the Damascus Township Supervisors. The ballot question will ask: Do you favor the incurring of indebtedness by the commonwealth of $100 million for the purchase of agricultural easements for the preservation of agricultural land for a period of 25 land or in perpetuity?

Township secretary Charles Rutledge read extracts from material provided by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) on the proposed bond issue, and voiced a number of questions on behalf of the board. He promised to research the matter and make a report at the September 21 meeting.

Rutledge said a major concern of Damascus Township is that the proposed land use easements should be voluntary on the part of the landowner. "Does he have to accept this easement or can he tell them to go fish?" Rutledge asked rhetorically.

If approved, the measure would make money available to pay farmers for a promise that their land will continue in its present use, either for 25 year segments or forever. "It kind of sounds to me like a fish in a barrel," said Rutledge with apparent suspicion.

A PSATS newsletter provided by Rutledge encouraged officials to vote "Yes" on the farmland preservation referendum. "The State Association has joined together with farm leaders and organizations in Pennsylvania to support the passage of the referendum, which many feel is the best chance for protecting the state's agricultural land from impending growth and development," the publication said.

Rutledge said the matter would be discussed at an upcoming meeting of Wayne County township supervisors.

At the same convention, Milt Groesbeck of River Road asked that the board "acquaint Wayne County with their pesky problem." He said some older residents who live along the Delaware are concerned about a lack of police protection, "but are reluctant to come out to these meetings because of the treatment people sometimes get right here in the audience."

Groesbeck reminded the supervisors that an unconditional annual grant is available from the National Park Service (NPS) for a river patrol, should they vote to accept the money again. A township police officer was funded until last year, when the supervisors yielded to pressure by some area residents and told the NPS they would no longer accept the money.

Acceptance of a "no strings attached" federal assistance would not imply approval of the NPS presence, according to park service officials. However, three residents at the meeting objected to accepting the funds in 1988, voicing distrust of NPS promises.

Groesbeck also asked the supervisors to obtain a legal opinion concerning the township's ability to prevent possible future damming of Calkins Creek for hydro-electric purposes, which would flood Milanville. He noted several hydro dams which have been proposed on Upper Delaware tributaries.

In another matter, Trudy L'Hernault told the supervisors that the apparent raw sewage in the river at Narrowsburg which she reported three weeks ago "miraculously cleared up after that meeting [August 17] and now it comes back sporadically."

Rutledge said he would contact the Delaware River Basin Commission concerning the outcome of water purity tests conducted this summer.

In other business, the supervisors: reported that a Galilee Road sewage problem has been cleared up; read a letter from the Bureau of Census requesting help to identify potential errors in the 1988 census count; read a "status report" from the Delaware Community Center in Callicoon; and approved the consolidation of the township's existing zoning ordinances into one volume.

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