In an effort to improve ambulance service in Pine Bush, the Shawangunk Town Board has created an ambulance district in that area of the town and will hire an ambulance corps to service it.

The board held a public hearing prior to approving a resolution to create the new district by a 4-0 vote at its August 3 meeting. The board heard numerous complaints about the lack of timely response from various volunteer ambulances that respond to calls.

According to a plan released prior to the vote, the Town of Shawangunk will enter into an agreement with the Pine Bush Area Ambulance Corps or possibly another ambulance company to provide service to the Pine Bush ambulance district.

The amount to be raised in taxes to pay for the ambulance service in the area is estimated to cost $77,550 annually, according to a report released by the Town of Shawangunk.

Based on a $300,000 house assessed at $45,000 (15 percent equalization rate), the homeowner in the district would pay $66 in taxes the first year, according to the town’s report.

The new ambulance district will be governed by the Shawangunk Town Board. Tax rates for all special districts in the town are subject to annual review by the Town Board and the affected property owners.

The ambulance company selected by the town will operate Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with paid staff. Volunteers will cover the remaining nights and weekends.

“We’re hoping it’ll work,” Town Supervisor John Valk said. “You can’t make people (volunteers) get up out of bed and go help somebody else. I’ve always said it takes a good volunteer to get out of bed in the middle of January when it’s below zero to help somebody.”

Valk said the board will negotiate a contract with an ambulance corps to provide the services in the area unless a permissive referendum is requested within the next 30 days.

“If that occurs, this will be delayed,” Valk said.

Adrienne Gelfand-Perine, who is running for the Town Board as a Democrat, agreed with the move even though some members of the public expressed some dissatisfaction with the plan.

“When you start something new, there’s always going to be problems,” she said. “Along the way, you address these problems as they come. Volunteerism is the key to every single service that we have here. If we supplement it, we have to address the residents’ needs. I urge the board to vote for this.”

After the meeting, Valk said under the current system, ambulances serving the Pine Bush district come from the Wallkill Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the towns of Mamakating, Wallkill and Crawford.

“They’re coming from all over and it’s not fair,” Valk said. “It’s straining their services as well.”

The board also approved by a 4-0 vote Local Law No. 2 of 2023 that codifies the existing zoning laws into one volume that will be known as Chapter 177 of the Town of Shawangunk code.

Currently, the zoning law consists of the zoning laws from 1999 with 21 separate local law amendments since that time.

“The Town Board finds it is in the public interest to codify all of the amendments into one volume,” the local law read. “Additionally, the 2009 Zoning Map of the Town has been updated to reflect all map changes previously adopted through January 2023.”

Town Planning Board member Richard Barnhart, who was the only member of the public to speak during the public hearing on the local law, urged the board to pass it.

“The Planning Board unanimously voted the other night to support the codification,” Barnhart said. “All of that material filling up binders and other devices should all be put in one workable document. I can’t imagine why anybody would oppose it. It’s a positive step and should be done.”