The Town of Shawangunk juggled several items during its December 5 meeting, including discussions for a grant opportunity that could transform the town’s old police station and new property regulations.

Midway through the meeting, the board took its first steps in applying for Restore NY, an Empire State Development grant program that awards funding to municipalities for revitalizing dilapidated properties. Town Supervisor Ken Ronk Jr. stated that the board would put the money toward demolishing and redeveloping the Shawangunk Police Station into a commercial property, such as a café or grocery store. The board passed a resolution that made the town eligible for the program, authorized the prepayment for the grant application’s $250 fee, and scheduled a public hearing to review the application on Thursday, December 19 at 7 p.m.

“We want to demolish the current police station and turn it into a shovel-ready commercial pad. There are a couple of items we need to do in order to apply for this grant,” Ronk said. “This resolution essentially states that we’re eligible for grant funding under round nine of the Restore NY.”

Following Restore NY, Ronk asked his fellow council members to consider a local law for regulating short-term rentals, noting that Shawangunk contains about 90 rentals. Moving forward, he wants all rental owners to register with the town, undergo routine building inspections, hang up a “good neighbor” poster for guests, and ensure that a responsible party is at least an hour away to address any complaints in person. Ronk hopes to have a short-term rental law finalized and adopted by the beginning of 2025.

“The local law would require registrations and inspections. Having a registration would allow the building inspector to go out and do health and safety inspections, checking if the property has smoke detectors and if all bedrooms have egress,” Ronk said. “Some rental laws have required the properties to be owner-occupied; I don’t agree with that 100%, but I definitely think that there should be a responsible party able to respond to complaints and questions within an hour.”

Ronk also wants to establish a local law regulating food trucks very soon, especially after dealing with an unsafe one on Route 208 in Wallkill.

“The food truck up at the former Elsie’s Place put up a tent and a raised wooden floor. The building inspector spoke with me and the town clerk, and the owner was asked to take it down, and he did,” Ronk said. “It wasn’t bolted down, it wasn’t safe, and at some point, you’re no longer a food truck. You’re a restaurant, you should move everything inside, and that would require site approval from the planning board.”