WHITE LAKE, NY — The Bethel town board and the highway superintendent have come to a compromise on the use of calcium chloride on town roads. The highway superintendent, William Crumley, had had a tank installed on a town truck to allow the highway department to spread calcium chloride on dirt roads to keep the dust down, but when some board members learned Crumley also planned to use calcium chloride to melt snow, they declined to authorize payment for the tank.

At the town meeting on July 8, Supervisor Dan Sturm said he and Crumley had reached an agreement that allows the highway department to use the calcium chloride to keep dust down, and any use for melting snow will not begin until January 2016, and such use “will include the proper procurement, discussions and approval from the board as required.” Sturm added that the town will be creating sand from the newly created town sand mine.

Sturm also read aloud a letter from Jeryl Abramson. The letter thanked the board and also Crumley for coming up with a solution to keeping Yasgur Road in decent shape, and that solution was the use of calcium chloride.

In other business, the board passed an amendment to the town’s solid waste law. Sturm said the updated law will allow town officials to go onto a property to remove items such as multiple junked cars or other kinds of waste and add the cost of such removal to the property owner’s tax bill.

There was a lengthy discussion involving two residents who were concerned the updated law would be used to put existing junkyards out of business. Sturm said that was not the intent of the law, and it would not be used in that manner, and the board passed the amendment.