Hilltown Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, February 9, 2012
Greenville company helps Preston Hollow
RENSSELAERVILLE — Since Tropical Storm Irene pummeled the Hilltowns on Aug. 28, Preston Hollow residents have expressed their concern about the condition of the Catskill Creek, which runs through the hamlet, and caused heavy flood damage to nearby homes when it overflowed during the storm.
Last Monday, Borwegan Excavation and Repair in Greenville donated a day’s worth of work to reshape the creek, in hope of protecting nearby homes from future floods.
Ralph Borwegan, who owns the Greenville-based company, estimated this week that his company performed roughly $3,500-worth of work.
“That bank was actually washed out, back behind the trees a little bit, so we filled that bank back out, and laid those stones up on it,” Borwegan told The Enterprise. “We’ve been doing a lot of work all over Greene County, not as much in Albany County, repairing stream banks, re-sloping them, putting stone back onto them.”
Borwegan, who owns the car wash in Preston Hollow, said that he is connected to the hamlet by his close friendship with residents Joel and Valerie Lousbury, whose home was damaged by the flooding. Valerie Lounsbury was appointed as deputy supervisor late last month after Supervisor Marie Dermody resigned, along with her deputy, former longtime Judge Victor La Plante.
Lounsbury had voiced her concerns with the condition of the creek after the storm hit.
“We need the stream banks restored and stabilized to protect our property,” she told the town board in October, as it sought funding for repairs, “because there’s no point in us investing our money to repair our homes and our property to have it happen again in six months.”
Councilman Robert Bolte said at last week’s special meeting that, while the stream may require additional work, nearby homes will be protected from the spring thaw.
Said Borwegan, “I just did it to help my friends out.”
—By Zach Simeone