‘Discovery Path’ to wind through the grounds
The Desmond-Fish Public Library hopes to enhance its landscape in Garrison with a pathway that meanders through diverse habitats and a solar array that will lessen its reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.
The Philipstown Planning Board, which has been reviewing the details of the “Discovery Path” proposal, scheduled a public hearing via Zoom for Thursday (Feb. 18) to get reaction from residents.
The Desmond-Fish director, Jen McCreery, told the Planning Board in December that the library intends to create a “solar ribbon” of panels on poles that blends into the natural landscape, for what project architect Laura Pirie called a form of “light floating above the ground.”
Plans call for the 3-foot-wide, wheelchair-accessible Discovery Path to wind through a pollinator garden, a dry meadow of grasses, young forest, wet meadow and wetland, and established woodland. The update would also include a readers’ garden. The library property covers 11.5 acres, with a small stream.
Overall, the project reflects the belief that the library “is at the heart of the community and takes that responsibility seriously,” Pirie said.
Route 9 warehouse
After several months of scrutiny and public feedback, the Planning Board last month voted 5-2 to approve a 20,340-square-foot warehouse and offices planned for Route 9 about a third of a mile south of the Route 301 intersection. The two Planning Board members who voted “no” cited concerns about traffic safety.
A Philipstown firm, CRS International, which imports and distributes fashion brands, said last year it would employ about 30 people at the location and expects one or two tractor-trailers and four or five box trucks to enter and exit the site each day.
