The Facts About Medline’s Facility In The Town of Montgomery.

Medline is a fourth generation family-owned and family-run healthcare company. We’ve been part of the Hudson Valley community for more than a decade, and more than 1,000 people, including employees and their family members, are considered part of the Medline family. As healthcare has grown and evolved in New York, so too has Medline. With growth comes questions about community needs and impact. This page is meant to provide information and give you answers to frequently asked questions.

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Why is Medline closing the facility in the town of Wawayanda?

Medline has outgrown the Wawayanda facility and is expanding to meet the growing need of healthcare providers in the region.

In hopes of our employees staying at jobs close to where they live and work now, we’d prefer to expand locally. Our employees are the heart and soul of our business and a large reason for our growth – we very much would like to keep those jobs here while providing timely and essential medical supplies to local healthcare providers.

Medline has sold the Wawayanda site to Morgan Stanley who plans to lease the building. Medline will remain as a fully taxpaying tenant until it relocates to Montgomery. Wawayanda and Minisink schools will continue to collect taxes on the improved property. The Supervisor of the Town of Wawayanda has recently attested to Medline’s good corporate citizenship.

Will Medline leave Montgomery once its PILOT has ended?

No. Medline has a long-term commitment to Montgomery and that will remain even after the PILOT Agreement is concluded.

Decisions to remain at or leave a location are not a function of ongoing incentives but are driven by considerations of business needs and evolving technology. Medline is investing $120 million in Montgomery – an investment that should reassure you that we intend to be part of the community and a major employer for a long time. The ongoing and increasing needs of healthcare providers and their patients in the region are the main driver of our growth.

What benefits will Medline provide to Montgomery or the community at large?

Medline will provide the following benefits:

  • 700 jobs in Orange County, including:
    • 300+ newly created jobs
    • 340 retained jobs
  • 300 construction jobs
  • Patron support for Montgomery businesses
  • $120 million investment in land, building and equipment
  • A minimum of 2 megawatt of roof top solar panels capable of producing up to 50% of the facilities needed energy
  • A donation of a minimum of $25,000 of medical supplies/equipment per year to Montgomery first responder agencies.
  • A fair share contribution toward the planned upgrade of the sewage treatment plant.
  • Conservative storm water treatment measures at the site to protect the Wallkill River, an improvement to current conditions that allow entirely untreated storm water from the site.
  • Enable Aden Brook Farm to expand its agricultural business up to 950 acres including 475 acres in Montgomery and up to another 475 acres elsewhere in Orange County.

Does Medline handle radioactive chemicals at its Wawayanda facility?

No. Medline does not handle any radioactive materials. Our facility is purely used to distribute medical supplies to healthcare organizations across the continuum of care in the region, such as hospitals, physician offices, home health agencies, nursing homes and surgery centers. We do not manufacture anything at the facility.

Will Medline harm the African-American Cemetery?

No, the cemetery will not be physically altered or disturbed by the Medline project. Our building will not be visible from the cemetery, and no employee or truck traffic from Medline will be permitted to use or turn into the privately-owned drive area adjoining the cemetery. We look forward to working with the Town and State to enhance the public’s knowledge and use of the African-American Cemetery.

What is the impact on local and regional agriculture, specifically Aden Brook Farms?

With the sale of the land to Medline, Aden Brook Farms will add 372 additional acres to its agri-business operations in Montgomery. Medline’s conversion of the 103 acres of land used by Aden Brook Farms will be more than replaced locally, and Aden Brook has indicated it has plans for even more acreage acquisition in Orange County in the future — up to a total of 950 acres for farming operations within the County.

The site is within a designated Priority Growth Area of the County, so none of the County’s designated areas for protected Open Space or protected farmland are being used for the project. The amount of prime agricultural land being converted is less than 1 percent of prime agricultural land in the County. The Town of Montgomery has already preserved approximately 2,000 acres of farmland within the Town which is the second highest preservation amount in the County.

Will the Medline facility impact the Wallkill River?

No. The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Control Plan (SWWP) prepared for the project will prevent stormwater runoff pollution from the Medline site both during construction and operation and will improve the current site condition where no storm water control is in place.

The SWPP for the site provides a very conservative plan for stormwater treatment which implements multiple levels of treatment of stormwater runoff during construction and operation. The plan will incorporate additional stormwater protection measures being developed by the Town for large industrial projects including the provision of additional measures to address sedimentation concerns associated with very fine soils on the Medline site.

Will the Medline building be visible from miles around?

The Medline building will have limited visibility. The building is slated to be located on the far east portion of the property, set far back from Route 416. The design will reduce roadside visibility as will the additional landscaping proposed.

The site plan uses a combination of fencing and ample landscaping to reduce and minimize visibility of the building. The building will be screened from view of the African-American cemetery as well.

View of the building will be substantially obstructed from the closest residences to the property, and strategically placed evergreen trees may block visibility of the entirety of the building. The building will not be visible from the closest residential properties in the Village of Montgomery and will be partially visible from the intersection of Canning Road and SR416. From Thomas Bull Memorial park the view of the building will be mostly of existing vegetation and topography with small portions visible in the far distance.

Is Medline receiving continued tax benefits and incentives such as the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement in Wawayanda?

No, our PILOT in Wawayanda expires this year. Medline greatly values its current employees and appreciates the local community and its strong work ethic in the Hudson Valley. We are remaining in New York and expanding operations based on the needs of healthcare.

As we expand in New York, Medline will continue to invest in the community and create 300 additional jobs. In doing so, Medline is eligible to receive additional tax benefits and incentives as we reach our goals for investment and job creation.

The incentive package has yet to be approved.

What kind of noise can local residents expect from Medline operations?

Because this is a warehouse and distribution center and not a manufacturing facility, we don’t anticipate any new level of noise from Medline operations. Noise analyses have been performed and indicate that during operation, operations at the facility will not exceed already ambient noise conditions resulting from its proximity to I-84.

Sensitive noise receptors are sufficiently distant from and buffered by vegetation and topography to further attenuate noise. New technology and operational restrictions will be in place to address any truck idling noise. Noise from rooftop solar inverters will be imperceptible off site. Construction noise will be in accordance with Town regulations and be limited to hours of the day when construction activity is permitted.

Will Medline’s truck traffic adversely impact or damage properties in the Village of Montgomery?

No. Medline truck traffic will not be permitted to go through the Village of Montgomery and we’ve planned a host of measures to prevent truck traffic from impacting the Village. These measures are detailed in the Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

The prohibition of track traffic through the Village will be enforced by the Town making it a condition of Medline’s use of the property and we also will work to enforce that with our drivers.

The commitment remains even in the event of a closure of 416 at Neelytown Road in which event Medline trucks will be routed to 211 into Middletown. In the highly unlikely event that 211 and Neelytown both are closed (projected 1x in every 50 years), Medline will cut back on operations and only use 211 through the Village if required to meet immediate emergency supply needs of healthcare providers in its service area. Such use will be done in conjunction with local and State Police coordination. There will be no damage to Village properties from Medline truck traffic because no truck traffic is permitted to traverse the Village. Vibration analysis within the Village further demonstrates no damage even if truck traffic were permitted to go into the Village.

Furthermore, Medline will upgrade at its own expense known and pre-existing road safety conditions in the Neelytown Road corridor and vicinity.

Is the Medline property on the edge and effectively part of the Village of Montgomery?

No. The Medline site is in the immediate vicinity of Interstate 84 and Neelytown Road. The Medline site is within a large expanse of industrially zoned land including the industrially zoned Orange County airport which is on the edge the Village.

The nearest point of the Medline site to the Village of Montgomery is in excess of 1,200 feet (i.e. .22 miles). Between Medline and the Village lies other industrially zoned land in the Town of Montgomery.

Does the current Town of Montgomery zoning code allow the Medline warehouse and distribution facility or are you looking for changes?

Yes, the Town of Montgomery zoning code expressly permits the Medline’s proposed use.

The property is located in the Town’s I-1 Industrial Park Zoning District. Warehouse/Distribution Centers are specially permitted uses in the I-1 Zoning District. Medline’s proposed facility has been designed to meet all zoning requirements including the requirement to eliminate views of its truck loading bays from Route 416.

How do Medline jobs compare to others? Do workers have the ability to earn sufficient income to live in Montgomery?

It’s important for Medline to be an employer of choice. We’ve been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare for three consecutive years.

Medline’s pay scale ranges from $24.00 to $65.00 per hour inclusive of bonus, healthcare benefit and other benefits. This pay scale range together with the value of the benefits package meets the Orange County, NY living wage standard for the most typical household configurations. That compares with the living wage for Orange County, New York

http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36071