Layoffs At Belleayre

"We might have done it a little earlier and we might have done a few more, but we do this every year," he said.
Those let go, Lanza said, were what are called seasonal employees. Each year the lay offs begin in March and continue through the end of the season, which runs until mid April. The rest of the time Belleayre is manned by a skeleton crew of full time workers.
"In eight weeks we're gonna lay off 400 more," Lanza said.
But one cannot view the recent lay offs without wondering what lies ahead for the ski center.
In the news last week was an announcement that New York State plans on closing or drastically reducing the operation of many of its state parks this year. Belleayre does not fall within the State Park system, but beginning last year it has suffered from budget cuts of its own supplied by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, under whose aegis it operates, along with most of the parks we know in our area, including Wilson, in Woodstock, Woodland Valley, outside Phoenicia, and Devil's Tombstone and North-South Lake in neighboring Hunter.
Asked what is in store for Belleayre in 2010, Lanza said only that nothing has been decided.
"The next fiscal year begins on April 1," he noted.
In question will be whether or not the DEC will open the popular Belleayre Day Use Center, otherwise known as the Pine Hill beach, a warm weather attraction at the base of the ski mountain. Then there is the equally popular fall festival, which two years ago suffered under the budget axe and had to be moved to Arkville. That same year Belleayre opened late in the season, and then closed early. It remains unclear whether DEC will issue a similar directive for the 2010-2011 ski season.
The following list indicates the number of state park proposed to be closed within specific regions of the state: Six parks on Long Island; One park in New York City region; Two parks in Palisades Region; Two parks in Taconic Region; Four parks in Capital Region; Eight parks in Central Region; Six parks in Finger Lakes Region; Seven parks in Thousand Islands Region; One park in Genesee Region; Four parks in Niagara Region; One park in Allegany Region.
And that's not looking at the details, which include the closing down of some treasures, such as the New Windsor Cantonment outside Newburgh, where Washington harbored the Continental Army for a season after defeating the British; and the Clark Reservation in the western p[art of the state, once the crown jewel of the entire system.
In addition to the park closings there are numerous historic site closings as well as reduced park hours, closures of public swimming pools and beach areas.
On the plus side, much discussion is underway about ways to keep such recreation opportunities open, as well as the meager savings to be had.
It's turning out to be a harsher winter than any of us quite expected.
But let's see what happens during the upcoming round of state budget talks...

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Resort Moving Forward?

With no new pronouncement of immanent ground-breaking and fewer references than usual to public opposition to the project, Gitter's tone seemed uncharacteristically subdued, verging on noncombative. He outlined at length his company's projections of the project's economic benefits, essentially unchanged in the many years since they were first presented for public review. And in addressing the controversial Agreement in Principal reached in 2007 between his company Crossroads Ventures, state and city regulators and other parties under former Governor Spitzer's executive authority, Gitter reiterated its basic sobriety, saying "Spitzer may have taken the tabloid train out of town but nobody ever accused him of being dumb."
He further described that agreement by saying "we are in partnership in the design and operation of the project" with seven of the environmental groups which signed on to the non-binding agreement conceptually allowing expanded development on the company's western landholdings in exchange for selling its eastern ones to the state. According to Gitter that acquisition is "almost complete." DEC has confirmed that dedicated funds from the state's Environmental Protection Fund will be available, with the expected price in the $6 million range for just over 1,200 acres. Whether state acquisition of the former Highmount ski area will be included in that transaction remains unclear.
On the larger issue of potential regulatory progress for the project, as of press time DEC indicated it has still not received any submissions from Crossroads subsequent to its 2008 scoping for the Spitzer-AIP proposal. Accordingly, the entire project remains on hold, including public release of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center's long awaited Unit Management Plan, pending receipt of the company's response to questions raised at that time and the resumption of its SEQRA process.
But according to Gitter "we are now completing a totally new SDEIS (Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement)." What that document will contain remains for the moment conjectural, though Gitter has previously indicated it will reflect "as envisioned" the 2007 AIP. While many in attendance at last week's breakfast had expected a preview of at least some modifications to that plan, the only one announced was a design change for the proposed Highmount Spa and hotel complex. New plans as indicated by an artist's rendering shown for the first time, call for that complex to be rendered as an underground, earth-sheltered multistory building, to be blasted from and constructed within nearly the existing profile of Belleayre Ridge. The change appears intended to render it "virtually invisible" from the Dry Brook Valley to the south, in response to residents concerns there. According to Gitter, the spa-hotel's design includes an interior space constructed and planted to reflect "the original mountain as it might have been."
The Spitzer-AIP plan, in total, calls for two major building sites on 760 acres, containing 928 guest and lodging rooms in approximately 55 buildings and entailing about 1.2 million square feet of construction. Both complexes would be directly served by new lifts and trails to be built and operated by the state-owned ski center. Total anticipated costs for the taxpayer-funded portions of the proposed joint project are currently about $69 million. If ultimately permitted, private investment in the project would exceed $400 million, with Gitter indicating he expected to see a reduction in construction costs based on weakness in the regional economy. He also asserted that by the time it was required, "institutional funding will be available."
"I do not intend to move on," said Gitter, "until I have seen the completion of the Belleayre Resort."
In response, the Catskill Heritage Alliance issued a statement saying that Gitter's remarks contained little new substance and lacked specifics, and holding the company directly responsible for the project's delays. The group asserts that claimed economic benefits are unsubstantiated and that Crossroads has never addressed 2006 findings by the State Comptroller that it underestimated both environmental impacts and economic risks because of faulty assumptions. It recommends that regulators discontinue actions related to the Spitzer-AIP's permitting process, pending a market & financial analysis that corrects deficiencies noted by the Comptroller, and pending the public release of commitments both for project financing and from a nationally recognized resort operator.
The group also recommends that DEC move forward promptly with proposed uncontroversial improvements to the ski center that are unrelated to the Crossroads project.
"The issues involved, from new precedents for mountaintop development to construction traffic and municipal tax compensation, they're all issues of local community impact, and those are our primary concern" said Aaron Bennett, new Regional Director for Catskill Mountainkeeper.
"Thus far, Crossroads refusal to consider parameters of scale more appropriate to our local communities remains a real issue for us. But we'll just have to wait and see what the company's really proposing when the SDEIS is finally submitted."
A second outing of Gitter's current presentation will occur at the Ulster County Legislative Chambers on Tuesday, March 9 at 6:00 PM, under the aegis of the body's new Tourism Committee head. The presentation has been allotted a full half hour for both discussion and any questions and answers that might ensue.

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New At The Catskill Center

Previous director Lisa Rainwater resigned abruptly after less than two years in her position, and a major staff downsizing ordered by the 40-year old organization's Board of Directors. Former CCCD Program Director Aaron Bennett is now serving as Regional Director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, based in Sullivan County.
H. Claude Shostal, President of the Catskill Center Board, stated that White 's selection was made after an extensive search that resulted in numerous qualified candidates. "Alan was selected because of his extensive executive experience working for non profit organizations in the Catskill region, his deep commitment to the Catskills and his understanding of the issues currently being faced by the residents of the area," Shostal said. "We feel extremely fortunate that someone of Alan's unique background and stature will be taking over the leadership of our organization." "It's kind of a humbling experience to be given an opportunity like this," said White, noting his commitment to maintaining the organization's role as a leading force for regional advocacy in "a balanced way. "This pulls from my entire background in the Catskills since 1982."
White noted that he had no intention of pushing land policy matters over other projects, and looks to be pulling from his having worked with so many of the key players in the area to help make the Catskill Center more effective. He added that he would take a couple of months, now, to get to know the organization before setting a new agenda. He added that, with his experience, he has no qualms about meeting the not-for-profit's fundraising needs. As for the recent upheavals, White was circumspect. "I think the board has made some very difficult decisions that position us to move in a stronger forward direction," he noted. "The Catskills are a big region... I don't look at things in terms of competition but in terms of the challenges to be faced. The region benefits from new organizations." "The appointment of Alan ensures the leadership needed to keep the Catskill Center competitive during these economic times, added Interim Executive Director Daniel Palm. "His ability to think strategically and build partnerships, combined with his intimate knowledge of the region, bode well for the future of the Catskill Center and the region," For more information on the Catskill Center and its activities, call 586-2611 or visit www.catskillcenter.org. Welcome aboard, Alan!

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Grass Pellets

As for the pellets... CWC Board of Directors was recently briefed on the status of their project by Paul Cerosaletti of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Delaware County, which was contracted by CWC to conduct the study.
Five indoor stoves and five outdoor, biomass hydronic furnaces have been installed at six sites in Delaware, Greene and Ulster Counties. The three-year pilot project, funded by $195,500 from the Catskill Fund for the Future, has installed units in offices and highway garages at Franklin, Andes, Hunter and Jewett, and at and the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge. A unit will soon be installed at Brookside Hardware in Margaretville, as well.
The Harmon P68 pellet stove in a recreation and dining hall at the Ashokan Center will be demonstrated from 11 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 6, with Cerosaletti giving a presentation on grass pellet technology at 2 p.m.
The pilot project is monitoring all ten devices for effectiveness, efficiency, and operation and maintenance issues. Air quality impacts will also be evaluated. Preliminary results have been positive, according to Cerosaletti.
The first device, a biomass furnace installed to heat the Town of Franklin highway garage, has used half a ton of grass pellets per week since October 2009, supplemented by only 75 gallons of fuel oil during this period. Historically, the building has required up to 125 gallons per week (up to 200 gallons during especially cold weather).
Grass pellets, which cost $225 per ton, represent a significant potential savings to the town, and can reduce the town's reliance on fossil fuels and foreign energy sources, while keeping all of the municipality's energy dollars in the local economy. Testing stoves, tweaking them to work well with grass biomass, perfecting pellet production and conducting cost-benefit analyses will help propel the development of grass pellets as a low-tech, small-scale, environmentally-friendly, renewable energy source that can be locally produced, processed and consumed, allowing unused or underutilized agricultural land to once again be a source of revenue and jobs.
Said Cerosaletti, "We are in the infancy of understanding and developing robust, high efficiency, residential scale biomass combustion technology in the United States. I am confident we will be able to make the technology work. Pellet stoves and furnaces in general are extremely efficient, low-emission devices."
Added CWC Executive Director Alan Rosa, "Once it's perfected, this technology will give residents and businesses alternatives to heating their home, stores or offices. CWC believes that this may be cost effective and at the same time give farms another source of income in these challenging economic times."
Pellets for these stoves are being produced by EnviroEnergy LLC (www.enviroenergyny.com), a firm started in 2008 by Bob and May Miller and son and daughter-in-law Mike and Mary Lou in Wells Bridge, Otsego County. They have been purchasing hay from farmers within a 40-mile radius. Working part time, the plant has been producing about three tons of pellets a day. In addition to supplying the CWC project, they sell pellets by the 40-pound bag to individual homeowners who had primarily used wood pellets in their pellet stoves.
The Millers, former dairy farmers, have made great strides in developing a durable, optimum pellet size with consistent energy content with a BTU comparable to wood pellets, Cerosaletti says. The company has become a registered biomass processor under the USDA Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which will offer subsidies to farmers to produce biomass.
Already, two other entrepreneurs have expressed interest in establishing pellet plants locally, Cerosaletti said. But first, the demand for pellet stoves that can work with a variety of biomass sources needs to be proved....
As for the rest of the upcoming Maple Fest... The highlight of the 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM event will be a trip to Ashokan's hand-hewn pine sugar shack. After participants receive their fill of maple sugar for the day, a shuttle will return them to the main campus for other Fest events in the Center's 19th century setting including crafts demonstrations, old-time music, contests, and loads of "Living History." For more info visit www.AshokanCenter.org or call 657-8333.

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The Budget Takes Shape

Meetings aside, the district continues to provide budget information for 2010/2011 on its website. The latest installment, a six-page budget outline from Superintendent Leslie Ford, was posted in the past week.
The board asked the administration to look at the following areas to reduce: administration, textbooks, conferences, field trip, athletic teams, salary freezes and transportation. By page four, Ford presents proposed cuts, with some not fully in line with the board requests. Programs that she cites for elimination include: after school homework help, INDIE, Gifted and Talented and summer school. Special Education instruction cuts that Ford lists includes in-house GED (replaced by BOCES), two special educators and one speech therapist through attrition, and an estimated seven teacher aides. Music cuts would include the reduction of one part time teacher. Athletics, field trips and conferences have no specific reductions to date.
Salary freezes will need board consensus, according to Ford. The board is also considering shuttering West Hurley elementary for a savings around $44,000.
Administrative cuts include the consolidation of the Middle/High school offices, eliminating one typist. Ford does not recommend larger cuts mulled over in past board discussions, including merging the Director of Pupil Personnel and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. The administrative cabinet also does not recommend the elimination of the District Assessment Team (DAT) and returning the responsibilities back to teachers and special educators, as the board has discussed. Eliminating textbook purchases are also not a recommendation.
The board is targeting a $1.5 million reduction in budget in order to present voters with a four percent levy increase. If the budget is rejected two times by voters, the district could face a projected $3 million shortfall.
Ford wrote that the budget challenges extend over the "next two years regarding Federal, State and district revenue sources."
She listed the three largest areas of concern as a $685,000 reduction in State aid, elimination of the Federal stimulus money by 2012, and a projected loss of $100,000 in interest earned through Onteora's financial accounts. Increased costs include fuel, electricity, benefits, contractual obligations and additional State mandates which commonly carry insufficient funding.
A wealth of information can be found by going to the district website at Onteora.k12.ny.us. To the left of the page is a Board Doc listing where all budget information can be found.
Not included as part of the budget process, but currently on the district's agenda for discussion is the consolidation of all Kindergarten-through-grade two, mainstreamed special education classes. Beginning next school year, special education students who have Individual Education Plans (IEP) that require consultant teacher services will be transferred from their home school of either Woodstock or Phoenicia to Bennett Elementary.
Consultant teacher services are special educators who act as part of a mainstream classroom that offer help to students with special education needs. Under section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students with disabilities are entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the least restrictive setting. According to district policy. students with disabilities attend school, "as close as possible to the student's home."
This policy appears to be refuted by a letter posted on the district's website from Neelanjan Choudhury, Esq. of Donoghue, Thomas, Auslander and Drohan, LLP. The letter states that unless it is specified in the students IEP, "a student's placement is usually not confined to a geographic location."
Choudhury wrote, "I believe the district has the authority to consolidate all the co-teaching to Bennett if it so chooses."

 

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