(News Briefs February 15, 2007)

Cellular Woes
With a very weak communication signal coming from Masterpage Communications these days, the Shandaken Town Board has sent out a signal to owner Kevin Kellerhouse to come to town and explain just what is going on, if anything, with the construction of a cell tower at Glenbrook Park in Shandaken.
Compounding the company's problems is the fact that after forcing through okays to put a tower on South Mountain in Olive, it now seems that project has also hit nearly fatal snags. Verizon, set to be a major tenant on the South Mountain tower, is now reportedly seeking permission from Olive to build its own tower near the towns transfer station on Beaverkill Road, claiming that the South Mountain tower won’t really suit Verizon’s needs.
Masterpage is refusing all calls from the press these days, but it should be noted they have never really cooperated much with local media during the long-running legal problems with the South mountain Project approval several years ago, then with more recent legal wrangles with property owners near the South Mountain site.
Olivians are scratching their heads as much as Shandakenites lately, looking for answers as to when they can get any cellular signal.
The tower on South Mountain in Olive is up but not yet operational. Last summer Chris Buckey, the attorney representing Masterpage, said the company had found itself in litigation with one landowner that claimed there are right of way issues that need ironing out but that litigation, according to Buckey, has no bearing on Masterpage’s progress on the project. The status of the lawsuit was unclear this week, though sources say it remains unresolved.
In August Buckey was not able to speak as freely about the plans for a tower in Shandaken because, he said, Masterpage owner Kevin Kellerhouse chose not to use an attorney when putting the deal together with the town. However, Buckey said he was familiar with the plans for the project and insisted that nothing has changed, that Masterpage intends to build on the Glenbrook Park site as soon as possible.
But many in Shandaken, six months after Buckey’s remarks, still wonder when that will be. After highly publicized talks during the 2005 election season, Masterpage struck a deal with Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. to build a tower on town-owned land near Glenbrook Park. Though Cross had made it clear that time was of the essence, it got to be April 2006 before Masterpage appeared before the planning board with a complete application for review, and only after Cross expressed personal displeasure with the company’s snail-like pace.
The project got approved by the planning board, but nothing has happened since.
The only cellular coverage supplied by the tower approved in Shandaken would be exclusively for Nextel customers, and then it would only be for a distance of about two and half miles around the tower, according to Nextel representatives.
It was also announced that the structure, which in April 2006 Kellerhouse claimed “would be built in a couple of months”, would actually be 198 feet tall. While the tower is only 180 feet there will be another 18 feet of whip antennas atop it.
After being told of rumors that Masterpage was on the verge of bankruptcy, Buckey dismissed such notions outright.
“They are financially solvent,” he said.
Kellerhouse has been summoned to a special Shandaken town board meeting set for February 22 at 3pm to answer questions about his companies no show for almost a year and half after striking a deal to build on town land.
“A lot of people want answers,” Cross said Monday

Jail To Open!
After years of waiting, and millions of added expenses, the state Commission of Correction has granted Ulster County “provisional” approval to open the long-overdue jail at the county’s new Law Enforcement Center in Kingston. The approval is conditional on a final site review next week, but is expected to go through.
The jail was originally to open in April 2004. The Sheriff’s Office moved into the building last fall, but the new jail remains unopened nearly three years after the original target date. At the same time, the estimated cost of the project has nearly doubled, from a projected $53 million to what is expected to be over $100 million by the time things are done.
Inmates are expected to be moved into the new jail from the current facility on Golden Hill Drive “within the next several weeks.” Then comes the hard jobs of figuring out what to do with the old jail, which some have suggested could be leased to private incarceration companies, as well as how to use all the new space set aside for housing overflow inmates from other counties. The new Ulster County Jail has a state-authorized capacity of 427 inmates, although it will only have 270 when they are moved in from the old jail shortly. With the added capacity, Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum has said that later this year he will authorize boarding out-of-county inmates.
“Probably six to nine months we will run it with just our inmates, get all the problems straightened out, get our staff used to running this type of facility,” he said. “The Commission on Corrections will come back down and evaluate us to make sure we have the amount of staff we should have, and they will give us the okay to start boarding inmates.”
Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said, in the interim this past week, that getting the new jail open will create an immediate cost savings because the county no longer will have to pay other counties to house overflow inmates.
Logistics of a full-fledged probe into what went wrong to get the county in its current position have yet to be worked out. But stay tuned…

No To Sewer...
The recent defeat of the proposed Phoenicia sewer project have left many questions remaining about the fate of the project and of the hamlet... as well as what might be in store when a similar wastewater treatment plant comes up for referendumk vote in Boiceville in the coming year.
In a phone interview Monday Shandaken Supervisor Robert Cross Jr. said he expects many of those questions to be answered at a special town board meeting on February 22nd.
Cross said that the issue has now entered into a phase where many of the issues must be addressed from a legal standpoint. That’s why town attorney Kevin Young has been asked to come to town on the 22nd, Cross said.
With the project’s defeat at the polls there is no clear description of what happens next. Some say there’s already another petition drive to force the town board to push the project through. Young announced prior to Saturday’s vote that if enough residents signed a petition demanding the town board push the project through, the board would be legally compelled to consider the plan. He said they would have to follow a specific list of criteria to determine if the project was best for the community.
Others say that if the details of the project proposal are altered, even slightly, it gives a green light to another vote and that if the deal were better for Phoenicia than before it would pass that time around. Others still say that all of the above is just speculation and that the town needs to accept the reality that a majority of Phoenicia voters said no. Because of this, it has been said, the town must now pay back the City of New York, which bought $225,000 worth of real estate as a site for the sewer plant.
This last point has been the subject of contention around the hamlet and the entire town, with taxpayers being concerned that they would somehow end up on the hook for paying the city back and others claiming this would not be the case.
The sewer system was to be built under a partnership program between the City of New York and the communities within the city’s watershed. Under the program the city would have paid $17 million to build the system. On February 3rd the project was voted down. Unofficial results showed a 33 vote spread, with 156 voters opposing the project and 123 in favor.
Opponents of the project insist that the project is officially dead. Ric Ricciardella, a vocal opponent, said that there is nothing else to discuss.
“It’s over. We voted. That’s it,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent defeat of the sewer project, Cross has invited officials with the Catskill Watershed Corporation to come to town and explain the details of the agencies septic system rehabilitation program.
CWC staff will be on hand at the March town board meeting, slated for March 5th, to answer questions.
CWC’s corporate counsel, Tim Cox, said Tuesday that there are some cases in which some Phoenicia homeowners could get CWC assistance, but that there are rules and guidelines that could also prevent others from getting help.
With no sewer system planned, Phoenicia would be eligible for participation in CWC’s septic rehabilitation program, which is funded by New York City.
However, a big guideline right now is that it pertains to residential septic systems that sit within 150 of a watercourse. This rule eliminates many hamlet properties from eligibility, as not all residences are within that distance.
Cox said the CWC may change this policy eventually, eliminating the 150 foot maximum to allow all homeowners a chance at getting in on the program.
There are other details to consider. A residence that is used as a second home or is not owner occupied would only get 60 percent of the total septic replacement cost reimbursed.
The CWC also doesn’t come back. Cox said if they install a septic system and that system fails the CWC does not pay to repair it, at least for a long time.
He said you could get reimbursed, but only after CWC takes care of over 17,000 other systems watershed wide already on the list.
“You go to the back of the line,” he said.
It might behoove some from Boiceville to be there in Shandaken Thursday... as well as in early March.

Expo YMCA
Nearly 500 representatives from 16 countries attended Expo YMCA 2007 at Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville in January, traveling to the area from more than 200 YMCA locations, including Chile, Spain and Mexico. The event ran from January 8-12.
Last year, Frost Valley was chosen by the YMCA of the USA to run the YMCA National Camping Conference in January 2007. With new YMCA of the USA President Neil Nicoll at the helm, the decision was made to run an Expo series instead, combining different facets of the YMCA into super-conferences.
“Frost Valley was elated to have been chosen to host this event,” remarked CEO Jerry Huncosky. “The Expo was a huge success and it was very well received.”
Among those in attendance were 11 Frost Valley staff alumni. Returning to Frost Valley for the Expo were: Peter Jones, now at Camp Jones Gulch; Peter Swain, Camp Fuller; Tara Murgatroyd, YMCA Camp Marston and Raintree Ranch; Jason Marker, Hopkinton YMCA; Ryan and Chloe (Bergman) Annetts, Camp Leaders; Rhonda Jacobs, SUNY Cortland; Sue (Konisberg) Kelly, Madison YMCA; Colin Campbell, Fairview Lakes YMCA; Sarah Stevens, Portland YMCA and Toby Hettler, YMCA Camp Shady Brook.
Established in 1901 as one of the nation’s first summer camps, Frost Valley YMCA is located in Denning.

EMC Changes
Rosendale resident John Maylie has been named as new chairman of the Ulster County Environmental Management Council, Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said this month. Maylie has been an EMC member since 2004 and has over 10 years experience in volunteer work in environmental, planning and zoning issues in the Town of Rosendale and College Township, PA. His recent environmental work includes developing the implementation of stormwater management practices for the Town of Rosendale to meet MS4 requirements. He has coordinated with the DEC, Ulster County Health Department and the town attorney to finalize into code the Stormwater Management and Illicit Discharge Laws in Rosendale. He is a member of EMC’s Open Space Committee that has been assisting both EMC members and Ulster County Planning Board employees in developing draft plans.
Maylie just completed three years of active participation in Rosendale’s efforts to update the town’s Comprehensive Plan. He is also currently participating in the creation of the Rondout Creek Watershed Council. He is a member of the Town of Rosendale’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
Legislator Brian Shapiro, chairman of the County Legislature’s Environmental Committee, said with the new direction Ulster County is taking by establishing a Department of the Environment for the first time, Maylie’s “leadership will play an important role in this effort.”
Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson recently announced that records for about 20 years worth of work by the county’s Environmental Management and Water Quality Management Agency are missing, a potential hurdle for tracking grant money as the county seeks to reorganize the agency. The office, located in Ulster County Community College’s Kelder Center, was locked shortly before the release of reports that outlined financial questions concerning the agency on Jan. 10.
“Apparently, some people have keys,” Donaldson said.
The missing files were discussed during the recent reorganization meeting of the Environmental Management Council, which serves as an advisory board to the environmental agency. Last month, the County Administrator’s Office took temporary control of the agency, which was spotlighted by County Auditor Lisa Cutten and an independent audit for possible financial abuses.

The CIC Again?
A 20-year-old plan to build a $7 million tourism facility geared toward coaxing visitors to explore the Catskills is getting new attention with a new administration in Albany.
The Catskill Interpretive Center was an idea forged in the late 1980s under former Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo. After years of planning and more than $1.5 million in site preparation at a 62-acre site for the in Mount Tremper, the project was suddenly scrapped when Republican George Pataki took over as governor in 1995. Since then, locals have tried time and again to renew interest in the project. Other uses of the site have been suggested as well, such as a glorified rest stop.
Nothing came to pass. Along the way locals dubbed the paved entrance to the site "the bridge to nowhere." The vacant property, now used by folks walking their dogs, has become a "day use area" under the control of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Within days of Democrat Eliot Spitzer being sworn in as governor in Albany, the Interpretive Center again became the topic of public discussion. On Jan. 3, the Ulster County Legislature unanimously supported the construction of the project.
Last week in Shandaken, the town that would host the center, the Town Board unanimously passed a resolution asking the state to once again set aside funds to complete the project.
Tom Alworth, the executive director of the Arkville-based Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, which played an integral role of the planning of the project, was pleased to hear local governments voicing opinions. He also hopes those opinions are listened to in Albany.
"We are hopeful that the new governor will see this project as part of his commitment to economic prosperity in rural areas," Alworth said Tuesday. "There is no better way to help our local economy than to better educate the public about resources like the (Catskill) Forest Preserve, which will improve their experience here and encourage them to return."

Ag Districts…
In accordance with the NYS Ag & Markets Law Section 303-b, Ulster County will accept requests from March 1st to March 30th from landowners desiring to have their agricultural lands to be included within a certified agricultural district. Landowners seeking inclusion into a certified ag district must submit a completed Ag District Review Worksheet with tax map identification number(s), a copy of the relevant portion of the tax map, and a description of the land within this thirty-day period to: Lydia Reidy, Chair, Ulster County Agricultural Farmland Protection Board, 10 Westbrook Lane, Kingston, NY 12401. The Ag District Review Worksheet and a free brochure explaining ag districts are available through Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. To receive a worksheet, a brochure or more information about the review process, please contact Mike Fargione, Agricultural Resource Educator, 845-691-7117 or via email: mj22@cornell.edu. Information is also available on Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County’s website: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/ then go to Agriculture page and click on Farmland Preservation Tools.

Comptroller…
The State Legislature defied Gov. Eliot Spitzer and chose one of their own to be the new state comptroller, picking Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, a Long Island Democrat with 20 years of state government experience but virtually no financial credentials, over the governor’s lead choice, Martha Stark, the New York City finance commissioner who was among three candidates recommended by a special state panel set up with the legislature’s approval.
Ulster County Assemblyman Kevin Cahill voted for DiNapoli and said he disagreed, from the start, that a panel of private citizens “with no constitutional authority should essentially have veto power over this decision of the Legislature.”
DiNapoli, elected 150-56 during a joint session of the Legislature, succeeds Democrat Alan Hevesi, who was re-elected in November but resigned in December after pleading guilty to using state workers to chauffeur and run errands for his wife.
Spitzer on Wednesday called the selection of DiNapoli, instead of one of the recommended finalists, “a stark reminder of all that is wrong with our Legislature and its leadership.”

County Transport
Ulster County residents are saying they’d like public transportation that can take them beyond county borders because of the changing nature of the region’s economy. Their comments came out loud and clear at a recent public hearing for a new proposal to build a center that would connect pedestrians and local buses, such as those operated by Ulster County Area Transit and Trailways, which operates more distant routes