“We have to see want people want,” said Phil Mansfield,
who brought the topic up at the town board meeting earlier this
month. “The greatest thing that came out of the meeting
is that people love the sense of community that has grown around
the store, so we’re trying to see what can be created
that keeps that going. People were questioning how it could
be that the store would be forced to close for whatever reason-
whether it was high rent, end of lease, or the other obstacles
we face and we’d all like to do something about it.”
Indeed, when you ask West Shokan residents about the store,
they almost invariably reply with references which reach beyond
merely having a convenient place to buy staples. They speak
of the sense of local community nurtured by the Mansfields,
who have brought in tables, offer homemade, healthy edibles
with fresh coffee or tea and have staged music events and other
community-oriented activities. Many local residents value the
site as an informal social center to meet with and get to know
neighbors in an environment that encourages more interaction
than the typical courteous nod of “hello, how are you?”
before moving onward in a supermarket aisle.
A combination of factors which Mansfield indicates has put the
future of the store in question spring in part from the family’s
efforts to create a viable enterprise set in the community-friendly
atmosphere they envision. One of those factors, of course, is
the commercial aspect of providing the goods and services they
perceive as needed in their location. In arranging the space
to supply those needs, they are encountering some not entirely
unanticipated hurdles.
“We’ve been operating under ‘agra-market’,”
said Mansfield, referring to the rules of the NY State Department
of Agriculture and Markets and other state organizations concerned
with commercial enterprise. “When they inspected us the
last time, they said ‘You passed but the reality is that
you’re operating more as a restaurant,’ which we
certainly couldn’t argue, ‘So, when your license
is up next year, you need to switch to being under the Health
Department’.”
An upgrade to restaurant standards would include some costly
refinements such as a commercial septic system and public bathrooms.
Also, the family could not live at the site and, by code, share
the same kitchen facilities. Then, there’s also the question
of fitting under restrictions imposed by the terms of the Watershed
agreement with New York City’s Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP).
“We’re not really sure what’s allowable,”
Mansfield said of the Memorandum of Agreement Pact between the
City and its upstate watershed communities and its 2002 Filtration
Avoidance Determination (FAD) update. “The DEP is its
own little beastie. The Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC)
is here with its funds but it all can be trumped by whatever
the DEP wants- not to paint them as the bad guy but it’s
still part of the great unknown in how this store can become
whatever it might be.”
Diane Galusha of the CWC, who knows of the store and terms it
“a cool, little place,” could only say CWC was not
a regulatory agency and, with their corporate council Tim Cox
unavailable for an opinion at the moment, it was “up to
the DEP to interpret the regulations.” Another informed
source, not wishing to be named, ventured that DEP might make
it as “difficult as possible” to make the conversion
but could not legally stop it.
T he ‘conversion’ from a general store to something
more has been underway since the Mansfields opened it in July
of last year. Forging on through distractions such as the challenging
illness of their son Killian earlier this year, an event to
which the town rallied sympathetically, they have welcomed ideas
from well-wishers on how the store might survive and prosper.
“A lot of people have expressed interest and we’re
meeting to ferment the idea of a co-op in this area,”
said Mansfield, who is also a musician and professional photographer
who’ll be leaving on an assignment to shoot a wedding
in Cyprus before the meeting. He hopes to couple the job with
some work for the New York Times or something “on ‘spec’
for some magazines” by extending his stay an extra two
days. Mansfield is also working on some food “shoots”
for an upcoming cookbook from Bloomsbury Publishing and planning
a trip to Mexico in November while his wife Barbara is circulating
resumes and feelers related to her background in fund-raising-
a skill they expect to also be useful in developing the idea
of a community cooperative center.
“There’s great opportunity for funding and she’ll
just be one of many among the leaders of what this thing may
be,” Mansfield observed. “The thing is- it’s
not just Phil and Barbara doing this. We’re simply going
to be part of the people coming together to see what can be
done. People love the music, so, maybe there’s a way to
tie in still having arts. There’s someone here who’s
making mugs. Another person is doing woodworking here that we
sell in the store. So, it’s creating an environment where
things created here are sold here and are representative of
the community and, also, no matter what we want to have some
kind of cafe attached to it so the community has some place
to be.”
Running as a not-for-profit co-op, he observed, will allow whatever
extra might be made on the project to be turned back to the
community as funds for the town’s volunteer-driven home
meals for senior citizens program or some other social service.
“One thing that seems to get a lot of people excited is
the idea of an incubator kitchen,” Mansfield offered,
referring to an increasingly popular idea for starting up small
businesses which might seem especially appropriate for an area
which imposes extra environmental restrictions that tend to
ward off larger business activity. “There’s so many
people around here who make jams or pies or things like that,
who can come and use the kitchen, then sell their goods here
or however they want. It gives them access to being able to
produce their goods without the code violations they’d
have by doing it at home.”
One of the most daunting problems to face fledgling entrepreneurs-
like home caterers or makers of food-specialty items- is the
capital outlay for the commercial kitchen equipment required
to meet the food safety regulations of an inspectible kitchen.
Sharing the facilities of a professionally equipped kitchen
is an increasingly considered method of approaching the dilemma
which goes beyond kitchens. According to the Boston Globe; “Incubators
are also being used to kick-start other types of small businesses,
from auto repair shops to high-tech start-ups.” The same
11-14-06 article by Sacha Pfeiffer also quotes the president
of a Boston consulting firm on a point which illustrates the
compatibility of the incubator process with the designs of a
not-for-profit by noting that “their purpose is not to
make a profit; their purpose is to spin off businesses.”
In other words, an incubator provides a place for the early
stages of growth until a young business can afford its own sanctionable
premises.
“Many successful kitchen incubators keep costs down by
owning their buildings, operating in rural areas or renting
sub prime properties. Others launch secondary businesses, such
as cafes or in-house catering to generate additional income,”
Pfeiffer reported in terms Mansfield can appreciate.
“It’s the times,” Phil said. “When Davis
or the Webbers ran this place, they probably owned it outright
but, with the price of real estate now days, your mortgage can
be so high, it’s hard to exist. But that’s the tale
of the tape for many people here in the Catskills. Certainly,
not just us. These are all ideas we plan to discuss. What sort
of vision comes out of it will depend what the group energy
and dynamics are. There are people with funds. There are many
more ideas. Nothing is set in stone.”
Except, perhaps, for one thing...as Mansfield puts it, in the
brief but busy time they’ve been here, his family has
come to love the area and, no matter what, they plan to stay.
“Even without the store working out,” he said, “we’re
looking at houses here in West Shokan. We think this is a very
special community.”
Not
Much Of A Race
At its recent, under-advertised caucus, Olive Republicans endorsed
only one candidate. Peter J. Friedel will try and unseat either
of the two Dems now holding town board positions. Both, Henry
Rank and Linda Burkhardt, were given unanimous support at their
party’s caucus, also last week. to seek re-election.
Friedel made a spirited but unsuccessful run for town justice
two years ago. His wife is currently on the Onteora School Board.
Also running this year is multi-term supervisor Bert Leifeld
and town justice Ron Wright. Both Democrats are unopposed.
Olive Conservatives are currently set to hold their caucus at
the American Legion Hall in Shokan on Thursday, September 20.
Gitter
Gets A Go-Ahead
The approval basically follows what had become known in the
last year as the “Hinchey compromise,” allowing
build-out of the $400 million resort on the western side of
state-owned and run Belleayre Mountain Ski Center and having
the state purchase the 1,400 acres of what would have been it’s
eastern half, along what is known as the Big Indian Plateau,
and the majority of what was once the Highmount Ski Center.
The new proposal calls for all of what would have been built
along the entire ridgeline to be now concentrated within a 663
plus acre site bordering the Ulster County town of Shandaken
and Delaware County town of Middletown, including two hotels,
a golf course, conference center, major health spa and 259 residences…
most with “ski in/ski out” capabilities. All construction
will comply with the strictest “green” LEED (Leadership
Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards, avoiding
slopes greater than 20 percent and a commitment to organic standards
for the gold course.
Greater emphasis on cluster development will further reduce
the development’s overall “footprint” from
an original 573 to 273 overall acres… a 52 percent drop,
according to those in attendance (and their various press releases).
And instead of using its own sewage plant, the new resort would
tie into the existing city-owned facility in Pine Hill.
The Big Indian acreage will be purchased by the Trust for Public
Land for conveyance to the state as Forever Wild open space,
while the former Highmount Ski Center trails and facilities
sites will be incorporated into the existing Belleayre Mountain
Ski Center, thus minimizing the amount of footprint enlargement
that entity would need to undertake to expand its services.
And allowing Gitter to build slopeside lodging and a spa for
the ski resort.
“This project will simultaneously revitalize the region’s
economy by creating hundreds of new jobs and protect the environment
through green buildings, watershed protection and land preservation,”
said Spitzer, with Gitter seeming to stifle a proud grin behind
him, and several regional environmentalists approaching what
looked like tears. “I thank all the parties who came to
the table and accomplished great things for the Catskills. Their
hard work illustrates that environmental protection and sustainable
economic development can go hand in hand.”
The governor added that the development, as generally approved
via an official Memorandum of Agreement signed by all but four
of the environmental parties, was expected to create 450 full
time permanent jobs, 150 part-time jobs and about 1,800 construction
jobs over an estimated eight-year construction period. He noted
that annual property tax revenue of over $2 million is expected
to be paid to the two towns, local school districts and Ulster
and Delaware counties, with an additional amount expected in
sales taxes for both counties.
Spitzer also highlighted that half a million dollars in state
funds would be allocated for other sustainable development projects
in the Route 28 corridor between Boiceville and Andes through
a new Central Catskills Smart Growth Initiative to be administered
by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. He later
noted, after Gitter’s prodding, that the state would also
re-start a process to explore scenic by-way designation for
the entire Route 28 corridor.
This is a demonstration that one plus one can equal three,”
Spitzer said, stressing the state’s new emphasis on increasing
its investment in Catskills skiing, via its Belleayre holdings,
to match the private investment being brought in by Gitter and
his main Crossroads investors, Emily Fischer and Ken Pasternak…
the latter in attendance along with what seemed to be a majority
of the region’s top business and political representatives.
Gitter first proposed his mega-resort after having chaired a
Route 28 Corridor Study Committee, founded around the same time
that the Upstate/New York City Memorandum of Agreement overseeing
local watershed regulations and development funded was being
discussed and signed at the urging of Spitzer’s predecessor,
Gov. George Pataki, ten years ago. The Gitter commission, as
some called his Study Committee, ended up concluding that what
was needed for economic development in the region was a greater
concentration on Belleayre’s potential as a tourism draw,
through both year-round events planning and the possible creation
of an adjacent resort.
In addition to Gitter’s project, the Belleayre Conservancy’s
inauguration of its annual summer concert series also started
around that time.
Once proposed, the Crossroads Venture plan for a Belleayre Resort
immediately drew harsh criticism and increasing activism from
first a local and later the regional and national environmental
world. Eventually, this led to the formation of a coalition
of 11 such organizations to challenge the developers knee-high-sized
Draft Environmental Impact Statement alongside New York City’s
Department of Environmental Protection and, eventually, Spitzer’s
own Attorney General’s office via its Inspector General
position.
That challenge resulted in a lengthy trial-like adjudication
process that set up twelve key issues for a final state ruling,
later downsized to six by one of the Pataki administration’s
last actions in office. Such activities were eventually put
on hold when Gitter went to first the federal EPA and then Governor-elect
Spitzer for help, with the aid of elected officials on a town,
county, state and federal level.
Negotiations towards a compromise were informally started in
Regional EPA Administrator Michael Steinberg’s New York
offices last autumn, and then pursued in full starting last
winter… with what amounted to a gag order installed by
Spitzer’s new consultant on environmental affairs, Judith
Enck.
Meanwhile, one of the key points made by Hinchey two years ago,
and later backed up via letters from the federal Environmental
Protection Agency and various New York City and state agencies,
was the protection of city drinking water by shifting “all
proposed development out of the highly sensitive and impaired
Ashokan Reservoir basin.”
At first Gitter publicly scoffed at Hinchey’s proposal…
but eventually it was included in the negotiations, according
to participants, then made their emphasis, as seen in Wednesday’s
announcement.
Difficulties arose though when news about the possible inclusion
of the Highmount sale tie-in to Belleayre leaked out, causing
ski resort owners in neighboring Greene County to join together
and publicly decry the governor’s talks via their own
press conferences.
On Wednesday, though, no signs of such controversy surfaced
in Spitzer’s or anyone else’s remarks, which stressed
the importance of using an expanded Belleayre Ski Center to
increase skiing in all the Catskills. But neither did any mention
of recent scientists reports predicting an end to the local
ski industry in the next 20 to 30 years.
“I applaud Governor Spitzer for his leadership in developing
a solution for the Belleayre Resort project that will help to
create new jobs and spur economic growth while minimizing negative
impacts to the surrounding environment and protecting the integrity
of the New York City watershed,” Congressmember Hinchey
said in a release passed out at the event, not being available
himself. “When I introduced the lower build alternative
for this plan as a starting point for these negotiations almost
two years ago, I envisioned a final project that greatly resembled
what was agreed to today… While this project represents
a dramatic improvement from what was originally proposed, I
still intend to follow the subsequent review process carefully,
particularly with regard to its size and potential impacts on
the hamlet of Pine Hill.”
Speaking on behalf of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily
Lloyd, DEP General Counsel said at the Holiday Inn that the
resulting compromise was a “win/win for all of New York
State.”
Spitzer added that he expected Bloomberg to be on hand to tee
off at the resort’s golf course when inaugurated.
Gitter himself talked his Corridor Study 15 years earlier, and
how the past eight years of review and controversy had proved
“trying.”
“ I never once doubted the sincerity of the environmental
organizations who were opposing it,” he said, talking
of a “mutual respect” for the environment “I
also can’t assume that everyone will be happy with this…
there are those who will say we went too far and some who will
say we didn’t go far enough.”
He asked for people to now move on, to a big clap.
Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council and
Tom Alworth of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development,
who chaired the Catskill Preservation Coalition that led much
of the adjudicatory fight against Gitter’s project in
recent years, talked about the benefits of the compromise finally
worked out, as well as the local impacts they would still be
keeping an eye on.
“This is a very smart project,” said Alworth. “We
are now looking to help this project be a positive reflection
on our Catskills.”
Signing on to the negotiated compromise alongside the NRDC and
Catskill Center were Trout Unlimited, NYPIRG (New York Public
Interest Research Group), Zen Environmental Studies Institute,
Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, and Riverkeeper
Still holding out and declining to sign the agreement were three
local and one national organization – Catskill Heritage
Alliance, Friends of Catskill Park, the Pine Hill District Coalition
and the Sierra Club – who handed out a press release while
the celebratory talk was going on at the Holiday Inn entitled
“Revised Belleayre Resort Still Wrong For Catskill Park,
Local Communities.”
“The final MOA was released to CPC member groups only
yesterday,” the release reads. “Because it is not
substantially a lower-build compromise the four groups said
they could not endorse it by signing. They will continue to
oppose this or any other project of similar size and scale.”
After Spitzer and CPC Attorney Marc Gerstman discussed the price
being paid for the Gitter lands ($14 million), anticipated start
date for eventual construction (late in 2008), and a new SEQRA
process to be undertaken for the Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement to be prepared by Crossroads including all
elements of the newly signed MOA, Catskill Heritage Alliance
chairman Richard Schaedle explained how there were still 200
some housing units being built on slopes he and other opposing
environmental groups felt were too sleep, as well as 19 structures
being built at elevations of over 3,000 feet.
Friends of Catskill Park chair Judith Wyman, one of the key
early opponents of the Gitter project, noted how the compromise
was “only slightly smaller than the outsize original.
That’s not an acceptable compromise.”
Alworth later countered by noting the difficulties faced by
any negotiation involving 15 represented parties. Conference
calls were held weekly, plus regular get-togethers.
“Over time, one realizes that there are some groups that
are never happy. That makes things more difficult,” he
said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished…
Now, there is no reason not to critique the negotiated deal,
but to just be angry and throw rocks doesn’t help anyone.
We have to move forward.”
In a separate interview, Gerstman, the lead environmental attorney
in the negotiations and a former state employee, said that the
main reason for the groups signing on to the deal was that all
felt they wouldn’t have done better waiting through adjudication.
He added that he was unlikely to continue working with the hold-out
local organizations, and wished they’d sign on so they
could serve as advocate watch-dogs in the process yet to come.
He noted that it has become increasingly difficult for lawsuits
against deals such as that announced last week to be challenged
in the courts.
Meanwhile, Shandaken town supervisor Bob Cross, Jr., not running
for re-election after being plaguyed by discussion of Gitter’s
resort for his four years in office, expressed genuine gladness
that as far as he could tell, things had reached a resolution.
“I greatly admire the way this was handled by the governor’s
staff, with special thanks to Judith Enck,” he said. “Most
of the environmental concerns have been dramatically reduced
with the new proposed project. I feel that this project is needed
to help sustain the existing businesses that rely on tourism
in the entire region, and not just Shandaken.”
Gitter, still smiling, said he hoped the way forward would be
seen as too important, now, to allow any more tying down of
progress.
“This is the Catskills renaissance,” he said, adding
that he was now going to get away on a vacation… departing
within the hour.
“I’ll be back in a few weeks,” he added.
Olive
Day 
Try
A New Food Tuesday
Former
boardmember and president Marino D’Orazio, voted out of
office this past spring, was given a plaque for his 10 years
of service to the district. The district’s capital reserve
was again increased, from $1 million to its max amount of $1.8
million, and much was made of new policies designed to come
down hard on student smoking around the school facilities in
Boiceville. In Public Be Heard, a number of Phoenicia parents
again spoke about their fears of their school being closed and
general opposition to the board’s approval of a 5 through
8 Middle School plan for the district’s future. At the
same time, Phoienicia PTA head Christina Himberger read a letter
thanking the district and its new transportation director for
having responded so quickly to concerns about new bussing routes.
At the Onteora School Board’s August 28 school board meeting,
which was dominated by transportation matters by and large (see
letters), school lunch manager Christine Downs presented healthy
new strategies for the school year, including “Try it
Tuesdays,” a monthly fun food tasting idea using seasonal
vegetables. “I would like students to try new foods, especially
vegetables,” said Downs. “Which would be once a
month, whether a student buys lunch or not can taste the vegetable
of the day.” Also, the prices on a la carte food will
be increasing and an emphasis put on buying complete meals at
a better value. Downs said it is less expensive to the district
and healthier for kids. The school district will hosted a two-day
teacher college on the Columbia University writing program at
the Emerson Resort’s conference facilities in Mt. Tremper.
“We have nearly 50 teachers being trained in writing workshop,”
said assistant superintendent for curriculum Deb Fox. A majority
of Onteora teachers have been trained in the reading workshop
program and Fox explained that this is the next level of training
teachers in a hands-on approach to writing. The Director of
Elementary education position was changed to a Coordinator of
Elementary Education, a spot once held by Laurie Cassel. Superintendent
Leslie Ford said, “In looking at that this year, my suggestion
was that we take the position that was held by one person and
ask two of our administrators to adopt it.” The primary
responsibilities are curriculum development and overseeing testing.
As promised at every school board meeting, the parent of a Phoenicia
elementary school student, Sante Mosley spoke to the board on
why rural schools are important. He urged the school board to
rethink their plan of a 5-8 middle school and closing an additional
elementary school. He asked the board instead to join the New
York State Rural School Association at a cost of $500 with mini-grants
available from the State to waver the fee. He also said through
the organization, grants are available for technology. Every
school board meeting, Mosley presents statistics on why rural
community schools are better, especially in poorer communities.
He believes that the school board is modeling their school configuration
idea on wealthy Armonk and Chappaqua school districts, a plan
that does not fit in with local median income statistics. Mosley
said he plans to meet with Assemblyman Kevin Cahill in September.
The school board held a workshop on district goals for the 2007/08
school year. Although not complete a rough outline included,
student achievement, performance, teaching, community participation,
communication, fiscal responsibility and respect. Also, it turns
out the district did approve an extension of its conract with
the INDIE program through the coming school year.
A Jar Of Olives
Of
Hats & Eyeglasses
Martha Frankel’s Long-Awaited Memoir...
If you zoom in, you realize that Olive is a dot comprised of
microdots, each a special person who adds to the unique existence
of Olive. One of those people is my good friend Martha Frankel.
She was at Olive Day, along with a thousand others, and shared
her bound, pre-published copy of her book entitled Hats and
Eyeglasses: A Family Love Affair with Gambling. I have never
seen Martha so excited. This book has been ten years in the
making, and Martha had that glow of a pregnant woman in the
tenth month of pregnancy carrying an overdue baby. Now Martha
is not new to writing. She has hobnobbed with celebrities from
Johnny Depp to Mariah Carey. I remember when she attended a
birthday party for Sean Penn and didn’t know what to wear.
Back in those days Martha often sported a faded pair of bib
overalls and a purple Fabulous Furniture tee-shirt. With confidence
Martha wore her JC Penney slip (yes, underwear!) and mingled
with Madonna and others who probably wore gowns of famous designers.
All that “star glow” had no effect on grounded Martha.
This book really is “her baby.” It is autobiographical,
and that makes a writer vulnerable. In writing this book, Martha
reveals herself and her family. It is not the objective perspective
of a celebrity interview.
Martha’s book can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com. Go to
her website: www.marthafrankel.com. She promises a book signing
at the Olive Free Library when the hardcover edition comes out.
Another dot is Bernadette (call me “Bernie”) Slovensky
who initiated the idea that we in Olive needed a quiet space
to contemplate the impact of September 11, 2001. With the Town’s
permission, she single-handedly set out to have a memorial made
to commemorate the event. She networked and gathered others
into her dream of a sitting bench set in a shaded, quiet corner
of Davis Park.
In her own words, Bernie said, “Last September 11th I
felt a strong desire to go someplace, other than my own backyard,
to remember and meditate on what happened that day in 2001.
I realized that there must be others who wanted a place to go
and reflect. So, friends and neighbors, go and sit on this bench
and remember.” Kevin Berg and his wife Noreen worked fifty
hours carving and polishing the bench out of a massive piece
of bluestone donated by Roger, Harry and Marion Davis. The design
is simple, yet impressive. The bench rests on two steel towers.
It has the date and message, “Lest we forget.”
Phil Auchmoody and son made the first donation of a piece of
bluestone used as the footplate. Dean and Lisa Guiliano, Jason
and Regina Calinda, Beth, Mary and Marty Guiliano of Old Roots
Garden Center landscaped the area. Art Haver of the Boiceville
Florist donated a red, white and blue memorial wreath for the
dedication. The Olive Highway Department moved and installed
the bench. It sits, solidly and peacefully, in the corner of
Davis Park by the town offices. One person really can make a
difference.
Another dot is Ben Rounds who provided the afternoon’s
music at Olive Day. He and “The Famous Lees of Krumville”
played familiar and original songs to an audience that howled
for an encore. Ben awarded Pat La Gorga the outstanding dancer
as she let loose to “Mustang Sally.” A special thanks
to Chris Walsh who filled in for the band that cancelled at
the eleventh hour. You rock, Chris!
Speaking of music, here is a special dedication of “The
William Tell Overture” to Josh Jones and his dog Ebony.
Once again, Olive Day brought neighbors together. Jeanne Bachor,
Ternice Winne, and Linda Burkhardt were the organizers, but
it takes a village to raise an Olive Day. Many hands added to
the very special day. Bruce La Monda, in a frog hat, and Mike
Pantliano deserve medals for flipping burgers and hot-dogs in
the steamy end-of-summer heat. Sue Horner, Pat Tosi, Annemarie
Johanssen, and Stan Prus worked tirelessly in the beef-flavored
steambath of the barbecue end of the pavilion. My husband actually
looked forward to the dunking in the First Aid Squad’s
dunking booth.
According to Gert Kaiser, who still has her daughter Nikki’s
frog-jumping ribbon from 1974, the Buffalo throw must have been
1973, not 1974 as I wrote about last time. That means that the
next Olive Day will be the thirty-fifth!
I know people read this column because a number of people, including
Vince Barringer, reminded me that Bert Leifeld donated the steer
that was used in the original “Buffalo Throw” that
was the forerunner of Olive Day. At the Democratic caucus, which
nominated Bert Leifeld, Henry Rank, Linda Burkhardt and Ron
Wright, I tried to right the slight by saying, “It just
goes to prove that our supervisor has been able to “throw
the bull” since 1973.
