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E-28
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It
was circumstances, and the ski industry’s carefulness, that
resulted in five helicopter calls to Belleayre in one day recently.
Maybe its all now paying off withgood skiing snow for March...
although we may have gotten more than we bargained for. Be careful
when the thaw comes in the coming weeks...
Heralded,
Sight Unseen
Legislators Resolve To Help Resort Along
Despite New Plans Staying Undisclosed
3/25/2010
By Brian Powers
Crossroads
Ventures' proposed Belleayre Resort project moved front and
center twice this month before the county legislature, creating
plenty of controversy and leaving lots of folks wondering
what if anything it all means.
On March 9, developer and Crossroads principal Dean Gitter
addressed an "informational meeting" of county lawmakers
and while his prepared remarks on the project's merits went
smoothly, a subsequent exchange with the two legislators representing
our district quickly turned bizarre.
Continue>>>
Nothing
New Being Built
Shandaken Planners, ZBA Mull New Ways To Deal With Dearth
Of Local Activity
2/25/2010
By Phoenicia Times Staff
According to town Building/Code Enforcement Officer Gina
Reilly, only 14 building permits have been issued for 2010
as of April 23. And those are for little things like woodstove
installations, interior renovations and small additions.
"No new houses are being built," she said.
The good news is that things are no worse at this point
then at the same time last year. In 2009 only 13 permits
had been issued.
What's
On The Agenda?
While Stanley's Away It''ll Be Time To Start Replaying The
CWC Sewer Resolution
3/25/2010
By Phoenicia Times Staff
The upcoming April 5 Shandaken Town Board Meeting promises
to be a busy one, given that its March 1 gathering was basically
punted, given everyone's exhaustion from battling the previous
week's massive snow storms.
Pending from February is a resolution to allow for the town
to okay the Catskill Watershed Corporation to begin outlining
ways in which it can help the town set up a Phoenicia wastewater
treatment plant well within the funding allotment set aside
for such purposes 12 years ago.
Continue>>> |
Easing
The Big Cuts
Onteora Board Given Little Choice
But To Ease The Pain As School
Aid Falters
3/25/2010
By Lisa Childers
Proposed
cuts to the 2010/2011 Onteora
district budget brought
out high emotions at the
school board's last two
meetings on March 16 and
March 9.
At a special budget forum
in the central office at
the Middle/High School on
March 9, Superintendent
Leslie Ford announced that
a new state formulation
had revealed $845,525 less
in Federal funding for Onteora
over the coming 2010/2011
school year. This is on
top of a $658,000 less in
State aid and a projected
loss of $100,000 in income
interest revenue. If the
board maintained their target
of a four percent levy,
Ford noted, they would now
face a $2.3 million budget
shortfall instead of initial
projections around $1.5
million.
The district would still
receive $434,643 in federal
stimulus money, but that
money runs out after the2010/2011
school year. This is coupled
with a loss of gap funding
between State and Federal
Government, Ford said.
Continue>>>
USPS
Mulls Closings
Big Indian & Willow Are First To Face
Negation In New Lease Negotiations
3/25/2010
By Paul Smart
After two consecutive school board cancellations
due to inclement weather, an additional
Onteora board of education meeting is
rescheduled for 6:00 PM this Thursday
February 25, at the Phoenicia Elementary
School. The board will enter into executive
session at the beginning of the meeting,
but are expected to return at 6:45pm at
which time there will be an extended Public
Comment period for people to talk about
budget concerns.
On March 2, the board will have it's regular
meeting at Woodstock Elementary beginning
at 6:00 PM. Cancelled meetings due to
weather can be common during the month
of February, but inconveniently, given
this is the time when administrators and
board members focus on building their
annual budget.
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"The
"snowicane" that paralyzed the Northeast for nearly
a week has set Belleayre up to be skiing well into 2010,"
came the lead of Belleayre Mountain's press release as local
residents were still figuring out how to dig out from under
three feet and more of heavy wet snow. "After ending
February with nearly eight feet of natural snowfall over five
days Belleayre is primed for a monumental March."
"Today we took a ride to Fleischmann's and saw the tremendous
amount of snow. Took some pictures... One showed a street
sign poking out of a snowbank!" noted Carol LaMonda of
Shokan, a former Onteora teacher with a husband on the Olive
town board. "Shoveled an 1100 foot deck eight times now!
Who needs a gym?"
The diner roof was
compromised by the snow - it will be closed for the foreseeable
future while repairs are made.," writes Cindy Johansen
of Boiceville about the Phoenica landmark on Route 28. "It
did not collapse - it did not leak inside - it just 'bent'
down - and when the snow was removed, the roof actually raised
a bit. Tough hit for the owners - ski season and all..."
She added that, out with her husband to do plowing and other
aid, she found that Grogkill Road, in Woodstock, "was
totally blocked by working town trucks - and 212 was down
to one lane with over 50 trees down."
Reports as to how much fell varies depending on where one
lived, from three and a half to five feet. Same with the lengths
of time folks were without electricty.Now we await word on
FEMA funding to help with costs... and a lot of tree repairs.
As well as the flood dangers of the current week...
But then the taller stories and laughter of relief. Like seeing
our columnist Cally Mansfield with her friend at play during
it all, above.
For more on it all, please see Jen Holz's wonderfully heartfelt
column inside on page 28.
Hopefully, that's it for this year...
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