Follow Up on the News
"I had originally been looking at the space that Cabane Studios are in now," Koegel is saying about the genesis of his new establishment, which is set to open at 8:00 AM on Friday, May 28 and then host a concert featuring "The Real Men," from West Shokan, in a free opening party at 5:00 PM on Sunday, May 30. "But then this place came in view and I started asking why no one had done anything here?"
Around Mama Boy's revived lawn, and re-stained deck and main indoor market rooms, the hamlet of Phoenicia seems to whirl with activity. There's the Country Store, Home and The Arts Upstairs, the outdoor tables at Brio's and The Sportsman, all abuzz with people. A squad of bikers revs off. The scene feels urban, for a moment, except for the surrounding mountains, the birds. It all makes one want to sit down and have a nice big cup of coffee, maybe a smoothie and a snack. Something local...
Which is just what Koegel says he'll be serving... some basic coffee shop fare, wireless internet service and the ability to hang out for hours, and a potpourri of handmade delicacies created in the area, from smoked trout and artisinal breads to special desserts and entire take-out meals.
To keep everyone cool with what he's doing, Koegel - who lived in New York before moving to the area as first a part-timer and then a full-timer over the last decade - has been going to every other business in town, and the area, to ensure he's not planning to be competitive with them... and would love to carry something of theirs, if they wanted. He says the whole idea came from spending long weekends up here wishing for a place to just hang out and possibly pick up meals without having to go to a restaurant. A place that would reflect all that's best about the Catskills, the Route 28 corridor, and Phoenicia.
"I've taken a five year lease on the place and am putting in way too much money for one summer," Koegel added, dismissing opinions he's heard that he'll be yet another fly-by-night operation. "I'm going to be killing myself keeping it going but I'll make it fun. And already, I'm starting to hear a little buzz that this might be the tipping point thee town's been needing..."
Koegel, originally from Syracuse and a lifetime New Yorker excepting a stint at grad school in Pittsburgh, has worked as a construction manager, a television producer and writer for Nickelodeon, Fox and PBS, and, most recently, helping start up a chain of health clubs across the country. His time in the area has included stints in Westkill, where he wrote for a local newspaper, in Big Indian, and now in Pine Hill.
He likes the idea that he'll only be able to have so many seats... yet lots of surrounding room. And a very small space for winter, so he'll always be looking busy.
"We'll be dog and smoker friendly," he says. Then adds, with the roar of another group of bikers passing, that they'd be welcome, too.
"We'll have pumpkin decorating events around Halloween, music, whatever people want to do," Koegel added. "I was always that guy who had the parties. I love to entertain. To a certain extent, this is an extension of that..."
And the name, Mama's Boy?
Koegel laughs and says it came out of the blue... and he doesn't mean it in purely camp terms.
"I think any guy at some point in his life has made the decision that his mother was either the best or the worst cook in the world," he explains, adding a vignette about how much he liked watching his own mother make lasagna when he was a kid. "I think we all still crave some of that food our mother's made for us. Every guy's a mama's boy, to some extent... if only they can admit it. I'm working off that sort of nostalgia here."
He pauses before having to head back to renovations and he turns my way.
"I have a very good feeling about all of this," he says. "It's starting to feel kind of cool."
All around, Phoenicia feels alive. We guess no one did anything here because they just forgot to see it for what it wasn't, instead of for what it wasn't.
""This is like the town square," Michael Koegel adds. "I'm going to treat it right."
Hours at Mama's Boy Market, located across from the STS Theater on Church and Main in Phoenicia, will be from 8:00 AM until late, with exact times to be determined as Koegel figures what works.
For further info, call 688-3050 or visit www.mamasboymarket.com.
The Price May Not Be RightAs for the pricing... a recently-released letter from state Comptroller Arthur DiNapoli to state Department of Environmental Conservation officials noted disapproval of the high price the state had agreed to pay for approximately 1,200 acres in lands in the Big Indian area as part of a 2007 Agreement in Principal designed to push the mega-development forward after its review process had stalled.
But Gitter himself has said that DiNapoli's letter was simply a new challenge, and that all the developers would need to do was better justify the agreed-upon cost.
"While I understand that you have identified this as a priority project important to the Catskills economy, environment and watershed, you have not provided justification that adequately supports such a large premium over the fair-market value calculation done by your staff after gathering information, which included professional appraisals," wrote the Comptroller's Director of Contracts, Charlotte Breeyear, in the May 5 letter to the DEC. "You may resubmit this contract for further review if value factors change significantly."
In dispute was the agreed-upon $6.3 million DEC was asking to pay Gitter's Crossroads Ventures for property that the DEC had previously valued at $4.9 million, a 29 percent raise over assessment.
. "We don't have enough justification for a contract that pays this much over the fair market value," said DiNapoli spokesman Dennis Tompkins in a recent statement.
The land sale, which had originally been set at over $12 million for the Big Indian acreage as well as what had once been the Highmount Ski Center, was a key component of the 2007 deal brokered by then-Governor Eliot Spitzer and his staff to establish the $400 million Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park in Delaware and Ulster counties. In exchange for allowing Gitter to build hotels adjacent to state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, including ski-in and ski-out functions, a gold course, a high end spa, and individual town houses, the developer would sell the state the property so it could be added to the Catskill Forest Preserve.
The members of a consortium of national, state and regional environmental organizations who signed off on Spitzer's AIP said at the time that they did so because of the agreed-upon land deal. Last year, several, including the powerful National Resources Defense Council, threatened to pull back their support for the AIP, and pursue environmental opposition to the resort, should the land deal fall through.
Also last year, Gitter went before the Ulster County Legislature to ask for a special right-of-way over county-owned railway tracks as a means of increasing the value of his lands. The request was not granted.
"We cannot comment on the Comptroller's recent communication to the DEC: it is an internal matter between two state agencies," Gitter noted in a new missive released this past Tuesday, May 10. "It should be noted, however, that the Comptroller did not reject the sale of the Big Indian property to the DEC. He simply returned the contract to the DEC, unapproved, requesting them to supply further information justifying the price which had been agreed upon.
"For our part, we continue to abide by the Agreement in Principle and expect the other parties will do the same," Gitter continued. "We have been trying for eleven years to bring a desperately needed economic development asset to this region. We have encountered many delays and obstacles. But, along the way, we have also earned the support of the two counties involved, all the building trades unions, and major environmental groups."
"Safeguarding this 1,220 acre forested parcel as 'forever wild' for water quality and conservation purposes remains the top priority," responded NRDC's Eric Goldstein in a statement released May 11 to the news that there would be "further negotiations," as he put it. "We are encouraged that both DEC and the developer have indicated their intention to continue working to complete this long-promised land transfer."
A call to the state DEC for clarification of just how much of the original $12 million purchase deal was involved in the Highmount land purchase, and where that process stood in light of current state budget difficulties, resulted in cross statements... and an indication of major bureaucratic soupiness.
"Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) was the entity tasked with negotiating for Highmount, not DEC (because the expansion is economic development)," noted DEC Director of Public Information Yancey Ray of the Highmount portion of the sale. "Nothing regarding the potential acquisition of Highmount can go forward until the UMP for the Belleayre Ski Center is completed and approved. There have been no appraisals."
Roy was referring to a long-awaited Unit Management Plan for growth at the ski center designed to move forward, for the review process as well as possible development, in tandem with the Resort proposal.
Meanwhile, at ESDC, press officer Jola Szubielski noted that she couldn't find any mention of a Belleayre, Highmount, or even DEC project listed in her agency's files. But then she noted that she was able to find out that "this in fact a project that comes out of the Southern Tier office," based in Binghamton and dealing with Delaware County, even though the slopes in question are primarily in Ulster County.
After almost a week of inquiries into the project in the Southern Tier administration for UCDC, Szubielski finally added a final note: "Our regional office was not able to find anything on this. I've contacted DEC to see if we can iron this out."
"This is simply another obstacle to overcome," concluded Gitter of the pricing matter, without making any comment to previous statements he'd made that there had been no problems highlighted by the comptroller's office. "This project is moving forward. We will persevere."
Trout Unlimited is a national organization with more than 150,000 volunteers organized into about 400 chapters from Maine to Montana to Alaska. With a mission to conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds, this dedicated grassroots army is matched by a staff of lawyers, policy experts and scientists, who work out of more than 30 offices nationwide. These conservation professionals ensure that Trout Unlimited is at the forefront of fisheries restoration work at the local, state and national levels.
The Catskills Mountains Chapter has been in discussions with State Department of Conservation about making a section of the Esopus Creek, from Phoenicia downstream to Boiceville, a "catch and release" section of the waterway.
On Wednesday, May 19th at the Gander Mountain Lodge in Kingston, at the Catskills Mountains Chapters monthly meeting, the proposal was expected to be under discussion with special guest speaker Mike Flaherty, DEC's regional fisheries manager.
Flaherty, according to information provided by the Catskills Mountains Chapter, has been polling anglers in the area and reports that his agents on the Esopus are asking people about their opinion about a catch and release only section on the Esopus. The Catskills Mountain Chapter believes that word is starting to spread that catch and release is now a serious consideration for future management of the creek.
To aid the discussion, Flaherty will also have available some information from his most recent studies.
Expected to attend the session are members of the Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimted.
That Chapter is not so sure the catch and release plan is a good one, according to Vice President Kathy Nolan.
"Our Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited was alerted to the issue, and we addressed it at the monthly meeting of our Board of Directors' she said Monday. "As a result, our Board is drafting a formal position statement on Catch and Release, specifically related to this proposal. At this time we do not support catch and release on the mainstream Esopus due to the unique character of the communities, watershed and fisheries. We do not believe catch and release is the best management system given these considerations."
Some fisherman feel that catch and release cannot be practiced while bait fishing for trout. Bait caught trout are much more likely to swallow the offering and have higher mortality rates after release.
Others feel that sensible fisheries management needs to be based on reliable scientific data on the system under consideration and that DEC would need to be flexible in the approach to catch and release laws, using trial and error to arrive at a solution which the vast majority of anglers are happy with.
Still others want to simply enjoy a good trout dinner after a day of fishing, and are prepared to go elsewhere to fish to maintain that tradition.
Nothing has been decided yet. DEC is the agency that will rule on the matter, and public hearings on the topic are expected.
It was surprising to see so few in attendance, given the fact that the stakes are high. Lawsuits are threatened. The fabric of the community might be stake. Friendships might end depending on the outcome.
Such is the backdrop against which Tuesday night's May 18 meeting played out, and while there was no definitive outcome it was at least clear that one was on the horizon. Unclear, however, is what that outcome will be.
After spending some time looking at existing law and proposed laws, mulling over every word and phrase, the group of planning board members, zoning board members, town councilfolk and the town's code enforcement officer turned to Ulster County Planner Dennis Doyle for some advice.
Doyle, who has come to town before to talk this issue over, let the group know that if there was consensus on what the town wanted, then a law could be written to allow it.
Everyone knows the genesis for these discussions is the farm stand operated by the father and son team of Al and Alfie Higley on Route 28 in Mount Tremper. A highly successful and popular operation since its inception several years ago, the legality of the business has been in dispute, with the town believing it violates local law, while the owners contend they are in good standing. Violations have been issued. Lawyers have been involved. Solutions have been considered.
Doyle jumped into the fray after Planner Maureen Millar noted that allowing farm stands would be opening the floodgates.
"It is a new commercial use territory...for every district in Town," she warned.
But Doyle, a consensus builder if there ever was one, asked several questions about the issue to try and gauge what the town was looking for when it comes to whether to encourage or discourage farm stands.
"The general consensus is this is good for the community," he said after the exercise.
As for the major concern that any new law would allow for farm stands to pop up all over the place, Doyle suggested that they could be allowed in all zoning districts, provided that they have road frontage along either a state or county roadway. This, he said, would keep the farm stands off the small, residential town roads and the neighborhoods they serve.
Another concern is that farm stands might expand. Doyle warned that agriculture is changing in Ulster County, so the town should be careful about what it restricts. Unlike the days gone by of large farms, Doyle said that "intense farming" on lots as small as two to four acres can provide enough income to sustain the family that operates it. Add in the potential for businesses such as cheese making, and you have a whole industry that may be in development.
"This might be something the town could encourage rather than discourage," he said.
There were other issues discussed, like what goods a farm stand could sell or not sell, whether someone that stops at a farmstand is actually parking their car or only standing, etc., but Doyle kept bringing the group back to the main question that he raised at the beginning of the session.
"Is this beneficial to the community," he asked.
In closing the meeting, supervisor Rob Stanley said that he felt the debate has narrowed in focus, and that the group is moving toward a decision.
"We're not trying to push anything, but to move forward," said Stanley,." Maybe another meeting in a month or so."
He suggested that all involved go and talk to their constituents about the matter.
Every third house, someone comes to the door with a shotgun, a machete, or a whistling 3/4 horse weed whacker. Everybody's miffed. I like to call this the "Miffed Myth". It's not true! Oh, sure a NRFU runs into a few grouchy folks but mostly everybody that's home likes to talk. About them.
Some people believe the darndest things. Like refusing to answer a couple of questions will protect your privacy. Hah! A NRFU on computer can watch you from the sky. See, for example, if a car is parked in the driveway. Privacy? We lost that a long time ago. Ironically, with all this information we are getting dumber. The census can't simply get all it needs from the Post Office, IRS and telephone company. Sort of like how the CIA can't talk to the FBI. The answers you give to a NRFU are between you and NRFU and God. $150,000 fine and years in the pokey for the unfortunate NRFU that spills the beans.
But with responsibility comes privilege. Did I mention my G-Man status? The NRFU always rings twice. I can ignore private property signs more confidently than Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger put together.
A big myth is that "This is costing too damn much money." I truthfully don't even know how many millions or billions. But every census that comes back marked "occupied" gets something like 1500 Federal bucks for the hometown to help with schools and roads and such. I estimate that so far, I've raised about 60 grand for Shandaken. Yeah, it costs the Feds about $65 to follow up on every household that didn't mail back the census. However, a good chunk of that money goes back into the community in the form of decent wages, $16.50 per hour and 50 cents a mile. The NRFU enumerator also helps the economy by buying local shock absorbers and transmissions after criss-crossing Cross Mountain Road and the Shin Creek Expressway. The economics are mostly good.
Not a myth: The census makes a difference. NY State and California will probably lose representation and Texas is likely to gain. Some people might think getting rid of a few politicians is a good thing. I tend to go along with that. But it will surely change the balance of power of the mightiest military machine on the face of the Earth. So by failing to cooperate with your confident, sunny, persistent yet polite neighborhood NRFU, you might help determine which country gets bombed next. Think about it.
A big part of the training is in safety. A NRFU must avoid becoming dog chow. We are advised to wear comfortable running shoes for the spontaneous 23 skiddoo, but never to run from dogs or mountain lions as that will make it more likely for one to get partially consumed.
Our area has just about the worst response rate in the country. So we must be a bunch of refuseniks, right? Nope. Half or more homes around here are second homes where no one's home. The sun bleached red & white census bag still hangs on the knob, only to be found in spring after the glacier has retreated. But we can't simply assume no one's living there, as common sensical as it might sound. We have to talk a human being first. Which I don't mind doing. Can we talk? Thanks, Joan Rivers. Seems like a lot of people have lost their Census. For example, why didn't Mrs. McGillicuddy get counted? The Enumer ate her.
It really helps to have a sense of humor. See you soon!
Total number of yes votes came to 1179 versus 925 no votes. The only town to reject the budget was Olive/Marbletown, 296 yes to 353 no. Other towns saw Shandaken/Lexington go 236 yes to 163 no; Woodstock, 358 yes to 200 no; and West Hurley, 289 yes to 209 no.
The proposition requesting $35,000 for the purchase of a vehicle passed a narrow 1058 to 1015. Once again, Olive/Marbletown was the only town to defeat the purchase, 244 yes to 402 no. Other town tallies were Shandaken/Lexington, 215 yes to 178 no; Woostock, 331 yes to 214 no; and West Hurley, 268 yes to 221 no.
With the exception of last year's 2009 budget vote, the town of Olive has traditionally voted against the school budget over the last decade.
In the Middle/High School Teachers conference room, there were very few people awaiting results, mostly administrators and board of education members.
With the budget passed, Superintendent Leslie Ford said, "I would like to thank the community for coming out to vote, this means a lot to the students to have this budget pass during these difficult economic times and I really appreciate their support." This is Ford's third successful budget year.
Tom Hickey and Rob Kurnit, the two candidates on the ballot running uncontested, enjoyed voter support. Hickey gathered 1257 votes in his favor with Kurnit coming in second at 1150. There were also a few write-in candidates.
In Shandaken/Lexington, Hickey received 230 and Kurnit 193. Past school board member Rita Vanacore had one write-in vote and Edward Cahill also received one write-in vote. I
n Olive/Marbletown, Hickey received 354 and Kurnit 322. Vanacore received one write-in vote and Richard Wolff, who resigned from the board last year, gained seven write-in votes.
In Woodstock, Hickey received 365 votes and Kurnit 335. In Hurley Hickey received 318 votes and Kurnit 300.
Board members congratulated the two. Trustee Tony Fletcher said, "You are now officially elected." The two were appointed following the resignation of Michelle Friedel and Wolff in July 2009.
As the results were coming in, Fletcher noticed that the turnout increased compared to 2009 results. By the end of the evening all four polling stations revealed voter town out at a slight increase. Olive/Marbletown showed the highest increase, an additional 137 (99 of those in no votes) compared to the previous year.
The Onteora School district has approximately 11,560 registered voters in Ulster County, not including the small slice of voters in Greene County.
As part of procedure, School board president Laurie Osmond called a board meeting for the acceptance of the election results.
It was passed by a unanimous vote.