Good Signs
OK it’s summer, and so far so good. Traffic volume and visitor commerce is up on 28. The Esopus is running clearer than most of us can remember, though why that couldn’t happen 20 years ago is anyone’s guess. The resurrection of Olive’s bridges is proceeding; In most places the weeds look pretty well whacked and the general level of outdoor housekeeping is pleasantly high.
It’s a good summer, it turns out, to buy a house around here if you can swing it. Probably a good time, too, to lock in next winter’s heating costs or get an early start on firewood if you can. In case anyone still feels they need permission, we officially declare it finally warm enough to put your tomatoes in the ground. And it’s not true that two people had to be treated for hypothermia after putting their toes in the water at Pine Hill Lake. The sand is sparkling and warm and it’s still the best deal on kayak and paddleboat rentals in three states. As usual, we predict it’ll be the hottest beach around, even if it’s the only beach. But there’s new talk, tentative talk at least, of maybe opening the Ashokan to recreational boating. And with the settlement of at least some long standing tax conflicts this past spring, we may well be poised for a new and long overdue era of positive cooperation with the City of New York. That, we think, could offer enormous opportunities for our local economy, without compromising either the quality of life here or the increasingly precious quality of our water supply. There are even renewed discussions underway on wastewater treatment for Phoenicia, under terms that could turn out to be locally acceptable.
We’re pleasantly encouraged by Governor Paterson’s commitment to our region’s long-term planning, evidenced by the Smart Growth funding for our 28 corridor towns.
Regionally, we’re hopeful about Stewart Airport’s meaningful inclusion into long-term city and state planning, and the revived prospect for high-speed rail service there and perhaps north to Kingston and Albany. Such plans, first proposed nearly a generation ago by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Governor Mario Cuomo, seem almost brilliantly prescient in light of the brave new world of energy costs.
We’re also encouraged by the relative strength of much of our local real estate market, in contrast to national trends and forecasts that are downright frightening. But there are good reasons for that strength. Some of these we’ve just touched on and others we’ve often shared with you. But we do think our region’s long term economic prospects are amongst the best in the Northeast and the country as a whole. And that’s a perspective we encourage you to consider, at least, as we all brace for changes ahead which no one including us would presume to forecast in much detail.
Locally we congratulate Onteora’s soon-to-be graduates and four new board members, and wish them all well on the accelerated learning curve their new positions require. To the outgoing board members Mary Jane Bernholz, Cindy O’Connor, and Rita Vanacore we offer our sincere thanks for their three solid years of volunteer service. The board’s final accomplishment, the 2008 budget, has certainly raised the bar on the level of fiscal responsibility we’ve come to expect, and we hope it will set a new standard going forward. Given the public promise of the board’s new majority, Large Parcel with all its troubling tax implications is no longer an issue that affects any Onteora resident. It’s passed into our local history, like the also better-forgotten Mascot issue which unsettled so many for so long. With LP’s passing there is no longer any insipid inter-municipal brush war simmering and peace in the school district, we believe, is at hand. The choices ahead we now face as a single community, just as we always should have seen them and ourselves.
So on balance thus far it’s been a good end to Spring. We wish everyone good planting and tending and a summer rich in the warmth and vibrancy and fellowship all of us seek and treasure.
BP