(letters from March 30, 2006)

Dear Editor,
The following letter was sent to NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Denise Sheehan:
We are extremely pleased to note, along with several recent newspaper articles, the continued success of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. Contrary to what some private area owners have alleged, Belleayre’s resurgence is a result of many years of tireless efforts by its downstate citizen supporters in conjunction with a dramatic 24/7 commitment by its staff to make the Belleayre experience the best it can be. Through these cooperative efforts, Belleayre has become a year round destination resort bolstered by the resounding success of The Summer Music festival. The Governor himself has stated “The public private partnership so successfully implemented with The Belleayre Conservatory, should serve as a model for all state run facilities.”
The skiing public votes with its feet and it is voting strongly to support the efforts of Governor Pataki to bring Belleayre back to its position of excellence in the Northeast. While other ski areas have selling real estate as a concern, we can concentrate on why skiers ski; the conditions. Our snowmaking and grooming are second to none, our children’s programs are thriving, our racing program gets better and better and the morale on the mountain is sky high.
The real answer to the grousing by private area owners about skier visits is not the weather or “Belleayre”. The solution is to bring the Catskill Ski Industry into the modern era of regional cooperation. We proposed seven years ago that the Catskill Ski Region have a pass good for all the areas so the skier-visitors can have some variety on one ski pass. We have great ski centers and the ability to ski them all with one purchase opens up a whole new experience to the skier. The details yes, are daunting, but they can and should be worked out. Other regions around the country and the world use this marketing technique because it brings in customers. Our regional skier base needs to be expanded and with some innovative ideas and regional cooperation, it can happen. We are the closest locality to the largest population of skiers in the world and we have not fully taken advantage of that proximity.
The Central Catskills has benefited tremendously from the resurgence of Belleayre. The economy has improved, the real estate base has expanded, and the infrastructure is being rebuilt. The positive economic return for New York State and its modest investment in Belleayre has been exponential. Listen to the community, the business people, and the visitors. The “Buzz” is back at Belleayre and the results are very evident to all. Just look around. It’s not just about price. People like what they are seeing... The area is on the upswing.
Cursing the weather and tiny Belleayre for all that is wrong with Greene County skiing belies the problem. Look at your markets, look at your conditions, and look at your skiers. A $75 lift ticket isn’t the answer for Catskill skiing. Bring in more people, bring in the regional concept not just in words but in benefits to the skiing public and the numbers will improve everywhere, not just Belleayre.
We are happy that New York State is in the ski business, it’s doing a fine job for its citizens. We blazed the trail in 1949 and we continue today. It’s time to stop fighting each other over things we can’t do anything about and start working together. Let’s get over it and get to work. Nobody is listening to the blame game.
Sincerely yours,
Joseph F Kelly, Chairman
Coalition to Save Belleayre

Dear Editor,
After the February 28 Onteora Board of Education Meeting and the latest issue of the Phoenicia Times, I wanted to respond to Paul Smart's editorial "Watch Out For Plan C" and Lisa Childers news article "Changing the Change." To begin, Lisa's comment in the news article "Changing the Change" concerning the unsaid common belief than Plan C would close the Phoenicia Elementary School is strictly an editorial comment and I believe does not belong in a factual news article. Paul, on the other had, when writing an editorial, has the right to express his opinion in the editorial column. With the power of his pen I only wish Paul would positively express his opinion to bring our district together, not further divide it. I, as a reader of the Olive Press, have every right to disagree.
My request for financial information concerning Plan C was just that, a board member's request for information so I can make an informed decision. If you are not familiar with Plan C, it calls for the district to restructure to two elementary schools, a 5 - 8 middle school and a 9 - 12 high school. The fact of the matter is that our student enrollment is declining and before we ask all our stakeholders to pass a bond for any plan, I need to feel reasonably secure that our student population can support three elementary schools. The demographers' reports reflect that in the year 2011 our student population will decrease by approximately 500 students. I do not want a future board to be in the position of putting million of dollars into an elementary school and six years down the road pass a resolution to close it.
At one of our January board meetings we were asked to give our blessing to Plan A. I stated, and what Lisa and Paul failed to quote, was that I felt I did not have enough information to say Plan A was the best plan for Onteora. By requesting additional information on Plan C, we are not "Changing the Change" but are accelerating the process of financial analysis that would normally take place through this process. We have a group of Onteora stakeholders asking information about a centralized campus for all students. Also a good idea. This will make me ask more questions and gather additional information.
Asking for information about Plan C was not a popular question to ask but I was not elected to the board to always ask popular and politically correct questions. I was elected to ask questions and gather information so I can make the best-informed decision.
This Board of Education is in the fact-finding state of a very long process and every time we ask a question it is not intended to change direction but make sure we are headed in the right direction. What we should all be asking is, what is the best educational and fiscally sound plan for our children and taxpayers of the district?
That is thinking like a district!
Cindy O'Connor
Onteora School Board Trustee
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
"The Belleayre Resort, if built, would expand the local tax base." That fact, gleaned from a superficial economic analysis of the proposed development, has never been in dispute. If you build townhouses or MacMansions on formerly undeveloped land, the assessments on those properties go up. Simple enough. But what about the cost of providing municipal and emergency services to the occupants of 372 of those new dwellings plus 400 new hotel rooms, not to mention the costs of educating the children of the resort workers who would move into the area? Ay, there's the rub!
Hundreds of studies conducted in communities throughout the country show that such development produces a fiscal loss for local government. On average, these studies show that for every dollar collected in taxes, between $1.15 and $1.50 goes out in the form of services by the local government and school district.
The Daily Freeman's Hugh Reynolds called an economic planner at the American Farmland Trust and asked about that organization's studies and how much the mega-resort might cost our community. The planner told Mr. Reynolds the "general figure" for the kind of "commercial/industrial" category represented by the Belleayre project was $1.29 for every tax dollar collected.
If both that figure and the developer's projections for increased tax revenues turn out to be accurate, then the resort would end up costing the local municipalities, school boards and Ulster and Delaware counties over $2.6 million in services annually, nearly $600,000 more than it would bring in.
Kudos to Mr. Reynolds because, with just that one phone call, he has done more to determine the real cost of the project than the developer or his consultants. Like a Pollyannaish business plan that projects revenues but fails to adequately gauge expenses, the mega-resort's draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) fails to include any required site-specific cost analysis. That is the unanimous consensus of all the economic and planning experts who have evaluated the socio-economic sections of the DEIS over the last three years.
Planning consultants Tim Miller and Cough Harbour & Associates flagged the omission. So did demand analyst Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D., who noted "tourists visiting a self-contained resort buy all food and entertainment on site, but the adverse effects are felt by the community outside of the resort."
Economic consultants RKG Associates called the omission a "major flaw" and warned that "little information is provided for either Middletown or Shandaken, both of which would bear the majority of this project's impacts...It is important for the Towns to understand this shortcoming in the DEIS, and how it could effect them directly."
Even Shandaken's own consultants, Ferrandino & Associates, told the municipality's Town and Planning Boards directly that "significant pieces are missing from the socio-economic analysis, including...a cost/benefit analysis comparing costs and anticipated revenues generated by the proposed development."
After all that, Town Supervisor Bob Cross and Councilman Joe Munster, with no apparent economic or planning expertise of their own, went before the Ulster County Legislature a couple of weeks ago and blithely praised the project on how it would expand the town's tax base.
A lot of folks in Shandaken are worried that Town Board members with ties to developer Dean Gitter or his project through marriage or land deals may be unfairly biased in favor of the project and influencing other Board members to curtail a proper consideration of its impacts. With statements to the Legislature that reveal a blind acceptance of the developer's economic claims despite all the warnings of experts, it's no wonder those folks are thinking that way!
Adam Nagy,
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
Recently the Ways and Means Committee of Ulster County Government which consists of members Alan Lomita, Susan Cummings, Glenn Noonan, Richard Gerentine, Tracy Bartels, Michael Berardi, Donald Gregorius, Jeanette Provenzano and Susan Zimet recently turned down an idea by Alan Lomita to eliminate the benefits that the legislators receive thus saving the County approximately $52,000.00 a year. In short, the Ways and Means Committee is responsible for all budgetary and financial matters pertaining to the County and is responsible for making specific financial recommendations pertaining to Ulster County contract agencies.
I have been bringing up the idea of eliminating the benefits for these individuals for quite some time now. Most of them have benefits from other employers and don't need the County's benefits.
Do you think they give up the buy out in that case? I would bet not.
I have been bringing up the issue of just doing away with the Legislative form of government and just have an elected County Executive for about the same amount of time. It continuously falls on deaf ears. Not from the constituents that I speak to, but the ears of the legislators themselves. They are not interested in anyone but themselves and their own political agendas and this just puts the icing on the cake in my opinion with proving just that.
This is especially true when it comes from persons such as Richard Gerentine, Susan Cummings, and Glenn Noonan. You have just proved me right Mr. Noonan. Did you forget about that email exchange we had only two months ago? I haven't. And as for Mr. Gregorius? I thought you might be a different person than what we have become so accustomed to seeing in the County Government. I thought wrong. I will not make that same mistake again.
Mr. Donaldson issued a letter to all County employees just recently along with an attachment entitled “Ulster County Expenditure Reductions: Employee Suggestions”. In the letter he states and I quote; “Sadly, numerous decisions made in the past have placed the County in its current situation. I want to make one thing clear. I do not blame the employees of Ulster County for the financial issues the County faces.” You are kidding right? And this decision not to cut benefits to individuals who for the majority can receive them from other sources is a good decision? Again, a quote from the letter; “I am sure you have either read or heard about the possibility of layoffs. Unfortunately, they remain a real possibility. It is my sincerest hope that the much needed expenditure cuts can be realized through a combination of attrition and other cost cutting measures thereby avoiding layoffs.”
Here is a way to save in excess of $52,000.00 dollars a year. The legislators receive benefit packages equivalent to or better than managers who have served this County in excess of 20 years after only four years of service. They receive 100 percent medical benefits for themselves and their families for life after only four years. They are elected. They make promises (most of which are not fulfilled) and they shake hands and offer crocodile tears and smiles in order to gain votes. They do not have to take a test or pass other entrance examinations in order to become employed by the County. Do they deserve these benefits?
And you want to lay off some of the workforce that keeps this County running smoothly despite the poor management decisions and poor financial decisions from the 6th floor? This is one issue that the voters of this County need not forget. If you forget anything else, do not forget this. Here they are (the legislators) crying poverty and looking for everyone to do their part and they collectively recluse themselves from this endeavor. We as a County are basically going broke. Our taxes keep going up along with every other cost of living and our County government basically doesn’t have a clue how to fix it nor can they agree on how to fix it. And you're surprised because why?
Drue Lynch
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
Now that the Shandaken’s Largest Billboard has been removed from the property that also hosts the World’s Largest Gold-Headed Black Phallus, let no one be confused about the billboard’s message from the developer: not his advertising copy spelled out in jarring red and white, but his devious attempt to get around any laws which may interfere with his profits or desires.
We need to keep this in mind in relation to his efforts to bribe us with promises of prosperity and contributions to so-called public projects.
Is any of us still blind to this?
Earl Hatleberg
Chichester, NY

Dear Editor,
There are always some letters expressing opinion with which I do not agree, but the last one demands a response. I feel for the individual whose sensibilities have been offended by the white fence on Dean Gitter's property.
I wonder if the same person is offended by some ugly property lining what should be the "scenic corridor" of Route 28.
At the time Dean Gitter applied for the permits for the project in Mt. Tremper, the Planning Board, of which I was a member, put some conditions on the permit, including: lights, berms, signs, etc. All of those conditions were met by the applicant.
The same does not apply to the project that stores the huge gas tank next to the Phoenicia Plaza. In that instance, the Planning Board put conditions on the permit as well, the tank must be stored away from private property; set back from Route 28; fenced in; etc. Most importantly, the massive tank should be screened year round with evergreens, so that it would not be seen from any portions of Route 28.
But that never happened. Once, through the effort of Gloria Braman, then Secretary of the Planning Board, a few small pine trees were planted. When they died they were not replaced.
Anyone who is interested in the preservation of the beauty of this area, and has memorized the Shandaken Zoning Law, knows that, if the applicant fails to meet the conditions place on the permit by the Planning Board - in this case by not planting, maintaining or replacing dead or diseased landscaping - the permit is no longer valid, and the business is operating illegally. Once, I went to the Planning Board to encourage them to make the applicant of that project plant evergreens as required, but the then Zoning Officer said that, "it had put that matter to rest." In the meantime the site has become an eyesore. Not only is there no permanent screening but the huge gas tank has turned out to be very fertile and has reproduced enormously. Now we have a countless number of smaller tanks strewn all over the property. This site does not offend anyone?
Another property that is an eyesore is the small log cabin just below Anthony Eisenbell's property. As far as I know, it never received a variance for commercial use. First of all the cabin was never finished. I do not know how a Certificate of Occupancy could have been issued, since the railing on the balcony was never installed. Second, the property was used for a while to repair cars. Now, part of the mountain has been dug out and again all sorts of vehicles are stored there. Is this property operating legally?
In addition, as someone else justly noted, there has been a huge truck with advertisements parked in front of a very nice large house, again on Route 28. Perhaps the owner could be persuaded to park his truck in the back of his property and out of sight.
Flavia De Mola
Big Indian, NY

Dear Editor,
This letter is addressed to Peter Vinci, and supervisors Robert Cross, Shandaken, and Jeremy Wilber, Woodstock. Peter Vinci, you are a very jealous person as your letter in the Phoenicia Times clearly shows, as well as a very bad business man.
Every project Dean Gitter has undertaken has been first class, including Emerson Place and the beautiful fence, his new restaurant in Woodstock and his hope of the project in your area. Everything first class. Good jobs, good pay and benefits and he pays high taxes all assets to your community and Ulster County, Mr. Vinci. Have you done any of this?
Is it any of your business if Mr. Gitter sells? I don’t think it should be your business or any one else’s, you jealous person. In your business you show you’re not very good as a business man. You employ 65 people with a staff of 265 people to maintain your 65 employees. Mr. Vinci, something is wrong here. Could be no one wants to work for you? You should sell that business. Mr. Gitter’s project in your town would supply you with a very nice tax base as well as jobs to people in your area. Mr. Cross, your town can use this project. Mr. Cross your town can also stop trying to include Olive into your tax base. Olive has completed their tax assessment, the most current assessment in Ulster County. Mr. Cross, your town hasn’t done this in many years. You should have this done so you can pay your fair share and stop trying to cut into Olive that has had the reservoir for 100 years. Don’t you Mr. Vinci believe you should have a re-assessment done within the next 25 years? Mr. Cross and Mr. Wilber, you both believe this: what is mine is mine. What is yours should also be mine (ref. To Olive).
Simon Ennis
Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
A recent article on a voting machine demonstration had this quote by Commissioner Turco: "Ulster County Republican Elections Commissioner Thomas Turco said that while some of those who flocked to Tuesday's demonstration "had an agenda," most people were interested in the process."
Doesn't "had an agenda" mean have an opinion? The Commissioner seems to be saying that voters are not supposed to have researched this topic. Perhaps he expects that voters coming to these staged demonstrations to be completely ignorant. We, the voters, can hardly be faulted for taking our democracy so seriously to have read about these machines in great depth. Voters should not be treated like school children or second-class citizens for having done their homework.
Also, this statement from the article: "Although the direct recording machines, known as DREs, have raised the most concern among voting rights activists, the technology appears most similar to the existing lever machines." is misleading. It masks the profound differences between mechanical levers and computer screens that look like levers. Remember, looks can be deceiving!
Irene Miller,
Ulster/Greene regional coordinator, MidHudson Verified Voting
Palenville, NY

Dear Editor,
Between 1997-98 and the 2003-2004 school years the overall enrollments of the nine public school districts in Ulster County increased by only three students, according to the New York State Education Department. The enrollments increased from 28,375 to 28,378. Within these numbers there were districts that experienced increases and decreases. During this time frame Kingston declined from 8,149 to 7,909, while Saugerties went from 3,472 to 3,336, Onteora from 2,416 to 2,172, Rondout from 2,906 to 2,797, and Ellenville, went from 1,977 to 1,804. On the southern end of the County, Wallkill increased from 3,384 to 3, 637, New Paltz from 2,296 to 2,376, Highland from 1,847 to 1,891 and Marlboro went from 2,084 to 2,136. The enrollment decline in Northern Ulster was similar to decreases in students throughout the rural districts of New York State, where in seven years there was a drop from 201,373 to 171,838. It appears that families with children are going to live where the jobs are and exiting areas where there is little future prospects. New York State has to find a better way to attract businesses besides taxes and more governmental services.
As of January 2006 Onteora’s student population was 2,023. It’s clear that the student population in the Onteora’s School District continues to decline and will in the near future. This decline in students should affect Onteora’s approach on any future improvements and the how many buildings the school should keep.
William Warnecke
Glenford, NY

Dear Editor,
Is Peace Really Political?
I realize that some folks don’t agree that the Bush administration is radical, destructive, inept, corrupt, beholden to corporations and driven by stubbornness, arrogance, ignorance, the fear of Armageddon and greed.
That’s fine, this is America we can disagree, but I find it hard to believe that we all can’t agree on Peace.
Even the most stubborn politicians would be forced to listen to our American voices if we actually used them. The senseless killing in Iraq would be over tomorrow if every one of us demanded an end to the bloodshed now. If we wrote letters, made telephone calls or shot off a couple of emails to our elected officials at every level and simply said ENOUGH!
Enough men killing men. Enough bombs. Enough profit for the oil companies. Enough Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Enough soldiers committing suicide. Enough lifelong injuries. Enough torture. Enough DEBT (both lives and dollars!)
After so much history, does anyone really still believe we have the right to slaughter our fellowhumans?
War is an evil that only Peace can vanquish. Stop Killing. Please.
David J. Turan, USAF Veteran
Stamford NY

Dear Editor,
I buried three little squirrels today. The fourth is struggling for life in a makeshift nest of fleece and torn tissue. He is suckling formula from a syringe every two hours around the clock, day and night, and he is losing ground. He weighs 16 grams. That is less than two thirds of an ounce. His eyes have not yet opened. Nor have his ears. He is pink all over. He is nine days old and I am trying my best to save him. I want him to have the sweet squirrel life he was born to have.
The babies fell when their tree was cut down. Had they been left where they fell, kept warm and safe from predators, their mother may have carried them back to a different nest. Squirrels build several nests in different trees. They do this for protection against storms and wind and predators.
Please, if you must cut trees in the spring when squirrels and birds are nesting, check first for babies. Try to do no harm. If you must cut the tree or limb, remember that a squirrel mother will move her young to another nest if given the chance. The litter must be kept warm. That is the most crucial thing. And never ever give anything by mouth. It is painfully easy to get fluid in their lungs and they will then die quickly of pneumonia.
The little one needs care now. I fear he is dying and tomorrow will lie with his brothers and sisters under a small stone in the yard behind my house.
Jo-Anne Rowley
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
I just finished my daily walk with the family dog. This walk includes three streets in our neighborhood. Along the way I counted two (flying) tattered American flags, numerous beer and soda cans and bottles, telephone books by mailboxes, Styrofoam coffee cups, cigarette packs, political signs, metal business and realtor signs, plastic water bottles, and a rug!
It concerns me that mankind has become so lazy and irresponsible with what we hold dear to our hearts, the natural beauty of the Catskills. For the past three years I have picked up this trash and placed it in our garbage and returned the recyclables. Have our lives become so busy that we can't bend over and pick up telephone books by our own mailboxes? Are we drinking alcoholic beverages, while driving, and just winging the evidence out our car windows? We are passionate and verbal about other topics but fail to see natural beauty withering away because of pure ignorance.
All this debris can, and should, be picked up by the community. Is it fair that we should have to pick up after others? No, it isn't! However, if we continue with this attitude our town will soon have an urban feel and appearance, not the rural and country feeling that have existed for many years.
As a community, let us make a -small sacrifice and clean up our properties. If we pick up some roadside trash we may be surprised how rewarding it will be when we witness the results.
I truly appreciate the organizations that have "adopted" highways and keep these highways beautiful. Those organizations whose signs adorn the roadside, but do nothing to maintain the highway, should really take them down.
They don't deserve the recognition!
Joann Grazier
Shokan. NY

Dear Editor,
Another reason I don't watch much television...
The episode of CBS's show "Two and a Half Men", airing on 2/6/06 ended with Charlie Sheen saying "Love isn't blind, it's retarded. /I I was disappointed, like I'm sure many people were, to hear the word "retarded" used. It's important to remember retardation is a medical condition that can't be helped. It can occur before birth, or it can occur to anyone as the result of an accident or head trauma. Unfortunately, the word retardation has been used as a way to insult and make fun of people, or insinuate stupidity in certain situations.
PLEASE enlighten yourself, if needed, AND others to STOP using the word "retarded" as a putdown. We all need to be sensitive to those who live with permanent medical conditions, retardation being one of them. PASS THE WORD!
Sharon J. Mcinerney
Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
A question for the DEP... Why do we need a sewer system in Phoenicia when we already have a working, highly efficient, user-friendly system in our own backyards? And it’s low cost, low maintenance (could use a paint job), blends well with the surrounding flora, doesn’t need water or roter rooting; the tomatoes grow super well in the vicinity and no one in NYC and throughout the watershed has ever died or even become mildly sick from drinking the stream water. So tell us NYC/DEP, why do “we” need a sewer system? I enclose a picture of one of the many currently in-use local disposal systems. If the federal govt. feels that “you” (NYC) need a filtratiuon plant, why don’t you just belly up and leave us country folk alone.
Cal Smith
Phoenicia, NY
(photo of a worn outhouse enclosed)

Dear Editor,
His phone at the Senate Office building (202-224-3121) has been continuously busy for three days now, as in "ringin' off the hook." That is Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin. I wanted to tell his staff that I supported and applauded Senator Feingold's proposal to censure President Bush for breaking the law by authorizing illegal wiretaps on Americans (among other high crimes and misdemeanors).
The Republicans and chicken shit Democrats, apparently that's most of them, worried about losing their nice comfortable berth and its perks in Washington are afraid to even be in the same room with this censure proposal. They say it's awful to do this to our poor president, up to his hips in American and Iraqi blood, fighting a war of choice for oil, based on lies and deception as he helps his corporate war contractor friends get richer on no bid contracts, while there is incompetence, waste and outright theft in the rebuilding of Iraq, as Americans are getting screwed on health care, education and Americans will have to foot the bill for the Iraq tragedy, tax cuts for those poor billionaires, and corporate give-aways for generations to come.
The politicians bank on the American voters continuing apathy and stupidity.
I did get to tell Representative Ober of Massachusetts' office I supported the bill to impeach President Bush. Ramsey Clark has a website to impeach Bush and a year ago it had hundreds of thousands of hits.
Paul Weyrich, a veteran conservative organizer, said impeachment seemed far-fetched at the moment but said,
It looked bizarre in 1972, when Father Robert F. Drinan, John Conyers and others were planning for the impeachment of Nixon. When the moment of truth came, they were ready. Conse4rvatives are mobilizing now to prevent a change in the balance of power in the congress in 1006 and prevent the possibility of impeaching Bush. It takes courage for the people who put Bush in office to admit his presidency has been and is an ongoing disaster and vote in 2006 for a change in congress.
Will the moment of truth come agai or must the nation endure this madness until the presidential inauguration in 2009?
Robert Jacobson
Mount Tremper, NY