Local Economic Engine Under Funded
Belleayre cuts may affect Ulster County businesses
by Mimi Quinn
by Mimi Quinn
Governor David Paterson’s
May 2010 announcement of a $20-million state park’s budget cut is now
threatening the economic situation and fiscal life of one of Ulster County’s
most important revenue catalysts, tourist attractions and economic
boosters—primarily Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.
Belleayre Mountain, located
off Route 28 in Highmount (half hour from Kingston), sits within the Catskill
Park. First declared “Forever Wild” by the New York State Forest Preserve in
1885, bills were introduced in 1947 allowing New York state to create the ski
center. With construction commencing in 1949, Belleayre Mountain Ski Center
celebrated its premier and paramount opening during that year’s winter season,
becoming a center for winter sports in the region.
Throughout the past six
decades, the park’s upgraded amenities have transformed Belleayre into a model
in the ski industry. The mountain attracts thousands of people to its trails,
an economic engine that generates revenue for the many businesses that sprouted
up within the picturesque towns along the Route 28 corridor.
Town of Shandaken
Supervisor Robert E. Stanley said, “Belleayre’s approach is blue collar;
there’s a chair lift and a bunch of snow—it’s very simple. Underprivileged kids
get to come up and folks from the Bronx, Manhattan, and other urban areas, who
may never be able to even see snow-covered mountains, are able to come here.”
However, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Belleayre’s state owner, has
been ordained to cut 140 department-wide state jobs by year’s end—and as high
as 34 percent of those cuts are affecting Belleayre.
Although DEC spokesman
Yancey Roy has been quoted to say that the DEC is not in control—citing that
the Division of the Budget is at the helm of this issue—Supervisor Stanley
said, “Yes, the DEC was told to do the statewide cut from the Division of the
Budget, but [the DEC] are the ones that divvied up the cuts with 48 jobs coming
out of Belleayre.”
Stanley also questions how
the DEC could possibly decide to cut that many jobs considering the area’s
economy.
He said places like Hunter
Mountain and Windham have a lot more amenities than Belleayre; “It’s like
apples and oranges and they’re crying foul that Belleayre is taking business
away from them.”
The Shandaken supervisor
feels that Belleayre should not be privatized, stating, “[The state] created
Belleayre and made it a state park over a century ago, and 50 years later they
realized that the private ownership of land and economic advancement would be
limited due to the creation of the state park and created Belleayre for
economic advancement—especially for the advancement of the area’s corridor.”
Stanley said if Bellaeyre
were to become privatized it would have an effect on the local economy, which
he states is a very economically depressed area. He said the people who live
and work there are having a hard enough time making ends meet—with many of them
employed at the ski center.
“To privatize it, to me,
says skiing is an elitist’s sport,” Stanley pointed out, “when it should be
something available for New York state residents as a whole.”
He added, “Belleayre is a
break-even operation, so now Windham and Hunter can FOIL [Freedom of
Information Law] the finances of Belleayre. But because they’re privatized
their finances can’t be seen.”
The Catskill Mountain area
is known for its skiing. The reciprocal relationship of Belleayre, Hunter,
Windham, and other small ski mountains exists in the fact that people will
visit each mountain over time. Each mountain brings economic vitality to the
small towns around it.
The Pine Hill Arms in Pine
Hill, on the back side of Belleayre, is known as the area’s economic barometer.
Owner Robert Konefal said, “I’ve been here for 38 years; we’re one of the few
remaining hotels in the area. I think this is the worst the economy has been
since I’ve been here.”
The Pine Hill Arms is not
only a place for overnight visitors to the area, it also boasts a restaurant.
Konefal said, “It takes the discretionary income out of people’s pockets; I’ve
seen a change already, the people that are having salary cuts can’t go out and
spend money. Now a family cannot even go out to dinner once in a while as entertainment.
That can be cut out—but a
homeowner can’t cut on heat, gas, and other priorities that keep a household
going.”
Konefal expressed that
there may be an unfair concentration on Belleayre from the state: “It’s payback
because Belleayre had a lawsuit; there were many temporary employees who wanted
to be permanent, and when they won the lawsuit they all became permanent at one
time.”
He added, “Right now the 48
employees are back to being temporary and getting pay cuts; but what’s gonna
happen come April 1st; the people could lose their jobs entirely,” Konefal
said.
“The last two years, this
area has been devastated; there are 21 restaurants and lodging businesses for
sale in Phoenicia,” said Konefal.
Members of the “Coalition
to Save Belleayre Mountain,” formed in the early 1980s, believe that Belleayre remains the main economic
force in the rural area of the Central Catskills, with its location on the tip
of the western border of Ulster County.
According to the Coalition
this struggle with Albany is not new, as lawmakers have threatened the area
since the ‘80s when plans to close the ski center were first introduced.
Members of the Coalition state that even though the ski center has been called
the region’s most important economic magnet, attacks reemerge about every two
years. Many locals wonder whether Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo will advocate for
the ski area and region by creating incentives for businesses to invest in the
western Catskills.
However, Division of the
Budget’s spokesman Erik Kriss confirmed that even after the state’s Assembly
Oversight Committee hearing on this issue, there has been no change in the
plan, and adamantly added, “And there won’t be.”
–originally published in the January 2011 issue of CWN
–originally published in the January 2011 issue of CWN
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 11:25 AM.
Filed under
Feature,
Local Economy
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