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Roundup of Recent Ulster County Business-Related News, Views, Stories and More

August 31st, 2023

This month the IDA got a new executive director; a proposed development would be the biggest in Woodstock history; Kingston adopts new zoning code citywide; Hurley approves new Dunkin; and a lease agreement by the county at iPark 87 was finally approved. In addition, Ulster Strong has been very busy planning for its first hosted forum, a "Housing Summit - Can New Housing Be Built In Ulster?", and the launch of our first educational video on PILOTS!

August is usually a quiet time with late summer vacations and school still out of session.

But that has not been the case when it comes to local development news!

This newsletter includes the following:

IN RESPONSE TO

CATSKILL MOUNTAINKEEPER’S

CALL FOR BALANCE - Opinion

“PILOTS: SIMPLY EXPLAINED”

NEW EDUCATIONAL VIDEO

LAUNCHED BY ULSTER STRONG

ULSTER STRONG

HOUSING SUMMIT

WEWORK VETS PLAN WOODSTOCK'S LARGEST DEVELOPMENT EVER

ULSTER COUNTY IDA GETS NEW CHIEF

KINGSTON'S NEW ZONING CODE EXPLAINED

AREA JOB GROWTH HIGHEST IN PRIVATE EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES

GENERATIONAL RECRUITING: UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

I-PARK 87 UPDATE

ULSTER HOUSING ACTION FUND APPROVED

BUTTERMILK EXPANSION PLAN AIRED

KINGSTONIAN UPDATE

HURLEY PLANNING BOARD GRANTS CONDITIONAL APPROVAL TO PROPOSED DUNKIN SHOP

SPOTLIGHT: Marbletown & Rochester

We welcome Catskill Mountainkeeper's Executive Director’s letter to the editor dated August 16 where he calls upon our communities to find a balance between development and environmental conservation. However, he and many other well-intentioned people and environmental groups all too often frame any and all development in life-threatening existential terms, while offering little accommodation to local human and community development needs. Mountainkeeper says they want balance, but what they outline espouses the need to protect and conserve as much land as possible, limit most development, and rely on some unspecified thing to maintain our local economy.

That “unspecified thing” is clearly more ’tourism’. While our local tourism industry is doing great, it too comes at a cost - more visitors, more traffic, more hotels, resorts and restaurants, and amusements, and more second home-owners and short-term rentals - things Mountainkeeper said they don’t want. When tourism-related developments are proposed, they are often opposed - glamping sites, resorts, hotels, retreats, and campgrounds have all met resistance for various reasons, often led by conservation groups.

Although we will not delve into specific development proposals mentioned in Mountainkeeper's letter, we will point out that developers, by law, work with local planning and zoning boards and governments, get input from communities through public hearings and community outreach and hear from groups just like the Catskill Mountainkeeper. And they do respond, accommodate, and adjust their applications to concerns and new insights all the time.

Mountainkeeper's letter and activist work often use fear-mongering, and sensationalize every proposed development's scope and impact - tapping into people’s instinctive resistance to change in general. These anxieties are leveraged to promote an aggressive ‘land conservation’ agenda. Their activist success leaves communities with few sustainable economic opportunities, aside from tourism, and results in limited tax revenue sources and increasingly expensive housing costs.

From our perspective, there is little 'balance’ in Mountiankeeper's message. And their message comes across to the public unambiguously - development of any kind is unwanted here; it will be obstructed in any way legally possible; and we will send a message to all would-be investors and developers - you are not welcome. For locals in need of affordable, working-class housing, services, and income, their message intentionally or not comes across as sacrificing local's real human needs in favor of a global environmental mission.

While fortunately there has been an uptick in developer interest in Ulster and Sullivan in the last few years, it is not assured as there are other places to invest. Limiting growth leaves us increasingly reliant on government support, or worse, dependent upon genuinely bad development proposals.

What we need is more listening to each other - our concerns, needs, and goals. There is plenty of overlap and consensus if we seek them out. There are no ‘draw-bridges or walls’ that can stop newcomers arriving, or stop young adults from leaving. But what we can do is plan together, and work in good faith to build a better future. The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation and Ulster Strong welcome an approach that will result in balancing the needs of people and our ecosystems.

Mike Oates

President & CEO

Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation



Meagan P. Bianco

Director of Community Engagement

Ulster Strong

Ulster Strong is pleased to announce the release of its first educational video as part of its ongoing public service initiatives to engage and inform the public on complex economic development topics. “PILOTS: Simply Explained” is a short 3 minute video that clearly explains what a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) is, with examples on how it may be strategically used to assist in desired local economic development.

Recognizing that many in our community are either unfamiliar or misinformed about what PILOTs are, Ulster Strong’s new video seeks to shed needed light and clarity on this important tool.  PILOTs are used across the nation, New York and in Ulster County for important development purposes.  Often they are intended to grow jobs, encourage key industries and developments, add new tax revenue, and better align developments with local planning goals, needs and values.

According to Ulster Strong president Tony Marmo, “because there is so much misinformation about what PILOTs are, it is too-often a source of unnecessary controversy.  Ulster Strong hopes to dispel some of the myths surrounding PILOTS, and educate the public on this useful development tool” says Marmo.

The Ulster Strong "PILOTS: Simply Explained” video will be promoted locally on social media and online.  The video will also be shared with Ulster County and town planning officials, and with Ulster Strong members.

Can New Housing Be Built in Ulster?

Please join us for a panel discussion of local leading experts on housing development in Ulster County.

This summit of local experts will discuss the issues surrounding new housing construction in Ulster County, and offer ideas to alleviate the current crises.

While some new local initiatives have been launched, little progress has been made on the construction of housing for middle and working classes, including multi-family housing.

We will discuss the challenges of planning board approvals, creating public support for projects, and construction at the local level, and investigate why and for how long demand for new housing will remain strong.

PANELISTS

Susan Wright - President / CEO, MGI

Mike Oats - President & CEO, Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp 

JJ McCormick - Partner & Director of Construction, D&A Companies

Dennis Doyle - Director, Ulster County Planning Department

Bill Calderara - President & CEO, Ulster Savings Bank

MODERATOR

Adam Bosch, President and CEO, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress



Panel discussion will be followed by Q&A and networking mixer.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 26th, 5PM

LOCATION: Senate Garage

4 North Front Street Kingston, NY 12401

This event is free, and Hosted by Ulster Strong. 

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

(Photo by the Woodstock Land Conservancy)

The developers, operating as Woodstock National LLC, presented their 620-acre concept to the Woodstock Planning Board on July 20. The preliminary plan includes an 18-hole golf course and 191 housing units, including 90 single-family houses in a “conservation subdivision” that avoids wetlands and buffers, 12 to 24 units of affordable housing, and 77 townhouses.

Both Woodstock National partners are former employees of WeWork. Evan Kleinberg made real estate deals for the company for a dozen years before moving to Saugerties two years ago. His partner, Eddie Greenberg, is a developer. 

The Ulster County Industrial Development Agency has named Hillary Nichols as the agency’s first executive director at a $109,000 annual salary.



Agency board Chairman Michael Ham on Wednesday said there is a Sept. 1 planned start date for Nichols, who is currently the director of vocational services for Resource Center for Accessible Living.

According to the Form-Based Code Institute, a form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code.

Kingston’s new form-based zoning code breaks building types down into 14 types of buildings. Buildings typically associated with residential neighborhoods are detached houses, carriage houses, duplexes, cottage courts, rowhouses, multiplexes, small multiplexes, courtyard buildings and stacked flats.

READ/VIEW NEW CODE >



Sullivan County scored the most new jobs year over year in July with 3.6 percent growth. Ulster County job growth was at 1.7 percent while the Orange-Rockland-Westchester Metro Area growth stood at 1.4 percent.

Columbia, Delaware and Greene County each had no job growth, while the Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division saw a loss of 2.7 percent of its jobs.

The contemporary workforce encompasses four primary generations: Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zs. Part one of this series will focus on Millennials and Gen Z. While close in age, these generations exhibit nuanced differences in communication preferences and interpretation, work-life integration, productivity and job search methods, among other work-related aspects.



Recruitment tactics should resonate with Millennial and Gen Z candidates at their life stages, customized to cater to their distinct preferences for seeking employment. Ulster employers aiming to foster, construct and draw a diverse workforce spanning multiple generations must understand their audience and consider the following factors.

Recruiting Millennials

In an era of evolving technology, Millennials, comprised of digital natives and early tech adopters, prove to be invaluable assets to the contemporary workplace.

To recruit and attract Millennial job seekers, businesses should consider:

Hiring timelines – Millennials tend to value communication and feedback, particularly throughout the interview phase. Many within this generation prioritize expedited interview processes and regular check-ins. To maintain candidate interest, employers should establish consistent communication with them throughout every stage of the hiring journey. Engagement strategies could include automating communications triggered by each recruitment phase and ensuring clarity regarding next steps and expectations. Millennials value personalized communication and engagement through text messages, emails or direct messages from platforms such as Linkedln to swiftly cultivate rapport.

Recruiting Gen Z

While many Gen Z candidates are just beginning to enter the workforce, this segment is projected to expand in the upcoming years significantly. Consequently, attracting Gen Z has rapidly emerged as a top priority for organizations.

To attract Gen Z job seekers, businesses should consider:

Content marketing - Leverage social media platforms to enhance the company's visibility. Generate informative content regarding fundamental values, the company's mission, unconventional perks, retreats and social gatherings aimed at capturing the attention of potential candidates from this generation, fostering a genuine connection. However, upon engagement, employers should pivot to personalized communication, such as emails, social direct messages and text.

Ulster employers who thoughtfully acknowledge and accommodate generational differences can effectively construct a diverse workforce capable of thriving in the evolving landscape of the future.



Matthew Zinser is a business performance advisor with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions. For more information about Insperity, visit www.insperity.com or contact Matthew directly at matthew.zinser@insperity.com or 646-285-5585. 

The Ulster County Legislature voted 20-1 to move forward with a lease agreement paving the way for County Executive Jen Metzger’s plan to create a Workforce Innovation Center for the Green Economy at iPark 87, the former IBM and TechCity site in the town of Ulster.

Joseph Maloney (D-Saugerties) cast the only no vote at Tuesday’s meeting.

The lease agreement will see UCEDA sublease 20,000 square feet of space in the main building on the east campus of iPark 87 to house the three county department offices along with flex space for workforce training, conferences and meetings. SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Ulster will each lease an additional 10,000 square feet in the same building for the Workforce Innovation Center.

ITS A START - however this program does not help to add to the very badly needed middle-class housing crises, but focused mostly on low-income housing.

We need to embrace the Governor's housing plan now!

"The Ulster County Legislature has approved County Executive Jen Metzger’s proposed Housing Action Fund and seed it with $15 million from the county’s $100 million budget surplus. The vote came during Tuesday night’s monthly session....



In exchange for the investment from the fund, it will require the creation of healthy, energy-efficient, and climate-responsible housing units for households making up to 80 percent of the county’s area median income with an emphasis on housing that serves the county’s most vulnerable populations."

At its bimonthly meeting on Monday, August 7, the Marlborough Planning Board got a preview of plans to significantly expand Milton’s Buttermilk Falls Inn and Spa Complex.

The proposal calls for the construction of a new 65-room hotel facility and banquet hall at the top of the sloping property. Owner Bob Pollock also plans to build 35 guest cabins, which are being dubbed “treehouses” to emphasize their treetop views. Pollock also plans to expand Henry’s At The Farm, its current restaurant, and ultimately add two to three additional dining spots.

The Kingstonian project is still very much alive.

"Challenges from Kingstonian Project opponents aligned with New York City developer Neil Bender are continuing to work their way through the legal process nearly two years after the first suits were filed. Kingston’s Corporation Counsel Barabra Graves-Poller said many of the challenges have been rejected or are repeating arguments."

Graves-Poller said the city is waiting on a ruling for the Kingstonian’s site plan approval. She added there are two Appealete Court arguments scheduled for Sept. 13 concerning the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency’s approval of a PILOT for the project and the city’s approval of an easement.

After three years of extensive reviews and several court cases finding against the Hurley Planning Board, the board finally voted on Wednesday, Aug. 30, to approve Southern Development and Realty LLC's site plan to construct a drive-thru Dunkin' shop at the corner of Route 28 and 375 in West Hurley.

Ulster Strong has closely followed this project and shared updates, not because we champion this specific kind of business, but because of numerous concerns about the planning board's process in this as well as other recently proposed development projects. Local planning boards need to operate transparently, and be guided by clear guidelines and law to ensure proper and fair vetting of any development, and not be persuaded by emotions or public pressure.

In spite of extensive and often unreasonable hurdles placed before the applicant by the town planning board, and vocal opposition by local activists, this project may now finally proceed.

Photos by Bond Brungard:

The hamlet of Accord’s retail activity is dominated by a three-business commercial district with this market, antique store and nearby pottery studio. 

 Farms animals and a giant garden gnome greet visitors at Kelder’s Farm. 

In the valley between the Catskills and northern Shawangunks, agriculture for centuries, and later tourism and second home ownership, have been the anchors of the economies of the towns of Marbletown and Rochester. “Sunflowers are our big season right now,” said John Kelder, “and lots of fruits and vegetables.” Kelder manages the family’s farm retail business, in the Town of Rochester, along a stretch of Route 209 as Mohonk Mountain House distantly looms atop Shawangunk ridge.

In the valley below, families can pick their own fruits and vegetables, with prime pumpkin season about a month away, in the fertile fields along the banks of the Rondout Creek. On the bluff above, they can enjoy mini-golf, seeing farm animals, and other attractions adjacent to a barn and its retail activities of primarily fruits and vegetables. Greeting visitors, facing Route 209, is a giant garden gnome.

“We try to have a full farm experience for people,” said Kelder.

 It looks like agri-tourism on the ground, with a parked green combine converted into a multi-lane slide for the kids, but Kelder defines the family business, farming many generations with direct sales of fruits and vegetables to other retail outlets, simply as agriculture. “We work really hard at promoting our farm,” he said.

The 2020 Census determined that 7,272 people lived in the Town of Rochester, a municipality of scattered hamlets that covers nearly 89 square miles. The Town of Marbletown has 5,650 residents, according to the 2020 Census, and it covers a little more than 55 square miles. Both towns are primarily served by the Rondout Valley Central School District.

 The COVID-19 pandemic sent New York City resident fleeing and turned Ulster County, especially Kingston, into one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation.

Kelder said he watched the wave come in and the recede as residents eventually returned to their domiciles full-time in the Big Apple and other places.

 But that natural occurrence, where a virus can disrupt economies and push masses to safety, helped bolster business opportunities that already existed here.

“Revenues generated through agri-tourism and short-term rental clients are deeply embedded in the local economy,” said Tim Sweeney, owner of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Stone Ridge.

 A month from now, the autumn tourism season will soon be reaching its peak when families come out on the weekends for apple picking and corn mazes in both towns. The season, too, brings more business to restaurants and helps fill short-term rentals. And if you live full-time in both of these towns, it always easy to encounter construction crews or landscapers at one of the many convenience stores that line Route 209, which runs through the heart of both towns.

Full-time residents may need their services, but there is also competition from wanting second homeowners, a segment which greatly contributes to the economies of both towns. “The influx of new and second homeowners have helped keep local builders, contractors, electricians, roofers, plumbers, masons, lawn care, tree services, pool companies, engineers, architects and property managers extremely busy. Marbletown has averaged over 500 building permits a year the past three years,” said Town of Marbletown Supervisor Rich Parete, “I don’t see the economy of Marbletown changing in the near future. I believe tourism will continue to grow as more people find out all the Marbletown has to offer.”

Rochester, too, became so popular with builders that an 18-month moratorium was enacted in June, 2022 that suspended applications for existing parcels to be subdivided into five or more parcels due to the growth that has followed in recent years.

The Town of Rochester, formed originally around hamlets that once grew around one-room schoolhouses, now has many residents who work at home or operate small business here.  But many, who work in nearby state prisons in Napanoch, nearby regional school districts or other educational institutions such as SUNY New Paltz or SUNY Ulster, commute to their jobs. “Most of Rochester's full-time residents, who work. commute out of the town for employment. This has been the case for some time and is not a recent change,” said Town of Rochester Supervisor Mike Baden.