2008 has been a whirl-wind year for the Belleayre Ski Center located in Highmount, NY. Belleayre is one of three state owned ski resorts here in New York, under the assipices of the Department of Environmental Conversation [DEC]. The other two resorts are located in the Adirondack mountains; Gore Mountain and Whiteface Mountain. Each of the three mountain resorts are unique unto themselves.
Belleayre, affectionately known as "New York's Winter Snow Park", has constantly come under fire by opposition groups since 1984. Since that time, a group of local business leaders and residents [both full timers and second homeowners] recognized the economic importance that Belleayre plays to the local economy. Local, in this instance, is defined as the businesses in the surrounding towns as well as Delaware and Ulster Counties. Local groups have been created to help promote Belleayre. They are; The Belleayre Conservatory and Coalition to Save Belleayre. The Belleayre Conservatory was established to provide a venue for summer programs at Belleayre. Most notably they have brought some of the best entertainment to the Catskills. This year alone they featured entertainers such as Ronan Tynan [the Irish Tenor] and Brian Wilson [from the Beach Boys]. The Coalition to Save Belleayre also presents a yearly award, "The Spirit of the Catskills" at the annual Snowball gala held at the Summit Lodge at Belleayre every January.
Opposition forces have resumed their attack on Belleayre this year through politics at the State Level. In March, long time advocate of Belleayre and local State Senator John Bonacic said he opposed proposed cuts by DEC to Belleayre. "Unit Management Plans (UMPs) are exactly that - plans. They are rarely, if ever fully implemented or fully funded in one year. The State has made the decision to be in the ski business. The State has reaffirmed that decision in 1999 and 2000. If we are going to be in the ski business, we ought to do it well. If the DEC is now claiming that we need the money in the budget to fund every element of a UMP, then that means there will be no long term planning for the growth of our parks and recreation system in the Catskills – and that is bad public policy," Bonacic said.
In June, with the help of Senator Jim Seward, who represents neighboring Greene County, home to Hunter and Windham Ski Resorts, offered a Senate bill which was presented to Legislators to create a "blue ribbon commission" that would examine all NY State owned recreational facilities. While "all" meant facilities like Bethpage Golf Course, Saratoga National Golf Course, Jones Beach, the Jones Beach Amphitheater among others, the spirit of the commission was to focus on Belleayre.
Coalition to Save Belleayre Chairman Joe Kelly reacted with increased frustration to the news that legislation forming a blue ribbon commission to study the state's participation in the recreation industry was passed by the New York State Legislature. "This legislation was pushed through by Greene County real estate interests in protectionist efforts to grab an ever greater share of the skier visits to the Catskill Region," said Kelly. "We call on Governor Paterson to veto this legislation and urge all Belleayre Mt. supporters to call and e-mail the governor on this matter." On September 5, Governor Paterson vetoed the legislation. While the bills were overwhelmingly passed by both houses, insiders have indicated that there will not be a vote to override the veto.
Unfortunately, the opposition has not stopped with the veto. Earlier fears announced by Senator Bonacic concerning DEC funding cuts occurred. In particular, this included funds used for the Belleayre Fall Festival which draws over 16,000 visitors to the mountain and for that matter the region over two days in October. Noting that the cancellation of the annual October Festival came in the same week that Governor Patterson vetoed a blue ribbon commission to study the fairness of Belleayre's operation, Kelly said that some people in his organization believe the budget cuts were related to the lobbying Greene County that was done to curtail Belleayre's operation. "We certainly hope that this is not the case. But it makes no sense to cancel one of your biggest money-making events in a single year," said Kelly. "And once you are open and operating, it makes absolutely no sense to only operate part of your capital investment," he added. "I don't know if people in state government are caving to pressure from Greene County to hold Belleayre Mt. back, but we certainly intend to look at that possibility."
While endangered, supporters of Belleayre including that of US Senator Charles Schumer have called upon State DEC leaders to restore funding. Schumer wrote, "Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is bursting with economic benefits for Ulster County and we cannot let it fall to the wayside," Schumer said. "I hope that the DEC will heed the community's call and commit to a full ski season at Belleayre so that we can keep the jobs and revenue generated by the ski mountain." Meanwhile, a local tourist attraction, the Delaware and Ulster Railroad whose yard and headquarters are located just "down the road" in Arkville offered its property for the Fall Festival. Organizers, opted to hold the event [October 11 and 12] rather than canceling it.
Belleayre Mountain is willing to work with the other ski areas in the region; Hunter, Platekill and Windham to develop a joint marketing plan. Tony Lanza, Belleayre Mountain's Superintendent has advocated for joint marketing for years. In addition to joint marketing he has proposed a joint or combination "ski ticket". This idea has grown in popularity in other states such as New Hampshire, Colorado and Utah.
The bottom line is that should Belleayre lose funding by DEC it would create a regionally significant blow to the economy which is the last thing the Hudson Valley needs right now.
Belleayre, affectionately known as "New York's Winter Snow Park", has constantly come under fire by opposition groups since 1984. Since that time, a group of local business leaders and residents [both full timers and second homeowners] recognized the economic importance that Belleayre plays to the local economy. Local, in this instance, is defined as the businesses in the surrounding towns as well as Delaware and Ulster Counties. Local groups have been created to help promote Belleayre. They are; The Belleayre Conservatory and Coalition to Save Belleayre. The Belleayre Conservatory was established to provide a venue for summer programs at Belleayre. Most notably they have brought some of the best entertainment to the Catskills. This year alone they featured entertainers such as Ronan Tynan [the Irish Tenor] and Brian Wilson [from the Beach Boys]. The Coalition to Save Belleayre also presents a yearly award, "The Spirit of the Catskills" at the annual Snowball gala held at the Summit Lodge at Belleayre every January.
Opposition forces have resumed their attack on Belleayre this year through politics at the State Level. In March, long time advocate of Belleayre and local State Senator John Bonacic said he opposed proposed cuts by DEC to Belleayre. "Unit Management Plans (UMPs) are exactly that - plans. They are rarely, if ever fully implemented or fully funded in one year. The State has made the decision to be in the ski business. The State has reaffirmed that decision in 1999 and 2000. If we are going to be in the ski business, we ought to do it well. If the DEC is now claiming that we need the money in the budget to fund every element of a UMP, then that means there will be no long term planning for the growth of our parks and recreation system in the Catskills – and that is bad public policy," Bonacic said.
In June, with the help of Senator Jim Seward, who represents neighboring Greene County, home to Hunter and Windham Ski Resorts, offered a Senate bill which was presented to Legislators to create a "blue ribbon commission" that would examine all NY State owned recreational facilities. While "all" meant facilities like Bethpage Golf Course, Saratoga National Golf Course, Jones Beach, the Jones Beach Amphitheater among others, the spirit of the commission was to focus on Belleayre.
Coalition to Save Belleayre Chairman Joe Kelly reacted with increased frustration to the news that legislation forming a blue ribbon commission to study the state's participation in the recreation industry was passed by the New York State Legislature. "This legislation was pushed through by Greene County real estate interests in protectionist efforts to grab an ever greater share of the skier visits to the Catskill Region," said Kelly. "We call on Governor Paterson to veto this legislation and urge all Belleayre Mt. supporters to call and e-mail the governor on this matter." On September 5, Governor Paterson vetoed the legislation. While the bills were overwhelmingly passed by both houses, insiders have indicated that there will not be a vote to override the veto.
Unfortunately, the opposition has not stopped with the veto. Earlier fears announced by Senator Bonacic concerning DEC funding cuts occurred. In particular, this included funds used for the Belleayre Fall Festival which draws over 16,000 visitors to the mountain and for that matter the region over two days in October. Noting that the cancellation of the annual October Festival came in the same week that Governor Patterson vetoed a blue ribbon commission to study the fairness of Belleayre's operation, Kelly said that some people in his organization believe the budget cuts were related to the lobbying Greene County that was done to curtail Belleayre's operation. "We certainly hope that this is not the case. But it makes no sense to cancel one of your biggest money-making events in a single year," said Kelly. "And once you are open and operating, it makes absolutely no sense to only operate part of your capital investment," he added. "I don't know if people in state government are caving to pressure from Greene County to hold Belleayre Mt. back, but we certainly intend to look at that possibility."
While endangered, supporters of Belleayre including that of US Senator Charles Schumer have called upon State DEC leaders to restore funding. Schumer wrote, "Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is bursting with economic benefits for Ulster County and we cannot let it fall to the wayside," Schumer said. "I hope that the DEC will heed the community's call and commit to a full ski season at Belleayre so that we can keep the jobs and revenue generated by the ski mountain." Meanwhile, a local tourist attraction, the Delaware and Ulster Railroad whose yard and headquarters are located just "down the road" in Arkville offered its property for the Fall Festival. Organizers, opted to hold the event [October 11 and 12] rather than canceling it.
Belleayre Mountain is willing to work with the other ski areas in the region; Hunter, Platekill and Windham to develop a joint marketing plan. Tony Lanza, Belleayre Mountain's Superintendent has advocated for joint marketing for years. In addition to joint marketing he has proposed a joint or combination "ski ticket". This idea has grown in popularity in other states such as New Hampshire, Colorado and Utah.
The bottom line is that should Belleayre lose funding by DEC it would create a regionally significant blow to the economy which is the last thing the Hudson Valley needs right now.
4 comments:
This is a very biased way of telling the story. The bottom line is that taxpayers are subsidizing a business that has been losing millions of dollars and now we're being asked to super-size the resort to benefit a millionaire developer. Other resorts can control their spending and balance their budgets, so why can't Belleayre? It says a lot that Belleayre supporters are opposed to the idea of even STUDYING the effects of state-subsidized recreation facilities on the economy. Maybe you know the real truth and don't want the rest of the world to catch on.
Wag - Great summary of the Belleayre situation. I have not had the time to write about it, but have been keeping on it via alpinezone.com. Checkout the thread. Please keep writing, keep them honest, and support Belleayre.
To 8:45am
Taxpayers have not been asked to "super-size" Belleayre to benefit a millionaire developer.
Upon my own investigation regarding Belleayre and seeing news on Ch 6 recently, I found that Belleayre is actually behind in the expansion process.
If you check out Gore and Whiteface Mountains - two other state owned resorts - both have had their expansions completed. All three resorts received approval for expansion at the same time. Belleayre has yet to be able to put a shovel in the ground.
Wag, nice summation of the situation. I hope that you can continue to bring us updates.
I took the opportunity to watch the video from this mornings Ulster County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast. This debate breakfast is unique as it was the first one that hosted candidates for the newly created county positions for County Executive and County Comptroller.
In particular I hoped that there would be a question raised about Belleayre. In fact, it was the very first question asked. I was happy to hear it.
What I was disappointed in was the responses from candidates for County Executive. It would have been a shock if either or both agreed with the state to cut funding. Thankfully neither offered that response.
What I heard was saying that Belleayre should not close or be cut. We all know this.
Neither offered any details on how to keep Belleayre open in full operation.
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