MONTICELLO — The controversy over a housing development in Bloomingburg reached the Legislature on November 13.

Villages at Chestnut Ridge representatives, including developer Ken Nakdimen (Shalom Lamm's business partner), attended the Public Works Committee meeting to seek permission to build 1,600 feet of sidewalk from the development northeastward along County Route 62 to the village line.

Theresa Bakner, an attorney representing the developer, said Lamm and company would construct and maintain the sidewalk at their own expense and are willing to either purchase the strip of land or negotiate an agreement with the county.

The sidewalk would provide pedestrians a safe way to get from Chestnut Ridge to Bloomingburg, and on that point, everyone seemed to agree.

But a contingent of residents and the Rural Community Coalition, which have been fighting Lamm in court over the approvals process and other matters, urged legislators to have the county, village or Town of Mamakating build and maintain the sidewalk.

Private ownership of the sidewalk, argued one listener, “allows the owners to dictate who uses it” and would infringe on the front yards - and rights - of four separate property owners along that stretch of CR 62.

He suggested the county consider giving the land for the sidewalk to those property owners and letting Lamm negotiate with them directly.

Bakner replied that driveway cutouts would be designed into the sidewalk, so that property owners would not be landlocked. Neither would they be asked to contribute to the sidewalk's current or future costs.

Holly Roche of the Rural Community Coalition thought the county perhaps should hold off entirely, in case the road ever needs to be widened due to increased traffic.

Public Works Commissioner Ed McAndrew said the sidewalk is proposed to be built on land the county actually owns (as opposed to simply a right-of-way). Officials once had plans to use it to straighten CR 62, but it's no longer needed.

Assistant County Attorney Tom Cawley advised that selling the land outright would protect the county from lawsuits, should someone fall on the sidewalk, but legislators didn't agree on how to proceed.

“At this point, I'm not willing to move ahead until the private property owners are consulted,” assessed Legislator Cindy Gieger.

Legislator Alan Sorensen, on the other hand, thought the sidewalk is a necessity and that the process should move forward with neighbors' input but without a “discussion dominated by one or two individuals.”

Legislator Cora Edwards advocated for a comprehensive study involving every possible stakeholder, prompting Committee Chair Kathy LaBuda to tell listeners that the matter will be revisited at next month's meeting.

College wants more

SUNY Sullivan President Dr. Karin Hilgersom urged legislators that after six years, it's time to increase the county's $4 million annual contribution to the college's budget.

“It's really not sustainable,” she assessed. “We're either going to have to raise tuition or get increased assistance from the county and the state.”

She also pushed for the county to commit to some level of support for what was once known as the CAST (Center for Advanced Science and Technology) Building. Conceived under prior President Mamie Howard Golladay, the $22 million project has morphed into the Healthy World Institute and would be built just south of the current Loch Sheldrake campus.

But it requires about half its cost via matching funds from the county, which thus far has not found the means or will to contribute.

The state side of those funds may soon dry up, warned Hilgersom, who felt SUNY Sullivan needs such a building to compete with the newer facilities at SUNY Orange and other Hudson Valley community colleges.

“Our major competitor [Orange] has been able to do some ‘bright and shiny' things,” she explained, arguing that one “bright and shiny” building at Sullivan would attract more students.

“It could rebrand the college,” she insisted. “It could rebrand the county.”

But legislators, beyond already being strapped for funds, found Hilgersom unwilling to take up Legislator Cora Edwards' suggestion of an independent committee to review enrollment losses and make recommendations (comprised of some of the unpicked candidates for a recently-filled college board position).

“Any extra money ... should have deliverables attached to it,” insisted Edwards, but Hilgersom held fast to the belief that the committee would not be of benefit.

Meanwhile, Legislator Jonathan Rouis pointed out that several of the high-profile building projects at other colleges had been accompanied by massive fundraising campaigns, with large private donations.

Hilgersom's request may be considered during ongoing county budget discussions, though no guarantees were made.

County to give grants

Planning Commissioner Freda Eisenberg that Thursday unveiled a draft “Small Grant Program” to legislators, following up on their wish to create a competitive process for grants up to $10,000.

The initiative had been jumpstarted by criticism over funding given to the Liberty Skate Park project with a minimum of discussion and no application process.

Eisenberg said this new program (which actually resurrects a previous county granting effort) will tie such giveouts to specific county goals.

At legislators' request, she's tweaking the application documents to make them clearer and more user-friendly.

Into the river

Legislators that Thursday tentatively but unanimously agreed to give $5,000 to the Delaware Highlands Conservancy to help develop a Delaware River access site on a half-acre parcel in Long Eddy.

The plans are part of a larger project to enhance river accesses along the Delaware in Sullivan County. The Long Eddy property will be conveyed to the state once the Conservancy purchases and improves it.