NEVERSINK  — Town of Neversink resident David Brittenham thanked the Board for their preservation of the Keriland Property land Wednesday night after the Open Space Institute recently purchased the 3,100-acre Keriland Property in Neversink and expects to transfer that property to New York State to hold as conserved lands and part of the Catskill Park.

“This resolution of what was going to happen with the property is a stunning moment for the Town, it’ residents and landowners, for the Catskills and for the public,” explained Brittenham. “The property is inside the Catskill Park so the State will accordingly pay taxes like any private landowner.”

He noted that the State will also make the property available for recreational uses which it hasn’t been officially accessible for 60 years.

He acknowledged the Town Board for making this result possible by standing up for the master plan and its vision for the community.

“[The Board] refused to uphold the vision to accommodate the Keriland’s Resort Proposal,” Brittenham said. “A proposal that would have fundamentally changed our community, it’s character and quality of life whether or not it had been successful.”

Town Supervisor Chris Mathews acknowledged his statement in an official press release where he expressed the fact that, as a watershed town, they welcome the fact that this will positively affect their water quality in their watershed as well as the Delaware Watershed. He also restated the fact that they welcomed recreational uses which was “very, very exciting.”

“You guys have all heard me say over the years, and I do want to reiterate, when this first came to the Town we wanted to have an unbiased and fair opportunity for both sides,” recounted Mathews. “That’s why it took us a long time to... go back and forth. We certainly did hire outside experts [planning, legal, etc.].”

“Ultimately, after the deliberations, I believe we came to the right conclusion and that was to not change the master plan and it was the best thing for the Town.”

Mathews believed the developer had gotten a fair opportunity to pitch the resort and it “wasn’t for us, it wasn’t for the Town of Neversink.”

Talking title insurance

Brittenham explained that New York State is the only state in the country that doesn’t accept title insurance meaning “they’ll have to go back and clear title all the way back to the original grant.”

He suggested to the Board that they might consider pushing their elected officials in Albany to “move things along” otherwise the time line is estimated to be two years.

Sullivan County District 3 Legislator Brian McPhillips confirmed that the Legislature could write a letter of support from the County.

“The sooner the land is State Land, the sooner it’s back on the tax rolls,” stated Brittenham. “Then the recreational uses can start to happen.”