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Snowball honors Governor Spitzer
01/28/2008
Supporters of Governor Eliot Spitzer's Agreement in Principle for the Belleayre Mt. Ski Center and the Belleayre Resort warmly welcomed Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Judith Enck at the Coalition for Belleayre's 22nd annual Snowball on Saturday night. Enck, who was in town to accept the Spirit of the Catskills award for Governor Eliot Spitzer, has been lauded for her work on the Agreement in Principle announced in September.
Belleayre Coalition Chairman Joe Kelly, noted that the state-owned ski center has certainly been in the limelight recently. "Hardly a day goes by without some reference to Belleayre in the media. We are having a record year and the weather has cooperated magnificently. As the old adage goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity," Kelly said as he opened his remarks.
"We are listed in Newsday's Top 10 eastern ski areas and Bill Pennington of the New York Times remarks on the "dramatic revival of Belleayre" and the upbeat tempo of the Mountain in a two-page article in the Escapes Section. It doesn't get any better than that," Kelly added.
But Kelly, the fighting Irishman, credited with saving Belleayre Mt. from closing in 1984, added that for all its glory, Belleayre is also "under attack." Our ski brothers in Greene County view Belleayre's success as a threat and are attacking us in the media on a regular basis. They think this is hunting season on Belleayre," the Chairman added. Chiding the opposing ski areas, Kelly said "The real story about why Belleayre is the buzz, is good, consistent, enthusiastic product, and the skiers have responded. So, if I had some advice for Greene County it would be this: stop blaming diminishing skier visits on Belleayre and look at your own business plan. The 'Me First' parochialism that has characterized the Catskill Ski industry doesn't work and higher and higher lift ticket prices push skiers away.
It's time for cooperation not name calling or scape-goating others for underperformance. We need regional advertising, a regional ski pass, quality lodging and a new marketing strategy to jump start our skier visits. Tag team whining by Hunter and Windham are counterproductive and the numbers show it," Kelly continued. "We can have a new future for the Catskills...reminiscent of the days when we were a destination resort for thousands of visitors and our hotels and villages were vibrant and full."
Kelly went on to honor Governor Spitzer with the Spirit of the Catskills award, given annually to someone who embodies the innovative forward thinking, courageous and historic traditions of the Catskills. It embodies all the rich heritage of the frontier, through the Hudson River School of artists and the incredible hotels and thriving towns and villages of the nineteenth century.
Saying, "We have come to accept a culture of decay as the norm," Kelly lauded Spitzer for accepting the "challenge of reversing that economic decline." The Chairman noted that Spitzer "has presented us with a blueprint for success. He has accepted the task of solving an almost decade long, divisive dispute to address our region's future and has come up with what the New York Times describes as a 'Watershed Agreement that will mark a milestone for conservation, for watershed protection, and for smart growth in the Catskills.' The editorial, according to Kelly, went on to say "in the end everybody gave up something, but the result was a victory for the environment, for the local economy and most of all for common sense." Kelly added of Spitzer, that "through his leadership, he brought disparate groups of passionate advocates together, created an atmosphere where dialogue could occur and let those groups craft a compromise with which everyone could agree."
Kelly took the opportunity to remind the audience how many environmental groups had endorsed the agreement including the New York State DEC, New York City DEP, Natural Resource Defense Council, NYPIRG, Riverkeeper, Trout Unlmited, Theodore Gordon Flyfishers and the Zen Environmental Studies Institute as well as the Catskill Center for Conservation & Development.
When introducing Enck, who accepted the honor for Spitzer, Kelly said that "Ms. Enck's accomplishments in the field of environmental protection have been recognized with professional awards from such organizations as the Sierra Club, the Center for Women in Government and Citizen Action.
In accepting the award, Enck introduced the vision of Governor Spitzer that led to the Agreement in Principle saying "As Governor, he has articulated a clear vision:
We can have environmental protection and sustainable economic growth.
We can have clean water and good jobs.
We can protect open space while growing the innovation economy.
We can revitalize Upstate; providing economic security for our families while also vigorously protecting our natural resources.
These are not either or propositions. These goals are the cornerstone of the Spitzer Administration and they are reflected in the Governor's recent State of the State Address and his proposed executive budget."
Enck went on to note that a year ago, when Spitzer was just coming into office, people on both sides of the Crossroads debate had asked the Governor to intervene. "At first, both the Governor and I resisted the request," said Enck. "We knew it was an important project for the region, situated in the very important New York City watershed. And we knew that the community was divided. It's just that we were brand new in the Capitol, learning the ropes and we knew that this was a next to impossible assignment." Enck added "But, because Eliot Spitzer is a true leader...
And because, my parents named me after St. Jude - the patron saint of lost causes - the Governor decided that we would give this a try."
In speaking directly about the agreement, Enck said, "When you compare the land that will be part of the project, to the land that would have been part of the original proposal, the land area is reduced by 66%." She said, "The total road length will be 3.2 miles, rather than 8.2 miles. The total lodging structures are reduced from 121 to 77." She made it a point to recognize that 1.5 percent of the property will have an impervious surface, meaning buildings or pavement. The environmental rule of thumb is that you should strive for no more than 8% impervious surface. This project is well within the margin of safety at 1.5 ."
"I am proud of this agreement and more proud of the people who have signed on to the agreement," Enck continued and like Kelly earlier, listed every organization that had signed on.
She then recognized people who are not happy with the agreement. "I understand that some local citizens disagree with this compromise," she said. "While I personally do not agree with that assessment' I honor their role in the process. I respect their right to speak out and voice their opinions.
This community is anything but apathetic. The people of the Catskills care about their communities. I think it's a wonderful thing when people show up at town board meetings, pack DEC public hearings and debate the merits or demerits of the proposal with their neighbors.
I know situations get heated at times and I wish they weren't. I know people sometimes engage in personal attacks - and I wish they didn't. But, if we all agreed all the time, what a boring world we would live in.
After accepting the award, Enck was joined on stage by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni and Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Cliff Crouch, Kathleen Mami Moore.
More information on the dinner and the organizations involved is available by contacting Joe Kelly at 516-536-3538 or 516-510-6941 or djkelly2@optonline.com.
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