Rumor Control

Rumor Control

The ski center will grow from 14 miles of trails to 23 miles of trails
True: The constitutional limit for Belleayre Ski Center trails is 25 miles. The current Unit Management Plan calls for the operation of 23 miles.

There will be 1-2 miles of ski trails located on Resort property which the State will maintain even though they will be on private property
False: Trails not on current Ski Center property will be built and maintained by the State on lands they have either acquired or for which they will have received permanent easements. The state is going to pay $45 million for ski center expansion. The State DEC would be the best source for this information.

Skier visits are expected to increase from 135,000 to 500,000 after ski center expansion and resort construction are completed
False: The average number of skier visits per year over the past five years is 164,000. The announced goal of the Belleayre Ski Center is 250,000, an increase over time of 30 percent.

Hardenburgh residents will easily be able to see all 19 homes at the top of Highmount
False: Hardenburgh residents are unlikey to be able see any of the homes at the top of Highmount. Most of the 19 units are located on the northern side of the former Highmount Ski Center ridge. They will be shielded from view by acres of existing tall trees. Independent balloon test and other visibility testing will done and reported in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which must be approved before the project can move forward.

Typical wages for the resort will be about $7 per hour
False: Guests of a luxury resort have certain expectation regarding the level of service they will receive while guests of the resort. Those services require a professional staff who, in turn, command a much higher wage to perform their duties. The lowest wages at the Belleayre Resort are expected to be in the $10 an hour range, plus benefits and paid vacations. That range represents less than 20 percent of the workforce needed to run the Resort properly. The average wage (not including salaried employees) will be $12.30 per hour plus benefits and vacations and not inclusive of tips received. This is exclusive of wait staff and bartenders who do make a lower wage but are in positions which traditionally are rewarded generously with gratuities, especially at a luxury resort. All of these positions, however, are offered benefits which is not common in the restaurant industry.

There will be nine new curb cuts (entrances/exits) into the resort off of County Route 49a
False: Currently, there are three curb cuts in the area of the proposed resort along County Route 49a. The Resort plans call for five additional curb cuts. The Agreement in Principle allows for up to nine cuts but, Crossroads does not expect to need that many.

The Catskill Water Discovery Center is going to attract 200,000 people per year, further adding to the traffic nightmare
The Catskill Water Discover Center would be the best source of information on this issue.

Crossroads Ventures donated $15,000 to the Spitzer campaign.
False: Crossroads Ventures, LLC did not contribute a single penny to the Spitzer campaign. Neither did their investors, employees or family members. This can be easily verified through a request of the governor's election committee finance reports through the Freedom of Information Act.

Through the process now for the approval of the revised plans, a law judge will oversee the final approval of the plans and, there is opportunity for there to be "many new issues� that have to go through adjudication, including all of the "old� issues.
True and False: The revised plan and the SDEIS will address all of the issues previously identified for adjudication. The question of whether any issues will warrant adjudication is an open one.

Town of Hardenburgh can apply for "Party Status� to gain more influence in the process.
True.

The resort will require the blasting of 2-3 stories of rock to build the hotels, spa, and underground parking. This will disturb home water wells in Harenburgh and affect drinking water for miles.
True and False: It is true the some excavation blasting will be required to construct the main resort buildings. How much of this activity will take place will be determined during the SDEIS review. It is false that the excavation efforts will have an effect on Hardenburgh drinking water or wells. When the Belleayre Ski Center recently had to perform some blasting in order to construct new trails, there were no complaints filed nor was there any report of damages to nearby wells or buildings.
The AIP provisions regarding replacing or restoring private water wells is related to impacts associated with Crossroads development and use of its water supply wells, i.e. Rosenthal and the K wells. The AIP is silent on the issue of damage to private wells from blasting activities.
There was language in the original EIS that will carry over to the SDEIS regarding blasting and wells. Not sure how much this applies to Hardenburg given the distance away. No specific mitigative measures are proposed since no adverse impacts from blasting on groundwater resources are anticipated.
However, if accurate benchmark data for local residents could be established, identification of well problems would be facilitated, and should be more conclusive with regards to cause. This benchmark data, which will be collected by the Blasting Contractor as part of a pre-blast survey, will include the following: depth of well, depth of pump below surface, type of pump, casing length, date drilled, name of driller, static water level, maintenance history, number of people and/or households using supply, pump capacity in gallons per minute, etc.

There will be a temporary concrete plant on the site which will mean dust settling for miles around, including in Hardenburgh
False: It has not been finally determined that a temporary concrete batch plant will be required. If there is, dust is not expected to be a factor and would be an issue assessed in the SDEIS. To date, Crossroads is unaware of any dust issues or complaints arising from the large concrete plant currently operating in Fleischmanns.

The Resort will not pay taxes for 13 years based on incentives from the State and UCDC
False: The resort will begin paying real property and sales taxes on day one of operation and, Crossroads has already been paying property taxes on the land for many years. During the first year of operation, the Resort will pay taxes at a rate of 50 percent on its improved property That rate will increase by five percent every year until it reaches 100 percent. . This will result in million of dollars generated for the Town of Shandaken and the Middletown School District. Through marketing, word of mouth and repeat guests, the Resort will expect to increase sales every year. Therefore, the sales tax revenues to the State and County will also be expected to increase over time as well

Construction traffic will use Dry Brook Road as a short cut up to the Highmount site, increasing traffic, road wear and noise for Hardenburgh.
False: Access to the Highmount site via Dry Brook Road appears to be in excess of 4.5 miles. Access to the site from Route 28 via County Route 49a is 2.2 miles.

Q: The agreement says that the project could change "due to changes in hospitality marketing conditions." What does that mean?
A: The 199 units covered by this statement in the AIP are projected to be built over a five year period. These time-share units and other detached lodging units will be constructed as demand requires. That schedule could be slowed or accelerated based on market demand. However, it will not result in any more units than allowed in the AIP or, ultimately, approved during the review process.

Q: Will you have onsite housing for employees? And, won't the increased number of people moving to the area to work at the resort mean overcrowding in the local schools?
A: We have no plans for on-site employee housing. The vast majority of the positions are expected to be filled by people currently unemployed, under-employed (working at jobs for which they are overqualified) or unsatisfactorily employed in Ulster, Delaware and Greene counties. Approximately 65 percent of employed workers in Middletown and Shandaken now commute 50 miles a day or more via Route 28 to jobs outside the area. We expect jobs that cut that commute significantly will be very attractive to those people.
The Margaretville and Onteora school districts have seen dramatic decreases in enrollment during the past ten years and, that trend is predicted to continue for the next ten. Both districts are functioning at well below capacity and Onteora was forced to close an elementary school with the real possibility of closure of another looming. A career path which induces families to remain in the area, rather than finding employment outside the area or the state, will result in future generations being able to continue the established roots of their parents, grandparents, etc.
Almost all of the school taxes generated by this project will go to the Margaretville School District. The sales tax generated by the resort will go mainly to Ulster County. The split between how much overall tax benefit will be gained by Margaretville

Q: Will DEC be the lead agency and, wouldn't it be better if the towns were?
A: . The DEC is the established lead agency by decision of former DEC Commissioner Cahill. The Planning Boards of the Towns of Middletown and Shandaken are involved agencies under SEQRA.

Q: Is it true that the agreement allows for Class III gaming at the Brisbane Mansion in the future and that is why Crossroads is not selling that property?
A: The Brisbane Mansion was not included in the AIP because the State cannot acquire a building, only land.
The partners of Crossroads absolutely detest gaming and will have no gaming operation at the resort or on any of the properties. Further, the company will sign deed restrictions specifically prohibiting any gaming facilities or activates for the future.
To clarify what the gaming classes are, here are definitions. Note, these Classes are specific to Indian Reservation gaming operations and, no such operation has been even remotely mentioned for the Belleayre region, let alone the Crossroads project:
The term "class I gaming" means social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gaming engaged in by individuals as a part of, or in connection with, tribal ceremonies or celebrations.
The term "class II gaming" means the game of chance commonly known as bingo which is played for prizes, including monetary prizes. It also includes bingo-related games such as pull-tabs, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games bingo.
Class III gaming refers to all other gaming activity one would expect a casino: slots, card games, roulette and sports books.

Q: What is the weight limit on 49a and, won't the construction trucks regularly go over it?
A: The weight limit on Route 49a is the same as for any other road in the state: 80,000 pounds per vehicle. Any vehicle exceeding this limit would be cited by the DOT and fined.

Q: What is the total square footage of the resort's buildings? What is the square footage of the 19 units on Highmount?
A: The square footage of the all the project's buildings has not yet been determined but will be included in the SDEIS. The footprint of the 19 buildings on Highmount will total approximately 50,000.

Q: Isn't $14mm much more than Crossroads paid for the land in the first place?
A: If and when the State exercises its option to purchase the designated properties for $14 million, the project's investors will still realize a loss of $13 million.

Q: Why should Crossroads profit off of the sale of the land to the State and off of tax payers?
A: See above. Crossroads will not realize a profit from the sale of the 1,200+ acres. However, investing in the creation of a new resort, notwithstanding the financial risks involved, should yield a profit to the investors. Our nation's economy is based on such investment opportunities.
The new resort will also provide the region with significant new employment and recreational opportunities and will generate significant revenue for the towns of Shandaken and Middletown in the form of taxes.
In addition, the founding partners of Crossroads have committed to ensuring that a significant percentage of the operating profits of the Belleayre Resort be channeled to the Crossroads Foundation to benefit local youth activities, elderly care, arts programs and local charities. The Foundation has already donated thousands of dollars to this end