Thoughts on Monday's Economic Development Forum

I was invited to participate, along with about 130 others, in an all day Economic Development Forum for Sullivan County to come up with ideas to get the Sullivan economy moving again. The Forum was put together by the county planning department and was held at Bethel Woods.

The structure of the day would be familiar to anyone who's attended a corporate brainstorming retreat. We were divided into 9 small groups, each given an area of the county (the county was broken into 4 broad areas --- River Corridor, Infrastructure Corridor, Agricultural and Natural Assets) and an economic sphere to focus on. I was in a group looking at "Goods and Services" in two areas, Agricultural and Natural Assets areas. In 4 break out sessions we drilled down from strengths and assets through obstacles to opportunities and recommendations. At the end of the day, each group contributed a key recommendation to the summary, to arrive at 9 key economic recommendations (with an add'l 18 secondary recommendations.)

The 9 recommendations were all reasonable and mostly predictable, but in my opinion, lacking any big vision that could turn this ship around. Two groups put forth expanding broadband and cellular communication, another called for agricultural processing facilities for dairy and meat to support local agriculture and there were one or two versions of "improve coordination between agencies" and "market the county."

Strikingly absent was anything related to gas drilling, which, from an economic development standpoint is the big elephant in the room. The economic stimulus opportunity of gas drilling — from workforce housing to training to technical support facilities — dwarfs anything else discussed at the forum. Yet not one recommendation related to gas drilling made it through to the 27 summary recommendations. Regardless of your position on gas drilling — and I'm personally more con than pro — it needs to be part of any discussion of economic opportunities for this county. In my group, when we were making an inventory of assets  in the areas we were tasked with, I put up "Proximity to the Millennium pipeline", but there was no pickup to carry that through to opportunities and recommendations.

The other thing I found very interesting was that a number of groups listed "high taxes" as a major obstacle to economic development. Yet there wasn't one call for government consolidation as a partial solution to higher taxes. In my group, there were 5 current or former local politicians, and when I suggested government consolidation as a recommendation to address the high tax problem, it was met with a universal chorus of "Can't Be Done". I was hoping that there would be some support for the idea, even if footnoted with "It will take a lot of political will, but is something that needs to be seriously addressed."

Finally, if gas drilling was the big elephant in the room, the little elephant was leadership, or more specifically, lack of it. Sullivan County just doesn't have strong leaders with vision and the political will to carry the ball over the goal line.The blame for that doesn't necessarily rest with our politicians, it rests with us. Among the 130 "movers and shakers" gathered at Bethel Woods were dozens of competing visions and agendas. We end up with lowest common denominator leadership because in the end, irregardless of Monday's attempt to gel feel good unity about Sullivan's future, there isn't that much we all agree on. Which is how my group ended up with "improved broadband and cellular coverage" as our number one recommendation (which is something everyone can get behind) rather than "Develop a comprehensive plan to locate gas drilling infrastructure services in Sullivan County."

Comments

[Brad]

You bring up alot of interesting issues in your most recent post. Taxes are going to be a major problem for the county with Natural Gas drilling being the nail in the coffin if it is allowed. This is of course only my opinion (and I have posted once before about all the terrible effects from gas drilling that aren't talked about much - air and water pollution - your well water!, unlimited drainage of the Delaware most likley since it requires a great deal of water to do this type of frack drilling, degradation of roads from all the trucks and $10 of millions in new costs for water treatment plants - who will pay for that?).

But as you point out, taxes are the real killer and from my personal experience it is the out of control school taxes. I bought some land in 2004 (thank god it was only land), and while they have finally reduced my appraisal this year to a reasonable level, the school taxes have still almost tripled? Wow, those must be some great schools?

My last compliant is about an over zealous local police force (do they really need bullit proof vests all the time - even at the Steubing? Day fair?) that also seems to have doubled in size in the last 4 or 5 years (has crime gone up that much?). I guess to justify their existence they practacilly close down the intersection of rt 97 & 55 every weekend night(year round) in an endless search for drunk driving, or missing registration... I have gone out at night perhaps half a dozen times in the past year and been pulled over or harrasssed three times (50% of the time, and twice it was between 9pm to 10pm)- had my bumper riden for a couple of miles or cut off as I was exiting a parking lot and then been yelled at(ARE YOU OK, ARE YOU OK...at as they shine a spot light in the car???I know some peolple must think I am making this is up, but it is true. I am also not a kid out joying riding (I admit to that in my teens and early 20s) but I am in my 40s. To top it off, I was recently given a speeding ticket for going 55 mph on rt 22, which is of course a 55mph zone except where they have changed the signs for a half mile as a speed trap near the gas station in Lumberland "that makes no sense" even to the local traffic judge who supposedly agreed with me, but it is NY State that decides on the local road signs, not the township???

Well thanks for letting me rant a bit. Sullivan County hopefully will change or it will be in CH 11 along with some other local municipalities across the country in the next few years.

For people like me (weekenders from NYC) the decision will be very easy. I will be going someplace else within a couple hours drive and taking along all the revenue and taxes I provide. Sullivan County in general seems to believe there is no competition, but there are several bordering counties that provide the same rustic charm? without the hassles.

Brad

[keith]

It's good seeing recently that the gas drilling hydro fracking fluid issue is starting to get some national and international press. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." But since the county economy is in such shoddy shape, in comparison to not drilling, perhaps drilling is the lessor of the two evils. Tough issue.

[keith]

What exacerbates the tax situation is the amount of real estate that that's off the tax rolls the Catskills, this wasn't the case back in the 50's and probably not in most of the 60's. I'm an ardent supporter of "separation of church and state" but in the Catskills I'd make an exception when it comes to taxes. In addition to not paying property taxes, many of the summer inhabitants, who use the county services and infrastructure, contribute little to the local economy since many of their goods are trucked in from NYC. Those NYC merchants hate having to do this, but they have no choice because most of their customers are in the Catskills during the summer.

[Rolf V. Schnitzer]

In yesterday's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08fracking.html?_r=1

Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom

By JAD MOUAWAD and CLIFFORD KRAUSS

Published: December 7, 2009

[Snippet]

DIMOCK, Pa. — Victoria Switzer dreamed of a peaceful retirement in these Appalachian hills. Instead, she is coping with a big problem after a nearby natural gas well contaminated her family’s drinking water with high levels of methane...

[click below for more]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08fracking.html?_r=1

[Pullquote]

"The fines were little consolation to Ms. Switzer, the woman who can no longer draw drinking water from her well.

After moving here in 2005, she sold drilling rights on her property for a mere $180 after, as she recalled it, a gas company representative convinced her only one well might be drilled. In fact, no well was drilled, but three were on surrounding properties. Her well was contaminated at the beginning of the year after gas leaked from a well drilled by Cabot.

Her family now uses bottled water supplied by Cabot every week. She fears that if she tried to sell her home, which sits in the middle of a drilling zone, no one would buy it.

“Can you imagine the ad? ‘Beautiful new home. Bring your own water,’ ” Ms. Switzer said. “We’re like a dead zone here.'"

==================

submitted kindly by

Rolf V. Schnitzer
Executive Vice President
Pattern for Peanuts

[Josef]

This sums it all up:

http://knakalstreetwise.wordpress.com/

[Arthur]

The absence of gas drilling from the agenda confirms your belief that leadership is lacking. When the facts come out on gas drilling, everyone will receive a sorely needed "wake up call". In other areas where gas drilling has occurred, water has become polluted; pets and livestock have died; spontaneous explosions have occurred; and, people had to abandon their homes. The greatest service we can do for one another is expose the sad facts. We will ruin this bucolic area with gas drilling; and, for what, a few bucks? People who have called Sullivan County home, be it fifty years, or, one year, and everything in-between, will become homeless. The area will be decimated. The facts are slowly coming out, and, the facts are daunting and scary. Everyone needs to become informed before it's too late !

[Mary E]

Arthur,

There is no evidence that any of your post is fact; there have been some pollution incidents, but they are rare, and usually due to mistakes in procedures. I live on the Barnett shale, and all is well here, we hardly know they are drilling. I have some misgivings about drilling in SC, and I believe NY state is proceding with further regulations for drilling companies, and establishing a monitoring system.

To say it's for 'a few bucks' sounds like a schoolboy hyperbole. You are asking the people of the community to throw away millions and millions of dollars. (It would be similar to tearing up a winning lottery ticket.) Remember, the 'sign-on' bonus on a gas lease is a drop in the bucket. Royalties can add up to millions of dollars per hundred acres in the first few years that gas is extracted from a well. And everyone collects royalties, not just the people who sign leases, and not just the large landowners.

I hate any sort of pollution, packaging, or large companies spewing waste anywhere. But on the other hand, can you imagine the reief that these dollars could bring? Can you possibly picture Sullivan County prosperous instead of just pitifully scraping by?

It would mean young graduates wouldn't have to move away for jobs, stores would open, restaurants would be full, there might even be a place to buy a pair of jeans without driving to Monticello!

The best case scenario would be to have the drilling without the pollution or contamination; gas companies (so far) have not been called on the carpet to clean up their act. If they can do it to the state's satisfaction, and agree to be monitored, it would be a chance in a lifetime for Sullivan County.

[Jed]

Mary E you should check out Josh Fox's web site www.waterunderattack.com or Damascus citizens to get a better idea of what SC will be looking at if drilling goes through - there is no SAFE way with this process (drilling 1,000s of feet into the ground and breaking up the geological strata; releasing methane, while dumping millions of gallons of benzene and other toxic chemicals tainted water in the process!). The 2005 energy bill that exempts the clean water act needs to be rescinded and any politicians reading this should wake up already, natural gas derived from this frack process is NOT "Clean" energy when you take into account all the side effects. Oh, but that's right, the gas companies just made a $2,000 contribution, and I need some tax dollars since I can neevr balance a budget...

I also find it absurd that frack drilling will be provide some kind of economic rebirth for SC. Young people will leave anyway and if you want a pair of jeans??? go to Alice's in PA. Really people, the time is running out to stop this in the area. Also, Dave as an obviously intelligent guy, I am not sure how you don't see your business of selling houses in the county will be over too. But I guess there will be Ulster County?

Jed Clampett Jr

[City Non-Slicker]

Mary Ellen lives in lala land where the roses glow and the trains smell like the glowing roses.

[Rod]

DK - Sullivan County's definition of leader selection and development consists mostly of recycling the same old names and bodies, regardless if they have done anything creative or initative oriented. In fact, it's quite evident success in any form in not a prerequisite to sitting on a board or advisement agency. I could name the 8 usual suspects who guide the Partnership, the Hospital and any and all other boards - their list of accomplishments and measure of achievement is weak.

[ar]

Perhaps Mary E is right that the effects of gas drilling are not widely dispersed. But if you happen to live close to land where drilling is occurring, I'd bet she would agree that the detrimental effects would be quite dramatic -- the traffic, the noise, not to mention the potential for ground water contamination. The problem with gas drilling from a property owner's perspective is that you can't know where or when a given piece of land may become the subject of a lease and subsequent drilling. So there is no practical way to protect yourself as a buyer. Right this minute, you could check for filed leases near the house or land you are contemplating buying, but even if there were none, there is no assurance that a lease won't be signed the day after you close on your new house. One can perhaps identify broad areas at risk -- for example, anywhere near the Eldred Preserve, which has leased a lot of acreage to the gas companies -- but that doesn't reduce the risk by much because the risk is like a ball in a roulette wheel - it can land in any slot at any time so long as there is a desire for the gas. As things stand, huge portions of the county are a gamble.

[Josef]

The major risk with buying a home and gas drilling is within 2 miles of the millenium pipe-line.
Outside this 2 mile distance, gas drilling will be very scarce. I would not be worried about gas drilling in say mamakating or neversink but I would definately be worried about buying something in the western portion of the county within 2 miles perpendicular to the millenium pipeline.

[Mary E]

ar,

This is certainly unpredictable right now. I doubt if SC will give the gas people a free rein, but there will definitely be some negotiation on both sides. I would guess that the drilling areas would have to be approved by the county, as they are by NY state.

Yes, it would be a crime to ruin this area, yet, there are already thousands of gas wells in NY. Have all these areas turned to sludge pits? Would drilling continue anywhere if they
did? Wouldn't someone have noticed?

I admit I am optimistic. We peeps who have been in the area for decades have held our breath over and over again waiting for some kind of revival in the Catskills, only to have it fall through repeatedly.

I am no advocate for corrupting the land and air. I have fracking wells all around the suburb in which I live (a lovely Scardale-y kind of place) and they've been here for years.

I guess it's going to be a wait and see kind of thing, but I doubt if SC or the state can turn down those kind of dollars.

[Charles Manny]

David,

Have you seen SC more depressed than it is today? Gloomy news is everywhere. NYS going bankrupt, Cappelli defaulting on Concord contractors, SC with a hude budget deficit.....

I remember the days of the 70's and early 80's and early 90's when SC was really depressed.
It appears bad today but we are nowhere near as bad as the decades previous.
I do see however, that the way things continue, the old days of a depressed catskills can return. I have no vision or light of a come-back for at least a decade. New Yorkers are fighting to hold onto their work downstate let alone trying to spend hundreds of thousands for a country escape. I think many realtors are feeling the desparation as sales are very slow and things are getting worse, not better.

Any input from you would be great, as you are at the front lines in buyer metality.