LEGISLATURE STUFF - Groundhog Day on the Horizon

CATSKILL - The final week of January is usually governmentally quiet for the Greene County Legislature other than picking who does what on various committees and sundry agencies.

Entering the year 2025 is no exception, renaming folks who are doing the job well or choosing someone new because somebody has retired or maybe a person opted not to return for any number of reasons.

It is not as dramatic as Groundhog Day waiting in the wings but it is more reliable than the Punxsutawney rodent and legally required regardless of who or what is involved, including reappointing Tourism Advisory Committee members as follows:

—Kevin Lewis (Baumann’s Brookside representing Lodging (Resort), Chip Seamans (Windham Mountain Club representing Attraction (Ski Resort;

Lenore Whitcomb (Winter Clove Inn representing Lodging (Resort), Katherine Christman (Christman’s Windham House representing Lodging 

(Golf Resort);

Jessica Halbrecht (Hunter Mountain representing Attraction (Ski Resort), lawmaker Patty Handel, District 9, Durham, Blackthorne Resort representing Lodging (Resort);

Marianna Leman (Albergo Allegria representing Lodging (Inn/B&B), Jennifer Greim (Thomas Cole National Historic Site representing 

Attraction (Arts & Culture);

Tinker Nicholsen-Pachter (Sunny Hill Resort and Golf Course representing Lodging (Golf Resort), all serving 1-year terms. 

The purpose of the Tourism Advisory Committee is to build industry support in the fulfillment of the county’s “Destination Marketing Program,” a legislative resolution states.

Their primary tasks are providing industry-specific input on advertising and marketing, communication and education, economic development projects and advocacy, being as close as close gets to the real world of business.

Lawmakers also are where the buck stops in terms of authorizing where and how money is spent by the Greene County Department of Human Services Youth Bureau on an annual basis.

That county agency receives funding from the NY State Office of Children, Youth and Family Services to the tune of $83,646 for the current and retroactive period of October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.

Those dollars must be committed thusly: $44,657 for Youth Development Programs, $20,000 for Sports and Education Opportunity Funding and $18,989 for Team Sports.

The Youth Advisory Board recommends in what specific way the money will be directed and the legislature chairman, in this case Patrick Linger, is authorized to sign the agreement, doing so as follows:

—Youth Development Programs/ Athens Cultural Arts Center $8,000, boundless Arts $3,000, Cairo Summer Recreation $3,200;

Common Ground Dispute Resolution $2,000, Cornell Cooperative Extension $3,000, CREATE Council for the Arts $4,285;

Durham Summer Recreation $3,000, GC DHS Pre-PINS $3,897, Youth Bureau Community Development. $500, Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, $3,500, Greenville Library $2,280, Prattsville Art Project $4,000, YMCA Health Kids $3,995.

—Sports and Education Opportunity Funding/ Cairo Summer Recreation Sports Program $3910, Durham Summer Swimming Program $ 4,957, Pop Warner Football Cheerleaders $11,133;

—Team Sports/ Coxsackie-Athens Little League $7,704, Greene County Flag Football $4,181, Greenville Soccer $3,575, Northern Catskill Youth Organization (Rip VanWinkle Soccer) $3,529.

Lawmakers, continuing with their obligations, appointed and reappointed members to the county Youth Advisory Board for one year as follows:

—NEW APPOINTMENTS/Margaret Bush (General Public), Brandie Callahan (Service Provider/CoxsackieAthens Central School District, Natalie Lipski (Student, Catskill Central School District), Betsy Pellitteri (General Public);

—REAPPOINTMENTS/ Kevin Forbes (Greene County), Andrew Holliday (Youth Member), MaryJo Jaeger (Greene County), Amanda Karch (Columbia-Greene Workforce);

Debra Kingman (Greene County Probation), Maeve Lampman (Youth Member), Tatum Lampman (Youth Member), Sal Massa (Retired);

Brenna Rustick (General Public), Angelo Scaturro (Greene County Public Defender), John & MaryAnn Scalera (General Public). One vacancy remains, representing Greene County Public Health.

Lastly, lawmakers, upon the recommendation of county treasurer Keith Valentine, approved entering into an agreement with three+one for cashVest Liquidity & Treasury Analysis Services.

Valentine determined it is in the best interest of the county to procure Professional Investment Services and three+one is the company best suited to provide said services to Greene County.

The outside experts will, “ensure appropriate and competitive pricing is being received from financial partners pertinent to the facilitation of cash management and to define the next steps and recommendations to

uncover new sources of value on identified strategic liquidity,” the legislative resolution states.

Greene County, meaning we mules of taxation, will pay $34,000 for annual liquidity monitoring and reporting services in $8,500 quarterly installments. 

Either party may cancel the pact by giving 30 days written notice of intent to terminate to the other party after the first full calendar year of service.