LEGISLATURE STUFF - The Future of the Fairgrounds

CAIRO - In the near or distant future, “a lot of meetings will be had,” says Greene County Legislature chairman Patrick Linger, referring to the purchase of land in the town of Cairo and what will become of it.

Lawmakers, at a recent meeting, approved a resolution authorizing the chairman to enter into a contract to obtain 16.85 acres that in the past served as what is known as the Old Cairo Fairgrounds.

The longtime overgrown lot is located between Route 84 and Main Street, selling for a cool $475,000 or just under $21,000 per acre.

“Greene County has been searching for a significant parcel of developable real property to plan for the future expansion and construction of the Greene County workplace campus,” the resolution states.

While the resolution goes on to declare the planned expansion includes the movement of multiple existing entities to the site, nothing is apparently written in stone at this early stage.

It is possible that the headquarters for the current Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District and Hudson Valley Center for Veteran Reintegration would move there.

Likewise transferring from their present spot, at an antiquated building next to Angelo Canna Park in Cairo, would be the county’s Mental Health and Community Services offices, according to the resolution.

There could further be a shifting of the county’s Records Management Center from Catskill to Cairo, spread out on the former fairgrounds.

Those ideas are in fact written on paper, but Linger, in a phone interview   said, “nothing has been decided,” in terms of what might go where.

“There are a lot of meetings that will need to take place before a decision is made,” Liger said, noting the potential project was a continuing topic of discussion during a legislative workshop, last week.

“We will first want to hear from the community to find out their thoughts,” Linger said, emphasizing the effort is two-fold.

Lawmakers, over the last two years, have been conducting engineering examinations of what is commonly called the Mental Health building.

It is situated at what, in a previous incarnation, was known as the county farm, built in 1883, in no way intended for its current usage, housing the Soil and Water District, Veterans Reintegration and Mental Health.

The building has a 19th Century Style cupola that is perhaps charming but deteriorated to the point where birds are more comfy there than humans.

Studies financed by the county to determine the condition of the building have shown it is still solid but “it was never designed to be conducive for our operations,” Linger said, 

Even as conversations are happening surrounding what could eventually emerge at the old fairgrounds, separate discussions would need to simultaneously occur on the fate of the Mental Health building.

“We are very early in that process,” Linger said. “If somebody wanted to go in there and renovate, there is some cosmetic stuff that needs to be done but that would be fine. Or it may be torn down.”

Public input would similarly be sought before a direction is nailed down with Linger noting the current building is not handicapped accessible or up to 21st Century specifications, such as elevators, cooling and heating, etc.

Meanwhile,officials say the fairgrounds property would nicely accommodate a new municipal building, having ample room and good dirt.

Well aware this day was coming, Linger said lawmakers have been setting aside funding for this project as well as others, eliminating the need to borrow money while also not impacting property taxes.

County officials say the tires were kicked at the fairgrounds before agreeing to make the deal, checking for anything that would inhibit development, such as archaeological finds, wetlands, etc.

The fairgrounds have been utilized for a myriad of purposes, rolling out the red carpet for the Greene County Fair beginning in 1870, just prior the construction of the county farm.

Lawmaker Harry Lennon (District 8, Cairo), recalled, in a phone interview that the fairgrounds, in his teens, hosted Sunday stock car races.

Horse-racing took place too, on a smooth track, although within the past half-century, most likely only woodchucks, mice and a few dogs and perhaps coyotes) have done any trotting in the brush there.

It is anticipated that whatever lawmakers choose, groundbreaking would not be seen until 2025, requiring two to three years to complete.