Economic committee gets 3-year extension

The Esopus Town Board has authorized the town’s Economic Development Committee to work for another three years.

Supervisor Diane McCord said the group, formed 16 months ago, will be able to focus on bringing new businesses to the town.

“Now they can concentrate on advertising for getting business to come to Esopus,” she said.

“They have a plan to market Esopus to get businesses in because we won’t be able to survive unless we have a better tax base,” McCord said. “They put in a budget to the Town Board, and in that budget they only got $10,000 ... which was half of what they asked for.”

The committee said in the marketing plan that it wants to develop “strategies aimed at enhancing the viability of existing businesses, expanding existing operation, attracting new business and economic sectors, and establishing partnerships with other community organizations.”

McCord said among the committee’s successes has been convincing two local businesses to work together.

“They’ve been actively been pursuing this,” she said. “One of the committee representatives met with Callanan [Industries], and Feeney [Shipyard]... rents space from Callanan’s [and] now and will be moving some of their equipment over to Callanan’s.”

Feeney Shipyard has a presence on the Rondout Creek between Kingston and Esopus. Callanan Industries conducts mining operations that uses barges to transport sand and gravel.

McCord said the Economic Development Committee was formed, in part, to provide information about the economic goals of town residents to town officials in advance of updating land-use regulations.