RYAN’S HOPES
Exec’s 2021 budget envisions new uses of Hudson Valley Mall, TechCity space
STONE RIDGE, N.Y. » Converting Hudson Valley Mall in the town of Ulster into an agribusiness hub and part of the nearby TechCity property into a space for Ulster County’s makers and creators are among projects that will be funded in the county’s 2021 budget.
County Executive Pat Ryan unveiled his $333.8 million spending plan for next year on Thursday to a socially distanced crowd of about 50 people in the Quimby Theater at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge.
Ryan’s proposed budget is about $9 million smaller than the county’s 2020 spending
package and calls for no increase in the amount to be generated by property taxes.
The 2021 budget was developed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has done significant harm to the economy and claimed the lives of 95 Ulster County residents. As a re
sult of the pandemic, the county has had to rethink its priorities.
“This budget puts people at the center of our economy and at the heart of our essential spending, outlining a plan to ensure we emerge from the pandemic with a more resilient and equitable economy and with a continued focus on taking care of each other during this moment of great need,” Ryan said.
“It’s clear we have to take a fundamentally different approach, one that puts our people back at the center of our economy,” he said.
To do that, Ryan said, the county’s efforts must be “informed by who we are as a people and a community.”
“Number one in Ulster County, we are growers,” Ryan said. “For generations, our farms, orchards and vineyards have defined not just our economy, but our landscape. Today, the food and agricultural sectors account for about 15 percent of total jobs in our county.”
Ryan said his 2021 spending plan puts Ulster County on a path to having “one of the most dynamic and resilient food systems in the nation by 2040.”
“In 2021, as the first step, we will make investments to transform the Hudson Valley Mall, which we all know has been slowly dying for the past decade, into a thriving hub of our future agricultural economy,” the executive said.
Ryan didn’t offer specific plans for the mall, but he said Farm Bridge, a company that provides services to about 60 farms and small food companies, including the packaging of produce and turning raw products into cooked items, is moving from TechCity to the space at the east end of the mall formerly occupied by Sears. And additional “significant real estate” in the mall will be dedicated to the agribusiness hub, he said.
Ryan said the new hub “will form ... one of the centerpieces of our new economy.”
Assistant Deputy County Executive Dan Torres said the executive has included $275,000 in the budget to be used to help develop the agribusiness hub and other economic development initiatives outlined in the “Ulster 2040” working group report released earlier this week.
Ryan also allocated $225,000 for the upkeep of Ulster County Enterprise West, a building on the west side of Enterprise Drive in the town of Ulster that was part of TechCity before the county seized it due to unpaid taxes; and $2.9 million in the county’s multiyear capital plan to convert longvacant buildings at TechCity into a hub for artists, designers, manufacturers and other creative endeavors.
The budget also calls for a continuation of Ryan’s Green New Deal for Ulster County and includes the conversion of the county’s bus fleet to electric vehicles, the installation of charging stations, and $800,000 to update the heating/airconditioning systems at the County Courthouse, the County Office Building, Hall of Records and the Trudy Resnick Farber Building in Ellenville. Additionally, the budget includes $75,000 for scholarships for students attending the Green Academy, offered through a partnership between Ulster County and SUNY Ulster.
It also includes $150,000 in new funding for mental health services and will, among other things, put a social worker in the county’s 911 center, increase the reach of the county’s mobile mental health service, and enable a new class of 20 youths to participate in the county’s Brighter Future initiative.
Ryan said he was able to reduce spending and keep the property tax levy at the current level through the careful administration of the 2020 budget, despite anticipated decreases in state aid and revenue from county’s sales and occupancy taxes.
He said the proposed spending plan for 2021 has 100 fewer jobs than the 2020 budget — to be accomplished through retirements and attrition, not layoffs — and that the county was able to achieve nearly $1 million in savings by working with Sheriff Juan Figueroa to close unused housing pods and reduce staffing at the county jail.
The budget also calls for just over $11 million from the county’s fund balance to be used to offset spending.
The county Legislature’s Budget and Finance Committee will begin its review of Ryan’s spending plan in the upcoming weeks and will adopt a final 2021 budget in December.