We should all support Enterprise West plan

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the articles recently published on the revitalization of Enterprise West, formerly a part of TechCity (Freeman, March 1). The first article reported on the expression of interest from local and regional businesses and developers requested by Ulster County. The breadth of offerings was inspiring. They range from arts, education, sports, agriculture, solar and a number of other great ideas, any of which could serve our area well.

The second article (Freeman, March 2) announces that “members of the Legislature’s Economic Development,

Tourism, Planning Housing and Transit Committee unanimously approved a resolution to give the alliance ownership of Enterprise West, a portion of the former IBM property and later TechCity that is now owned by the county.”

This is more good news for all of us. Transferring these parcels to the Local Development Corporation (LDC), which is the Ulster County Economic Development Alliance, will speed up the process of redeveloping the property. If the transfer does not happen, it remains in the hands of the county legislators, which will greatly slow down the process, as any move will require a full vote of the Legislature.

All the residents of Ulster County, especially those of us in the Town of Ulster, deserve to have this process move as quickly as possible. We have all suffered financially from the lack of business presence long enough. I am urging the Legislature to vote “yes” on the transfer on March 16.

Laura Hartmann Town of Ulster, N.Y. The writer chairs TownOfUlsterCitizens.org.