LEGISLATURE STUFF - Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts

CATSKILL - The possible un-haunting of the ghostly grounds of the former Lehigh Cement Plant in Cementon will be the subject of a May 4 Open House hosted by the Greene County Legislature.

Lawmakers, at a meeting last week, approved a resolution setting up the public chit chat related to the issuance of an environmental Positive Declaration (Pos Dec) on the Cementon Redevelopment Project.

The Pos Dec is the opposite of what it sounds, declaring that the project could uncover potentially negative environmental impacts.

There is no certainty that will be the case but the county, as the lead agent,  deems it prudent to prepare a Generic Environmental Impact Statement, revealing latent problems before investments and diggings commence.

It is expected any hidden risks will be revealed, resulting in a rewarding rebirth of the once-bustling site which has lain dormant for years on the southern end of the town of Catskill.

The upcoming Open House is the latest action in a lengthy process initiated by the Greene County Economic Development, Tourism & Planning Department as a commercial venture.

Agency executive director James Hannahs, last May, received legislative backing to seek grant funding in support of the Cementon revival.

FAST NY dollars were available to, “deploy economic development projects that result in organic and diversified job creation opportunities that expand tax revenue sources, especially within emerging and targeted industries as identified by New York State,” the legislative resolution stated.

It was not pipe dreaming, Hannahs said, noting in the resolution that, “New York State agencies have expressed the need for an increased supply of large-scale tracts of developable real estate sites to strengthen efforts launched to attract business within targeted and emerging markets.

“New York Empire State Development has developed grant programs to assist municipalities in implementing the initiatives necessary to market sites,” the resolution stated.

Those initiatives include but are not limited to, “capital improvements (infrastructure expansion and other site work activities), and soft costs (master plans, general environmental impact statements and other study/due diligence efforts),” the resolution stated.

“A competitive and popular grant program dedicated to implementing the

aforementioned activities, entitled “FAST NY,” will provide up to $300 million,” the resolution stated.

There were many seekers of the money but Hannahs announced, in August, 2025, the county was awarded $400,000 from FAST NY.

Those dollars can be spent to “prepare and develop sites statewide to jumpstart New York’s shovel-readiness and increase its attractiveness to large employers,” Hannahs stated.

“Through the nature of its own business attraction, retention and expansion efforts, [the agency has identified a large tract of land located in the areas known as Cementon, Alsen, and Smith’s Landing,” along Route 9W, between Catskill and Saugerties, Hannahs stated.

The tract, up to 11 parcels and 4,000 acres, displays, “many characteristics believed to embody a highly marketable site,” Hannahs stated.

Hannahs noted his agency has, “conducted numerous meetings with the owners of the identified tracts, discussing their desires of expansion and appetite for deploying site development activities consistent with the marketability guidelines set forth” in the grant program.

“EDR, a professional community planning and engineering company, was

procured from the county’s Roster of Professional Consulting Services to provide a scope of services that would deliver a comprehensive master plan of the scoped site,” Hannahs stated.

That master plan would be delivered, “complete with a conceptual site plan, completed State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), finalized General Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS), and a findings statement,” Hannahs stated.

EDR’s report will create a scenario, “so that when companies or end users do come and propose their projects, their environmental review, up to the limits of this environmental impact statement, is done,” Hannahs stated.

“And that turns a two-year process to get a shovel in the ground into, like, two weeks as long as you get your permit. That is very valuable for end users and industries to be attracted to an area,” Hannahs said.

The grant covers slightly more than half of the upfront cost for EDR’s work, set at $775,910, and is being greeted with optimism. 

All of which has lead to the Open House which will be held the first Monday of May, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Robert C. Antonelli Senior Center, located at 15 Academy Street in Catskill.

Breathing new business life into Cementon “could be something that is beneficial for everyone,” legislature chairman Patrick Linger said.

“This is admittedly ambitious but there are things maybe not thought of yet that may work,” Linger said, noting Cementon is bordered by the Hudson River and a deep-water dock, also located close to the New York State Thruway and CSX railroad tracks.