LEGISLATURE STUFF - No Waiting at the DMV

By Michael Ryan

CATSKILL - The good news is that starting in mid-February, there will be no long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles, members of the Greene County Legislature have been advised.

The bad news is the reprieve will last for approximately three days, including a holiday, and the reason is the offices won’t be open.

County Clerk Marilyn Farrell reported the temporary shutdown during a legislative Government Operations committee meeting, Tuesday night.

Farrell said the DMV office in Catskill, along with DMV offices statewide, are undergoing a large-scale system upgrade.

So in the middle of Groundhog Day month, all State and county DMV operations will cease, including online and phone services.

The local office, at 411 Main Street, will close at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 13, allowing for anyone already conducting business to finish the task.

DMV will remain closed on Monday, February 16 (Presidents Day), and Tuesday, February 17, with a planned reopening at noon, Wednesday, February 18, provided the OK is given by the State, Farrell said.

“During this time, the State DMV will migrate about 30 million records to the new system and complete the transaction to bring the first phase of the upgrade online,” Farrell said, reading a DMV press release.

“Again, no DMV transactions will be able to be completed during this period including through the State DMV website, and they will not be answering their phones,” Farrell stated.

The new technology will replace and consolidate a significant portion of DMV’s legacy technologies, some of which are over fifty years old, the press release states. “Thank you for your patience,” Farrell said.

In another matter, lawmakers in the County Services Committee, Tuesday night, continued an infrastructure process begun in the summer of 2023.

They approved a resolution going to bid on the planned Community Services Building, an anticipated multi-million dollar project.

It was expected the resolution would be passed by the full board on Wednesday night (too late for this edition).

Job bidding culminates a years-long study of the current structure, located adjacent to Angelo Canna Park in the town of Cairo, a quaint but aging brick building deemed inadequate for its purposes by the legislature.

The site has served as home base for multiple entities over the years including the county’s Mental Health agency which will be the prime occupant in the new facility, also set for Cairo.

Lawmakers previously okayed the purchase of property known as the Old Cairo Fairgrounds, roughly two miles from the existing spot.

That parcel, which holds some historic significance, encompasses 16.85 acres, costing $475,000, a far cry from an earlier sale.

The lands, located between routes 23 and 145, “allowed Greene County residents engaged in agriculture to show off the fruits of their labor and hard work,” a William G. Pomeroy Foundation website states.

Their website continues, “the former Greene County Agricultural Society stated (Premium Book of the Rip Van Winkle Fair, 1934) that the Greene County Fair had been held annually in the Town of Cairo since 1819, but had been held at another site before 1870.

“The Cairo Fairgrounds began hosting the Greene County Fair in 1870 when, according to the Windham Journal…the Greene County Agricultural Society first leased the grounds for a ten-year period from a Mr. Seymour Adams for two hundred dollars a year. 

“Dear Old Greene County, a 1915 compilation of local history, claims Daniel Sayre, a prominent area resident in the early 19th century, was one of the first to exhibit premium grade cattle at the fair. 

“According to a pamphlet published by the Greene County Agricultural Society for the county fair of 1934, the event was renamed the “Rip Van Winkle Fair,” the website states.

“In addition to racing and agricultural activities, events at the fair in 1936 included 4-H club exhibits with cash prizes as well as a horseshoe pitching contest in which the winner advanced to the State Fair competition. 

“The Stamford Mirror-Recorder reported in 1936 that the fairgrounds were sold in a foreclosure proceeding,” the website goes on.

“It changed hands once again in 1961 when a group of horse riders from different parts of New York bought a 17-acre tract including the former grandstand and half-mile track from the Greene County Riding and Driving Club for a sum of $16,000.

“In 1974, the fairgrounds underwent a total transformation into a speedway for stock car racing. A new half mile clay race track opened on August 18, 1974, with a 35-lap feature event for modifieds, which was the standard distance of the time.

“Completely new concessions [stands], buildings, and concrete walls for the track were constructed. The operation included some big names in car racing of the era, including Ken Shoemaker, a racer for 25 years, and Tex Enright,” the website states.

The acreage has been desolate and overgrown for several years, marked by a distinctive blue-and-gold Pomeroy Foundation historic sign.