To the Editor:
The recently posted letter from Bob Axelrod concerning the Belleayre Resort is perplexing.
Where has Mr. Axelrod been for the last six years? It was then, not the other day, that a public/private partnership agreement was announced between NYS DEC and Crossroad Ventures. In response to environmental concerns about the delicate state of the Ashokan Reservoir, the developer sold to the state 1200 acres of privately owned land east of Belleayre Ski Center. Now opponents suddenly want that same fragile area developed with ski trails and lifts. The real strategy here is to start the environmental impact process all over. Mr. Axelrod, apparently, has all the time in the world.
The fact that reviving the Highmount Ski Center takes advantage of existing trails thereby reducing the need to cut trees is overshadowed in Mr. Axelrod’s view by the outrageous notion that visitors who chose to stay adjacent Belleayre Ski Center might have easy access.
He expresses concern about an enormous golf course in the middle of the watershed. Apparently he has never noticed the two golf courses in Windham totaling 36-holes, or the 18 holes at Hanah and at SUNY Delhi. All of which are in the heart of the watershed.
Mr. Axelrod advises starting smaller. The acreage of the revised Belleayre Resort has been reduced by 62%; the number of lodging structures reduced by 72%; the number of golf courses reduced by 50%. We can spend from now until eternity tweaking it. And nothing will ever get done.
I believe it is time to set the record straight. Speak out at the May 29 hearing at Belleayre Ski Center. Support the full build out of the Belleayre Ski Center and the building of the revised Belleayre Resort.
Sincerely,
Rosina M. Montana
Denver
