Rte. 28 scenic corridor plan hits speed bumps

Daily Freeman reporter Jay Braman Jr. writes that the dream of making Route. 28 through Delaware and Ulster counties into a revenue-generating scenic byway might be dying. The idea, championed by a group called the Central Catskills Collaborative, sounded good two years ago, before all economic hell broke loose, town administrators tell Braman:

Last week, the supervisors and mayors of the member municipalities of the Central Catskill Collaborative — the towns of Hurley, Olive, Shandaken, Middletown and Andes; and the villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville — were asked to enter an agreement to continue to fund the collaborative.

This week Olive town Supervisor Bert Leifeld said the plan received a chilly reception.

“The idea is that all the towns would cooperate and contribute a stipend,” Leifeld said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of questions here. Let’s face it. The towns are going to be competing for money for projects. So, is everybody happy with the idea of this agreement? No.”