An important date for the village of Ellenville is fast approaching. On May 24, at 6 p.m. at Village Hall (Elting Court), a meeting will be held to discuss a number of important issues involving the Trudy Farber Resnick Building, on Center Street.

High on the list of issues there is further provision of mental health services at the building. Currently there is a limited array of those, but formerly there were considerably more. And right up there with that will be discussion of bringing various social services back to the building as well.

The new Metzger administration in Kingston is aware of the difficulties, often extreme, for families who depend on social services in one way or another. Some have to make the trip to Kingston, and change buses, several times a week to reach the County Social Services building there. That can take hours, or all day, so having those services available in Ellenville will make a huge difference for those families.

The Trudy Resnick Farber building was constructed following the murder of Trudy Farber in May 1977 by an individual who thought to kidnap her and extort the Resnick family for money. She suffocated while he held her captive. He was arrested and spent 38 years in jail for her murder.

The building was donated by the family, and is owned by Ulster County. For decades it served the community for social services, including mental health. However, faced with the dramatic shortfalls in revenues for the county budget as the effects of the 2008 recession hit Ulster County, then-Executive Mike Hein cut that funding. It has never been fully restored.

The meeting on May 24 is to let the public discuss the building and what services would be best housed there. The meeting will be held in the court room on the ground floor of the Village Hall, Elting Court. Refreshments and childcare will be provided.