The Village of Ellenville officially acknowledged that the Town of Wawarsing has taken Lead Agency on the application by Somerset Partners for the hotel/homes that they seek to build on the old Nevele resort property. This is just one more step in this huge undertaking that should be nearing the town planning board stage.

In other news, Melinda Herzog, Healthy Communities Issues leader at Cornell Cooperative, appeared before the village board on Monday to explain the Climate Smart Resiliency program to improve Ellenville’s readiness for various emergencies as the climate continues to change with a slightly warmer atmosphere. She introduced Brent Gotsch, who will work with the village on the various issues involved. High heat, which can require cooling centers for seniors, is at one end of things, flooding from increasingly strong rain events at the other. Herzog noted that this work was worth six points in the Climate Smart Program, which goes toward reaching Bronze, Silver, or Gold status. Achieving even a Bronze standard in that program opens doors to various kinds of grants and funding streams from the state.

Roof-Free Building Violation

The building at 116 South Main Street has been the subject of a violation notice sent out on August 31. The owners, Lincoln Place Equities, located in Spring Valley, Rockland County, have been in violation before. The building, with a brick facade, sits next to the Dollar General on South Main Street. Lincoln Place Equities owns the entire lot there, which lies in the Business Zone district.

As a commercial lot, it is allowed to have two separate buildings. However, the building at 116 South Main is in drastic disrepair and the roof has fallen in. Similar violations two years ago produced a slight effort at remediation by the owners, who had the walls propped up. However, the long-term plan for the building, which apparently included demolition of the Dollar General structure and replacement of that 7,500-square-foot building with an 11,000-square-foot space for a commercial tenant has not moved forward. At this point the building is a danger to passersby, and may collapse.

The village seeks the removal of the structure to make the area safe. The owners have until September 30 to respond to the violation notice.

Village Seeks Municipal Code Officer

The Ellenville village clerk has been authorized to advertise for the position of Municipal Code Officer for the Building Department. Inquire with the village if interested.