CATSKILL — Greene County is moving forward with the eminent domain process to acquire land owned by Hunter Mountain Resort for an infrastructure project in the village of Hunter.
During the Greene County Legislature’s Public Works Committee meeting on July 11, the committee unanimously approved a resolution that directs Greene County Highway Department Superintendent to take the necessary steps to acquire a parcel of land needed to replace the culvert that carries county Route 83 over the Shanty Hollow Brook and an adjacent pedestrian bridge.
The resolution, which will go to the full Greene County Legislature for a vote, directs the highway department to exercise the power of eminent domain according to state law if necessary to acquire the property needed for the culvert project.
The county considers it a last resort to use eminent domain in right-of-way situations, but that reaching an agreement with Hunter Mountain Resort proved difficult due to corporate red tape, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said.
Hunter Mountain Resorts is owned by Vail Resorts Inc., a mountain resort company located in Broomfield, Colorado, which operates 40 resorts in 15 states and three countries.
“Vail is such a big corporation that we actually can’t just get to anybody in Colorado to sign off on these easements,” Groden said. “The work that we need to do on this bridge is really for their benefit. It’s just about corporate structure, if I was able to talk to the Hunter Mountain folks, I’d have no problem. But that’s all controlled by Vail now. This is something we would normally do very routinely. But because we can’t get the corporate world to do anything, then we have to go through eminent domain.”
The resolution notes that the project is needed to address structural deficiencies which have been identified on the culvert. The east approach of the culvert has a history of minor flooding and sediment movement, with the roadside drainage ditches frequently filling with rock and sediment, which disrupts stormwater drainage.
The tax map parcel that contains Hunter Mountain Resort consists of approximately 50.7 acres of land, which surrounds and abuts county Route 83, through which Shanty Hollow Brook flows.
The project, which is supported by state and federal transportation funding, requires the county to acquire a permanent easement through about 2,750 square feet of land, with approximately 249 square feet laying within the bed of Shanty Hollow Brook.
The county must also acquire a permanent easement through about 5,526 square feet of land with 1,612 square feet on the bed of Shanty Hollow Brook and a temporary easement through a parcel of land consisting of approximately 1,126 square feet of area, with about 83 square feet along the bed of Shanty Hollow Brook on the north side of county Route 83.
During the Public Works Committee meeting Monday, Templeton said the county could begin the infrastructure project next year if the county moves forward with acquiring the land through eminent domain.
“We’ve tried many times to solve the right of way with Vail Resorts,” Templeton told the legislature. “Unfortunately we’ve not come to a resolution and we have to proceed with the eminent domain process. If we continue with that and get that approved, the project could go forward in 2023.”