"We will be ready to begin construction in the next 90 days," Margaret Schneider, executive vice president of Concord Associates, says. Most of the architectural and design work on the first phase of the project has been completed, she says.

The first phase of the project involves the redevelopment of the former main hotel building and clubhouse on the property, which will feature 567 rooms when completed in the fall of 2002. Also set to be part of phase one is a 75,000-sf convention center that would be located near the main hotel.

Concord Associates, which would build the convention center, has proposed that Sullivan County finance and own the convention center valued at $22.5 million. Louis Cappelli appeared before the Sullivan County Legislature on Jan. 11 to detail the firm's plan for the convention center.

Over the past few weeks, Cappelli and Sullivan County officials have been engaged in a war of words over landfill tipping fees that had some questioning whether the project would move forward. The dispute centered on the county's policy of charging out-of-county haulers $50 per ton for waste dumped at its landfill.

The county had offered to charge Cappelli $40 per ton, and even accept construction demolition debris, at the same rate as in-county haulers. However, Cappelli wanted a lower rate, charging that his firm was investing heavily in the county. Cappelli subsequently bristled when local press reports detailed criticism over granting his firm any additional breaks on tipping fees.

In a letter dated Dec. 19, 2000 to the Sullivan County Board of Legislators Chairman Raymond J. Pomeroy Jr., Cappelli stated, "I must say that I have never been put in a position of writing a letter such as this. However, before we decide whether to spend one more dollar in Sullivan County, it is important that you understand how your reluctance to date to recognize the benefits of this redevelopment program, is having a serious negative impact on our ability to sustain our development program. The landfill issue is just the latest nail the county is driving into the economic development coffin, pushing us closer to abandoning the project in its entirety."

Schneider said that Concord Associates has since reached an agreement with a landfill operator in Ohio that will accept the Concord construction and demolition debris at a lower cost than trucking it to the Sullivan County landfill. She added that Concord Associates expects to save approximately $8 per ton disposing of the debris in Ohio as compared to Sullivan County.

Schneider also noted that relations between Cappelli and Sullivan County officials have improved and termed the landfill issue as a case of "a temporary lapse in communication."

Instant Insights /

With County/Cappelli Dispute Quashed, Resort Work Begins in 90 Days

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