KINGSTON – Ulster County Legislature’s Economic Development, Tourism, Housing, Planning and Transit Committee came to a somewhat split decision Tuesday evening, barely passing through the amended PILOT for the Kingstonian Project 5-3.
The amended Kingstonian PILOT would be for $30.7 million over 25 years. The project’s total cost is $54.8 million and would include commercial, retail, and residential properties, as well as a parking garage and park in Uptown Kingston.
Chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee, Legislator Lynn Archer, was outspoken following her appeal to the county’s IDA for an independent cost-benefit review. She maintained voting the PILOT through at the current stage would be like voting blind, despite arguments that there has been an adequate review by the IDA already.
“We’re the economic development standing committee. It comes here first because it is about economic development in the county. You’re asking this group to make a decision without all the facts,” said Archer. “There’s not been an independent review done by the IDA. They’ve taken and used their software system to take the data and the numbers that have been given to them by the developer. This is not an independent review,” she said.
County Executive Pat Ryan echoed this position, releasing a statement Tuesday in which he said, “Before a decision of this magnitude is made, the public deserves an impartial assessment of the costs and benefits of the project. Therefore, I am calling on the project developers to disclose their financials to an independent evaluator so that we can have a full picture of the project.”
Acknowledging the inevitability of this cost-benefit review, Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said the project has been in the preliminary stages for long enough and the developers, Kingstonian LLC, have shown in good-faith to meet a number of changes imposed on them, such as affordable housing, building the parking garage and maintaining the historic preservation of the site. Since the PILOT approval still has some additional barriers, he said it would be a good decision to pass it through the committee.
“I don’t think this thing should keep lingering on and on. As a result, I think it makes sense for us to pass it out of this committee,” said Donaldson. “It still has areas to go to before we actually accept it and like I said before, the county is moving forward and there is going to be an independent analysis of the deviated PILOT,” he said.
The amended PILOT for the Kingstonian will appear before the county’s Ways and Means Committee next Tuesday, after which, if it is passed, will appear before the entire legislature.
