THOMPSON — Route 17 is the longest state route in New York at 397 miles. It's the second largest highway of any kind in the state with the first being the New York State Thruway. It served as the lifeline for the Borscht Belt era of the 50s, 60s, and 70s and it was once called the “Liberty Highway” that connected New York City to the Cleveland, Ohio.

Now using funds from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a set of design guidelines were developed by The Sullivan County Division of Planning and Environmental Management (DPEM) for future redevelopment of our area. The plan focuses on the space between Exits 104 to 107, which stretches through the Town of Thompson and the Village of Monticello and includes the areas around the exits and the corridor between the exits.

“Grow the Gateways,” is a county initiative which wants to beautify the corridor between those exits to be a place for visitors and for people who want to live a “high quality of life in a small-town environment surrounded by the Catskills,” according to the vision statement.

The designs accommodate commercial and industrial growth along the corridor, with an effort made to support a range of transportation options, including motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and public transit.

Furthermore, the plans call for the town and village to adopt the design guidelines when presented with future applications.

Moving forward, the town and village would have to cooperate on a joint code enforcement plan in order to improve capacity.

Public hearings have been scheduled for May 1 - which will be a joint public hearing of the Town of Thompson and the Village of Monticello. Another public hearing will take place at Thompson Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. on May 15 at 7 p.m.

Camp Jened

In other news, board members gave approval to begin a study of the former Camp Jened in Rock Hill. Once owned by United Cerebral Palsy, the original camp was constructed around 1980 and has been closed for a decade.

The town plans to convert the camp into a town park with a chance to create boating, kayaking and swimming amenities for the residents of Thompson. Along with hiking and riding trails, the park could have a focus toward environmental education.

There will also be a large space for community and private events, as well as space for more recreational facilities such as basketball courts, tennis courts and playgrounds in the future.

Delaware Engineering, D.P.C. was hired to provide the study along with workshops for the public to attend and provide feedback. The cost of the study will be $19,500.00 and will include a conference with town officials; a review of all information of the site which includes current structures, water and sewer plans; visits with town officials to assess the current condition of the site; public workshops in order to get input from the public and creation draft reports at all the steps of the study for public and town board review.

Storm Hearings

The New York State Public Service Commission is sponsoring a series of public hearings regarding the March 2018 winter storms which resulted in county wide power outages.

The commission has stated an investigation of the storm preparation and response by the state's major electric utilities.

The hearings will be Wednesday, April 25 and it will be held at the Monticello Fire Department with one hearing at 2 p.m. and the other 6 p.m.

Information about the investigation can be found at www.dps.ny.gov.