NARROWSBURG — Brendan and Kathleen Weiden asked - and got - the Tusten Planning Board to fast-track review of their latest plan for the Narrowsburg School: an ice cream factory.

The Weidens don't yet own the 87-year-old building (though they have bought a two-family house next door).

But they're a little over a month away from the planned purchase date, and this past Monday, they told board members that they have a small-scale ice cream manufacturer interested in occupying about a third of what they hope will be a multi-use community center.

“This particular tenant has a time crunch,” Brendan explained.

The couple did not identify the specific company, other than to say it's based in New York City, where its gourmet ice cream products are sold, with ingredients like milk and eggs sourced in part from Sullivan County.

The company's owner wants to have his factory up and running by April 2016. It would occupy about 10,000 square feet of the 30,000 square feet the Weidens hope to make available (the existing school is approximately 25,000 square feet, and they're proposing a 5,000-square-foot addition).

“His focus is getting his production going so he can meet his other commitments,” said Brendan, adding that an unspecified number of local jobs would come with this.

While several box trucks may visit per day, the Weidens estimated no more than one 65-foot tractor-trailer would cart away the products every week - in sum, less traffic on the property than when it was a school, according to the planning board's engineer.

Planning Board member Mary Bermudez expressed concern with the noise and sight of a backup generator that will have to be moved, but Brendan indicated that will be put inside a soundproofed building.

“You can't make them disappear, but you can make them sound like they're purring,” he promised.

Overall, the board and public's response was enthusiastic, with dreams of more tourists and tax revenue.

“It's clean light industry,” Planning Board Chairman Ed Jackson affirmed. “... He [factory's owner] even mentioned buying his own dairy herd when I talked to him!”

Kathy Weiden said the owner wants to install windows so that visitors can watch the production process, potentially turning it into a tourist attraction.

Brendan added the owner could have chosen a cheaper location closer to the city.

“He just loves the idea of being in a repurposed building that's got history,” he told the board. “... He's going to be proud to be in this building. ... This would be such a win-win for the community.”

It would also give the former school its first tenant since it closed a decade ago.

“He may draw a certain other type of tenant, so we'd like to let that happen,” Kathy remarked.

Brendan indicated this is the closest thing they have to a lock on any tenant, as efforts to site a college or similar educational facility there have apparently stalled.

“It's a heavy rock and a long hill, and it's just not happening as quickly as we'd like,” Brendan stated, acknowledging the second floor is being eyed simply as a storage warehouse for now.

The gym will remain, but the goal of making that a community performance space has also been set aside, at least temporarily.

“Frankly,” said Brendan, “we are just completely focused on getting this [ice cream] guy in.”

He persuaded the Tusten Planning Board to delay its next meeting by a week to accommodate the 30-day noticing requirement for a public hearing on the Weidens' request. The board unanimously agreed to start what is now its June 22 meeting (inside the Tusten Town Hall in Narrowsburg) with a 7 p.m. hearing and then presumably vote on the Weidens' plans.

In the meantime, Brendan said he, Kathy and their design team will finalize details, including grading and drainage.

They're also seeking tax abatements from the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency, whose board will likely vote on such at its June 8 meeting (11 a.m. at the Government Center in Monticello).

“We would like to be able to break ground in the fall,” Brendan affirmed. “... We want to get the foundations in before the first hard frost.”