We hope you caught the news in our Friday, January 17 edition that the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association will be relocating from their cramped quarters on Sullivan Avenue in Liberty to the Liberty Mall down the street.

For those who had been following the debate over a proposed visitors center in Rock Hill, this decision seems to resolve what became a major campaign issue during the last election.

On January 16, the newly elected and sworn in Republican majority on the Sullivan County Legislature's Executive Committee voted to rescind a resolution passed by the former legislature to purchase land in Rock Hill for a county visitors' center.

Voters and the legislators they elected were against spending more than $4 million to purchase land and build a new visitors center in Rock Hill.

Now that the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association has signed a three-year lease with S&S Waverly LLC, the company that manages the Liberty Mall, it would appear they've solved two issues with one action.

The county will save room tax dollars by not having to construct an entirely new building and the sparsely populated Liberty Mall has a powerful new tenant.

Tourism in the Sullivan Catskills generated some $515 million in traveler spending in 2018, and that number is expected to increase in the years ahead. We're proud that our county is advancing in this area and are glad the SCVA will continue to headquarter itself in Liberty.

Now the new legislature, which was critical of the last for rushing into an agreement without listening to their constituents, decided to table a resolution on whether to consolidate the 911 Center under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Office for 90 days in order to further evaluate the issue.

We have a great deal of respect for our sheriff and undersheriff, as well as all the deputies and personnel who work tirelessly to keep our county safe. We also have a tremendous respect for our fire departments and ambulance companies, many of which expressed apprehension about this consolidation.

Our 911 dispatchers are always there when needed and their skill and professionalism is unchallenged.

We agree with New York State Police Captain Christopher Zaba and Lt. Kyle Kroeger that more due diligence should be done by the legislature in order to better understand the feasibility and effectiveness of such consolidation.

It is concerning to us that the State Police were not consulted or included in the planning process, as Lt. Kroeger stated to members of the Public Safety Committee. Especially since the NYSP currently handles around 45 percent of the calls that go through the 911 center.

We have a tremendous amount of talent and expertise in Sullivan County. We can expect great results when we include all these voices in policy discussions.

We commend the legislature for listening and reacting to all the voices in our community.

Editorial amendment

In our editorial in Tuesday's paper regarding sports and local youth giving them a try, we listed the Fall 2019 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Scholar Athlete teams.

Due to an unintentional omission by the NYSPHSAA, the Tri-Valley Varsity Girls Soccer team was not listed. The team, coached by local legend Mary Feusner, achieved an average of 92.4 percent.

Great job ladies and another round of applause for all our exceptional student athletes!