To the People:
In this rain-soaked spring of 2019, it can be quite dispiriting, particularly for those working outdoors or businesses dependent on good weather, like our local golf courses.
Yet unemployment is already down to 3.4% – lower than last summer’s floor of 3.45%. Despite the weather, construction continues on, with the Eldred Preserve well underway, Monster Golf Course under reconstruction, and construction taking place at virtually every corner of Sullivan County.
The Kartrite Resort and Indoor Water Park is now open and hitting a stride and there are many projects on the horizon in hospitality, healthcare, and housing scheduled to break ground in the near future.
Long overdue public infrastructure investment in roads, bridges, and schools is taking hold and anticipation for this summer’s (hopefully arriving soon), 50th anniversary of Woodstock themed countywide event schedule driven by the folks at SCVA and their members, promises a significant spike in visitor expenditures in our county.
There still remains the pressing issue of getting enough workers to meet the demand, which more often than not goes hand-in-hand with a good economy. In fact, now we are seeing employers, offering sign-on bonuses to attract employees.
Who would have predicted that several years ago? The 17Forward86 coalition continues to grow and make progress toward a third lane on NYS 17/ I-86 to help sustain continued growth while mitigating any environmental issues vis-à-vis increased traffic.
Work continues to help diversify our economy, preparing locations for future development opportunities and, as always, we nurture and support our varied small businesses throughout Sullivan County.
The bottom line is our economy is still hot in spite of the cool wet weather with no end in sight in the immediate future. Here is to summer coming in hot and soon, to help accelerate it even more.
Sincerely,
Marc Baez
President, Sullivan County Partnership