Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan in his 2022 State of the County Address said that the county has shown strength and resilience in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Ryan said there”™s a positive economic outlook and highlighted a move by Chicago-based marijuana company Cresco Labs to redevelop the former Schrade knife manufacturing plant in Wawarsing into a facility for growing and packaging marijuana. The project is expected to create about 400 jobs.
Ryan also pointed to the redevelopment of a former IBM campus in the Town of Ulster by Greenwich-based National Resources. The site is now known as TechCity. Ryan said that over the next five to ten years, National Resources would be investing in excess of $200 million to improve and revitalize the site, which they believe will lead to the creation of up to 1,000 good-paying jobs for Ulster County residents.
“We are making generational investments that will position Ulster County as a national leader,” Ryan said, pointing out that the county has continued to support Ulster County”™s small businesses as they recover from the pandemic.
Ryan said that his administration developed a comprehensive Ulster County Housing Action Plan. The plan calls for the creation of an ongoing Housing Task Force that would look at attracting developers for new and adaptive reuse projects.
Ryan said that his administration is continuing to try to redevelop the site of the former Ulster County Jail at Golden Hill and create 160 units of mixed income housing along with a 5,000 square-foot community building.
Ryan said that his administration has been addressing the opioid crisis and has brought in a full-time social worker in Ulster County Mobile Mental Health who is available to respond to 911 calls. The county declared a public health emergency due to the rise in deaths caused by fentanyl, which allowed officials to aggressively target gangs and drug dealers.
The county and Ellenville Hospital are partnering to develop innovative approaches that improve health and mental health outcomes for residents.
Ryan pointed out that Ulster was the first county in New York State and among the first in the nation to release a comprehensive Green New Deal plan. Ryan signed an Executive Order that commits Ulster County to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. It also sets a goal to have 100% of the electricity consumed by the county”™s buildings and vehicles come from locally-generated, renewable sources.
The county also established the Ulster County Green Careers Academy, an eight-week training program in partnership with SUNY Ulster. It”™s designed to help Ulster residents begin careers in the expanding clean technology industry. Instructors are local professionals in the field of clean technology.
“The state of our county is strong, not only because we”™re meeting the immediate needs of our residents at a time of such great challenge, but also because we have our eyes on the future,” Ryan said.
