How does a rural town of 5,300 residents improve its business climate? That is the question being examined by business leaders and town officials in Gardiner, which hopes that a townwide discussion and volunteer committee will bring a variety of economic opportunities to town.
After just one meeting ideas are plentiful and prospects, perhaps surprisingly, seem bright. But no one is declaring success or pretending the task is simple
“Why is Gardiner good for business?” asked town Councilman Greg Finger. “What does the town have to offer?” He was addressing about 50 townsfolk and entrepreneurs overflowing the meeting room at Town Hall March 16 for a kickoff meeting to organize a business improvement committee.
“My intention is specifically to keep taxes low,” said Deputy Supervisor Warren Wiegand, adding that without a thriving business community, residential taxes in the town will soar. He called the endeavor a “process” to figure out what the town collectively, as a government, a business community and residents, could do to make existing businesses stronger and attract new business.
“It is a self-evident truth if we can bring new business into town that ought to be good for existing businesses,” said Wiegand.
The town in southern Ulster County has few of the infrastructure advantages typically connected to a favorable business climate, neither major highways, nor railroad access nor ports. But it does have an industrial section tucked away near state Route 208 and a cell phone tower is being constructed on town land to bring that modern convenience to the picturesque rural community with stunning views of the Shawangunk Mountains that border the western edge of the town.
 The town also has the advantage of a diverse business base, from a bakery on its quaint Main Street, which is also state Routes 44-55, to apple and beef and vegetable farms, a propane distribution center, industrial cast concrete manufacturing and installation. There is also a population of home business entrepreneurs including architects, attorneys and artists.
Perhaps surprisingly for such a bucolic locale, extreme sports are a big part of Gardiner”™s appeal. The Blue Sky skydiving ranch spews multi-colored parachutes into the sky above where the enthusiasts land at the airport just off the town”™s main drag. And the “Gunks” as the mountains are known, offer world renowned cliff climbing that attracts hordes of climbers on a regular basis.Â
Ideas on expanding the opportunities around these businesses were plentiful. Some were surprisingly simple such as getting signage that lets Thruway travelers know there is a short and scenic route to their climbing and hiking destination in the Gunks. But that idea raised another issue: getting travelers, skydivers and cliff climbers to stop in Gardiner long enough to eat and perhaps eventually to stay overnight. Â
                   Â
Other notions were more complex, such as preparing a Generic Environmental Impact Statement to streamline the permit process for new businesses. Another idea was for examination of options for tax breaks to help existing business to expand.Â
Such basics as more sidewalks, parking in the main hamlet and an advertising campaign on the town Web site and elsewhere were all raised as good ideas, though funding is not assured. Sewage treatment capacity is “a huge problem,” Wiegand said, but noted that business owners along the Steve”™s Lane industrial park have indicated willingness to contribute to a pocket sewage treatment plant, a collective solution many see as cheaper than each trying to increase its individual capacity, and faster than awaiting government action.
Discussion also focused on how to use the town”™s strengths. Its agriculture and rural setting are increasingly attractive to city dwellers, and there is a state Scenic Byways designation that will work to publicize and guide visitors to the area. The challenge is to tie the scenery and farms in with shops and restaurants and accommodations that would give visitors a reason to stop and stay in Gardiner, instead of just driving through.
Wiegand noted that “There is never a good time to do this,” given that business people are usually busy. But he said the current recession may offer opportunity to put policies in place that could pay off when the economy rebounds.
“We don”™t have any illusions, we know its going to be a difficult task,” Wiegand said.
The next meeting on the matter will be April 20 at Town Hall at 7 pm.
