MONTICELLO, NY — Sullivan County legislators voted unanimously on August 16 to move forward with the construction of a new visitors’ center near the Resorts World Casino. The new center could cost up to $4.5 million. The resolution authorized the county manager, Josh Potosek, to negotiate agreements to purchase the property and reach agreements with consultants and engineers to move the project forward.

The resolution says the legislature wants to create the visitors’ center to welcome guests to the county and that “the legislature has determined that locating a visitors’ center in proximity to State Route 17, exit 106, in the Town of Thompson is most beneficial and the Visitors Association has identified property located on Joyland Road that appears suitable for the project….”

If all goes as planned, the Sullivan County Visitors Association (SCVA), which is funded by the county’s room tax, would buy the property in question and then sell it back to the county. The county would seek bonding for the project, and that bonding would be paid down by a portion of the county’s room tax.

The SCVA is currently located in a building on Sullivan Avenue in the Village of Liberty. Roberta Byron-Lockwood, president and CEO of the SCVA, has been seeking a new location for the organization, closer to the casino, since it was announced that the new casino would be located in the Town of Thompson.

She said, “We’re pleased that the legislature has resolved that we can move forward and explore and do all of our due diligence.”

The resolution says that the county “has relied upon the representations of the Visitors Association with regard to the purchase and transfer of the property as well as the pro rata repayment of the bond amount, not to exceed $4,500,000, and that the current agreement with the Visitors Association be modified to reflect the representations made herein and the commitment of the Visitors Association to the terms of repayment.”

Tourism spending 

According to a report from Oxford Economics Company, tourism in the Catskills drew $1.3 billion to the region in 2017. A press release from SCVA says, “In 2017, tourism accounted for over $449.7 million in visitor spending in the Sullivan Catskills. An increase in hotel room revenues, as well as healthy spending in food, beverage and recreation contributed to this growth.

“Overall, traveler spending in the Sullivan Catskills grew 7.3% in 2017 after growing 8% in 2016 (over 2015), contributing an additional 3.5% in local tax revenues ($29 million), and 5.7% in state taxes ($24.7 million) in 2017. Were it not for tourism-generated state and local taxes, the average household in the Sullivan Catskills would pay an additional $1,922 to maintain the same level of government revenue.”