With Wilmorite and the SUNY Foundation suing the New Paltz Planning Board and the New Paltz Town Board suing the Ulster County IDA, the Park Point Project is on hold until the litigation is settled.
We at The New Paltz Oracle hope that a resolution can soon be reached with Park Point because of the stress it has put on the New Paltz community.
By paying so much attention to Park Point, New Paltz’s leaders aren’t able to fully focus their time on other events and issues that are taking place in the community and on campus. If a resolution is decided on, those in power can devote more time to other projects to improve the quality of throughout the community, both on and off campus.
Even after the lawsuits are settled, it may be hard for those involved in the lawsuits to not hold grudges against each other. This is something that students don’t want to see from the authoritative figures in their community.
Yes, disagreements in life are inevitable, especially on a bureaucratic level, but students want to see their leaders, despite their different positions and concerns, find a way to meet the needs of the people they serve.
SUNY New Paltz administration, members of the town board and members of the village board should be working together to make New Paltz the best home it can be for everyone who lives here. Yes, we understand each side has their own opinions and has their own agendas for what they want to accomplish, but at what cost for those who look to them for leadership?
Everyone involved with Park Point needs to look at the bigger picture. Because of this conflict, our town is getting attention for the issues it has caused, and not the great places and attractions that are located here.
If students see all of their officials publically opposing each other, they begin to feel that things won’t get accomplished. It’s important for students to see and feel that their leaders are working together for the betterment of their time in New Paltz.
The disconnect that the town feels with President Donald Christian is something that both the town and Christian should work together to fix by coming together to find ways to provide and meet the needs of the people they serve.
Both campus and town officials are extremely busy, but a monthly meeting between the two can benefit New Paltz tremendously. This meeting would allow for each group to become updated on the other and to inform the other on what is going to be taking place in the future.
By doing so, they will form better relationships with one another, which is important for people of power in community, so they can work together to make New Paltz an even better place.
All of the people in power in New Paltz can agree that what they want most is for New Paltz to be the best place it can be, so a conversation to see how everyone can better connect has no downside. Even if they don’t want to work together because of personal reasons, for the sake of New Paltz, it should be done.
So please, leaders of New Paltz, before this conflict gets out of hand, consider the collateral casualties that may come as a result.