Schoharie County Land Sale Will Provide More Fairgrounds Parking

By Chris English

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — The Cobleskill Fairgrounds should be getting parking relief soon, courtesy of Schoharie County.

At the Friday, July 18 county Board of Supervisors meeting, the BOS voted unanimously to sell a 3.83-acre county-owned parcel to the Cobleskill Agricultural Society for the nominal sum of $1. The piece of land at South Grand Street and Mineral Springs Road in Cobleskill is close to the Cobleskill Fairgrounds _ which is owned by the agricultural society _ and will be used for more parking for all the events at the thriving Fairgrounds.

At the request of the Supervisors, county Attorney Mike West will put a clause in the conveyance documents stating that should the agricultural society ever decide it doesn't want the land anymore, it would automatically revert back to the county.

"There are events there every week," said Supervisor John Leavitt of the need for more parking at the Fairgrounds. He is very involved and active in many of the events there.

"There's a dog expo there at the end of September that will draw thousands of people," Leavitt added. The Fairgrounds are perhaps best known for the annual Schoharie County Sunshine Fair, which this year will be Aug. 5-10.

In other actions from the July 18 meeting, the BOS voted down by a fairly sizeable margin a motion by Supervisor Harold Vroman — Chair of the Personnel Committee _ to create no new positions for the rest of this year but instead consider them as part of the process for formulating the 2026 budget.

A majority of Supervisors said new positions and new hires are already scrutinized by several committees and then the full board and it just made more sense to continue that policy and consider them on a case-by-case basis.

"There should never just be a blanket no," said Supervisor Philip Skowfoe Jr.

Before the vote, County Treasurer Mary Ann Wollaber-Bryan and Health Department Director Dr. Nicole Blanchard both argued against the motion, saying that their departments need more help this year.

"Our workload has increased exponentially," said Wollaber-Bryan, who announced her retirement at the meeting, effective at the end of July. "The staff we have now is struggling, beyond struggling."

Supervisor Alex Luniewski, Chair of the Finance Committee, was among the Yes votes. He said sales tax revenue running 4 percent behind budget was among several good reasons to tighten the financial belt.

The Supervisors appointed nine members to the Schoharie County Occupancy Tax Board. The are county Supervisors Werner Hampel (to a term expiring when his Supervisor term ends) and John Leavitt (term expiring Oct. 31, 2026); Village of Cobleskill Mayor Rebecca Stanton-Terk (Oct. 31, 2027); Harry Singh (Oct. 31, 2027); April Islip (Oct. 31, 2026); Scott Kelly (Oct. 31, 2027); David Savatteri (Oct. 31, 2026); Christina Hanks (Oct. 31, 2025) and Mary Johnson (Oct. 31, 2025).

Also approved was a resolution authorizing the county's chief elected official to sign a continuation of an agreement between Schoharie, Fulton and Montgomery Counties to comply with implementation requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.