Ulster County Legislature approves expanded bonding authority for Resource Recovery Agency reuse center over oversight objections

The Ulster County Legislature on March 18, 2025 approved an amendment authorizing the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency to amend its service agreement and to seek bonding authority up to $10,000,000 to purchase a property at 1157 Flatbush for a proposed Reuse Innovation Center. The measure passed 15-8 after more than an hour of debate.

Supporters said the center would divert reusable materials from the county waste stream, create a venue to repair and resell salvaged items, and help reduce landfill pressure. "This particular building has the appropriate square footage to handle construction debris," Legislator Stewart said, adding the site is close to the agency's headquarters and includes showroom space for resale.

Opponents and several legislators warned the proposal was advancing without sufficient transparency and legislative oversight. "We are literally voting to take away our own power here if we make this vote," Legislator Maloney said, arguing the legislature would lose leverage to review future bonding and held that the agency had not sufficiently engaged municipal officials or provided logistical plans. Maloney called for the agency to use existing RRA-owned land or involve private-sector partners and local transfer stations in a hub-and-spoke collection model before committing major funds.

Other speakers raised traffic and neighborhood impacts at the proposed location and questioned whether the business model — collecting and fixing items at scale — would be financially viable. Legislator Kitchen noted the town supervisor learned of the proposal only the morning of the meeting and said local officials should be consulted about traffic and operations. Legislator Litz proposed a compromise in which the county buy the property and lease the back building to the RRA, with rental income benefiting taxpayers.

Legislators who supported the measure said prior feasibility work and regional examples show reuse centers can work and that delaying would risk losing the site. "If the site is at risk of someone else purchasing it, that would delay and hamper the project," Legislator Green said, noting the county previously funded a feasibility study.

After debate the resolution specifically increasing the RRA's bonding authority for the identified purchase (recorded as Resolution 83A) passed 15 to 8. The earlier companion motion extending the RRA service agreement (Resolution 83) passed unanimously 23 to 0.

The debate left several procedural and implementation questions unresolved: several legislators pressed for more detailed logistics on how material would be collected and transported to the center, assurances about preserving tax rolls and planning-board review, and clearer commitments about community outreach and traffic mitigation. The agency director told the legislature he would meet with town officials; legislators emphasized they expect follow-up briefings and planning-board engagement before major work proceeds.

Votes and the change to the agency's bonding ceiling move the project into a new phase; the agency will now be able to pursue bonding for the specific purchase but must still satisfy any permit, planning and financing conditions required for the reuse center to open.