After a process that took over a decade to complete, it was announced that the nearly 4,000-acre property known as Sam’s Point has finally been returned to the area’s tax rolls. Elliott Auerbach, Ellenville’s current village manager, recalled that he began the property’s sales process to the Open Space Conservancy, the land-acquisition affiliate for the Open Space Institute, when he was village mayor 13 years ago.

Originally, the Open Space Institute (OSI), which purchased the land for $3.3 million, had given local officials assurances that the property would return to the tax rolls within three years – that was in 1997.

In the fall of 2003, local state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (D) became involved with the effort to return the property to the tax rolls at the behest of all of the entities that would benefit, which would include the Village of Ellenville, the Town of Wawarsing, Ellenville Central School District and the Cragsmoor Fire Districts.

Auerbach estimated that the amount of tax revenue generated by the land’s return would be somewhere between $50,000 and $80,000 for the village alone.

Asked whether the infusion of new tax revenues would translate into preventing any tax increases or even lowering taxes for the village’s next fiscal year Auerbach responded, “I would love to see it [new tax revenues] impact village taxes so they won’t be raised. But you’ve got a number of capital projects – outdated sewers – that could use that money.”

The land, which is roughly four times the size of the village, was initially sold to the Open Space Institute, a nontaxable entity. OSI then transferred ownership of 3,800 acres to Minnewaska State Park, increasing the size of the park by nearly twenty-five percent. The property that was transferred to the park will now exist on the area’s tax rolls. Located in the Town of Wawarsing in Ulster County, Minnewaska is now 20,293 acres in size, New York State’s largest park preserve and third largest state park.

“Sam’s Point is a precious keystone of the Shawangunks, a globally unique piece of property that is now protected forever,” said Joe Martens, president of The Open Space Institute. “Its legacy will long be enjoyed and appreciated by generations of New Yorkers who value open space.”

Sam’s Point, formerly known as the Ellenville Ice Caves, is the second piece of land in the Shawangunks that the Open Space Institute (OSI) has made available to New York State in the last twelve months. In 2006, OSI played an instrumental role along with the Trust for Public Land in adding 2,518 acres to Minnewaska State Park Preserve with the transfer of the Awosting Reserve property, ending a long battle with developers who proposed a golf course and luxury homes for the area.

“We are ecstatic about the Sam’s Point addition to Minnewaska State Park that will benefit the Village, Town and our school district,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, Mayor of the Village of Ellenville. “I want to thank OSI for their diligent work in completing this transaction.”

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