After serving the community of Ellenville for the past 15 years, the Ulster Federal Credit Union will be closing the Ellenville branch on November 29 of this year in the face of a dwindling economy and lost jobs.

"This is a decision myself and the board of directors does not take lightly," says Rick Mancey, the president and CEO of the Ulster Federal Credit Union. "This is something we've had to discuss for months, even years."

On August 28, the credit union sent a letter out to its members informing them of the decision to close this November. After the area's loss of manufacturing giant Imperial Schrade, and then the subsequent desertion by VAW's Hydro plant, the credit union's business has "suffered dramatically because of it," says Mancey.

"The credit union is a not-for-profit," he says, "and the branches must become self-sustaining. We haven't been able to do that in Ellenville, despite how hard we've tried," he says of the years following the two manufacturers' departures.

The letter sent to members says, "Unlike banks we do not require our branches to be profit centers that add to the 'bottom line' of the organization." In fact, Mancey says that the benefits gained by the organization not being a bank have helped it to stay open as long as it has.

"If we were a bank, we would have closed years ago," he adds. "Because of our commitment to the community, we held on longer than we should have."

According to Mancey's estimates, the Ellenville Branch currently serves about 1,200 clients in the area, but in the days that Schrade and Hydro were employing the community's residents, Mancey estimates that the client-base for the branch was "more than double" that figure.

For current clients of the Ellenville branch, Mancey hopes that they will take advantage of our current "age of e-banking," and will continue to conduct their business with the credit union online, or over the phone, saying that the customers have been 'strongly encouraged to go that route." In fact, Mancey says that there's actually very little reason for physical branches of banking institutions what with the proliferation of so many online banking opportunities.

"But some people prefer going in person to do their banking, like if they need to cash a check," he says.

"We're hoping to retain a majority of clients in Ellenville, as a number of them use electronic banking, or use our Kingston branches," he continues. According to Mancey, 90% of the credit union's business is conducted at their two Kingston branches, which are on Schwenk Drive and Ulster Avenue. The credit union also has a branch in Saugerties.

Bill Querbes, the Chief Operating Officer for the credit union, says that the employees in the Ellenville Branch have all been offered positions within the Kingston branches.

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