Efforts by Bearsville Center owner Lizzie Vann to redevelop the former Woodstock Library site moved closer to reality Tuesday as the Town Board set a Dec. 16 public hearing, even as the meeting devolved into sharp disputes over federal relief money, infrastructure spending and control of town technology assets.
The unanimous vote on Vann’s project came as three board members, Supervisor-elect Anula Courtis and Councilmembers Bennett Ratcliff and Maria Elena-Conte, increasingly oppose measures advanced by outgoing Supervisor Bill McKenna in the final weeks of his term. Their coalition, often aligned in response to McKenna’s hiring of a Level 3 sex offender without their knowledge, has halted a series of resolutions, including a proposal to fund an electrical plug for a generator purchased in 2023.
Courtis and her allies say they don’t trust the timing of the requests. She plans to hire an unpaid deputy supervisor as well as a confidential secretary, and to name a new board member to her seat.
“McKenna has been in government for decades,” Ratcliff said. “A hallmark of what he does is trade government service for favors. When he is gone, we can correct some of the wrongs. Right now we are going to stop them.”
McKenna, who leaves office at the end of the month, canceled a transition meeting with Courtis on Thursday.
If Courtis is unwilling to cooperate with his agenda, he said, “Why would I turn around and help her?”
Zoning amendment heads to Dec. 16 hearing
The public hearing next week concerns a zoning map amendment affecting parcels along Lasher Road and Tinker Street, including the former Lasher Funeral Home and the old library site. The proposal would move the parcels fully into the Hamlet Commercial district.
The change is a prerequisite for “Project Regeneration,” Vann’s plan to convert six buildings at 100 and 106 Tinker Street and 5 Library Lane into at least 12 low-cost, energy-efficient apartments, along with coworking space, artist and wellness studios, and an expanded public park. The Planning Board endorsed the map change last month.
Town law requires the hearing notice to be published at least 10 days in advance and the proposal to be referred to the Ulster County Planning Board for review.
ARPA money confusion
The sharpest confrontation of the night centered on Woodstock’s American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The board rejected a proposal to transfer $20,000 to the Woodstock Art and Cultural Alliance for an arts marketing plan from the Woodstock Not-for-Profit Artist Trust and Agency Reserve, which was originally seeded with ARPA funds.
Ratcliff said the debate highlighted broader concerns about the town’s handling of pandemic relief money.
“ARPA funds. Where are they? Why didn’t they get used? What is the amount of money that remains outstanding?” Ratcliff said.
McKenna said no money was missing and that the town’s ARPA funds had been fully expended.
“We expended all the funds. There’s 20k we set up for Woodstock Artist Nonprofit Agency Reserve, [and] $314k went to affordable housing capital,” he said. “Shameful that Councilman Ratcliff accuses me of pilfering funds.”
Tensions spilled into infrastructure spending. McKenna asked the board to repurpose a stalled reed-bed sludge-treatment project to purchase a $264,703 Freightliner pump truck and sought approval of a $14,580 contract with CDE Electric Inc. to install an outlet and transfer switch so a generator purchased in 2023 could finally be used at pumphouse No. 2.
Both measures failed on 3–2 votes.
Website war and a tense transition
The financial disputes unfolded amid a contentious transition between McKenna and Courtis.
McKenna said Woodstock must migrate to a .gov email system and defended his work with Councilmember Laura Ricci and town staff on a new municipal website. He also said he intends to shut down the town’s official Facebook page, which is tied to his personal account.
“New admin will have to set up a new page. I would just delete it and empty it out,” he said in a phone interview.
Ratcliff said the town could enlist technical help to separate McKenna’s personal account from the municipal page, noting that it is a government asset. Courtis said multiple transition requests, including budget documents and inventories of town technology assets, remain unresolved.
Courtis also raised concerns about Ricci acting as the town’s webmaster.
“We are in a situation where Bill and Laura have a website,” she said.
McKenna accused Courtis of blocking key administrative items, including a revised Woodstock Water District map approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“It’s childish,” he said. “Shame on Anula for stalling progress.”
Ricci said the website and email overhaul stems from a state directive encouraging municipalities to adopt .gov domains for security and standardization. Woodstock currently uses Digital Towpath, with PCA providing server support, but the domain itself is owned by the supervisor’s office.
She said a federal government shutdown earlier this fall delayed the domain request and that the process exposed gaps in the town’s digital infrastructure.
“There isn’t an easy way to redirect a new domain to the old Digital Towpath site,” Ricci said, adding that the only option is through Concrete CMS, the platform Digital Towpath offers, at an annual cost of about $1,600.
Ricci said she has been building the new website herself.
“I haven’t been a webmaster, but I’m certified in Lotus Notes and Microsoft. Google has a lot of answers,” she said. She expects the site to be completed by the end of the month and plans to present her progress at the next Town Board meeting.
She also said Facebook has been “hard to deal with” because the town’s page is tied to McKenna’s account and that the incoming administration will need to establish its own page.
“Anula is working hard on the transition,” Ricci said. “I’m doing the same.”
Scenic overlays and personnel moves
Not all of the night’s business was contentious. The board closed a public hearing and adopted Local Law 3 of 2025, revising scenic overlay regulations after issuing a negative declaration under state environmental review law. The law will be filed with the state and shared with the Ulster County Planning Board and the Woodstock Environmental Commission. McKenna voted against the measure
Correction: This story has been corrected to clarify that Bearsville Center is not being redeveloped.
Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.
