Cobleskill boundaries might expand for proposed brewery

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

The village of Cobleskill would grow by a few acres under plans to annex some land from the town of Cobleskill in order to streamline development at the former Guilford Mills site.

A joint public hearing is scheduled for March on the plan to move the village’s boundaries to include the 8.72-acre parcel north of Mineral Springs road, a property that includes the former Guilford Mills building being considered for use as a brewery.

The annexation is seen as a way for developers to more easily get some activity and jobs into the long-vacant building.

Owners of the Otsego County-based Butternuts Beer and Ale, operating under the name Long House Holdings, are evaluating the site under a purchase agreement with Schoharie County.

They could not be reached for comment for this story.

The county’s Board of Supervisors in December approved the agreement to sell the property and 460,000-square-foot building for $2.5 million.

Cobleskill Supervisor Thomas Murray said the company is assessing the building and site with a March 27 deadline for a final agreement.

“It looks like a reality and the exciting part is, unlike one big factory that could go out of business, we could have multiple entities in there,” he said.

Butternuts needs only about 60,000 square feet of the factory space for initial startup, he said, and the company would work to rent out remaining space.

As it stands now, conducting business at the site and making changes to it involves both the town and village planning agencies, extra red tape that village Mayor Mark Galasso said should be eliminated.

“It’s in two separate municipalities, it falls under the jurisdiction of two different zoning laws, and they’re not written the same,” he said.

“By having one jurisdiction apply its zoning to the parcel, it allows the applicant to only deal with one zoning board and one zoning law. It’s fewer conversations, it reduces the complexity and theoretically reduces the time frame for getting approvals,” Galasso said.

Next month’s public hearing is one of two expected hearings related to the brewery plans for the Guilford Mills site, which has been costing Schoharie County money for maintenance since it took ownership of the building in 2009.

The Schoharie County Industrial Development Agency is likely to schedule a public hearing once details of a payment in lieu of taxes agreement to support the project is developed.

The company submitted applications for assistance available through the IDA last week, IDA director Ronald S. Filmer Jr. said.

The IDA is able to offer assistance such as sales tax exemption on construction phase work, exemption from mortgage recording tax and a payment in lieu of property tax deal.

The town and village will hear comments on the annexation during a public hearing scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, at the Cobleskill Fire Department at 610 Main St. in the village.