To the Editor:

I am writing in response to Tim Lippert’s letter of June 8, 2017: Berne Festival Back on Track.

Switzkill Farm is, indeed, as Tim pointed out, a “treasure of a property we now all own.” What a treasure indeed!  

It is not just the 355.66 acres of verdant field and unspoiled forest that makes it a treasure, but the several buildings on the property — buildings valued at nearly one million dollars — that provide a beautiful site for weddings, birthdays, meetings, family gatherings, and many other events that our residents might host. The lodge, which served as a family home for several years, is a beautiful and elegant venue.

We have no other facility in Berne that is comparable. With a great room overlooking the Catskill Mountains, it provides a gracious setting for any event in both rain and shine. The two fossil-stone fireplaces offer a warm welcome to our guests and one need only reserve a date with our town clerk to have access to it.

And of course it has potable water! It was tested and approved for use by Bender Labs less than a year ago. We’ve had many successful events at the lodge, several having guests of 100 or more.

Switzkill Farm is located on Game Farm Road, a town-owned road under the supervision of the highway department. It is a dirt road, but the department’s vigilance and oversight will insure it is graded and surfaced properly. The road narrows somewhat, but the road at that point is a park entrance, not a highway. Deer and wild turkeys can often be seen in the fields adjacent to it. School buses on science field trips have made the journey to the lodge with no difficulty.

Once at the lodge, the road winds around the building to a parking lot invisible from the road. Overflow parking is in a field just below the lodge, similar to facilities that one finds at Tanglewood.

Supervisor Kevin Crosier is working on a new a grant to construct a parking area closer to the lodge in a location identified by Switzkill Farm Board members who are professional park planners. We hope that by next summer the grant will be in place and the new parking area under construction.

Switzkill Farm does, indeed, have a budget; that’s how we were able to purchase the elegant, round, white tables and handsome chairs that grace the great room of the lodge. Yes, there is a budget, but accessing grant money to pay for town projects — in addition to the budget — is fiscally wise.

Thanks to several recent grants, Berne now has a new salt shed, a new playground opening soon at the town park, and an operating sewer system. We’ve brought about this series of civic improvements using available outside funding while sticking closely to town budgets that have reduced property taxes four years running.

So, yes, we do have a budget, but we will continue to seek additional grants for large projects — like Switzkill Farm improvements — while adhering to our carefully planned, tax-reducing town budgets.

While much of Tim’s letter discusses the treasure that is Switzkill Farm, the real focus of his letter was Summerfest. He disagreed with the decision to cancel Summerfest and replace it with a music festival at Switzkill Farm. He seemed to blame Supervisor Crosier for the initial decision, which has since been reversed.

Kevin Crosier did not participate in the discussion about moving Summerfest to Switzkill Farm. The  Switzkill Farm Board members, in consultation with the Summerfest committee, were the parties who considered the move.

Our reason for considering the change was pretty straightforward — we were concerned that the installation of the new playground would potentially disrupt the park, creating large piles of dirt, strewn with construction machinery, at a time when young children would be playing on the  grounds.

It seemed an unwise and potentially dangerous situation to hold any event there when construction was underway. Thus, we considered the possibility of holding a music festival at Switzkill Farm. Concerts  have been held there successfully in the past and with careful planning for traffic control, parking, and lighting at the festival, we were confident it, too, would be a success. It would not be Summerfest, but it would be something mid-summer for our families to look forward to and enjoy.

When we learned that the playground equipment would arrive sooner than expected and be installed well in advance of July 22, the date reserved for Summerfest, we quickly revised our plans once again. The notion of a music festival was put to bed and we determined to hold Summerfest, as usual, in the town park.

It’s unfortunate that the circumstances were misunderstood and that Kevin Crosier was maligned because of our decision. He listened when we explained our reason for the change and agreed it was probably our best choice, but the characterization that he orchestrated the whole situation is simply wrong. He did not.

I will also point out that, though he is the chief financial officer of the town by law, he is only one of five sitting members of the town board. He has one vote, as do each of the other four members.   Decisions are not made by edict. They are the result of discussions, followed by votes, and, in every instance, the majority rules.

I do hope this clarifies the misrepresentations and inaccuracies in that June 8 letter. Please know Summerfest will take place at the town park on July 22, beginning at 3 p.m.

Contact Anita Clayton, our town clerk, with any questions you may have or to register as a vendor.   There will be music in the pavilion, children’s concerts, the climbing wall, and many vendors. We look forward to seeing you there!

Karen Schimmer, liaison

Switzkill Farm Board

Summerfest Committee

Editor’s note: Karen Schimmer is a member of the Berne Town Board.