Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Greene County is moving forward with its eminent domain proceeding to expropriate land owned by Hunter Mountain Resort the county says is needed for an infrastructure project in the village of Hunter. During the July 11 meeting of the Greene County Legislature Public Works Committee, the committee unanimously approved a resolution that directs the County Highway Department Superintendent to take the necessary steps to acquire the land needed to replace the culvert that carries county Route 83 over the Shanty Hollow Brook as well as an adjacent pedestrian bridge. The resolution, which requires approval by the full legislature, directs the highway department to to acquire the property by eminent domain if necessary, to address the structural deficiencies identified on the culvert. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said negotiating an agreement Hunter Mountain for the right-of-way, "proved difficult due to corporate red tape." Hunter Mountain Resorts is owned by Vail Resorts Inc., located in Broomfield, Colorado, which operates 40 resorts in 15 states and three countries. “Vail is such a big corporation that we actually can’t just get to anybody in Colorado to sign off on these easements,” Groden said. “...It’s just about corporate structure, if I was able to talk to the Hunter Mountain folks, I’d have no problem. But that’s all controlled by Vail now. ...[B]ecause we can’t get the corporate world to do anything, then we have to go through eminent domain.” The project is supported by state and federal transportation funding and requires two permanent easements, one through roughly 2,750 square feet of land and a second easement of more than 5,500 square feet along Shanty Hollow Brook. A county official said the infrastructure project will begin next year if the county is able to seize the property. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.