On September 22, the Wawarsing Planning Board will hold a public hearing regarding a proposed selective timber harvest on the Nevele property — if a permit is issued, the logging on the resort's grounds could conceivably have a devastating effect on the property that many regard as the heart of the community.

Dennis Warner on WELV was discussing the topic this week, asking questions that all of us in the area ought to consider long and hard: what role does a property like the Nevele play within the community at large? And what responsibilities does the property owner have to the community itself? The answers get right at the heart of the community's future itself.

In a rural area such as ours, property owners possessing tree-filled land consider the benefits that logging can bring them, especially considering the ease with which profits go to the owners for doing no actual work. It's no surprise that a logging proposition might seem especially attractive to a cash-strapped resort owner whose financial woes have been widely publicized.

But the fact that property owners must go through the permit process shows that logging isn't something to be taken lightly, either by the owners themselves or the municipality. Municipalities have required this process because they recognize the enormous impact that timber harvests on a property can have on the surrounding community and its future.

The fate of the Nevele itself will have a fundamental impact on the town, no matter the outcome of the current bid to purchase and revitalize the resort. And the logging issue is not just a routine question of property rights. The planning board and the community at large must pay close attention to this application and all that comes with it. If the timber harvest somehow degrades the property and kills the sale before it's completed, we could end up with yet another abandoned property. No one wants to end up with another Schrade, Napanoch Valley Mall, or Homowack Resort, the last of which has been the focus of negative attention for the results of its neglect.

Everything within the town's power should be done to make this property attractive to developers. This includes the town planning board and the residents within its borders, all of whom have a responsibility to see the town's future secured. The Nevele ought to be able to flourish and prosper once again. To that end, the planning board must take that into account when deciding whether to grant the permit, and the public ought to be heard at the forthcoming hearing. If we shut our ears and close our eyes to the potential harm such a permit could do, we'll have sealed the fate of the resort — and the community that could and should be revitalized along with it.