An especially nasty episode in the long-running dispute between the Catskill Mountain Railroad and local trails enthusiasts this week featured bitter exchanges over legislators' ethics and a final, melodramatic flourish from CMRR CEO Ernie Hunt, including a threat to pull up his tracks and exit Ulster County.

That's what went down at Thursday's meeting of the Legislature's Ulster & Delaware Advisory Committee — the body charged with making a recommendation of what to do with the remaining undeveloped portion of 38.5 miles of former railroad property now owned by Ulster County and leased to the CMRR, whose nostalgic rides are a significant local tourist attraction.

On the table that afternoon was a proposal from committee chair Jeff Collins (D-Woodstock) to allocate a limited portion of the undeveloped section to rail and in the remaining section, trail only. That proposal had been tabled last month for further study and, in the interim, CMRR had countered with a plan for acceptance of limited expansion for now and further consideration of the remaining section. Both plans were touted as “compromise.”

While Collins's proposal prevailed in a 6-1 vote Thursday, the committee's powers are advisory only. And though its recommendations carry weight, virtually every aspect of whatever is proposed can and probably will get tossed in the grinder again as it works its way through the legislative process and to a vote by the legislature as a whole.

Still, CMRR's supporters tried to strangle the Collins proposal in the cradle. They argued several points, including a claim that the various proposals for the undesignated portion had not been thoroughly aired and discussed. That despite a year of public hearings by the committee and a fusillade of public letters by both camps.

Legislator Jason Kovacs (R-Town of Ulster), an attorney by trade, focused on land-use legal matters, questioning the county's authority to remove tracks in light of easements and title. Collins, in an email to Kingston Wire, cited a ruling from the federal Surface Transportation Board which found that the undesignated portion was, legally speaking, “abandoned,” giving the county great leeway as to its use.

Legislators Joe Maloney (R-Saugerties) and Minority Leader Kevin Roberts (R-Wallkill), neither of whom sit on the advisory committee, spoke most fiercely against the Collins proposal — Maloney at great length and with a heap of bitterness, Roberts more concisely. Both legislators’ criticism was directed at the committee's process rather than the competing proposals' feasibility.

Maloney said the process was “somewhat rushed,” that the committee was “stacked” and accused Collins and committee member Kathy Nolan (D-Shandaken) of conflict of interest, since Nolan sits on a trails advocacy non-profit and Collins has spoken publicly about his plan, including to a Town of Hurley board meeting.

“You were there to speak about trail only in the exact area that you are voting on right now,” Maloney said. “It was completely inappropriate for you to chair this committee and then go and speak at these town board meetings for this resolution.”

Collins replied that he spoke in Hurley against a measure in support of trail-only. Legislator Abe Uchitelle (D-Kingston), more forcefully, said, “It's ludicrous to suggest that a legislator can't go speak about something that they support, oppose an idea that they have something that they're working on ... it would be ludicrous to suggest that when issues are before us it's like a judge that can't discuss an issue when the jury is out.”

To which Maloney replied, “I'm not saying it's against the law. I'm saying it really makes it hard for the public to take this committee seriously.”

Roberts went so far as to question the legality of even voting on the Collins proposal. “It's obvious to me that these motions were well-rehearsed and written down,” he said. “They've been well-prepared. They should have been shared with the press and the committee. They should have been shared with the public. As far as I'm concerned, these motions are illegal.” In an email to Kingston Wire, Roberts said minority counsel supports that claim.

Collins, by email to Kingston Wire, stood his ground, saying public notice isn't required. “It's just a recommendation,” he wrote. “The recommendation will be turned into a resolution which will be published at least seven days before being considered by the Housing and Transportation Committee and, if it passes through committee, then taken up by the Legislature as a whole.”

Legal or not, it was all too much for Ernie Hunt. Immediately following adjournment, he rose to his feet, crossed the room and visibly shaken, threatened to cease CMRR operations in Ulster County. “We will not cooperate in any way,” he told the room and added, “Why don't you let us speak before you screw us?”

Kingston Wire has reached out to Hunt for further comment. He replied that a press release is forthcoming. When it came Friday afternoon, it was clear Hunt’s anger had not abated. It accused Nolan of being the driving force behind a legislative conspiracy against the CMRR. The threat to leave Ulster if the legislature goes with the committee’s proposal was repeated as well. “The recommendation of Nolan’s handpicked U&D Committee should be completely ignored,” the release stated. “It was never based on any facts, and was a political recommendation meant to favor the trail lobby … ”