The first-term Democrat’s State of the County address at the Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties focused heavily on issues like housing, mental health, and the environment — but she opened with road safety. Ulster County has seen multiple crashes and hit-and-run incidents over the past year, including a multi-car crash that killed two Kingston High School students in Shandaken in January. Metzger says the county will launch a public awareness campaign on distracted driving and advocate for potential design changes by the New York Department of Transportation.
“For county roads, we will update our 2009 ‘Complete Streets’ policy to ensure we’re doing all we can to protect the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers," Metzger pledged.
The state DOT has already opened an investigation into whether the intersection in the Shandaken crash, between Routes 28 and 212, is safe. Metzger says the Sheriff’s Office will also increase patrols around frequent accident sites.
On housing, Metzger touted a decision by the county legislature to create a Housing Action Fund last year, to promote the development of affordable housing. Long-term funding for the program, which was seeded with $15 million, still hasn’t been worked out. Metzger has proposed setting aside 25 percent of the county’s annual hotel occupancy tax revenue to keep it going, saying the short-term rental market has exacerbated the region’s housing shortage.
"In Ulster County, approximately 2,600 homes have become short-term rentals. In Saugerties alone, it’s about 450 homes," she added. "We must balance the pressures and the positives of short-term rentals if we want folks to live here.”
Metzger says about six municipalities, including Saugerties, have joined the county’s Housing Smart Communities program, placing a cap on their number of licensed short-term rentals. The county is in the process of publishing an online platform called “Participate Ulster” where residents can view a dashboard tracking the number of short-term rentals in their area.
Meantime, Metzger says about 42 percent of Ulster County residents currently spend more than half of their income on rent, and the number of people in need of emergency housing spiked last summer to more than 500 people. Metzger says the county will create a new Housing & Homelessness Unit this year to provide individualized care for unhoused residents.
Long term, she says combatting the housing crisis will ultimately come down to zoning.
"That’s the single biggest obstacle to getting supply aligned with demand," she noted. "It’s just this model of single-home lots. You can’t even have duplexes in most places."
The city of Kingston replaced its zoning code with a form-based model last year and legalized the construction of accessory dwelling units on residential properties in a bid to increase housing.
Metzger says the county is also ramping up its mental health efforts in response to a spike in crisis calls since 2020. The county lost 30 people to suicide in 2023, up 67 percent from the year before. Metzger says the Department of Mental Health has moved into its new Center for Well-Being in Kingston, and that the walk-in site is expected to offer 24/7 crisis care starting later this year. But she notes meeting the county’s needs will ultimately require an increase in staff.
"This is a problem everywhere, of having enough clinicians, enough therapists, enough mental health professionals," said Metzger. "We have to think about how we can attract more workers.”
One thing that might help relieve stress is what Metzger is calling the “Nature Bus.” As early as this spring, Metzger says Ulster County Area Transit could expand service to popular hiking and tourism sites like Minnewaska State Park and Walkway Over the Hudson. She hopes the free service will make county parks and hiking trails more accessible to the roughly 7.5 percent of residents without a car.
"There’s also a lot of young people [who use UCAT]," she added. "It gives kids some freedom to explore these outdoor places."
Not mentioned in her speech, but hanging over the night, was criticism over the administration’s handling of sexual harassment allegations levied against former Human Rights Commissioner David Drimer. Drimer, who was also the former executive director of the Ulster County Jewish Federation, resigned shortly after two former employees filed a lawsuit publicizing their claims in August. The legislature’s Laws and Rules Committee has been calling on Metzger’s office to provide more information as it weighs changes to county policy.
Asked about the matter after her speech, Metzger agreed the county’s sexual harassment policy needs to be updated, to clarify her office’s role and authority.
"It hasn’t been updated in many years, or at all, I don't believe," she explained. "And it really needs to be, because there have been issues over the years, not just recently. This isn’t a new thing."
Metzger says she hopes her office and the legislature can work on an update to discuss at the legislature’s meeting in March. Deputy County Executive Jamie Capuano took questions from the Laws and Rules Committee last week.
