What are you most looking forward to in 2025?
Jeff Collins, Ulster County legislator for Hurley and Woodstock: I am looking forward to how this county and community handles the attacks on our Democracy, our freedoms and our most vulnerable citizens that I expect to start on January 21st. Will our community come together to support each other and work against the policies the president-elect has promised to enact, or will we just quietly acquiesce to them?
Anula Courtis, Woodstock Town Board member: I’m excited to continue serving Woodstock in my second year as an elected official. It’s a privilege to work in a community as vibrant and engaged as ours. On a personal level, I look forward to seeing my puppies grow and spending more time with my senior cats. Professionally, I’m eager to address the challenges we face and collaborate with residents on projects that will make Woodstock even better.
Debbie Dougherty, Hurley Town Board member: I’m looking forward to continuing my work on the Hurley Town Board, completing some of the key projects I’ve been working on and taking on new challenges. I’m also looking forward to my husband retiring. I love to eat and he loves to cook so there will be even more great home-cooked meals!
Rachel Marco-Havens, co-president, Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts: Another season of Homestead Rescue.
Neal Smoller, owner of Village Apothecary: I’ve been doing some fits and starts in some areas of my business for years. I look forward to focusing down, properly executing with a great team and helping people in new and better ways.
What is the best thing about the community you live in?
Collins: It is a beautiful area and the people here really care about their community.
Courtis: Woodstock is an amazing place where anyone who wants to get involved can find their place. We’re fortunate to have a supportive community made up of engaged elders, energetic youth, and civic-minded individuals who are all driven to make a difference. There’s something truly special about the people this land attracts — people who care deeply and work hard to create positive change.
Dougherty: By far the people — there are so many that give their time and energy to help make Hurley a better place for everyone.
Marco-Havens: People and place make us the community we are … Those who have been able to remain here, living with the land they were raised by, embody creativity resourcefulness and relationship to the land that are unique.
Smoller: Easy! How goofy we all are … Myself especially included! I think it’s an amazing thing, how we each contribute a lot of character to this unique town, and how our interweaving, complex lives and super-interesting backstories all thread together to make a community experience that is uniquely us.
What are the issues facing your town in 2025?
Collins: I believe the biggest issue that Woodstock faces is communication. We have many community members who are very knowledgeable and intelligent and have very strong opinions. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of direct discussion and communication around those opinions. Instead of direct communication, too much of the conversation is one-way through postings on social media. I believe with direct discussion instead of social media attacks, we would be better able to resolve the issues the town faces.
Courtis: Some of the major priorities are resolving our housing, water issues and addressing police matters that have been lingering. Ensuring clean, reliable water for everyone is essential, and I’d like us to explore infrastructure updates and partnerships to achieve sustainable solutions.
On the policing front, we aim to close out unresolved matters and build trust with the community by improving transparency and accountability. This also gives us an opportunity to reimagine how our police department can better serve Woodstock’s unique needs while fostering stronger community connections.
Housing is another critical priority. The housing committee is working hard within a tight timeframe to evaluate town-owned properties and begin designing what these new housing developments could look like, and sharing this with the public for input. Our goal is to create affordable, sustainable housing that reflects the values of our community.
Dougherty: Replacing our highway garage continues to be a key issue. Refining our processes and zoning codes to better support our residents, especially changes that will support our aging population. Another key issue is ensuring that we are better prepared for emergencies including natural disasters which are ever increasing in intensity and frequency — tornadoes, ice storms, flooding and most recent the wild fires. Things that used to be so rare for us here in the Hudson Valley.
Marco-Havens: Far too many to list…
Woodstock is aging itself out as the upcoming generations see little future in the accepted practices of dissolution of neighborhoods at home and political systems across the globe.
Here, homes have been replaced by “hotels” on every block. A town is just a town when the community members are displaced and replaced.
Many talk about affordable housing but it is more about the absence of people in homes — for rent or sale.
Families don’t buy homes in towns with no schools and a population age 50+ even if they are affordable.
Our homes are being converted to hotels, our public schools are closing and our elders and youth displaced.
With the displacement and removal of deep-rooted culture bearers, the community is leaking its culture as prospectors buy multiple properties in hopes of washing the local color out of the picture. It is neither sustainable nor regenerative.
Smoller: I think the social and political environment will take a toll on our individual and collective mental wellbeing next year, and I’m hoping we can help each other cope with the challenges the modern era brings.
What changes would you like to see made in the community you live in?
Collins: Would like to see a change in approach to how we resolve community issues. Instead of posting attacks on Nextdoor or Facebook, I would like to see people engage in real, in-person discussions that develop a common understanding and a collaborative approach to finding solutions to the issues the town is facing.
Courtis: I’d love to see more events that bring all aspects of our community together — longtime residents, newer arrivals and everyone in between. We have such a rich tapestry of people, and creating spaces where we can all connect will help break down silos and strengthen our shared sense of belonging to this very special town.
Dougherty: I would like to find a way to reach more, ideally all, of our residents on a regular basis. I would love to see more of them get involved — attend town board meetings and bring their input — what is going well and what can be improved. This will help the town board focus on the right priorities.
Marco-Havens: Honestly, I never thought I would say it but Woodstock could take some lessons from Saugerties, which feels open and inviting all day and into the night. Woodstock closes at 4 or 5 p.m. year round.
It is time for commerce in Woodstock to sell itself on more than a festival that didn’t happen here … in 1969. The bucket-list-boardwalk-tourist-flow is finite — the word will get out and folks will realize they can find more than a T-shirt with a dove on it in Bethel where the festival happened — and there is music and honor for the historical event.
Woodstock boasts store after store selling the same T-shirt and impending sound ordinances targeting live music, but its issues are more existential than mis-branding. The creatives who remain keep the culture alive and they are either being displaced or dying.
Positive change begins with a clear and present effort to recognize and include displaced community members (young and old) in the conversation about our town.
Smoller: I think we may have a transitional identity crisis on our hands. People flock here based on the beauty and the history of the town. This has come at a cost; I believe there’s been some deterioration in vital community institutions. I think we have to embrace our identity as a tourist destination while making the soil here fertile and desirable enough for a new crop. Basically, we need to modernize and adapt to a new generation of visitors: memorializing the impact our town has made on the world over the past 50+ years while recruiting new families to keep Woodstock’s impact as powerful over the next 50.
What’s one goal you are setting for the year?
Collins: Reducing the number of our county’s unhoused through the completion of new supportive housing.
Courtis: My primary goal is to ensure Woodstock continues moving forward on the issues that matter most to our residents. Whether it’s infrastructure, housing, community-building, or ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in how we address local concerns, my focus is on solutions that make a lasting difference.
Dougherty: The most critical is to complete the transition from an all-volunteer EMS service to a paid service especially to support our aging population and to ensure our volunteers are recognized for their heroic efforts and continued service to our town.
Marco-Havens: Return my mom to Woodstock. After giving to the town for nearly 60 years, my mother had to move two hours away to Delhi. She wants to move back to her hometown, and I wish it didn’t feel like such an insurmountable goal.
Smoller: The goal is to figure out how a private medical practice can still be both as valuable as possible to its patients AND sustain itself in these weird times.
If you could run away today and do anything you liked, what would you do?
Collins: I am already doing it. I don’t want to be anywhere else or doing anything else.
Courtis: If I had the chance, I’d love to spend time living off the land in remote, wild places like Siberia, Mongolia and Alaska. Exploring untouched landscapes and connecting with nature in its purest form is a dream of mine. On a more local level, I am getting more involved in local wildlife safety priorities, nature and animal photography and video editing.
Dougherty: It’s going to sound corny but I’m loving what I’m doing right now. I retired from IBM in 2018 after 29 years, and pretty quickly became involved in working in Hurley first as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals now as a town councilwoman and most recently I have joined the Hurley Volunteer Fire Department. I am learning to be an external firefighter. It’s extremely rewarding to help others and know that I can make a difference and it’s important to me to give back to the town that has been such a great place to live because of those public servants that came before me.
Marco-Havens: Create living, growing and creative space for artists and creatives to live regeneratively and safely.
Smoller: Anything? I’m stealing all the billionaires’ money and redistributing it out. I’ll leave them with a measly 100 million bucks each. But I’m either becoming Batman or Bruce Wayne in that scenario. I’ll start doing sit ups.
Join the family! 
