Comprehensive Plan Becomes a "Do Over"

So much for the "tweaking" that Al Spain and company tried to sell as the reason for refusing to adopt the completed Comprehensive Plan and the dragging out of the process with a new committee, a handsome no bid contract, and a mission to apparently do it all over.

That appears to be exactly what's happening as the new committee has been handed what can only be described as review sheets consisting of tables listing the goals of the existing plan chapter by chapter with the option to "Agree" "Delete" or Amend" those conclusions. And to what end? Well that's the question that no one seems to be able to provide a good answer while attempting to justify the new board majority's refusal to adopt the existing document and simply amend where needed, if needed.

Instead, this new committee managed to vote to approve a no bid contract for a new consultant who will grab another $30 grand or so to walk the committee and some residents through what appears to be a re approval process where folks get to read the conclusions of the first document and decide whether to approve, reject or amend.

The meeting held last Tuesday was posted as a regular meeting at 7Pm on the town web page. Instead it began at 6:30 and with fewer than a handful of non committee members present to pass judgement on the chapter discussed that evening. The topic last week was Recreation, Open Space & Agriculture. The meeting was attended by a small number of committee members and about 3 or 4 town residents. Whatever changes this group and future groups make to the plan delivered at a cost of more than $50,000, will become the text of the next document delivered by the consultant paid for with a no bid contract.

The whole process is a tremendous waste of time and taxpayer money which has kept the completed document from being adopted and developers kept in check with a community supported road map of what they should build and where they should build it. Also lost by Mr. Spain and his allies was the final year of Congressional influence that outgoing Congressman Mike McNulty could have brought to the table with federal funding for the I-90 connector, a key recommendation of the plan Spain and his allies refuse to adopt.

When you consider that Councilman Spain's brother Jeff stated his wish to see RT 4 become the next "Wolf Road", it' s a goal made more difficult should an I 90 connector be built. The connector would take traffic off RT 4 making Wolf Road an unlikely consequence. Jeff Spain made this statement as Democratic Party Chairman, a position he will soon be replaced in due to the recent primary campaign for party committee seats.

So now town residents are being asked, albeit without sufficient notice, to attend these meetings all over again. To expend their time and energy repeating what so many already invested and paid for in the previous two years. In the end, taxpayers are the big losers as is the town board majority that turned its back on the work done and the plan delivered.

One thing is certain, unless the same effort to gain public interest and attendance is made by this Committee and their town board benefactors, they will continue to do their work with minimum public participation and consequently support. Four people at a meeting says it all for the effort to gain public acceptance and support.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday Sept 30th and 6:30PM at town hall. The chapter under review this time is Housing, Hamlet Redevelopment, Revitalization & Preservation. If you like the conclusions as written by the first consultant you can check the "approve" box. If you don't like the conclusions, check the "Reject" box and if you would like a change, you can list it in the "Amend" box. This is how they spend your money so try and find the will to go to each of these meetings and do everything you did during the first two years of meetings all over again.

Each of the meetings and topics of discussion are now posted on the town web page here.

Good Luck Clerk Connolly

The political tea leaves resulting from the recent primary battle over town committee seats in the Democratic Party appear to spell trouble for Town Clerk Connolly who lost a seat to her rivals. She held on at last year's party caucus to her party nod for clerk by a mere 50 votes and those votes will not be enough next year to hold off a challenge. Hence we may have an explanation for the clerk's presence at a county civil service exam Saturday held at HVCC. Job security may be needed where elections are far more uncertain.