The Case against Sharing Services

After reading “A Study of Shared Service Opportunities for the Village and Town of Cobleskill, NY” prepared by the Center for Governmental Research, I couldn’t help but notice an interesting point: if implemented, the ‘shared service opportunities’ recommended by CGR would seem to result in an annual savings less than the cost of this study. I'm not saying the study wasn't worth paying for (in fact it was paid for by a NY state grant), but I would like people to understand exactly how much is at stake here: It ain't much.

So what’s the rush? Mayor Sellers and Trustee Mark Galasso have both displayed an eagerness to dissolve the village that is not warranted and quite likely not supported by village residents. Since the CGR study only addressed potential savings, and ignored what village residents might lose in the process, I would like to shed light on this ignored aspect.

While the study repeatedly overstated the pennies to be saved by eliminating salaries and sharing equipment, there was virtually no acknowledgment of the benefits that village governments provide residents. Smaller, more intimate municipal units such as villages provide an important political space or political community that allow for expressions of local autonomy, community identity and face-to-face democracy. Many Village residents understandably value these things, making the imposition of consolidation seem highly questionable.

The CJR very vaguely alludes to the benefits of joint planning efforts by the Town and Village. But little is said of the fact that consolidation would eliminate the Village Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Scenic and Historic Preservation Board, thus eliminating a good chunk of Village residents’ political autonomy. Dissolving these boards costs Village residents the ability to control what happens closest to them and instead forces them to share this power with people who may have less of a connection to that immediate community.

These questions, which seem to fall outside the purview of the current discussion of the merits of consolidation, cast serious doubts on the wisdom of dissolving Cobleskill Village. Both Trustee Mark Galasso and Mayor Mike Sellers (Cobleskill’s oddest couple, to be sure) have been feverishly pushing consolidation. Galasso’s support for cannibalizing the Village can be explained by his own thirst for Village water and his support for unrestrained sprawl development. Mayor Sellers on the other hand should know better. Both of these individuals need to take a step back and consider the costs and not just the savings associated with consolidation.

To put it in terms I’m sure Mayor Sellers will understand, could a 21 year old member of the Green Party get elected to the top position in the Town of Cobleskill, where the Village’s center-left voters (including SUNY students) are sure to be completely drowned out by the Town’s Republican majority? Put simply, what’s the rush to eliminate the only constituency in Schoharie County capable of electing a progressive government? The point I’m making here is that the town and village ARE different, and that they are not separated by some imaginary line, but by significant demographic, economic, and political conditions.

Outside consultants and state bureaucrats all think consolidation is a great idea because it will result in greater efficiencies. But the benefits of village government are simply beyond the purview of these analyses. Cobleskill has done just fine with a village for the past 150 years. So can someone please explain this rush to get rid of the village in order to save a few pennies?

Bemusement Park

Before Schoharie County residents start stripping down to their bathing suits and heading up to the new water park at Howe Caverns, I would like to "dampen" people's enthusiasm with some very serious and unfun environmental and land use questions.

I’m certainly not opposed to the idea of a water park near Howe Caverns. What I am concerned about is the eagerness to please displayed by county officials when dealing with these unknown entities that blow into town with big ideas and a list of demands.

Over the past few years we’ve seen it again and again. In Sharon Springs, billionaire Korean investors want to buy up and renovate historic hotels with taxpayer’s money. But there has been little legitimate discussion of what such massive investments would mean for the current residents of the village. Then, an unnamed mystery company comes to county officials with plans for a new factory in Shad Point. Cobleskill town officials promptly get their marching orders: an expedited planning and permitting process and a shovel-ready site. All before anyone even knows what the hell is gonna be built there!

Now, a former VP for Six Flags wants to break ground on a hotel and water park in 2009 and have it built a year later. He also wants the towns of Cobleskill and Schoharie to relocate over a mile of Sagendorf Corners Road. I don’t have a problem with re-zoning some land or re-locating a portion of a road. But to expect these things without serious community input is sheer arrogance.

Is anyone concerned about the extra traffic this will generate? How about all the trucks that will be needed to provide the park with its water supply? Will there be a real environmental review process or will that be one more ‘procedure’ for the town to expedite? How will Sagendorf Corners Road be re-located, and will it require the use of eminent domain? How do the developers plan on meeting the water and sewer needs of the proposed 250-room hotel? Since this project will be getting Empire Zone benefits, does anyone care to insure that they make good on their job creation promises?

People have a right to ask these questions and they have a right to serious answers. Such a project would have a huge impact, and I’d hate to see people ignore the negatives because they’re blinded by the potential benefits.

Downtown Cobleskill Can Be More than a Parking Lot

Once again Cobleskill Partnership, Inc., an organization composed of downtown Cobleskill business owners, has proposed that downtown Cobleskill switch to diagonal parking in order to increase the number of available spaces. However, downtown Cobleskill faces much bigger challenges than inadequate parking, and I fear that CPI is doing itself a disservice by not thinking bigger. Especially today, with the ever-pressing need for pedestrian-friendly environments and alternative modes of transportation, I sincerely hope this isn’t all CPI has in its bag of tricks.

First of all, everyone is quick to focus on the businesses downtown, but downtown’s real value lies in the fact that it is a ‘mixed use’ district. Why isn’t CPI more concerned about increasing the amount of available residential space? How many apartments are vacant or uninhabitable? How much potential is there for infill development in and around the business district? I have to think downtown’s businesses would benefit by having more potential customers within walking distance from their businesses.

What about making downtown less auto-centric? Rather than figuring out how to squeeze more cars into Downtown, why not figure out how to better accommodate cyclists and pedestrians? Why not look into adding bike lanes, repairing the sidewalks and adding traffic-calming devices to protect pedestrians.

Inevitably, as the price of gasoline renders suburban sprawl overpriced and obsolete, compact communities like Downtown Cobleskill will once again flourish. Cobleskill will be attractive because residents will be able to walk or bike to destinations. This is something that CPI should encourage.

Cobleskill’s village officials need to take some proactive steps as well. I know they are still scratching their heads over the loss of Lowe’s (when they should be breathing a sigh of relief), but there should be a collective effort to move away from small-scale changes like “diagonal parking” in favor of a more comprehensive vision of a future downtown Cobleskill.

I know it’s easy to be an armchair critic, and that’s why I’m not trying to attack CPI or Cobleskill officials. I’m just trying to expand the discussion a little.

Right now, downtown Cobleskill has a lot going for it: crafts fairs, farmers markets, Arts in the Park, SUNY Cobleskill’s plans to open a book store extension, and best of all, Lowe’s isn’t coming! What I would like to see the Village and CPI work on is attracting residential development, applying for some grants to improve facades and sidewalks, maybe putting in some bike lanes and more public art along the lines of the infamous horse painting on that hollowed out storefront (I love it!). :-)

Oh and hopefully there will still BE a Village to say no to the next big box store that comes to town demanding Village water and sewer.

Let the Windbags Speak!

While I don’t agree with Schoharie Valley Watch on the issue of wind power development in Schoharie County, I respect their right to express themselves without having the cops called on them. A recent wind power forum held at SUNY Cobleskill’s Bouck Theater was supposed to be an honest discussion of wind power. Instead, one side got to speak and the other side got tossed out. This is not how we’re going to solve our energy problems.

Members of Schoharie Valley Watch came to the forum with the intention of expressing their concerns about industrial wind turbine development. I for one would have preferred to hear their criticism, and then hear their points challenged on the merits. But rather than engage SVW, the organizers of the event decided to take the easy way out and call campus security. This was a missed opportunity for real dialogue and a black eye on all of us who support green energy alternatives. But worst of all it is a slap in the face to the very notion of free and open dialogue that is essential to democracy.

At the same time, I would like to address to Kathleen Johnson’s letter to the Times-Journal in which she alleges that an individual was “stalking” her during the event. Johnson is a member of SVW who was among those asked to leave the wind forum. During the entire event, Johnson claims that an unidentified male was following her around and leering over her in an apparent attempt to intimidate her. So was this just some creepy guy? Was it T. Boone Pickens (he’s pretty creepy)? Or is Kathleen Johnson just paranoid?

Let’s look for a moment at the evidence Johnson offers as proof of being stalked. Johnson claimed that this unidentified individual stood up from his seat the same time she did. Clearly, these are gestapo tactics! She also claimed that he was standing near her while she was distributing literature and talking over her. I’m sorry, but bad manners do not qualify as stalking. I agree that calling campus security was an overreaction and was the wrong thing to do. But some people just need to grow thicker skin. People taking their cause to the streets have endured far worse than someone “speaking over” them.