While Reunion Power has been busy measuring the wind speeds up on Warnerville Hill, there has been more than enough hot air blowing around Richmondville Town Board meetings to power most of the Eastern seaboard. I’m sure most of you have seen them, if not live and in person than surely on Schopeg. Every month the same cast of characters shows up in force to point their fingers and stomp their feet.
However, Richmondville residents accustomed to getting what they want via temper tantrum were surely quite displeased when former supervisor Betsy Bernocco was appointed to the Town Board to fill out the term of Larry Zaba. Could Bernocco’s appointment be a sign that Richmondville’s elected officials are finally growing a pair? Could this mean that they are finally realizing that the angry NIMBY’s who stalk Town Board meetings are not representative of the town as a whole?
I sure hope so, because it’s about time this community sobered up when it comes to wind power. For over two years the discussion has been dominated by a small but vocal group bitterly opposed to wind power who have infected every aspect of the process with unfounded fear and hysteria. Last Fall, the Town Board inexplicably voted to adopt an onerously high wind turbine setback of 1500 feet, a figure arguably adopted only to placate Reunion Power’s critics, often the loudest and rudest voices in the room. God only knows what kind of lop-sided and biased information the committee used to determine those setback recommendations. Schoharie Valley Watch themselves have criticized the supposed secrecy of the setback committee. I too, would like there to be an open process and I would like to know just how the committee came up with a setback figure of 1500 feet when dozens of nearby communities with comparable population densities and topographies have adopted considerably lower setbacks.
While Bernocco’s appointment has been criticized by the usual chronic complainers, her experience and long record of service to the town and village of Richmondville make her an asset to the Town Board. As the Town attempts to move forward on the wind law and dozens of other issues objectively and intelligently it is crucial that they act as representatives for all town residents, not just the handful of loudmouths who show up at Board meetings every month to bitch and moan.
Showing posts with label Richmondville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richmondville. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, November 3, 2008
Secretive Setback Committee Praised by Schoharie Valley Watch
At this October’s monthly Town Board meeting, Richmondville town councilman voted 3-2 to adopt the recommendations of the town’s wind turbine setback committee which suggested a minimum setback of 1500 feet for any wind turbines sited in the town.
Such a large setback requirement could potentially make Reunion Power’s proposed wind farm development in Richmondville unfeasible, which is why Bob Nied and Don Airey, co-directors of the anti-wind turbine group Schoharie Valley Watch are praising this decision by the Town Board.
Yet Nied and Airey’s own criticism of the town Setback Committee and its secretive methods casts doubt on the validity of the recommended 1500 foot setbacks. The groups’ own website contains posts which accuse the setback committee of meeting in private and conducting research and making decisions without public input, and perhaps most seriously, that they have done this in violation of New York State law. But apparently all that is okay now that SVW is happy with the committee’s final recommendation.
When it comes to using zoning powers to prevent a particular land use, the law is clear. There must be a compelling reason having do with the protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare. Concerns about potentially diminished views and decreasing property values, while perhaps compelling on a political level, are simply not applicable. Neither is a general atmosphere of vocal opposition to the development of wind power facilities, which many town officials would understandably want to placate.
This is why the setback committee’s secretive behavior creates a cloud of suspicion over their 1500 foot recommendation. Without an open and above-board process, the committee’s findings lack the evidentiary support and public input required to use local zoning powers to prevent the construction of wind turbines. Instead, it appears that the committee has chosen to knuckle under to a small but sufficiently irritating group of residents opposed to wind turbines.
It is important to bear in mind that while opponents of wind power development claimed that they only wanted to slow down the process, and do more research, and find out more information, their ultimate aim was to drop Reunion Power’s plans in a shallow grave, regardless of the facts involved. This is why wind power critics have held repeated public temper tantrums and stormed out of meetings. When these tactics did not satisfy, they resorted to issuing laughable legal threats. It is understandable that town officials wanted to a setback requirement that would make this issue go away. However, if anything, it is Reunion Power who now has a potentially actionable grievance in being denied their right to due process by a clandestine setback committee who thought they could make a tough issue go away by issuing an arbitrarily strict setback requirement.
Put simply, that there are a handful of angry and vocal residents living near the proposed wind turbines who don’t want their views diminished or their property values affected, does not justify an arbitrary and baseless misuse of the town’s zoning powers. Though I have disagreed with SVW on numerous points, I have always supported their calls for open and transparent government. I hope they will continue to hold town officials’ feet to the fire, regardless of the fact that they have found the setback committee’s final recommendations favorable to their agenda. If SVW continues to praise the recommendations of the setback committee, whose own methods they have criticized in the past, it puts the lie to every lofty claim that SVW has made regarding the necessity of upholding the law and respecting the democratic process.
Such a large setback requirement could potentially make Reunion Power’s proposed wind farm development in Richmondville unfeasible, which is why Bob Nied and Don Airey, co-directors of the anti-wind turbine group Schoharie Valley Watch are praising this decision by the Town Board.
Yet Nied and Airey’s own criticism of the town Setback Committee and its secretive methods casts doubt on the validity of the recommended 1500 foot setbacks. The groups’ own website contains posts which accuse the setback committee of meeting in private and conducting research and making decisions without public input, and perhaps most seriously, that they have done this in violation of New York State law. But apparently all that is okay now that SVW is happy with the committee’s final recommendation.
When it comes to using zoning powers to prevent a particular land use, the law is clear. There must be a compelling reason having do with the protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare. Concerns about potentially diminished views and decreasing property values, while perhaps compelling on a political level, are simply not applicable. Neither is a general atmosphere of vocal opposition to the development of wind power facilities, which many town officials would understandably want to placate.
This is why the setback committee’s secretive behavior creates a cloud of suspicion over their 1500 foot recommendation. Without an open and above-board process, the committee’s findings lack the evidentiary support and public input required to use local zoning powers to prevent the construction of wind turbines. Instead, it appears that the committee has chosen to knuckle under to a small but sufficiently irritating group of residents opposed to wind turbines.
It is important to bear in mind that while opponents of wind power development claimed that they only wanted to slow down the process, and do more research, and find out more information, their ultimate aim was to drop Reunion Power’s plans in a shallow grave, regardless of the facts involved. This is why wind power critics have held repeated public temper tantrums and stormed out of meetings. When these tactics did not satisfy, they resorted to issuing laughable legal threats. It is understandable that town officials wanted to a setback requirement that would make this issue go away. However, if anything, it is Reunion Power who now has a potentially actionable grievance in being denied their right to due process by a clandestine setback committee who thought they could make a tough issue go away by issuing an arbitrarily strict setback requirement.
Put simply, that there are a handful of angry and vocal residents living near the proposed wind turbines who don’t want their views diminished or their property values affected, does not justify an arbitrary and baseless misuse of the town’s zoning powers. Though I have disagreed with SVW on numerous points, I have always supported their calls for open and transparent government. I hope they will continue to hold town officials’ feet to the fire, regardless of the fact that they have found the setback committee’s final recommendations favorable to their agenda. If SVW continues to praise the recommendations of the setback committee, whose own methods they have criticized in the past, it puts the lie to every lofty claim that SVW has made regarding the necessity of upholding the law and respecting the democratic process.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
B.A.R. Brawl
Monthly town board meetings in Richmondville are increasingly becoming like bar-room brawls, with bitter and angry residents confused and throwing punches at anyone dumb enough to stand in the way. The public’s animosity over the ongoing tax assessment controversy in Richmondville has recently seemed to shift from the largely absentee assessor Matt Richardson to the members of the Board of Assessment Review who, critics allege, grossly overstepped their boundaries by improperly lowering the property assessments of a select few. But exactly who is really responsible and what are they responsible for?Part of the reason for the confusion is New York State’s system of local government. In New York there are numerous tax-levying entities (i.e. school districts, counties, etc.), many of which encompass multiple tax-assessing jurisdictions (i.e. towns, villages and cities). Since all of these tax-assessing entities assess their own property, pretty much all of these communities assess at a different level of market value, creating what appear to be vast discrepancies in assessed value throughout the state. Now, if taxes were levied only in the same community in which they were assessed, the assessment level would matter very little, as in the end the tax rate would be based on the level of services demanded and the budget adopted by the community’s elected officials. Higher assessments would mean a lower tax rate and lower assessments would translate into a higher tax levy.
Unfortunately, towns like Richmondville are not only taxed by the town government. Richmondville is also subject to Schoharie County and Cobleskill-Richmondville School District tax levies. Here’s where the situation gets a bit more complicated, and actually quite understandably provocative for Richmondville taxpayers. In fact, this is why there is so much confusion as to who is paying what.
Over the past several years, the town of Richmondville has seen assessed property values rise, in some cases slowly, in other cases, quite rapidly. Within the town this may have resulted in an uneven distribution of the tax burden with some residents being forced to pay what is obviously more than their fair share, and others less. However, others fear that the assessment problem has also resulted in a much larger shifting of the tax burden onto the town of Richmondville at the county and school district levels.
Critics claim that these rises in assessed value have translated into a significant increase in the percentage of the county budget and the CRCS school district that Richmondville is paying into. This increase could be as much as $500,000 a year coming from Richmondville taxpayers!
Now, if school boards and county governments applied their tax levies evenly across the board, this would result in a substantially unfair and uneven distribution of the tax burden. However, this is not the case. School boards and county governments use the ORPS-determined equalization rate to apportion property tax levies across the multiple assessing jurisdictions within their own boundaries. The purpose of this is to prevent unfairness between different jurisdictions that have different levels of assessment.
All things being unequal
The equalization rate is the ratio of total assessed value to total market value in a given municipality. Currently, Richmondville’s equalization rate according to ORPS is 100%. Meanwhile, the Town of Cobleskill, has an equalization rate of 73 percent. Summit’s equalization rate is only 53%! At this point no other town in Schoharie County comes close to having a 100% equalization rate. But pointing to a higher equalization rate than neighboring municipalities can be misleading.
Now, if school boards and county governments applied their tax levies evenly across the board, this would result in a substantially unfair and uneven distribution of the tax burden. However, this is not the case. School boards and county governments use the ORPS-determined equalization rate to apportion property tax levies across the multiple assessing jurisdictions within their own boundaries. The purpose of this is to prevent unfairness between different jurisdictions that have different levels of assessment.
All things being unequal
The equalization rate is the ratio of total assessed value to total market value in a given municipality. Currently, Richmondville’s equalization rate according to ORPS is 100%. Meanwhile, the Town of Cobleskill, has an equalization rate of 73 percent. Summit’s equalization rate is only 53%! At this point no other town in Schoharie County comes close to having a 100% equalization rate. But pointing to a higher equalization rate than neighboring municipalities can be misleading.
Imagine both Summit and Richmondville (both part of the CRCS school district) were paying the same school tax rate. That would mean Richmondville was paying twice as much as their neighbors in Summit! This would be truly outrageous. However, the equalization rate is used to prevent just that scenario. The equalization rate is used by school districts and county governments to apportion property taxes across various municipal jurisdictions according to their respective level of assessment. This is supposed to prevent one town or village from carrying an excessive tax burden. Now if this isn’t working the way it’s supposed to, the appropriate parties to be held accountable would be your school board and county government. There’s probably very little your assessor or B.A.R. can do.
Abuse of power?
In an entirely different assessment controversy, one more particular to Richmondville itself, critics also contend that the Board of Assessment Review overstepped its bounds by drastically lowering the assessments of some of the town’s highest assessed properties. According to critics, the B.A.R. has acted in ways that go well beyond its authority and that have actually unfairly lowered some people’s assessments. Critics like John Primeau allege that the B.A.R. in many cases simply rolled assessments back to 2007 and applied a smaller 2% increase. He also claims that some of the highest assessed properties were lowered dramatically, thus shifting the tax burden within the town itself.
Abuse of power?
In an entirely different assessment controversy, one more particular to Richmondville itself, critics also contend that the Board of Assessment Review overstepped its bounds by drastically lowering the assessments of some of the town’s highest assessed properties. According to critics, the B.A.R. has acted in ways that go well beyond its authority and that have actually unfairly lowered some people’s assessments. Critics like John Primeau allege that the B.A.R. in many cases simply rolled assessments back to 2007 and applied a smaller 2% increase. He also claims that some of the highest assessed properties were lowered dramatically, thus shifting the tax burden within the town itself.
The question here is whether the Board of Assessment Review, which is supposed to apply strict and consistent standards for reviewing and potentially altering property tax assessments, has simply applied a general formula as the basis for making changes to assessments. If so, the B.A.R. would have grossly and illegally exceeded its authority. It is an administrative body, which in theory means it is only applying the law, in this case, the property assessments. If there has been an error and the property owner can prove an excessive or unequal assessment, the board can lower that person’s assessment accordingly. Generally applied increases or decreases are legislative actions and therefore completely inappropriate, if in fact that’s what was done.
Primeau also alleges that the B.A.R. dramatically lowered assessments on a handful of highly-assessed properties. He references several cases in which assessed values were decreased anywhere from $75,000 to over $100,000. Richmondville taxpayers have a right to know and a duty to find out what standards were used to decrease these assessments by such amounts. There is also the possibility of conflicts of interest, as Horst Fierek’s property (Fierek is a member of the B.A.R.) received one of the largest decreases in assessed value. Certainly I’m not accusing anyone of improper actions, but the potential for conflict is strong enough to justify an in-depth look, possibly a state audit, at who is receiving lowered assessments and on what basis.
Others allege that the B.A.R. lowered the assessment of Richmondville Power and Light, Richmondville’s municipally-owned power company, by nearly a million dollars over the past several years. John Primeau claims that a B.A.R. member, when questioned about the RPL decrease, told him it was done to keep their rates low. Aside from the fact that RPL does not serve each taxpayer in the town of Richmondville, each of whom would be forced to shoulder the extra tax burden, this is obviously not what the B.A.R. is supposed to do.
Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix to these problems. If indeed, Richmondville has a runaway B.A.R. that is not following the rules for altering assessments, I believe it falls to the state to audit the B.A.R.’s actions. Over the long term, it may be in the town’s interest to switch to a county-based property assessment system. But on that issue I would advise caution (see next post) and recommend county-based assessment only as a last resort.
Additionally, the air needs to be cleared as to Richmondville’s equalization rate compared to other towns. Aligning Richmondville’s equalization rate with that of Cobleskill or any other town in the county, would not have any real effect on the apportionment of school or county taxes or Richmondville’s tax burden. But if you feel Richmondville is being unfairly stuck with a higher percentage of the school or county property tax, feel free to take it up with the school board or the county.
The appropriate way to address any alleged malfeasance is to call for more oversight and an engaged (and informed) citizenry demanding rational explanations for the activities of B.A.R. members.
However, let’s not forget the bottom line. School and county taxes are going up due to rising fuel costs, salary increases and rising insurance costs. Local property assessments have little to do with this. However, when people see that their tax bills are rising in concert with their property assessments, it’s natural to want to point the finger of blame toward the assessor. Combine this with a tax assessor who has seemingly been beyond reach, and you begin to see why people want to blame everything on the assessments.
This doesn’t mean that the Richmondville Board of Assessment Review is beyond criticism. If RPL and other highly-assessed properties received undue or improper decreases in their assessments, it transfers the burden not just onto other Richmondville taxpayers but taxpayers throughout the county and the Cobleskill-Richmondville School District as well. If there is a remedy here, it is to be found through either New York State audits of local assessments and assessment reviews or closer supervision over the activities of B.A.R. members by the Town Board or state auditors.
Ready or not, development is coming to Richmondville
It is with some amusement that I read Cobleskill village trustee Mark Galasso’s letter to the Times-Journal defending his support for the proposed Maranatha fitness center in Richmondville. The issue that concerned Galasso was whether or not the village of Cobleskill should pursue a Restore NY grant for the Newberry Square building or whether it should back out and endorse the fitness center instead. Galasso criticizes the “us-versus-them” attitude in the village and argues th1at we all need to come together for what’s best for the region.
Believe it or not, I think Galasso makes a pretty good case for why Cobleskill village officials should support the Maranatha project. However, as a Richmondville resident who lives in the path of this recent surge of proposed development along Route 7, I’m not so sure Schoharie County ought to be using its limited Restore NY monies to encourage more sprawl.
It seems like with the Empire Zone in place, there is a rush to build up the area with very little concern for the consequences or the people in the way.
Here are some of the projects that have recently been proposed for the Route 7 corridor between Warnerville and the village of Richmondville
-$4.2 million Maranatha fitness complex next to the former Warnerville Roller Rink
-Expansion of Lancaster Development site on Podpadic Road
-Relocation of Mill Services wood finishing factory on former Sabata farm or on Podpadic Road
-New town/village highway garage on Podpadic Road
-Proposed truck stop near either Warnerville or Richmondville exit off I-88
-Car wash in Warnerville near high school (currently under construction)
It appears that the usual suspects, i.e. Makeley, Loder and Galasso have big plans for Podpadic Road. I know that the Town of Richmondville needs a new garage and that the area is starved for jobs, but is anyone asking what all this new development will mean for the existing land uses in the immediate area? This part of the town of Richmondville, which bleeds into the hamlet of Warnerville, is home to a small residential neighborhood, a few small businesses, a few remaining farms and of course the Cobleskill-Richmondville high school.
As all of this new industrial development brings increased truck traffic, how will that affect residents and high school students who walk to school? What effect will this truck traffic have on air quality? For that matter, what are the hazards associated with the processes used by Mill Services, Inc.? What will happen to the last few farms in this area? Are they just going to get squeezed out until Makeley, Loder and Galasso buy up everything and build more sprawl and industry?
Over the past year, many residents have loudly protested the building of a few wind turbines. But what’s shaping up in Richmondville’s east end and Warnerville promises to be a much more drastic change to the landscape. The scope of these changes requires a new comprehensive plan for the town conducted with maximum citizen participation.
This is necessary to ensure that Empire Zone-related development occurs in an orderly and sustainable fashion. This growth can occur in a manner that complements the area, or it can be left up to the greedy few to become a sprawling mess with unknown environmental consequences.
What this boils down to is a handful of powerful people making very big decisions about the future of this community without any consultation or participation from members of the community at large. The people deserve, and ought to demand, better.
Believe it or not, I think Galasso makes a pretty good case for why Cobleskill village officials should support the Maranatha project. However, as a Richmondville resident who lives in the path of this recent surge of proposed development along Route 7, I’m not so sure Schoharie County ought to be using its limited Restore NY monies to encourage more sprawl.
It seems like with the Empire Zone in place, there is a rush to build up the area with very little concern for the consequences or the people in the way.
Here are some of the projects that have recently been proposed for the Route 7 corridor between Warnerville and the village of Richmondville
-$4.2 million Maranatha fitness complex next to the former Warnerville Roller Rink
-Expansion of Lancaster Development site on Podpadic Road
-Relocation of Mill Services wood finishing factory on former Sabata farm or on Podpadic Road
-New town/village highway garage on Podpadic Road
-Proposed truck stop near either Warnerville or Richmondville exit off I-88
-Car wash in Warnerville near high school (currently under construction)
It appears that the usual suspects, i.e. Makeley, Loder and Galasso have big plans for Podpadic Road. I know that the Town of Richmondville needs a new garage and that the area is starved for jobs, but is anyone asking what all this new development will mean for the existing land uses in the immediate area? This part of the town of Richmondville, which bleeds into the hamlet of Warnerville, is home to a small residential neighborhood, a few small businesses, a few remaining farms and of course the Cobleskill-Richmondville high school.
As all of this new industrial development brings increased truck traffic, how will that affect residents and high school students who walk to school? What effect will this truck traffic have on air quality? For that matter, what are the hazards associated with the processes used by Mill Services, Inc.? What will happen to the last few farms in this area? Are they just going to get squeezed out until Makeley, Loder and Galasso buy up everything and build more sprawl and industry?
Over the past year, many residents have loudly protested the building of a few wind turbines. But what’s shaping up in Richmondville’s east end and Warnerville promises to be a much more drastic change to the landscape. The scope of these changes requires a new comprehensive plan for the town conducted with maximum citizen participation.
This is necessary to ensure that Empire Zone-related development occurs in an orderly and sustainable fashion. This growth can occur in a manner that complements the area, or it can be left up to the greedy few to become a sprawling mess with unknown environmental consequences.
What this boils down to is a handful of powerful people making very big decisions about the future of this community without any consultation or participation from members of the community at large. The people deserve, and ought to demand, better.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
McMansion Owners Complain About Taxes
As Schoharie County slowly morphs from a rural county to a distant exurb of the Capital Region, economic, political and social changes promise to divide the community in many ways. The ongoing property tax debacle in the Town of Richmondville is an example. While the Town certainly has its share of legitimate grievances when it comes to assessments (most Towns do), it is a small minority of McMansion owners who seem to be making most of the noise.The majority of Richmondville’s residents live in small site-built or manufactured housing along the Route 7 corridor or clustered in the hollows of the surrounding hills. However, where there are good views to be had, we’ve begun to see an influx of large expensive houses popping up.
Two extremely vociferous critics of Richmondville’s assessments are Horst Fierek and Robert Peck. I’m not going to publish any specific information about them personally, although I invite readers to look for themselves on Schoharie County’s website. These individuals’ properties are each assessed at around half a million dollars. Sure, that seems like a lot, until one looks at the homes these people live in: they’re monster houses! In fact, most of these high-assessment properties consist of extravagantly large homes on large parcels with sweeping hillside vistas.
So what do these people expect? Not only do properties with good views fetch higher market prices, but they usually require greater levels of road maintenance by the Town being that they’re built all the way up on top of a mountain. More road means more materials, more fuel for municipal vehicles, more culvert pipes, more repairs after Spring floods, and of course more road to plow during the winter. This way, the homeowners’ benefits of building a home with a good view are balanced out to account for the local government’s added costs of providing services to that property.
Also consider the fact that increased development on hillsides poses significant public safety dangers to residents; just look at the hillside collapsing underneath Horst Fierek’s sprawling mansion off Route 10. Obviously, I’m not saying there’s a one-to-one connection in the case of Route 10 but development obviously puts pressure on the land: streams get diverted, large amounts of soil and clay are displaced, and private water and sewer facilities take their toll as well.
Meanwhile, rural towns often lack the resources to keep up with the services required by increased growth. In few places is this more true than in Richmondville. Here’s a Town with a municipal garage that’s literally falling into a ravine, being held up with chains! The Town office is a shack! Meanwhile, exurban homeowners don’t understand why they’re being forced to bear the brunt of costs for increased services, which their presence creates the need for in the first place!
Personally, I have no sympathy for people who build giant McMansions and then have to pay high taxes. Why should people who live within their means by not building large garish houses have to subsidize a handful of snobs looking down their noses on the rest of us?
If the Horst Fierek’s and Robert Peck’s of Richmondville get their way and thus shift the costs of their services to the already strapped poor of the Town, it would be nothing short of a travesty. There’s more of us than there are of them. While I would like to see Richmondville’s assessment problems evened out, I certainly don’t want to let a few snobs use the issue to weasel out of paying their fair share of taxes.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
An Ill Wind Blows through Richmondville
Apparently unsatisfied with bludgeoning the discussion of wind power into non-existence, Bob Neid and Don Airey, co-founders of Schoharie Valley Watch, have been on the look-out for ways to keep the controversy and friction levels high in Richmondville. Rather than slink back into relative obscurity, the ringleaders of this increasingly laughable circus, have sought to stretch out their fifteen minutes of limelight, inasmuch as weekly coverage in Cobleskill’s Times-Journal affords such limelight of course.
The actions of Bob Neid, Don Airey and other members of Schoharie Valley Watch have exemplified all of the worst aspects of small town political conflict, running the gamet from NIMBYism to divisive name-calling to proposing outlandish conspiracy theories. The result is a bitterly divided community, with a downgraded capacity to work together to find worthwhile solutions.
At meeting after meeting, windmill opponents thuggishly bullied anyone with opposing points of view, until those wanting to contribute constructively to the process were simply overwhelmed and turned off.
Rather than work with the Town Board and Planning Board to insure an equitable implementation of a viable green energy solution, Robert Neid, an individual with a respectable environmental record, chose to take the low road, sabotaging Democratic Supervisor Betsy Bernocco in his own quixotic write-in race for Supervisor. Neid’s major accomplishment? The Town of Richmondville lost a hardworking and experienced advocate in exchange for a Republican who never even claimed to take a different position than Bernocco on the wind turbine issue.
The latest controversy concerning the firing of a part-time Richmondville clerk for supposedly political motives, is a continuation of this tradition.
Neid, Airey and SVW would have you believe that Kathleen Johnson, a part-time Richmondville Clerk was the victim of some heinous attempt to silence critics of the Town’s allegedly pro-windmill policy. This would be laughable if it were not such a travesty, and if the Times-Journal didn’t pick up on it and blow wind in the story’s sails.
I’m not going to say whether this person was fired for a good reason or not. However, if we’re going to start believing in outlandish conspiracy theories, we might as well put it out there that Kathleen Johnson may have deliberately sabotaged her own employment in order to smear the Town of Richmondville.
More likely however, is the possibility that this is one more delusion of grandeur on the part of Neid and Airey, fancying themselves the targets of some corrupt conspiratorial plot.
The most laughable element of this, is the idea that there is some “cabal” or group of insiders in Richmondville capable of performing such feats of political intimidation. Consider: there have been few more vocal critics of the wind policy change than Richmondville Village mayor Kevin Neary, a Democrat.
Why doesn’t SVW ask Neary if the firing of Kathleen Johnson has caused him to fear retribution from the evil conspirators?
Is there really a conspiracy in Richmondville? No, just a bunch of loudmouths with WAY too much time on their hands. I won’t deny them their fun and games, let them have it. I just felt like it was time for a reality check.
The actions of Bob Neid, Don Airey and other members of Schoharie Valley Watch have exemplified all of the worst aspects of small town political conflict, running the gamet from NIMBYism to divisive name-calling to proposing outlandish conspiracy theories. The result is a bitterly divided community, with a downgraded capacity to work together to find worthwhile solutions.
At meeting after meeting, windmill opponents thuggishly bullied anyone with opposing points of view, until those wanting to contribute constructively to the process were simply overwhelmed and turned off.
Rather than work with the Town Board and Planning Board to insure an equitable implementation of a viable green energy solution, Robert Neid, an individual with a respectable environmental record, chose to take the low road, sabotaging Democratic Supervisor Betsy Bernocco in his own quixotic write-in race for Supervisor. Neid’s major accomplishment? The Town of Richmondville lost a hardworking and experienced advocate in exchange for a Republican who never even claimed to take a different position than Bernocco on the wind turbine issue.
The latest controversy concerning the firing of a part-time Richmondville clerk for supposedly political motives, is a continuation of this tradition.
Neid, Airey and SVW would have you believe that Kathleen Johnson, a part-time Richmondville Clerk was the victim of some heinous attempt to silence critics of the Town’s allegedly pro-windmill policy. This would be laughable if it were not such a travesty, and if the Times-Journal didn’t pick up on it and blow wind in the story’s sails.
I’m not going to say whether this person was fired for a good reason or not. However, if we’re going to start believing in outlandish conspiracy theories, we might as well put it out there that Kathleen Johnson may have deliberately sabotaged her own employment in order to smear the Town of Richmondville.
More likely however, is the possibility that this is one more delusion of grandeur on the part of Neid and Airey, fancying themselves the targets of some corrupt conspiratorial plot.
The most laughable element of this, is the idea that there is some “cabal” or group of insiders in Richmondville capable of performing such feats of political intimidation. Consider: there have been few more vocal critics of the wind policy change than Richmondville Village mayor Kevin Neary, a Democrat.
Why doesn’t SVW ask Neary if the firing of Kathleen Johnson has caused him to fear retribution from the evil conspirators?
Is there really a conspiracy in Richmondville? No, just a bunch of loudmouths with WAY too much time on their hands. I won’t deny them their fun and games, let them have it. I just felt like it was time for a reality check.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Democracy Inaction
As expected it looks like Town of Richmondville voters decided to take out their anger on incumbent Supervisor Betsy Bernocco for her role in the recent wind turbine controversy. Unfortunately for Richmondville voters, the guy they just elected, John Barlow, has the exact same stance on the wind turbine issue as Bernocco. But people were frustrated and someone had to pay, I guess. To me, it looks like the voters traded an incumbent with an accomplished record and history of service for someone who barely campaigned for the job, and who didn’t even pledge to stop wind turbines from being developed. Way to go, Richmondville!
In the Village of Cobleskill, incumbent Rebecca Burgos-Thillet was trounced by former Mayor Bill Gilmore in a race for Village trustee. Naturally, this doesn’t bode well for Mayor Sellers and Deputy Mayor MacKay, both of whom seem to be bearing the brunt of criticism over some recent problems that seem to be beyond their control. Gilmore’s win –a huge 80%- will likely lead to his running for re-election as Mayor in 2009. Unfortunately, for Sellers and MacKay, the Times Journal has decided that anything from now until 2009 that happens to go wrong in the Village of Cobleskill will be blamed on Mayor Sellers’ youth and inexperience.
In the Cobleskill Supervisor’s race Republican Roger Cohn defeated Democrat Bob Strother. This is a disappointment. Hopefully, Cohn will not continue the entrenched position of outgoing Supervisor Mike Montario who essentially refused to consider any sharing of services with the Village unless they agreed to extend water and sewer services to Lowe’s. For two years, Montario held the process hostage because he apparently believed that the Town of Cobleskill was entitled to Village services. Strother had a lot of great ideas for improving participation, town-village negotiations, and helping Downtown. But the election of Roger Cohn seems like voters are saying they want more of the same. Hopefully I’m wrong.
In the Village of Cobleskill, incumbent Rebecca Burgos-Thillet was trounced by former Mayor Bill Gilmore in a race for Village trustee. Naturally, this doesn’t bode well for Mayor Sellers and Deputy Mayor MacKay, both of whom seem to be bearing the brunt of criticism over some recent problems that seem to be beyond their control. Gilmore’s win –a huge 80%- will likely lead to his running for re-election as Mayor in 2009. Unfortunately, for Sellers and MacKay, the Times Journal has decided that anything from now until 2009 that happens to go wrong in the Village of Cobleskill will be blamed on Mayor Sellers’ youth and inexperience.
In the Cobleskill Supervisor’s race Republican Roger Cohn defeated Democrat Bob Strother. This is a disappointment. Hopefully, Cohn will not continue the entrenched position of outgoing Supervisor Mike Montario who essentially refused to consider any sharing of services with the Village unless they agreed to extend water and sewer services to Lowe’s. For two years, Montario held the process hostage because he apparently believed that the Town of Cobleskill was entitled to Village services. Strother had a lot of great ideas for improving participation, town-village negotiations, and helping Downtown. But the election of Roger Cohn seems like voters are saying they want more of the same. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The 'Grader' Good in Richmondville
Eric Sperbeck wants to be Richmondville’s Town Highway Superintendent. With a Masters degree in education and a previous stint on Richmondville’s Village Board of Trustees, Sperbeck believes he has the experience and the dedication necessary to oust incumbent Keith Althiser in this November’s elections.
Sperbeck is careful not to attack the job of current highway department crew members but he points to plenty of administrative issues that offer room for improvement. Sperbeck criticizes the way the Town handled the sale of an aged and mechanically failing highway department grader. The grader was sold to the Town of Root, who then made a small investment to do the mechanical work necessary to repair it. However, since then, the Town highway department has been renting a grader at a monthly rate that has now exceeded the small investment made by the Town of Root. Clearly, Eric Sperbeck is someone who will work on behalf of Richmondville taxpayers for the greater good, or should I say, the ‘grader’ good.
Then there’s the Town garage, a facility that is literally collapsing into a stream below it. What has the current leadership done to prevent this? Sperbeck also expresses an interest in seeking out grants, addressing overtime issues and looking into sharing services with other communities.
Some may say that highway superintendent elections are not all-important. But I believe that few things are as important as partaking in our civic duty to choose those officials which are closest to home. Being highway superintendent requires tough decisions about how much salt to use, how deep to make the ditches on the side of the road and the appropriate diameter of culvert pipes.
I’m not urging Richmondville voters to choose Sperbeck or Althiser. I am urging voters to go out and spend at least a few days thoroughly researching their Town’s highway superintendent candidates. There’s really nothing much at stake, aside from the very foundation of our democracy.
Sperbeck is careful not to attack the job of current highway department crew members but he points to plenty of administrative issues that offer room for improvement. Sperbeck criticizes the way the Town handled the sale of an aged and mechanically failing highway department grader. The grader was sold to the Town of Root, who then made a small investment to do the mechanical work necessary to repair it. However, since then, the Town highway department has been renting a grader at a monthly rate that has now exceeded the small investment made by the Town of Root. Clearly, Eric Sperbeck is someone who will work on behalf of Richmondville taxpayers for the greater good, or should I say, the ‘grader’ good.
Then there’s the Town garage, a facility that is literally collapsing into a stream below it. What has the current leadership done to prevent this? Sperbeck also expresses an interest in seeking out grants, addressing overtime issues and looking into sharing services with other communities.
Some may say that highway superintendent elections are not all-important. But I believe that few things are as important as partaking in our civic duty to choose those officials which are closest to home. Being highway superintendent requires tough decisions about how much salt to use, how deep to make the ditches on the side of the road and the appropriate diameter of culvert pipes.
I’m not urging Richmondville voters to choose Sperbeck or Althiser. I am urging voters to go out and spend at least a few days thoroughly researching their Town’s highway superintendent candidates. There’s really nothing much at stake, aside from the very foundation of our democracy.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
This Just In: Wind Power Opponents Run Out of Wind-related Puns, Abandon Cause and Go Home
“When we first heard about the proposed wind turbines in Schoharie County we were outraged and immediately mobilized to fight against them” say’s Joe Blow of Against the Wind, a non-profit (5019(C) status pending) organization dedicated to fighting proposed wind power developments. A few weeks later, Will Gust, a life-long resident of Richmondville founded a weekly newsletter entitling it: “Clearing the Air”. The newsletter was designed to debunk the supposedly “green” nature of wind power.
Excited by the prospect of taking up a cause with such potential for clever headlines and sloganeering, the wind power opponents scoured the internet in search of evidence showing the deadly hazards of wind turbines. Apparently somewhere a wind turbine caught on fire spewing toxic fumes and lubricants into the atmosphere. As far as the wind power opponents knew, no innocent coal-fired generating plant or nuclear plant ever had such a mishap with such disastrous consequences.
And on the litany of charges went. One angry letter writer even suggested that the ultra-low frequency noise generated by wind turbines was responsible for causing coronary diseases. However, it would be unfair not to point out that in these cases, the possibility that these low frequency noises were generated by the activities of extra-terrestrials, paranormal hauntings, or top-secret governmental weather-controlling experiments could not be ruled out.
Soon however, these wind power opponents so filled with fury began to notice a decline in the number of catchy puns to serve as banners and slogans for their crusade. “I felt like somebody was taking the wind out of our sails” explains a once enthusiastic Joe Blow. “I searched and searched for potential wind puns, metaphors, idioms, double entendre and any and all manner of wordplay devices, but there was nothing left” claimed Will Gust. Finally, when one opponent, groping desperately for a wind-related pun, simply said “ahh, just blow me” to an audience of environmental scientists, energy policy specialists and engineers, they were a little less than “blown away” by the logic of his argument.
And so the crusade to fight against wind power development in Schoharie County petered out as its most vehement members failed to find the creative wordplay required to disguise a movement that simply has little more to offer than empty bluster and hot air.
Excited by the prospect of taking up a cause with such potential for clever headlines and sloganeering, the wind power opponents scoured the internet in search of evidence showing the deadly hazards of wind turbines. Apparently somewhere a wind turbine caught on fire spewing toxic fumes and lubricants into the atmosphere. As far as the wind power opponents knew, no innocent coal-fired generating plant or nuclear plant ever had such a mishap with such disastrous consequences.
And on the litany of charges went. One angry letter writer even suggested that the ultra-low frequency noise generated by wind turbines was responsible for causing coronary diseases. However, it would be unfair not to point out that in these cases, the possibility that these low frequency noises were generated by the activities of extra-terrestrials, paranormal hauntings, or top-secret governmental weather-controlling experiments could not be ruled out.
Soon however, these wind power opponents so filled with fury began to notice a decline in the number of catchy puns to serve as banners and slogans for their crusade. “I felt like somebody was taking the wind out of our sails” explains a once enthusiastic Joe Blow. “I searched and searched for potential wind puns, metaphors, idioms, double entendre and any and all manner of wordplay devices, but there was nothing left” claimed Will Gust. Finally, when one opponent, groping desperately for a wind-related pun, simply said “ahh, just blow me” to an audience of environmental scientists, energy policy specialists and engineers, they were a little less than “blown away” by the logic of his argument.
And so the crusade to fight against wind power development in Schoharie County petered out as its most vehement members failed to find the creative wordplay required to disguise a movement that simply has little more to offer than empty bluster and hot air.
Friday, August 10, 2007
wind turbines are your friends
With the recent discussion of proposed electricity-generating wind turbines in Schoharie County there has been a virtual hurricane of nasty lies and disinformation blowing around. Given what we know about wind power battles in other communities, the disinformation campaigns are most likely going to get a lot uglier.
Ironically, the main argument against wind farms is that they are bad for the environment. People who make this claim and/or buy into it are misguided at best. We've all heard the claims that wind turbines will spoil those scenic mountaintop vistas that we all know and love. However, as an industrialized society we need to generate power. Even those of us living in remote, rural locations use electricity (much of the energy we take from the grid is generated in someone else's backyard). Of the options for generating power that we currently have before us, wind power is not only the least-polluting, but it also has the smallest impact on its neighbors and the surrounding environment. Some may object to living near windmills, yet what of those who have had coal-fired plants, nuclear plants, or incinerators sited near their homes or in their communities? Can we take seriously the complaints of exurban homeowners about diminished views when so many children living in inner cities experience skyrocketing asthma rates due to traditional electricity-generating power plants? The impact of windmills both in terms of actual measurable effects and visual impact is minimal by comparison.
Many also complain that wind turbines are unfairly subsidized compared to "other businesses". Well, wind power is subsidized, as it should be! So many of the costs and subsidies of other forms of energy, like oil, are well beyond measure. You will never see a protestor with a sign saying "no blood for wind". Subsidies for wind power help to encourage green companies that might actually put silly things like saving the planet over the bottom line. Do you think that garaunteeing access to middle eastern oil doesn't require "subsidies"? How much will we spend in the future to ensure access to oil in the mid-east? The numbers are quite staggering. According to some estimates as much as a third of the 300 bil dollar defense budget is needed just to protect our access to mid-eastern oil (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2001/october24/energyvantage-1024.html). And people want to bitch about wind power companies making payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) instead of paying taxes directly.
Most of the arguments against wind power are not very rational. Instead, what most opposition boils down to, is nothing more elegant that good old American NIMBYism and a myopic fear of lowered property values. Many people in rural areas also have an instinctive resentment of outsiders coming in and changing the landscape.
I urge all residents to take an honest look at their conscience and their own energy consumption and consider the long-term effects of oil consumption on our economy and our environment. Any honest evaluation of the pros and cons of wind power should have wind power on top. If you can't see that, then you need to become better informed. Hopefully wind farm opponents will quit their scare tactics and realize that wind turbines are our friends!
Ironically, the main argument against wind farms is that they are bad for the environment. People who make this claim and/or buy into it are misguided at best. We've all heard the claims that wind turbines will spoil those scenic mountaintop vistas that we all know and love. However, as an industrialized society we need to generate power. Even those of us living in remote, rural locations use electricity (much of the energy we take from the grid is generated in someone else's backyard). Of the options for generating power that we currently have before us, wind power is not only the least-polluting, but it also has the smallest impact on its neighbors and the surrounding environment. Some may object to living near windmills, yet what of those who have had coal-fired plants, nuclear plants, or incinerators sited near their homes or in their communities? Can we take seriously the complaints of exurban homeowners about diminished views when so many children living in inner cities experience skyrocketing asthma rates due to traditional electricity-generating power plants? The impact of windmills both in terms of actual measurable effects and visual impact is minimal by comparison.
Many also complain that wind turbines are unfairly subsidized compared to "other businesses". Well, wind power is subsidized, as it should be! So many of the costs and subsidies of other forms of energy, like oil, are well beyond measure. You will never see a protestor with a sign saying "no blood for wind". Subsidies for wind power help to encourage green companies that might actually put silly things like saving the planet over the bottom line. Do you think that garaunteeing access to middle eastern oil doesn't require "subsidies"? How much will we spend in the future to ensure access to oil in the mid-east? The numbers are quite staggering. According to some estimates as much as a third of the 300 bil dollar defense budget is needed just to protect our access to mid-eastern oil (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2001/october24/energyvantage-1024.html). And people want to bitch about wind power companies making payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) instead of paying taxes directly.
Most of the arguments against wind power are not very rational. Instead, what most opposition boils down to, is nothing more elegant that good old American NIMBYism and a myopic fear of lowered property values. Many people in rural areas also have an instinctive resentment of outsiders coming in and changing the landscape.
I urge all residents to take an honest look at their conscience and their own energy consumption and consider the long-term effects of oil consumption on our economy and our environment. Any honest evaluation of the pros and cons of wind power should have wind power on top. If you can't see that, then you need to become better informed. Hopefully wind farm opponents will quit their scare tactics and realize that wind turbines are our friends!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Tilting at Wind Farms in Schoharie County
In one community after another, recent efforts to develop “wind farms” in the United States have resulted in a storm of controversy. Like Don Quixote, Cervantes’ literary protagonist who believed that windmills were giant monsters trying to attack him, today’s wind farm opponents have similarly made monsters out of the industrial-sized, electricity-generating windmills being proposed throughout the country. In many ways, there concerns are only slightly more grounded in reality than those of Quixote.
Few would argue that there is a critical need to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign petrochemicals. Wind is a renewable energy resource that does not pollute or contribute to global climate change, or help to prop up fundamentalist governments that support terrorism. To be sure, wind farms alone will not save the planet, but they are undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Yet wherever they have been proposed, property owners have risen up to say: not in my backyard! Citing lowered property values, spoiled view sheds, loud noise and even disrupted bird migration routes, wind farm critics have mobilized quite effectively to prevent wind farm developments.
In nearby Cherry Valley, residents successfully blocked a proposed wind farm citing many of the fears mentioned above. The same company who proposed the Cherry Valley wind farm –Reunion Power of Vermont – has recently been in negotiations to develop a wind farm on county-owned land in the Towns of Fulton and Richmondville. Do residents have an obligation to inform themselves of the details and potential ramifications of this project? Do Town and County officials have an obligation to listen carefully to the concerns of residents? Needless to say, the answer is yes!
But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture here: diminished property values and negatively impacted views should not be deal breakers when there’s a much higher public good involved. Any major public works project, new development or piece of infrastructure carries the risk of negatively impacting some of its neighbors. However, if NIMBY was the rule we went by, we’d have no airports, power plants, highways, trains, mines, or anything else that might negatively impact somebody’s property values somewhere. If something has the potential to catastrophically diminish a community’s quality of life, with no significant public good, then by all means, most people would and should oppose it. But I don’t believe that’s the case here.
That being said, critics are right to point out that residents and property owners should get involved. There are ways of mitigating the negative effects of wind farms. But these will only be proposed and implemented if people educate themselves and get involved in the process. So by all means, read up on this and get involved.
But after all is said and done, we can’t lose sight of the fact that young men and women are making the ultimate sacrifice everyday in Iraq to support our dependence on foreign oil. Therefore, don’t expect me to feel bad for somebody who complains that a wind farm is going to lower their property values, all the while tooling around in their SUVs sucking in that Middle Eastern oil like it was going out of style.
Few would argue that there is a critical need to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign petrochemicals. Wind is a renewable energy resource that does not pollute or contribute to global climate change, or help to prop up fundamentalist governments that support terrorism. To be sure, wind farms alone will not save the planet, but they are undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Yet wherever they have been proposed, property owners have risen up to say: not in my backyard! Citing lowered property values, spoiled view sheds, loud noise and even disrupted bird migration routes, wind farm critics have mobilized quite effectively to prevent wind farm developments.
In nearby Cherry Valley, residents successfully blocked a proposed wind farm citing many of the fears mentioned above. The same company who proposed the Cherry Valley wind farm –Reunion Power of Vermont – has recently been in negotiations to develop a wind farm on county-owned land in the Towns of Fulton and Richmondville. Do residents have an obligation to inform themselves of the details and potential ramifications of this project? Do Town and County officials have an obligation to listen carefully to the concerns of residents? Needless to say, the answer is yes!
But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture here: diminished property values and negatively impacted views should not be deal breakers when there’s a much higher public good involved. Any major public works project, new development or piece of infrastructure carries the risk of negatively impacting some of its neighbors. However, if NIMBY was the rule we went by, we’d have no airports, power plants, highways, trains, mines, or anything else that might negatively impact somebody’s property values somewhere. If something has the potential to catastrophically diminish a community’s quality of life, with no significant public good, then by all means, most people would and should oppose it. But I don’t believe that’s the case here.
That being said, critics are right to point out that residents and property owners should get involved. There are ways of mitigating the negative effects of wind farms. But these will only be proposed and implemented if people educate themselves and get involved in the process. So by all means, read up on this and get involved.
But after all is said and done, we can’t lose sight of the fact that young men and women are making the ultimate sacrifice everyday in Iraq to support our dependence on foreign oil. Therefore, don’t expect me to feel bad for somebody who complains that a wind farm is going to lower their property values, all the while tooling around in their SUVs sucking in that Middle Eastern oil like it was going out of style.
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