Town Board Meeting...

Next Town Board Meeting is tomorrow, October 1, 2008 at 6 p.m. All town board meetings are now being held in Butler Hall until next May.

One of the items on the agenda is the 2009 Tentative Budget. By law, the budget has to be presented to the Town Clerk by October 5, 2008 and then made available to the public. We will be submitting a FOIL request so that you can review it.

The agenda is now online.

The Ross Cause...

Well said Strikeslip! A bad neighbor, and a Government In Default

The Ross family has been communicating with Concerned Citizens for several months regarding their situation. The Whitestown Town Board and their Attorney are arrogant and have done nothing to help these residents.

Attorney Schmitt was obnoxious regarding our FOIL request and appeal for an electronic copy of the Shumaker Engineering report regarding the Ross flooding problems. What did he think he was protecting?

To Attorney Schmitt, addressed in the same manner in which he addressed us at the September 17, 2008 Town Board meeting...

Sir, your first mistake was in assuming that we could not provide the Ross family with an electronic copy of the Shumaker report. Joke is on you, Attorney Schmitt, we have software that takes a pdf file and converts it to a Word document; even a pdf file that has been password protected. We didn't really need an electronic copy from the town...we were merely exercising our right to obtain an electronic copy through the FOIL process.

Your second mistake was in the Opinion Letter from Robert Freeman you used to justify the town's position. The opinion you used was ridiculous and had nothing to do with our appeal. You merely proved what we already knew; the Town of Whitestown definitely has something to hide!

Concerned Citizens has provided the Ross family with an electronic copy of the report.

As we have said before, between New Hartford and Whitestown, there is plenty of arrogance to go around!

We encourage everyone to visit the The Ross Cause.

19 Campion Road...ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies!

Legal Notice in the Thursday, September 25, 2008 Observer Dispatch:

Village of New Hartford Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. at Butler Memorial Hall, 48 Genesee St., New Hartford, NY 13413. The Zoning Board will be reviewing the following (2) applications.

(1) Mark Dembrow.....(see link above to legal notice for specifics)

(2) Vincent Papandrea 19 Campion Road is requesting a 1' side and 1' rear area variance to erect an addition to the building on an existing pad. Village Code requires 25' rear and 25' side allowance in the M-1 zone.

Plans are available for review in the Village Office Monday through Friday from 8 am until 4 pm.

The Public is invited to attend or send written comments before or at the public hearing.

The Town of New Hartford is looking at 19 Campion Road for the proposed new court and town offices. Interesting...is a 1 foot clearance between buildings on one side and also the rear of a building (in other words, 2 of 4 exposures) intended to house several offices and be occupied by many people when court is in session a smart thing? Doesn't leave much space for a person, like say a fireman, to get through if it were to be necessary.

Rear of building...concrete is where the addition will be...28 ft long across the rear of the buidling starting on the side of the building toward Madden Concrete. i.e. behind the open door.

right side of building if standing on Campion Road.

Concerned Citizens decided to visit the Village offices to look at the plans. While we were there, we asked a few questions. We wanted to know if there has ever been any other time when the owner of 19 Campion Road has come before the Planning or Zoning Board or if any building permits had been issued...say in 2005. Janet Durr, Village Clerk, said she didn't think so, but she would look for us.

Concerned Citizens asked for a copy of the Application for Building, Zoning and Demolition Permit that was filed on September 8, 2008. It is interesting to note in the cover letter sent to Mr. Terrance Martin, Codes Officer for the Village of New Hartford, Edward LaBarge of Butterfield Commercial Properties stated that:

In 2005, the owners removed a larger addition, leaving an existing pad in the rear of the property. We are proposing building a smaller addition on the existing pad to facilitate 3 rooftop hearing units for the building.

Hmmm! Let's see the dimensions shown on the architectural drawing done by Alesia and Cromwell (isn't Alesia a Village Trustee?) shows a 10' x 28' addition to be built in the rear of the building. So with a 1' setback variance that they are requesting, that would mean that right now there is only an 11' setback...code for a M-1 zoning is 25'. That means that the building is not even in compliance with codes now?!!! And actually, we are not even sure if the concrete pad can be left there without a variance.

Having lived in this area for many years, we realize that the building has been there for a long time and at the time it was built there probably were no zoning laws in place so the building was "grandfathered", but usually when you make any changes to the footprint of a building the "grandfather" clause no longer applies. If the owners removed a larger addition and rebuilt all but the 10' remaining pad, wouldn't they have needed to appear before the zoning board of appeals and received a variance in 2005? Maybe Ms. Durr has found that zoning board document for us...we will stop back next week to find out!

We were also wondering why there would not be a building permit with all the extensive work that was done in 2005. At first Ms. Durr said that all the work was done inside the building in 2005, but after we disagreed and pointed out all the changes to the building, Ms. Durr later said that you don't have to get a permit for any work to a structure in the Village if you are zoned M-1.

Amazing...guess you don't have to worry about being reassessed if you are zoned M-1 in the Village either.

We encourge anyone who is interested to visit the Village to see the plans and/or plan to attend the meeting on Tuesday evening.

Town Board Meeting Tonight...

September 24, 2008 -- 6:00 P.M. at the Kellogg Road Community Center.

Agenda is now available online.

Spinning wheel...

The New Hartford Town Board has already spent money for improvements in a private development...they have illegally extended water lines, and extended sewer lines to a private development without any public input.

In April 2008, the town board unanimously authorized a $2.9 million Bond Anticipation Note without permissive referendum...they are diverting $500,000 of other developers' Fees In Lieu of Mitigation to cover some of the costs of this private development while not requiring the New Hartford Business Park developer, Larry Adler, to put in a dime of Fees In Lieu of Mitigation money himself.

Now all the town board has to do is figure out how to use our school tax dollars to finance this non-educational project because without that money, they will have to place the burden of repaying the debt on the taxpayers in New Hartford.

The problem is that using school tax revenue to fund a private development is illegal...General Municipal Law 970 does not allow schools to participate in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and there is no specific provision under the NYS Education Law granting schools the authority to participate in a Tax Increment Financing plan to finance a non-school purpose.

Bottom line, the town board, Dan Gilligan and Steve DiMeo can call the "financing" plan anything they want, but if they use school tax dollars for a non-educational purpose, it is illegal, plain and simple!

November 2007 - Final Authorizing Resolution - PILOT only November 7, 2007 OCIDA minutes (see page 2)

Jan. 2008 - Presentation at New Hartford Central School - PILOT/TIF

March 2008 - Tax Increment Financing (TIF) - No PILOT March 27, 2008 OCIDA minutes

Just where will it end...?

We couldn't agree more...

Strikeslip. Supporting School Selfishness.

Mr. Gilligan is merely looking for a way to help Earle Reed get all his "wants" then in turn Earle Reed will help Mr. Gilligan get the proposed bus garage on the BOCES complex (Mr. Gilligan's "wants") and Letter of Credit Guy, Mr. Larry Adler, brings up the rear by "donating" a landlocked piece of property to build that bus garage on to insure that he gets what he "wants", i.e. the New Hartford Business Park development at taxpayer expense. Quid pro quo.

Once a TIF area is created, it becomes a hungry giant and the only way to feed it is with more taxpayer dollars. We suspect that Par Technology is waiting in the wings to be the next company that will move out of the area if it were not for Steve DiMeo, Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, and his "magic wand".

If you haven't listened to the "emergency" meeting at the Dept. Of Transportation, here it is again. Mr. Gilligan seems to have all the answers and even tells Cathy Lawrence from Concerned Citizens that schools can participate in Tax Increment Financing when she poses the question to him. However, it is illegal for a school to participate in Tax Increment Financing (TIF). In NYS, a town, a county and even a village can participate, but schools can not legally participate according to General Municipal and Eduction Law.

Of course, a minor thing like a legality never seemed to bother the "town players" before.

While You Were Sleeping...Part 3

We will end with Part 3 by looking at one more statement in the "Official Statement" that was prepared for the sale of $5,576,800 Bond Anticipation Notes in the Town of New Hartford.

According to page 8, under the topic...Authorized But Unissued Items:

The Town has no other capital project plans authorized nor are any additional capital projects comtemplated at this time.

No other capital project plans authorized is true, but none comtemplated?

Odd, isn't the town planning on bonding for the $3 million intersection on 840...the promise that was made to The Hartford?

What about the new court and town offices? Didn't we hear at the last town board meeting that there will be a town meeting in October to discuss the plans for that project? I believe that Joe Yagey said that the town should be in the new offices by year-end; absent any problems.

What about the parks that are supposedly planned according to the Observer Dispatch?

Who wrote this "Official Statement"? Obviously, they didn't know much about the Town of New Hartford...or was the problem more like what the writer, who we assume to be Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, Bond Counsel, was told by our elected officials?

Is it legal to make incorrect statements on an "official" document? We won't even mention the fact that the $2.9 million Bond Anticipation Note to build the roads in the New Hartford Business Park was unanimously approved by the entire Town Board without permissive referendum...an illegal issue all on its own.

Wake Up New Hartford!

Video courtesy of Video From Pictures

While You Were Sleeping...Part 2

According to page 8 of the "Official Statement" for the $5,576,800 BANs, under the topic...Form of Town Government:

The Town Attorney and Town Comptroller are appointed to one-year terms.

Really? According to the 2008 Budget, we don't have a Town Comptroller; we have a Financial Consultant and according to the contract signed by Mr. Frank Basile and Town Supervisor Earle Reed, the Town of New Hartford has retained Mr. Basile's firm for a 16-month period from September 10, 2007 to December 31, 2008...not for a year.

On bottom of page 8...Under Financial Organization:

The Supervisor and Bookkeeper are responsible for all financial and budgetary transactions of the town. Their duties include administration, direction and control of the following divisions: Accounting, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Audit and Control, Budgeting and Payroll Personnel.

They may be responsible by town law, but it's pretty safe to bet that Town Supervisor Earle Reed is not part of the equation...that's why Mr. Reed opted to contract for the services of Mr. Frank Basile's firm.

Concerned Citizens was curious as to what services have been provided to the Town of New Hartford by Mr. Basile's firm and just how much the Town of New Hartford has paid the firm, so we FOILed all of Mr. Basile's invoices.

According to monthly invoices received from Frank J. Basile, CPA's, P.C., the firm has been paid to:

PROGRESS BILLING FOR:

Assistance with the annual budget process;
Advice and guidance on financing and/or expensing various highway, planning and administrative costs;
Updating accounting and record-keeping procedures and bookkeeping systems;
Other accounting and management advisory services as requested by Town Supervisor or Town Board;

PROGRESS BILLING FOR:

Assist Town of New Hartford with negotiations and financial matters relating to the development of the New Hartford Business Park, including discussions, research, consultations, telephone conferences, development of spreadsheets & loan amortization schedules, & meetings with MV Edge and OCIDA officials, Bond Counsel, Fiscal Advisors personnel, Town of New Hartford officials, New Hartford Central School officials, board members & Administration, NYSDOT officials & administration, & Oneida County officials relating to negotiations for PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) allocation agreements and tax revenue and expense projections (based on PILOT agreements) for Business Park occupants; assist Town of New Hartford with researching and securing Federal, State and Local grants available to offset project costs related to construction/re-construction of "Break-in-access" on Route 840;

From September 10, 2007 to December 31, 2007, the town paid Mr. Basile's firm a total of $25,818.50. So far in 2008, January to July 31, the Town of New Hartford has paid Mr. Basile's firm $71,004...total amount paid for the first 11 months of Mr. Basile's contract is $96,822.50. Considering that the Town of New Hartford has signed a 16-month contract with Mr. Basile's firm...there are still 5 months to go to the end of Mr. Basile's current contract! When you take into account the fact that this work is supposed to be performed by the Town Supervisor and the bookkeeper, the town seems to be paying a lot of money to Mr. Basile's firm.

When we noticed that Mr. Basile's invoices indicated that part of the billing was to assist the town with the financial arrangements for the New Hartford Business Park, we decided to ask for copies of the appropriate invoices so that we could share them with town residents.

According to the invoices, the total amount paid to Mr. Basile's firm thus far for help with the New Hartford Business Park financial arrangements...about $30,000. Yet, in answer to our FOIL requests, Town Supervisor Earle Reed has certified that as of today there are no signed agreements relating to the New Hartford Business Park improvements and the 840 intersection other than the PILOT agreement that has yet to be approved by the County Legislators.

Concerned Citizens can't help but wonder how much more the Town of New Hartford will need to pay Mr. Basile to complete his work on the New Hartford Business Park. Just how much will this private development "project" end up costing taxpayers in the long run and how many other "hidden" costs will taxpayers shoulder?

to be continued...

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UPDATE: We did receive a certification from Town Attorney Gerald Green regarding the PILOT agreement that he provided to us in answer to our FOIL request. However, Attorney Green's certification says:

This is to certify that the executed Payment-In-Lieu-Of-Tax Agreement provided the Town Clerk with my email dated September 10, 2008 is the only such signed agreement of which I have knowledge. I have no knowledge of its status.

That should give everyone a good feeling...the Town Attorney does not know the status of an agreement that he provided to us through the Freedom of Information Law.

Attorney Green...FYI...the County Board of Legislators hasn't approved a resolution for the PILOT yet...how the exemption was placed on the Town of New Hartford tax rolls already without the blessing of the County Board of Legislators is anyone's guess.

While You Were Sleeping...Part 1

$ 5,576,800 ... according to the Notice of Sale that's the total dollars of Bond Anticipation Notes (BAN) the Town of New Hartford was trying to sell in August 2008.

According to the "Official Statement" , some of the money from the almost $5.6 million bond anticipation notes will be used to renew BANs that are now due; BANs such as to purchase Highway Plows, Acquisition of Trucks, GEIS, Stormwater Improvement 1st Series, Part-Town Zoning Study and to Purchase a Grade-All. Even though the majority of voters said "NO" to the purchase of the Grad-All in March 2007, the Town Board shortly thereafter turned right around and issued Bond Anticipation Notes so they could buy it anyway. Total needed to renew these BANs is $1,471,800.

The rest of the BANs are for new purposes such as Stormwater Improvement 2nd series, Recreation Center Improvements, purchase Pick-up Truck, AND Business Park Roads. Total new Bond Anticipation Notes is $4,105,000 for a grand total of old and new BANs of $5,576,800.

According to the Bid Confirmation Summary Sheet, $2,676,800 of BANs were sold on August 28, 2008 with an Effective Net Interest Rate of 2.090257%...total interest owed at maturity...$40,152.

It would appear that the $2.9 million to build the roads in the New Hartford Business Parks were not sold. The $2.9 million BAN was approved by the Town Board in April 2008 to build roads in a private development and yet every taxpayer in Oneida County, every New Hartford School District taxpayer and every Town of New Hartford taxpayer is being asked to fund this development. Part of that money has already been bid out and the work has been completed.

The first occupant of this park will be The Hartford Insurance Company who was supposedly given a Payment-In-Lieu-Of Taxes by Oneida County Industrial Development Agency. The funny thing is that there doesn't appear to be a resolution passed by the Oneida County Legislators at this point so we're not quite sure how there could be a $3,000,000 exemption on the books, but trust us there is. If you haven't viewed The Hartford Job Guaranty Agreement yet, you should. According to their agreement, The Hartford doesn't even have to maintain their current employment level through years 1- 5 of the PILOT and they only have to guaranty 500 employees in years 6-10.

Concerned Citizens saw a few things in the "Official Statement" that seemed like "official bs", so over the next few days we decided we would write about them.

To start with, one part of the Official Statement says:

The Notes are general obligations of the Town, and will contain a pledge of its faith and credit for the payment of the principal of an interest on the Notes as required by the Constitution and laws of the State...All the taxable real property within the Town if subject to the levy of ad valorum taxes to pay the Notes and interest thereon, without limitation as to rate or amount.

That means that tax dollars are intended to be used to pay back the interest and principal of these notes including the notes for building the roads in a private development...remember Larry Adler's (Letter of Credit Guy) non-existent Letter of Credit? Actually the "Official BS" isn't contained in the document; the document tells it like it is...the "Official BS" is spoken by the "officials" when they say it won't cost taxpayers a dime.

How much of our tax dollars will be needed to bring Phase I of the New Hartford Business Park to fruition? According to Dan Gilligan, Superintendent of New Hartford Central School, they simply don't know yet because the numbers keep changing.

Has anyone read the Town of Cicero Report of Examination by the NYS Comptroller's office? Might be worth the read so you can see for yourself just how bad it can get without "da plan". However, if you don't want to read through that whole document, here is the short version.

Wake up New Hartford Taxpayers!

Stay tuned...Part 2 tomorrow.

New Hartford Business Park...

Don't miss our "While You Were Sleeping...Part 1"...available online later this evening!

Payment In Lieu of Taxes Agreement

We have placed the entire Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement online as it was given to us by the New Hartford Town Clerk. The town clerk said she received it from the Town Attorney, Gerald Green. You may read and/or download the PILOT agreement here.

Hartford Insurance Job Guaranty Questionable...

Concerned Citizens FOILed a copy of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement signed by The Hartford, Ryan Companies and Oneida County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA). After first being told that none exists, and our having to file a FOIL appeal, Attorney Green managed to get one for us.

As part of the PILOT, the Hartford had to sign the Guaranty, Job Creation, Job Retention and Recapture Agreement. Here is a pdf copy of the entire signed Guaranty, Job Creation, Job Retention and Recapture Agreement. Below are excerpts from that agreement.

According to page 2 of the agreement, section 1 (c) is interesting:

The providing of the Facility by the AGENCY and the leasing thereof by the AGENCY to RYAN and by RYAN to HARTFORD will not (except for HARTFORD's relocation within the Town of New Hartford, New York) result in the removal of a plant facility or other commercial activity of Hartford from one area of the State to another area of the State nor result in the abandonment of one or more plants or facilities of HARTFORD located within the State.

Isn't that a contradictory statement? Will not, except for...

Here is General Municipal Law Title 1 of Article 18 A § 862 (the law referred to on page 1 of the agreement, the first WHEREAS):

Restrictions on funds of the agency. 1. No financial assistance of the agency shall be used in respect of any project if the completion thereof would result in the removal of a facility or plant of the project occupant from one area of the state to another area of the state or in the abandonment of one or more plants or facilities of the project occupant located within the state, provided, however, that neither restriction shall apply if the agency shall determine on the basis of the application before it that the project is reasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant from removing such other plant or facility to a location outside the state or is reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of the project occupant in its respective industry.

So if they were just going to move from New Hartford to Rome, they wouldn't have been eligible for a PILOT? Or is "an area" defined as moving from one county to another. Does that except clause make it o.k. to move from one building in town to another building about 1 mile away leaving building #1 vacant? Did The Hartford "threaten" to leave the state?

On page 3, section 5:

Lease Guaranty...HARTFORD's Obligations to the AGENCY shall not commence until the Commencement Date (as defined in Section 2(a) of the Sublease) and shall terminate at the end of the tenth (10th) Lease Year...

So after Year 10, the Hartford is free to leave the area? But the PILOT agreement is for 15 years.

On page 4, section 6: Job Creation and Retention Obligations

The initial ten (10) Lease Years of the term of the Sublease shall hereinafter be known as the "Employment Obligation Term". Hartford's Employment Obligation shall mean that, with respect to each of the first (1st) five (5) Lease Years of the Employment Obligation Term, Hartford agrees to retain 600 full-time employees; and with respect to each of the last five (5) Lease Years of the Employment Obligation Term, Hartford agrees to retain 500 full-time employees. From and after the expiration of the Employment Obligation Term, Hartford shall have no further obligation with respect to the Employment Obligation and shall not be liable for any of the remedies specified in Section 8 of this Agreement below. (Section 8 refers to the remedies in the event of a default)

Huh? What about the 690 jobs...you mean that they aren't able to guarantee those jobs for at least the first 5 years? And only a guarantee of 500 jobs years 5-10? Our school, town and county taxes are proposed to be used to fund this project for at least the next 15 years and The Hartford can't guarantee to at least keep the same level of employment that they presently have and after year 10 they can cut the workforce in half...no problem?

Why are they really moving...shouldn't we be seeing an upward trend in employment guaranty instead of a downward trend? Why did they need a larger building, was it an excuse given to circumvent General Municipal Law Article 18A? Isn't that what we have been told...they need more room to accommodate a growing workforce? Why do you need more room if you can't guarantee to keep the same number of people employed?

Bottom of page 4 to top of page 3: Job Creation and Retention Obligations

For purposes of determining the total full-time employees that are applicable to the Employment Obligation, a full-time employee ("FTE") shall mean one that has a minimum of thirty (30) standard scheduled hours per week and whose workplace location is the Facility.

Question is, how many people only work 30 hours a week vs. a 40 hour work week? What did they say the average salary was?

This whole deal smells. There are other parts of the PILOT agreement that we will post tomorrow. In the meantime, don't miss Fault Lines; Strikeslip has an interesting revelation!

The Letter of Credit guy...

At the September 4, 2008 "emergency meeting" at the Dept. of Transportation, Dan Gilligan, Director of Economic Development in the Town of New Hartford, had quite a lot to say.

In particular, Dan tried to convince Mr. Wiatr of Concerned Citizens and the other attendees that the developer, Larry Adler, was taking on quite a bit of the risk for the New Hartford Business Park. According to Dan Gilligan, Larry Adler has provided the town with a Letter of Credit, i.e. Mr. Adler has agreed in writing to be a guarantor of the bond.

Listen to the excerpt from the meeting...Dan Gilligan states that "the developer makes whole any payments...if there is a shortfall, the developer...he is the Letter of Credit guy who makes up the difference". The first speaker is Mr. Wiatr and then Dan Gilligan gives his reply.

Mr. Gilligan sounds convincing doesn't he? Considering that Mr. Larry Adler, the Letter of Credit guy, was at the meeting and said nothing should convince even Concerned Citizens that the Letter of Credit has been signed, sealed and delivered. Right?

Concerned Citizens wasn't convinced...we sent a FOIL to the town clerk asking for a copy of the Letter of Credit. The Town Clerk replied:

The Highway Superintendent, Town Planner, Planning Board Secretary and Bookkeeper have responded that they do not have the referenced Letter of Credit. You refer to Town Board minutes referencing that the Letter of Credit will be revised and accepted by Bond Counsel, so perhaps this hasn't been done yet. Your request is denied because, as of today, the Letter of Credit does not exist as a Town record.

Gail Wolanin Young

Maybe the Director of Economic Development still has the letter. How 'bout it Mr. Gilligan? Do you have that Letter of Credit or was it returned...

Why would Dan Gilligan think there was a Letter of Credit, more importantly why would Town Supervisor Earle Reed and Deputy Supervisor Dave Reynolds, who were both in attendance at the meeting, not correct Mr. Gilligan? Don't they want the public to know the truth or are they not even sure of the truth at this point? How can anyone believe anything they say when it is so easy to verify that their baloney is false and yet they still keep blowing smoke?

Still not completely convinced, Concerned Citizens asked for a certification as to the validity of the information we received in answer to our FOIL for the Letter of Credit. FOI Law allows for a certification just to be sure that what you get is what you think you got.

Sure enough, Town Supervisor Reed was willing to certify that there is no Letter of Credit...at least not at this point.

So let's see where we stand at this point. There are no signed PILOT allocation agreements...only the actual PILOT agreement signed by The Hartford, Ryan Companies and Oneida County Industrial Development. There is a $2.9 million bond anticipation note that has already been approved by the town board and over $1 million of that has already been bid out...we don't know, who do you think is on the hook for that bond at this point?

And Mr. Gilligan has the audacity to tell Mr. Wiatr that what Mr. Wiatr is saying is not all true...give us a line of credit!

Wait...it gets better...Stay tuned!

p.s. If you haven't already listened to the entire audiotape of the "emergency meeting", please click here!

Two Public Hearings...

on the agenda for tonight's Town Board meeting.

First, is a proposed stormwater drainage district for Longworth Acres, primarily owned by William Virkler and Richard C. Wilson. This agreement would have the Town of New Hartford responsible for all stormwater maintenance within the district with the cost of said maintenance being borne by the property owners within the district in the form of a Special District tax.

Second, is a NO PARKING FROM HERE TO CORNER sign that is to be placed on the west side of Oneida Street. The problem is that the legal notice is ambiguous and does not fully explain just where the sign is to be placed and no one on the town board or the Police Chief had anything to offer to clarify where the sign might be located.

We sent a FOIL request to the Town Clerk to try to clarify where this might be located:

I would like to FOIL from all town board members (to include the Town Supervisor), the Town Highway Superintendent and the Police Chief any correspondence, emails, phone records, or anything that exists regarding the need for NO PARKING signs on the west side of Oneida Street in reference to the need for Local Law Introductory "D" of 2008 to amend the Code of the Town of New Hartford, Chapter 113 entitled VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC by adding a portion of Oneida Street to Section 113-45. Schedule XI: Parking Prohibited at All Times.

The response from the town clerk: The Police Chief, the Highway Superintendent and Board members have no records.

Amazing, the town board is considering the creation of a town law and there is nothing on record to substantiate the need.

The legal notice says "from the pole in front of 3871 Oneida Street to the corner of the northerly edge of the entrance driveway into Garden Homes Mobile Home Park". However, no mention is made as to which driveway they are talking about. There are two entrances to the park and both entrances would have a northerly edge. Depending on what driveway they are talking about, different properties are involved. The town clerk said she was unaware that there were two entrances.

The town says they meant the NORTH driveway which would be the first driveway as you are heading South; there is a big difference between the NORTH driveway and the northerly edge of a driveway when there are two (2) entrances.

Since in this instance the legal notice is the only notification for those that might be affected by the new law, it should be very specific. No notices are sent to the affected residents as would be the case of a zoning change. The fact that the Town Board, Police Chief and the Highway Superintendent were unable or unwilling to give any specifics regarding the need for this law is unbelievable! Proposing this law was done like everything else done by this town board...in haste and without thought!

Town Board Meeting tomorrow...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 is the next town board meeting.

On the agenda are two (2) public hearings. We will blog more on that later today.

Also on the agenda, N. Joseph Yagey, former chair of the Planning Board, will be giving on update on the new Town Offices and Sedgwick Stormwater Improvements.

A lot going on at this meeting. Here is the agenda!

Oh, by the way...not on the agenda, but to be discussed at this town board meeting is the FOIL appeal that was submitted by Cathy Lawrence on behalf of Concerned Citizens. Seems there are some discrepancies as to whether or not there are any signed agreements for the New Hartford Business Park. Our FOIL request for any and all signed agreements was denied because we were told that "none exist". However, at the "emergency meeting" some people at the table seemed to think they do indeed exist. Concerned Citizens has asked to have a certification from Supervisor Reed (which according to the Freedom of Information Law we are entitled to ask for) that no such agreements exist or for him to produce the signed agreements. Will Town Supervisor Reed swear to the fact that no signed agreements exist?

Stay tuned...

Open wide and say Ahh...

This won't hurt a bit...

New Hartford Director of Economic Development Dan Gilligan, several elected officials, NHCS Superintendent Dan Gilligan, Mark Nordland of Ryan Companies and Larry Adler gathered for an "emergency meeting" at the Dept. of Transportation Conference Room on September 4, 2008. Cathy Lawrence and Ed Wiatr from Concerned Citizens also attended the meeting and audio-recorded it so everyone could hear the discussion.The message from NHCS Superintendent Dan Gilligan, or was it Director of Economic Development Dan Gilligan..hmmm...anyway, he said this will not cost you a dime...your school, county and town tax dollars will pay to build the 4 new roads for a private developer in the New Hartford Business Park and the 840 intersection...and the Woods Highway improvements...and...and...

Don't worry though, it's only for the next 15 years. Larry Adler also assured everyone that he is a stakeholder...he owns a lot of land that he will be paying taxes on. (Course, those taxes will be going to build those improvements for his own land.) It sort of equates to a taxpayer using their town, school and county taxes over the next fifteen years to fix up their own home.

Listen to them do the two-step when Concerned Citizens asks them if there are any signed agreements.

Concerned Citizens also asked "if everything is such a go, how come the Tax Increment Financing agreement isn't signed yet?

Of course, Dan Gilligan, Director of Economic Development for the Town of New Hartford, had the answer...he said that it is because the dollar amounts keep changing...we first have to know the borrowing amount... Hmmm, the town has already approved a $2.9 Bond Anticipation Note and now they are talking another $3 million for the intersection...

Like we said people, open wide...

Ahh...to be a politician...they make it all sound so "wonderful", don't they?

We encourage you to listen to the audio-recording. There is so much double-talk that not only Town of New Hartford residents should be outraged, every resident in Oneida County should be screaming!

For clarification:

Mark Nordland represents Ryan Companies, the owner of The Hartford building. The Hartford will be leasing the building from Ryan Companies.

Larry Adler, Cameron, LLC is the developer of the Business Park and owns the land.

You, dear friends, are the bank that will fund this development.

840 Intersection...

We couldn't have said it any better than Strikeslip at Fault Lines.

Obviously Dan Gilligan, retiring Superintendent of New Hartford Central School is revving up for a new position after he retires from the District...Director of Economic Development in the Town of New Hartford. Then there's Town Supervisor Earle Reed, who today announced that he will be running for a second term because he has so many unfinished projects...God help us!

We also agree with Strikeslip that if The Hartford is pulling out of New Hartford just because the intersection that has been deemed to be unsafe is not built; than so be it. Perhaps instead of rushing this project through before any of the taxpayers in New Hartford had a chance to find out what was happening, they should have taken their time and involved the public.

Strikeslip you said it well...disgusted is the first thing that comes to our mind as well.

CNY Snakepit has more over here.

Town of New Hartford Court...

At the August 13, 2008 Town Board Meeting Resolution No. 203 of 2008 was unanimously passed to approve the submission of the JCAP application and authorizing the Town Justice and Town Supervisor Earle Reed to sign said JCAP application. JCAP stands for Justice Court Assistance Program. This program was established by the Legislature to provide a means by which towns and villages may obtain limited State funding (up to $30,000) to improve operation of their Justice Courts.

Curious as to what was on the application submitted by the town, Concerned Citizens FOILed a copy.

According to the August 28, 2008 Observer Dispatch article:

As the town’s regional popularity as a retail center has grown, so have the number of people who show up in traffic and criminal court, said William Virkler, who’s been a town justice for nine years. The confined space has led to a number of issues, including obsolete prisoner security, privacy issues with lawyers and their clients and long lines on court nights that stretch into the parking lot.

Town residents are being asked to support the purchase of a building for $850,000 plus the additional costs for renovations and furniture (actually they may not be asked but rather told because we have heard that the town board with the help of Town Justice Virkler is looking for ways to make their dream of a new court hourse a reality by once again taking the vote away from the people). The $30,000 grant is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money that will be spent.

The part that really stands out when you look at the Summary Reports (last 3 pages of the application) is that according to the JCAP application, the majority of the court cases in the Town of New Hartford are Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) cases; i.e., traffic tickets! See for yourself...here is the JCAP application.

For more on the proposed court/town offices, see our June 23, 2008 and our August 31, 2008 blog.