Lobby Time

And so it begins. This effort by the Town of Colonie described in the Spotlight (http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tR1237405800t49c15068b2f13 ) is exactly the type of pro-active approach I advocated in my post, Infrastructure http://rotterdamny.blogspot.com/2009/02/infrastructure.html , last month. If you want/expect the money, then you’d better demonstrate the need for it before it’s all spoken for. I’d make this a priority task of our newly appointed Economic Development Specialist.

Infrastructure

Forget for a moment how you personally feel about the federal stimulus funds that will soon flow. The fact of the matter is that they are going to flow…like it or not. Interestingly, even the politicians that railed against passage of the stimulus are among the first taking credit for “securing “ funds for this or that, or first in line with their hand out for a piece of NY’s action.

I am pleased that significant money will be spent on infrastructure. I have been and remain an advocate for building or re-building infrastructure. Ours is generally crumbling, if it exists at all. In my opinion, this money will be money well spent. We are far behind the curve in keeping our once envious infrastructure updated and properly maintained.

I plan on doing some serious lobbying to those that control the purse strings. I wonder if our local elected officials will be doing the same. The excuse in the past has always been the lack of federal money and now, lo and behold, there’s some on the horizon. I hope we go get some. It is after all, our tax dollars too.

There are conditions attached to securing the funds and I must admit I haven’t yet explored all the criteria that need to be met. However, my understanding is that most will be directed at projects that are ready to go. We need to ensure that the criteria also include a measure of necessity, economic potential, and being worthwhile beyond just being “ready to go.” So what looks shovel-ready in Rotterdam? Hamburg Street comes to mind. Revamping that stretch could have economic bang for the buck. The Junction water tower? I don’t know if that would qualify or not but I hope somebody checks. Masullo Estates roads and drainage? I can only hope. A new sewage treatment plant? Leveraging rail improvements to spark initiatives similar to RailEx? The list could be endless, but certainly the money won't be. Meeting the criteria and lobbying hard…harder than ever before…will be key.

Why is Rotterdam so special? We just completed 3 CDTC planning studies and are theoretically poised to implement the suggestions. Our town has 3 major interchanges and infrastructure improvements should lead to economic development opportunities. This is a window we can’t afford to miss trying to climb through.

Living in Masullo Estates

I have been a happy resident of Masullo Estates for 16 years. Despite the delays of procuring infrastructure improvements that I have experienced as NAG Chairman over the last 4 years, I am still happy. Really, no joke.

I’ve said it all along but it bears repeating since Masullo Estates has become the poster child for certain infrastructure deficiencies that in fact, are prevalent throughout most of the Town of Rotterdam. I was actually interviewed a few years back for the Times Union Neighborhood series when they profiled our neighborhood. I’d like to make it crystal clear to anyone who may believe otherwise – Masullo Estates is a fantastic neighborhood to live!

Masullo Estates is comprised of 90 homes built in what amounts to one giant cul de sac. It is an extremely quiet and peaceful neighborhood inhabited by many friendly people. The roads, though needing repaving, are much wider than most you find throughout town. This makes it especially nice to take a walk or ride your bike without interference or feeling unsafe even though car traffic is typically light.

Mounting negative perceptions of our neighborhood have unfortunately arisen out of our vocal efforts to make a great neighborhood even better. Whether or not we ever achieve what we seek, I will continue to enjoy living here – and will defend it as still one of the premier neighborhoods in which to live in the Town of Rotterdam.

Capacity

The Town of Rotterdam finally acknowledged that the sewage treatment plant needs an upgrade. Project after project has gotten approval on the misleading supposition that there is plenty of capacity at the treatment plant, but Justin Mason’s article in the Gazette on August 16th (http://dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/16/0816_rottsewage/) plainly makes clear the case I’ve been making for some time. The plant is maxed out.

Add up the reported numbers. The plant receives 1.1 million gallons against a total capacity of 1.5 million gallons daily. That leaves 400,000 gallons to play with. But when the Helderberg Meadows project, which required sewers as a condition of approval is built, that will generate an anticipated 150,000 gallons daily, leaving 250,000. Also, if the dry sewers in Eldorado Estates are connected, a logical connection considering the sewer pipe is existent, that would eat up roughly 200,000 of the leftover capacity.

Cause for alarm? Depends on your viewpoint, for sure. The town thinks they are being proactive by commencing a study to examine energy costs as they contemplate adding capacity. As far as that goes, fine. My concern lies in the fact that meaningful sewage treatment upgrades can be multi-million dollar projects. The level of concern rises when you try to reconcile that with the town’s record of inaction after conducting these studies and their unbridled approval of new development.

Not convinced? Consider the additional 300,000 gallons that a Burdeck Street / Route 7 sewer line is estimated to generate, not to mention the combined load of all the other smaller unmentioned approved development that takes place in town. This is an issue we should all be paying close attention to.

Once again, I think it bears noting that a town-wide moratorium would be a good tool to aid the commendable effort now being made to finally address this matter. Lowering energy costs and doing it right is good. Study is good, but only if what we learn is implemented in a timely fashion. A moratorium would reflect a responsible approach to what is shaping up to be a very sizable problem.

Shell Game

I still have a few lingering questions related to the recently defeated sewer vote in Masullo Estates. Though sewers were soundly rejected by residents, my eyebrows went up when I noticed that an item on the Town Board agenda following the defeat concerned a resolution to approve the required sewer district extension for Helderberg Meadows. I found that odd since Masullo Estates was essentially voting on tying into that nonexistent sewer line. Shouldn’t that line have been established before our vote? Moot now, but procedurally it seems out of order, especially when the Town has gone to great lengths to continually assure us that our destinies were not dependent or intertwined.

I’m also perplexed regarding the swath of land that the Town claimed to have all locked up as far back as November 2007. They voted to spend an additional $40,500 to study this land (that they apparently still don’t own) for drainage relief. (Incidentally, that brings the total to $73,500 without a shovel in the ground.) No results of this study have been forthcoming and now the engineer says the Town has to consummate the sale before he can provide estimates. Excuse me, but what was the $40,500 for then? I suspect that the land deal has been lingering because it was contingent on the Town getting sewers approved. Why else would this sale be delayed for so long when the Town has said how vigorous their pursuit of drainage relief is?

Lately, the Town has begun to spin a new thread that incorporates our relief with the relief planned in other neighborhoods. That’s a little strange and the first we’ve heard that strategy since our effort was supposed to serve as the model for the other neighborhoods. Sounds like a recipe for more delay.

I’m no conspiracy nut, but I do remember being told that the consideration of sewers would in no way delay or impact the planned drainage and road repair. This October will mark 4 years of recent effort and unfulfilled promises. Oh yeah…drainage and road repair is now delayed until next year…again.

Indecision

The consequences of waiting, or studying too much, or simply taking too long to act decisively are always certain and mostly undesirable and unexpected. The latest casualty to befall the Town of Rotterdam is the announcement that the bike path connection to Montgomery County won’t be completed anytime soon.

That’s unfortunate but not all that surprising given the state of financial affairs in the State of NY presently. I think we’d all agree that there are probably more pressing infrastructure needs that have to be addressed before the bike path. But it’s an illustration of the cost of delaying initiatives. Things change…and that’s not always a good thing.

The recent CDTC Study just completed for Exit 26 examined many bike path elements that ultimately could’ve been vital to other considerations in the area. That could have far-reaching adverse affects on these other plans. See how delay can quickly unravel the best laid plans?

The Town Board of Rotterdam needs to begin acting more swiftly. No one is saying they should be fool-hardy or less than diligent while performing due diligence on matters but too much study can leave everyone pondering what-might-have-been.

Down The Drain

Tonight was the mandatory sewer referendum to extend Sewer District 2 into Masullo Estates. Mandatory only because residents of the subdivision petitioned to have their say after the Town Board surreptitiously attempted to subvert that vote and determine the issue themselves. I’m sure the Town Board was not pleased that the affected residents thwarted the plans to ram-rod the extension through.

From the outset, the 3 ½ year old Neighborhood Action Group (NAG) efforts to secure road reconstruction and drainage relief has been subverted by efforts to have Masullo Estates residents subsidize development of Helderberg Meadows, a nearby approved subdivision that was opposed. That was adding insult to injury as each year saw increasing conflicts of interest and non-productive engineering studies to the tune of $73,500. The consideration of the sewer extension was flawed from the beginning with the Town botching a hand delivered non-binding postcard survey for interest in sewer cost estimates. The Town then spun lackluster survey response into a mysteriously binding result. All the while, planned drainage and road work were held hostage to the sewer vote outcome. (It’s no coincidence that tomorrow’s Town Board meeting agenda has a resolution advancing sewers in Helderberg Meadows.)

I’m happy to report that the prospect of sewers in Masullo Estates has gone down the drain tonight. It met resounding defeat as expected by most residents. It simply was a bad plan they pitched. With that prospect now vanished, it will be especially interesting to see if the Town will expeditiously proceed with the promised road and drainage work or if they will continue to manufacture excuses to avoid remedying this long-acknowledged decades-old problem.

While I was Sick

While I was ill (which is one reason I haven’t posted in a while), two Daily Gazette news articles caught my attention. The first was “Owners ordered to fix septic system / Sewage bubbled from ground at truck stop” by reporter Justin Mason on April 2nd. This was especially interesting because the McLane’s distribution facility is directly across the street and will also be served by a septic system. Resident concerns about McLane’s aired recently during the Princetown hearings begin to be viewed in a different context altogether and hopefully, will be factored into future decision-making.

The second article, “Residents say Route 7 is due for an upgrade /
DOT spokesman says studies show little need to change road” by Mr. Mason also, amplified that infrastructure in that area is increasingly becoming substandard to support existing demands let alone anticipated development.. The I-88 exchange is poised for development and undoubtedly will affect future traffic flows all the way through the 5 Corners intersection. It is naïve to think otherwise and irresponsible not to address the inadequacies beforehand.

DOT spokesman, Peter Van Keuren, aptly sums up the situation though the intent of his quote runs contrary to the point I make here. He is quoted, “some of the issues may end up being the price the area will have to pay for economic development. It’s kind of a Catch -22.”

Everything in Rotterdam when it comes to development seems to be a Catch-22. That’s because we don’t have a proper Comp Plan and we can’t as a community seem to see past the immediate dollar sign. Let’s face it; development of some kind will occur in and along that corridor. Believing otherwise is equally as naïve as believing that the current infrastructure is adequate to advance that development.

It doesn’t have to be a Catch-22. And if economic development comes at a “price” that destroys QOL, then there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of sense behind achieving the development anyway, does there?

For those that don’t accept the simple argument above, why not turn the Catch-22 inside-out? Instead of saying, “some of the issues may end up being the price the area will have to pay for economic development” we can state, “some of the potential for economic development may have to be curtailed until adequate infrastructure can be built.” Better still, actually build the infrastructure first. In all likelihood, the result is an eventual lower “price” that we can all live with comfortably.

The Road Traveled

It’s been a long arduous journey in the quest for drainage relief for the Masullo Estates subdivision. I’m reminded of this simple fact every time I take my dog for a walk and witness my neighbor’s sump pumps pumping furiously. I’m reminded again every time I leave for work and try unsuccessfully to navigate the ever-increasing number of potholes that unmercifully take their toll on my vehicle. And of course, I’m reminded every successive Spring that arrives without the associated previously promised relief. It’s frustrating.

With Spring once again approaching, I wonder if 2008 will be any different than the Spring of 2007, 2006, or 2005. The Town Board has been spending increasing amounts of money studying the potential fix. That’s good…and bad. Good because we hope we’re getting closer to actual relief. Bad because there still hasn’t been a shovel put in the ground to provide it. All the while, our roads continue to deteriorate. The logic is circular. We can’t fix the roads until we fix the drainage. We can’t fix the drainage because we need to study it further. And round and round we go.

To be fair, this administration has probably done the most to address the decades old problem. Unfortunately, they really haven’t done anything yet.

My personal stake is as it has always been. I’d like to see my road paved. It’s that simple for me. But many of my neighbor’s have serious drainage issues. As my knowledge of the problem increased, my outrage led me to believe we could get it fixed. NAG was born October 5, 2004 and its effectiveness has been mixed, as evidenced by the inability to force tangible relief.

http://www.nag12306.org/

At this stage, we’re effectively up against it, as they say. The nearby Helderberg Meadows is virtually approved and their required sewers are likely to become ours too. I fear that sewers will be offered as our drainage relief. It’s the groundwater, stupid. That’s the real problem. And it may get overlooked in the end. Right now, the Town is poised to repeat history with the approval of Helderberg Meadows.

In the end, I hope I at least get a road I can travel.

Sacrifice

It’s time to acknowledge what each of us already knows. Anything of value usually costs money and involves personal sacrifice.

I have been fortunate to earn an exceptional living. Of course, it was borne of my parents’ sacrifices to provide the tools to enable that success. Likewise, despite my better-than-average salary, I live modestly; choosing to invest my resources toward the betterment of my children’s future. As a town, I believe we need to approach matters similarly.

Our current infrastructure is either lacking or deteriorating. That needs to become a priority of our tax dollars. Everyone agrees until the bill arrives and then no one wants to ante up because the benefit will likely be disproportionately enjoyed by those that come after us. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the beast.

So the mindset that prevails is usually one where we look to higher branches of government to provide. That’s flawed…and an approach that simply isn’t going to work as available monies become scarcer for various reasons. We need to take care of ourselves and the best way to do that is through succeeding generations.

Again, it comes back to money. Where is it going to come from? From us, in the form of taxes. But we all know we can’t shoulder any bigger burden. That leaves one option. With resources finite, they must be reallocated. Everyone complains that taxes are too high but complains again when services are reduced. You simply can’t have it both ways despite the “smart growth” rhetoric that has raged for years. Good infrastructure breeds economic development, not the other way around.

It’s going to take time. There won’t be a lot, if any, immediate gratification. In short, it’s going to mean sacrifice. No one likes it but it’s necessary. If we’re methodical, we can build the base we need to thrive.

Since we agree the current tax burden is excessive, we need to begin with reducing it and prioritizing where our tax dollars are utilized. We could debate where best that is for eons but I’d suggest we start by cutting expenditures uniformly 20-30% across the board. Every service feels the pain equally. That alone forces us to do more with less to provide as much as we can and will serve as a means to eliminate the “waste and inefficiency” we’re always hearing about but have a hard time identifying. Just like you and me, the powers will have to ask themselves what they can do without when faced with having less money.

With a proper Comp Plan in place (priority one), we can begin to whittle away at some of what is needed. Some of that involves rectifying (and yes, paying for) problems created by past mistakes. It’s likely to be slow and ugly getting started but I believe it will be worthwhile in the end.