JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUIT OVER LP MUSEUM

An Essex County judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the planned Lake Placid branch of the Adirondack Museum.

In a decision signed Thursday, Judge James Dawson rejected a lawsuit brought by a neighbor who claimed the museum’s 64-foot tower violated the community’s architectural code.

Tom West, an Albany-based environmental attorney who has a seasonal residence on Hillcrest Avenue behind the museum site, argued that the Lake Placid-North Elba Joint Review Board failed to follow its own architectural guidelines and that the project would block his view of Mirror Lake.

But the court disagreed. Judge Dawson wrote that all of the lawsuit’s contentions are without merit, and dismissed the lawsuit.

North Elba Town Attorney Ron Briggs said that the court’s decision affirms the diligence of the community’s joint review board, which spent eight months reviewing the project.  “I’m very pleased but not completely surprised because I think they did to an outstanding job with the record before them,” he said.

West said he plans to file an appeal of Judge Dawson’s ruling.  “We have great respect for Judge Dawson but believe that he placed too much deference with the municipality in terms for them to decide whatever they want in allowing the joint review board to make a decision that doesn’t have to follow the code,” West said. “We think the code means more than that. We think it’s a very clear legal issue that should be heard by the Appellate Division, third department.”

Briggs, the town attorney, said he’s not worried. “You never know what happens in litigation,” Briggs said. “But I’m confident that the Appellate Division will affirm Judge Dawson’s decision.”

Tom West has also filed suit against the Adirondack Park Agency, which approved the project in January. That suit, which is not related to West’s lawsuit against the town, is still moving ahead.

The Adirondack Museum plans an $8 million, 8,200-square-foot museum on Lake Placid’s Main Street. It would replace the Church of the Nazarene. Museum planners have said they hope to open in 2010.

-Jacob Resneck

STILL NO RAIL FUNDING FOR TUPPER LAKE EXPANSION

The state Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn has announced $20 million in rail funding for 15 projects statewide.

Virtually all of the money had been part of a larger $60 million rail funding initiative announced by Gov. George Pataki in December of 2006.

But Monday’s announcement made no mention of the $5 million that Pataki promised to upgrade 26 miles of track between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. That would extend the Adirondack Scenic Railroad’s northern service, which runs seasonal trains between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

DOT spokesman Skip Carrier said his agency will be accepting applications next month for another round of funding.

“We’re looking for applications, particularly the Adirondack Scenic Railway,” said Carrier. “We just need a stronger case for the expansion of their operating territory. But they are certainly encouraged to apply. And like I say, the applications will be available in the middle part of May.”

Dan McClelland is chairman of Next Stop, Tupper Lake! – a grassroots coalition that’s rebuilding Tupper Lake’s train station.  He said they aren’t discouraged.

“It’s kind of good news and bad news for us. The bad news is that we already had the funding. It was promised to us by Gov. Pataki and then all the sudden it disappeared,” McClelland said. “The good news is we have another opportunity to get what we’ve lost. So we sort of have mixed feelings about the thing. We do intend to apply for it because we think it’s very important for our community to be able to connect to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.”

State Sen. Betty Little will be meeting with Transportation Department officials to discuss the status of the project, said Dan Mac Entee, the Senator’s spokesman.  “We certainly are disappointed not to see this project come through, this project has been in the works for several years now,” said Mac Entee “We were hoping with the previous Gov. Pataki’s announcement of $5 million we would see some funding come into this project.”

Other highlights of the $20 million announced Monday by DOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn includes $5 million for continued Amtrak passenger service from Rouses Point to Saratoga Springs. In the southeastern Adirondacks, the Town of Corinth will receive $1 million for track improvements to 16 miles of track that runs from North Creek to Saratoga Springs.

Corinth Town Supervisor Dick Lucia said the town worked with Warren County to purchase a stretch of track slated for abandonment by Canadian Pacific after International Paper shut down its paper mill in Corinth back in 2001.  

“We needed that to keep our options open for future development,” said Lucia. “And then with the idea of the scenic train, you’ll be able to go from North Creek to Saratoga. And then from Saratoga any place in the world because you get onto the Amtrak down there.”

Cliff Welz, operations manager, for the Upper Hudson River Railroad which runs excursion trains out of North Creek, said the railroad will look at extending its service from North Creek through Corinth and on down to Saratoga Springs. “I see that expansion, I honestly don’t see it within this year,” Welz said. “But it could very well happen next year.”

The DOT is also releasing nearly one and a half million dollars in funding to the Mohawk Adirondack & Northern Railroad for track rehabilitation in the Mohawk Valley and Lyons Falls in Lewis County.

-Jacob Resneck

SL VILLAGE BUDGET APPROVED, SPENDING UP 3.5 PERCENT

After trimming the proposed spending increase to 3.5 percent, a majority of the Saranac Lake Village Board approved the proposed village budget for the next fiscal year on Monday night.

Mayor Tom Michael and Trustees Susan Waters and Christy Fontana were in favor with Trustees John McEneany and Jeff Branch opposed.

The tentative budget, when it was filed last month, contained a general fund spending increase of 7.5 percent. 

Michael said the 3.5 percent increase in appropriations in the final version of the budget is the second lowest increase in the last 15 years. 

“I think it’s a good budget,” Michael said, crediting the rest of the board, Village Manager Marty Murphy and village department heads for their work.  “It is important for this board right now, in particular with a new village manager, that we make sure the priorities of water, sewer and having a safe community are addressed,” Michael said.

The mayor, however, said the budget needs to be more understandable for the community.  “The process is not consumer friendly,” he said.

Trustee Jeff Branch was torn about whether to approve the budget or reject it.  “I’m happy because we had work sessions and came together,” he said.  “We made a lot of progress and that’s encouraging to me.”

But Branch said he was concerned about new positions in the budget and called for a hiring freeze.  He said the village doesn’t need a human resource’s consulting firm and a $15,000 manager for Mt. Pisgah.  “It’s time to start to looking at these things and make due with what we have,” he said.

Trustee Susan Waters said the manager for the ski center was an investment, not just a cost.  “Mt. Pisgah has been one of our big deficit budget items,” she said.  “I think if we improved Mt. Pisgah, use it year round and promote it that we can come closer to a break even and enhance the mountain for our community.”

The adopted budget for 2008-2009 will increase the tax rate for village residents in the Town of Harrietstown by 2.53 percent.  That means the owner of a $140,000 home will pay $40 more in taxes. 

Village residents in North Elba and St. Armand will see decreases of 8.9 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.  The owner of a $140,000 home would see their taxes drop by $140 in North Elba and $82 in St. Armand.

The board was able to reduce the increase in the water budget to 3.14 percent while the sewer budget was cut back to a 1.88 percent increase.

Among other spending, the board increased funding for a pair of youth programs, but not as much as they requested.

The Saranac Lake Youth Center saw a $2000 increase – they were seeking $7000 more from the village.  The Summer Youth Program had asked for a $2500 hike in funding but will only get a $1000 increase.

-Chris Knight

BOARD CONSIDERS RESTRICTIONS ON WOOD BOILERS

Prompted by concerns raised by a village resident, the Saranac Lake Village Board is considering banning or restricting the use of outdoor wood boilers.

Benjamin Kline of McClelland Street sent the village a letter, requesting the board look into the issue.  He also attended last night’s village board meeting.

He said his neighbor got a permit and installed an outdoor wood boiler seven months ago.

“For the past 7 months, we’ve had to endure a lingering haze of smoke that results from burning green wood and possibly household garbage,” he wrote.  “For the sake of our health, happiness and property values, please consider a ban similar to other towns and villages in New York State.”

Outdoor wood boilers are basically year-round wood-fired water heaters that are located outdoors or are separated from the space being heated. The fires in the large fire boxes heat water that is circulated into the home through underground pipes.

Most come with short smokestacks that disperse poorly and can cause dense smoke that impacts neighbors.

Mayor Tom Michael said many communities the size of Saranac Lake have considered banning or restricting outdoor wood boilers.

Although he acknowledged the health issues, Trustee Jeff Branch said he wouldn’t support banning wood boilers outright but would be willing to look at setback or stack height regulations. 

“People need to have some sort of avenue to offset their heating costs, especially with fuel oil going to four dollars a gallon,” Branch said.  “I’d personally like to explore regulations rather than banning them.”

Trustee Susan Waters cited a 2005 report by the state Attorney General’s Environment Protection Bureau, which found outdoor wood boilers have low heating efficiency and pump out a lot of emissions.

Even when used properly, the report states, wood boilers emit 1000 times more particulate matter than oil furnaces and 1800 times more particulate matter than gas furnaces, per hour.

Kline noted that the outdoor wood boiler industry itself recommends setbacks of at least 100 feet from a neighbor’s property – a distance that may not be possible in most densely packed village neighborhoods.  “I understand completely the desire to offset fuel oil costs,” he said.  “But the industry says in dense areas like the village, they may not be the best option.”

Asked if DEC would have jurisdiction, Kline said only if someone’s caught burning garbage – something he suspects his neighbor’s been doing.

“The industry says it’s not an incinerator,” Kline said.  “Its there to burn dry wood.”

Mayor Tom Michael asked Village Manager Marty Murphy to look at both options – banning the furnaces outright or setting up specific regulations on their use – so the board can make a decision.

Trustee Branch suggested they consider a temporary moratorium to give the board time to study the issue.  “My fear is that if there are those out there considering doing it, in the next three to four weeks while we’re discussing it there’s going to be 100 boilers put up,” he said.

Marty Murphy noted they have one new application pending.

Village attorney Charles Knoth agreed to draft a proposed moratorium in the next few days.  Following a public hearing at the next village board meeting, the moratorium could be enacted.

-Chris Knight

84 YEAR OLD MAN SURVIVES NIGHT IN THE WOODS

An elderly man spent an unplanned night in the woods and was rescued after an extensive search by DEC forest rangers, police, local firefighters and volunteers.

The incident was one of two searches forest rangers were involved in Friday night.

DEC spokesman David Winchell says dispatchers in Ray Brook received a call on Friday around 7:50 p.m. from State Police in Malone seeking assistance in locating 84 year-old Edwin Brown of Quebec.

Brown was reportedly overdue from cutting wood on land he owned in the Town of Malone.  When he hadn't returned in the evening, family, friends and neighbors searched unsuccessfully for him.

Four DEC Forest Rangers were dispatched and searched the woods throughout the night.  In the morning, a command post was set up at the Malone Volunteer Fire Department and additional resources were put into the search effort. 

Members of the fire department, volunteers from Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks (SARNAK), eight additional forest rangers and a helicopter from the State Police Aviation Unit were involved in the search

Just after 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, Brown was spotted by a forest ranger in the helicopter. A second forest ranger was lowered and Brown was hoisted into the helicopter. 

Winchell says he was weak and tired but otherwise alright.  He was taken by ambulance to Alice Hyde Medical Center for further evaluation. 

Brown told his rescuers that after cutting a load of wood he went to locate an axe he had lost in autumn 2007.  He found the axe but then lost his way back.

Meanwhile, DEC forest rangers were involved in a separate search on Friday night near Whiteface Mountain in the Town of Wilmington.

Around 5:30 p.m. a dispatcher took a call from 911 reporting three hikers in distress on Whiteface Mountain. 

20 year-old Tristan McDonald of Moira, along with 20 year-old Sara Delabruere and 19 year-old Craig Luther, both of Saranac Lake, had set out late in the morning from the Reservoir Road trailhead. 

They were each carrying a daypack with food, water and a cell phone and were wearing shorts and sneakers.  Approximately 2 hours into the trip, DEC says they encountered deep snow, but continued on, often “postholing” into the snow.  Near the Esther Mountain trail junction they estimated over four feet of snow. 

Cold, wet, and tired the group called 911 at approximately 5:15 p.m.  A DEC Forest Ranger contacted the group by cell phone and advise them to continue up the trail to where it meets the Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway. 

The forest ranger hiked down from the highway, met the group on the trail, and assisted them back the highway.  They were then driven back to their vehicle at approximately 9:30 p.m. 

DEC is advising hikers that there is still plenty of snow in the higher elevations.  More information on backcountry preparedness is available on the DEC website: www.dec.ny.gov

-Chris Knight

POLICE REPORT

Tupper Lake-based State Police arrested a Tupper Lake woman Friday afternoon.  42 year-old Heidi Coventry was charged with aggravated harassment for allegedly making a series of threatening phone calls to another person.  She was processed and released to reappear in Town of Tupper Lake Court on April 30.

Saranac Lake Police charged a 15 year-old from Bloomingdale with petit larceny at 2:55 p.m. Monday.  Police say he was arrested following an investigation into a report of a larceny from a local merchant.  The teenager was processed at the Saranac Lake police station and released to the custody of his parents.  The case will be forwarded to the Franklin County Probation Department.