RETAIL DEVELOPER LOOKING TO BUY TL FACTORY SITE

A commercial developer has confirmed his company is negotiating a deal to purchase the Jarden Plastic Solutions plant in Tupper Lake and wants to convert the site into a retail shopping center.

Steve Powers of Albany-based Nigro Companies said they’d like to build a new structure on the property for multiple retail tenants.  “Our primary focus is retail development so we’re looking at a potential retail project here,” he said.  

“I think it’s an opportunity to assist the residents of the immediate Tupper Lake area so they don’t have to travel that far for goods and services that may not be available there presently.  We’d hope to do something that would benefit the whole community.”

Powers declined to say how large of a shopping center they’d like to build on the Demars Boulevard site.  He said his company is working with several potential tenants which he couldn’t name. 

Franklin County Legislator Paul Maroun said Thursday that he’s been told by the county Industrial Development Agency and other sources that one of the tenants would be a large retailer.  “I would think it would be something similar to a Wal-Mart,” he said.  “Like a Wal-Mart or a K-Mart or something like that.”

Tupper Lake Mayor Mickey Desmarais said he spoke with Powers a month ago.  “Steve Powers told me a large retailer was interested and that it was possibly Wal-Mart,” the mayor said.

That prompted the Tupper Lake Village Board to send a letter to Wal-Mart asking the company to consider locating in the community. 

The April 7 letter, signed by Desmarais, says “the news that Wal-Mart Stores is considering a location in our village on which to locate a new store, has been enthusiastically received.”  “We promise, as Mayor and Village Board of Trustees, to do anything that we can to ensure an efficient, timely and successful achievement of your goal.”

Desmarais said they sent the letter “just to get the feelers out.”  He hasn’t heard back from Wal-Mart yet.  “I didn’t expect to get a response this soon because I think a lot of things with the Jarden factory are still up in the air,” he said.  “I don’t want to get mixed up with any contracts that are going on.  We just wanted to let them know that we feel as a village board they’d be welcome here.”

Paul Maroun said a large retailer like Wal-Mart could draw many people to the community.  “I believe it helps businesses in the area, it doesn’t hurt them,” he said.   “If they’re in Tupper, people are going to come from Tupper and other areas.  They’re going to shop at our restaurants and go to our other shops.  I think if it was Wal-Mart I’d support it 100 percent.”

But Wal-Mart, for now, isn’t saying much about its interest in the area.  “We have no announced plans in Tupper Lake,” Wal-Mart spokesman Philip Serghini said Thursday, declining to elaborate. 

Jarden Plastic Solutions announced in March that it would be shutting down the former Oval Wood Dish plant May 18.  Company officials cited foreign competition as the reason for the closure, which affects nearly 70 employees.

Steve Powers says the potential availability of the site came up during discussions with the late Chad Martin, a village trustee and real estate broker for a Plattsburgh-based firm called Commercial Site Services.  “In working with Chad we looked at a number of sites in and around the Tupper Lake area and sort of ended up at Jarden’s doorstep because of the size of the property and the potential availability of it,” Powers said.

Powers said they have been discussing the sale price of the property with Jarden and are hoping the deal can be finalized within the next couple months.  “We’d certainly like to work toward that,” Powers said.

State Senator Betty Little and other politicians had been working with Jarden to try and suggest options to keep the company, and its good paying jobs, in Tupper Lake. 

But Franklin County IDA Director Brad Jackson said those negotiations stopped when Jarden reached an agreement on the selling price of the property.  Jackson, in an email, said that agreement was reached two weeks before the company announced the closure of the plant. “On that date, Jarden’s corporate headquarters ceased any dialog with this office and did not return almost daily inquires by phone,” he said.

Jackson said they’re willing to work with the buyer of the property. “If and when the developer has a project that we can materially assist on, the IDA will assess at that time and assist where it can,” he said.

Whether Nigro Companies is the only potential bidder on the Jarden site couldn’t be confirmed.

A call on Thursday to Jarden Plastic Solutions President Charles Villa Jr. was referred to an outside public relations firm the company has hired. Representatives of that company weren’t immediately able to respond to questions about the potential sale of the property.

-Chris Knight

SL ARMORY UNDER REVIEW FOR POSSIBLE CLOSURE

A New York Army National Guard spokesman says a review is underway to determine whether the armory in Saranac Lake should close.

As part of budget-tightening efforts, New York state is considering mothballing five National Guard armories.

Lt. Colonel Richard Goldenberg, a National Guard spokesman, says the Saranac Lake armory is under consideration because it's located in a small community, it supports a divided military force -- part of Company B of the 2^nd Battalion of the 108th Infantry-- and it supports relatively few soldiers, fewer than two dozen.

If the armory were to close, soldiers would likely muster in Morrisonville, outside of Plattsburgh.

The move would mean the loss of three full-times jobs in Saranac Lake.

“That's where the commander is,” Goldenberg says.  “That's where the trucks are and that's where the weapons are maintained.”

Goldenberg acknowledged that similar questions have been raised in the past about the armory in Ogdensburg.  But he says that facility is not currently under review.

Included on the review list this year are armories in Rome, Batavia, Kingsbridge, and Hoosick Falls, near Saratoga Springs.

Goldenberg says it's not certain that any of these facilities will close.  He acknowledged that there are advantages to keeping all the armories open, in terms of recruiting and retaining citizen soldiers.

“Armory closings do create stress on units,” Goldenberg added.

National Guard units from Saranac Lake are currently deployed to Afghanistan.  They served previously in Iraq.  

The review comes as the state faces a historic budget crunch and Governor David Paterson has ordered all agencies to find ways to reduce their budgets.

ESSEX COUNTY SEX OFFENDER LAW PUT ON HOLD

A law that would put additional restrictions on registered sex offenders in Essex County has been put on hold, while county officials wait to see the outcome of challenges to similar laws in other communities.

Ticonderoga Supervisor Robert Dedrick had originally proposed the measure.  Essex County’s law would bar convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, day-care centers and other places where young people might congregate.

District Attorney Julie Garcia, speaking at this week’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee, said she’s been working on the issue with County Attorney Daniel Manning.

To date, she said, there are 14 counties in New York that have established similar laws.

But, Garcia urged the county to “go slowly” as laws restricting the movement of sex offenders are being challenged in Albany and Washington Counties. “I think it is very important for us to take a closer look at this,” she said.

Garcia said several questions need to be asked such as whether the law would actually protect the public.  Some have argued that restricting a sex offender’s movement often causes them to “go underground” and become more difficult to locate.

Other issues, she said, include who enforces the law, the potential cost to the county, and who prosecutes violations – the town attorney, the DA’s office or the county attorney.

“There are a lot of important things that the county attorney and I plan on looking at over the next few months,” Garcia said.

Dedrick said he’s never received more phone calls about an issue during his seven years as supervisor.  He said he’s concerned because a level three sex offender lives near a local school in his community.

“I don’t mind moving slowly on this,” he said. “I knew it was going to be contested in court, there was no doubt about that at all.”

Garcia said they should move cautiously. “We certainly don’t want to get caught up in litigation and then lose a lawsuit that is going to be very expensive to defend,” she said.

The DA said they don’t want a make a “knee jerk reaction” based on fear.  “I just want to make sure that we proceed with caution and we actually do what is in the best interest for everyone who lives in our county,” she said.

The county attorney agreed and said they should wait to see the outcome of the pending lawsuit against Albany County.  “We could rush out and pass a law and see what happens but I think we would be drawn into this lawsuit,” Manning said. “If we are drawn into the lawsuit it is going to cost us money. I think we would be better off waiting.”

Westport Supervisor Dan Connell worried that a law restricting the movement of sex offenders could “drive them underground.” “We don’t want to make a situation that is already bad worse,” he said.  “We need to move with caution and do our research and come up with something that is really going to protect our children.”

Dedrick said he was satisfied.   “At least we are investigating it,” he said.  “That’s what is really important to the people in Ticonderoga.”

The county’s law would not have applied to convicted sex offenders already living near schools and day care centers.  It would set a $500 fine and up to six months in jail for violations.

-Chris Knight

MORRISONVILLE SCHOOL CITED IN STATE AUDIT

A Morrisonville-based pre-school special education center improperly claimed reimbursement for nearly $240,000 in taxpayer money for unexplained, undocumented or improper expenses, according to an audit released Thursday by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The audit covers the finances of the Pyramids Child Development Center, which serves Clinton and Essex Counties, from July 2005 to June 2006.   Auditors say they identified a number of improper claims for staff salaries and bonuses, depreciation of equipment and professional services.

“Taxpayers have the right to expect that their money is being used for its intended purpose and reasonable expenses,” DiNapoli said. “This organization engaged in improper practices that ultimately shortchanged taxpayers.”

Auditors recommended the State Education Department, which oversees special education programs, recover the entire $171,000 salary paid to executive director Melissa Dorsett-Felicelli, who lives in North Carolina.

The audit found she was rarely on-site at any of Pyramids’ facilities and did not keep any time and attendance records.

Auditors also found that the not-for-profit’s board consisted of employees and didn’t provide independent oversight of financial affairs.

The audit report says the school claimed $15,000 for legal, accounting and other administrative costs that were not appropriate, including charges for the preparation of the executive director’s personal income taxes and fees for lobbying services.

Auditors also say Pyramids improperly awarded $101,000 in bonuses and fringe benefits to staff, including a $10,000 bonus for the executive director that did not meet state reimbursement requirements.

Pyramids provides in-home services and operates seven pre-school special education facilities in Morrisonville, Elizabethtown, Keeseville and Ticonderoga, as well as day care centers.  The organization received $2.7 million in state and county funds in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006.

Dorsett-Felicelli, in a written response to the audit, rejected most of the findings.  She said the bonuses were actually wage increases for employees.

She also defended running the school while living out of state. 

While the audit claims there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she was at the facility, “the report fails to cite or reference what this amount of time must be in numbers or requirement,” Dorsett-Felicelli wrote.

She also said most school superintendents supervise a multitude of locations “and thus it would not seem prudent to dictate how often the superintendent must be ‘physically’ present at any one location.”

In December, Pyramids filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but continues to operate its facilities.

-Chris Knight

CONGRESSWOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO BABY BOY

Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents New York’s 20th Congressional district, gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday.

Henry Nelson Gillibrand is the second son to Gillibrand and her husband, Jonathan who were married in 2001.  The healthy baby, born at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Aides to the congresswoman said she and the baby are resting comfortably.  The couple’s first son, Theo, is four years old. 

Gillibrand is only the sixth woman to give birth while serving in Congress.

-Chris Knight

ORDA VENUES GEAR UP FOR SUMMER SEASON

The Olympic Regional Development Authority will soon be re-opening the Olympic venues for the summer and fall seasons.

The Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway in Wilmington kicks-off the openings this weekend on Saturday, May 17.

The highway is open daily from 9 am – 4 pm beginning May 17 and switches over to extended 8:30 am – 5 pm hours on June 28.

The Olympic Sports Complex, where the combined bobsled/luge/skeleton track and the 1980 Olympic Bobsled Track are located, begins summertime venue tours on Saturday, May 17.

The Lake Placid Bobsled Experience is scheduled to begin May 31.

Mountain biking on the cross country ski trails at the Olympic Sports Complex begins on June 10.

The Olympic Jumping Complex, home to the 90-meter and 120-meter ski jump towers and the freestyle aerial training facility, is currently open 9 am – 4 pm Thursday-Sunday. The complex offers a 26-story elevator ride to the Sky Deck atop the 120-meter tower, and on May 24 opens the chairlift from the base lodge to the base of the ski jump towers.

The Whiteface Ski Center will open for the summer season on June 20. The mountain offers scenic Cloudsplitter gondola rides and lift-serviced downhill mountain bike trails.

For more information on ORDA venues and events log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.