LANDFILL EXPANSION CREATES CROSS-BORDER CONCERNS

A meeting to discuss a plan to expand Franklin County’s landfill by about 600 acres drew concerned neighbors from both sides of the border last night.

The Franklin County Sanitary Landfill – about one mile from the international border in the towns of Constable and Westville has been controversial since it opened in 1994.

About 50 people packed into the basement of the county courthouse in Malone to hear a presentation by consultants and deliver public comment on what the scope of an environmental impact study should include.

The landfill is now finishing its fourth cell which it projects will be filled by 2014. The latest plan envisions building three more cells over 20 years, though the entire expansion could accommodate as many as 15 cells over the next century.

The landfill takes in almost all of the waste generated in Franklin and Essex counties.

George Eades, the executive director of the county’s solid waste management authority, said the landfill has made great improvements since he took over 10 years ago.

“I mean the whole objective of this thing is to just have a nice, sustainable landfill. We have commitments for the next 100 years as opposed to a half-baked idea. I’ve worked at this for 10 years. Finally we have what I consider a very sensible, well-thought out plan.”

Most residents complained about fears over water quality. Water runoff from the landfill – known as leachate – is trucked to the village of Malone’s wastewater treatment plant.

Westville Town Supervisor Rod Lauzon, a long-time critic of the landfill, said the plant does nothing to filter out heavy metals which are discharged into the Salmon River.

“I would like an environmental impact study done in that river. What’s in the bottom of that river from that sanitation plant where it’s been dumped for the last 10 or 15 years. The fish need to be checked for mercury levels. That river needs to be checked in there – I don’t believe that’s ever been done.”

The meeting also brought Canadian neighbors. Jamie Quinn, a town councilor from Elgin, Quebec, about a mile from the landfill said the dump is a hazard.

“What would it be like if Canada put a major landfill two miles from the American border? One mile from the American border? The dominant wind was over the United States the water was flowing into the United States and we just parked this monstrosity right on the U.S. border and we just said thanks you guys you deal with any problems. You say if there’s a problem you’re going to deal with it. You’re not going to deal with it, Canada’s going to deal with it.  I just wonder what it would be like if the shoe was on the other foot.”

David Drummond, a fellow councilor from Elgin, noted that many communities downstream are concerned about the safety of their drinking water.

“Our biggest concerns are water quality, obviously,” he said. “Because our maps show that the site is in a wetland. We’re worried because we all depend on well water and it could become contaminated in the future.”

But George Eades – who himself lives across the border in Quebec – said the cell liners prevent any significant discharge into streams or rivers. “The cell liners have proved to be exceedingly efficient. In the case here we don’t have a problem with groundwater pollution. We don’t ever anticipate a problem with ground water pollution.”

The plan also drew criticism from one of the waste management authority’s own board members. Gary Mulverhill said the plan requires buying an entire dairy operation that will be very expensive and is ill-conceived.

“We did no survey as to what it would cost us to ship stuff out. In opposition to expanding.”

Planners say they wouldn’t be able to break ground for about three years.  The waste authority will have to complete an environmental impact statement. Only then can it apply to the state Department of Environmental Conservation in Ray Brook which permits landfills.

Denise Wagner, a senior environmental analyst from DEC, delivered a five-page comment letter Thursday in which she raised questions about water quality, air quality and urged the waste authority to invest more in recycling. She also wrote that the authority should discuss the pros and cons of closing the landfill or a smaller expansion.

No cost estimates were offered to the public. The waste authority has not secured options on the four private properties it would need to complete the expansion.

-Jacob Resneck

H-TOWN CONTINUES PUSH FOR SNOW REMOVAL PAYBACK

Town of Harrietstown officials are continuing to push for increased reimbursement from Franklin County to cover the cost of town highway crews plowing county roads.

Highway Superintendent Craig Donaldson and Supervisor Larry Miller met with supervisors and highway superintendents from towns across the county this week.

Donaldson told the told the town board Thursday night that they learned “pretty much every town in Franklin County is underpaid” for maintaining county roads.

He said they’ll be resubmitting their original request to the county for $4426 per mile.  Donaldson had said last month that county legislators were only willing to give the towns $4000 per mile – an amount he says doesn’t even cover their costs.

Donaldson also wants “snow belt” towns in the southern end of the county to get an additional reimbursement, similar to the system used in Essex County.

Miller said it’s only fair that the towns get paid enough to cover their costs.  “I don’t think the towns should be subsidizing the county,” he said.  “It’s our hope that between the town supervisors, highway superintendents and the county that we can reach a good faith figure that the county and towns can work with.”

In other business at its Thursday night meeting, the town board agreed to buy new guard rails for Edgewood Avenue and Ampersand Avenue at a cost not to exceed $11,600.

The town had debated using the money for road paving, but councilman Bob Bevilacqua advised the board to stick to the original plan after contacting the town’s insurance carrier.  “Because we have already earmarked that money for guardrails, if we don’t spend it on them and then somebody got hurt, we would be liable,” he said.

The board also heard a presentation from Jack Drury and Leslie Karasin of the comprehensive planning committee.

Drury said a draft of the combined town-village comprehensive plan was originally scheduled to be complete this past January.  They’ve extended that timetable to September 30.  “We’re reasonably confident we’ll be able to meet that deadline,” he said. 

The group received more than 750 responses to its planning survey.  The all-volunteer committee is now working to analyze the results and make recommendations based on the input from the public. 

Town board members also heard a request from Laura Jean Swanson for the town and village to take over management of operation of the outdoor skating rink at the civic center. 

Swanson, along with Tom and Marlene Hyde have been running the rink for the last six years and just don’t have the time to commit to it anymore.  “We’re kind of at our limit,” she said.  “We know you can run it for $3000 a year.”

Supervisor Larry Miller, however, said the town doesn’t have the staff to operate the skating rink and would have to hire a new employee.  “Currently we don’t have the staff to put some one down there 40 hours a week” he said. 

Swanson said she knows that increased taxes are a concern for everyone.   “But this is a great way to give back to the community for very little,” she said, adding the outdoor skating is part of Saranac Lake’s heritage.

The board referred the request to committee.

-Chris Knight

ORDA CUTS $300,000 TO ANSWER STATE MANDATE

The Olympic Regional Development Authority is cutting a World Cup snowboarding event from its winter schedule and trimming operating expenses to answer a call from the governor for all state agencies and authorities to reduce their budgets.

Gov. David Paterson asked each agency and authority to submit a plan to cut 3.35 percent from its operating budget.

Olympic Authority President and CEO Ted Blazer said at this week’s meeting of the ORDA Board of Directors that they submitted their revised budget plan to the state by a Friday, May 17 deadline. 

“We’ve worked with the Governor’s office and the Division of Budget to reduce our original appropriation by 3.35 percent at the direction of Governor Paterson,” Blazer said.  “This year the budget may vary as we progress and find ways to run our operations as effectively and efficiently as possible.”

ORDA spokesman Sandy Caligiore said they trimmed $288,000 to meet the governor’s request and found another $16,000 in additional savings. 

To accomplish the cuts, the authority will be consolidating several positions.  ORDA also has several pending staff retirements that may not be re-filled, although the retirements were announced before the governor issued his call for budget cutbacks.

And ORDA will save more than $120,000 by not hosting a World Cup snowboarding event this coming winter. Caligiore said part of the reason is because of scheduling conflicts with other world championships the authority is putting on. 

The state-ordered cutbacks come after the Olympic Authority saw record numbers of visitors at its venues this past winter.  Work is also underway on several major capital projects including new lifts and trails at both Whiteface and Gore Mountain Ski Centers.

In other business Tuesday, the ORDA Board held a lengthy discussion over a plan to renew a corporate sponsorship agreement with Citizen’s Bank.

Citizen’s Bank will pay $40,000 to the authority in exchange for promotional benefits like free lift tickets and signage.

Jeff Potter, ORDA’s Director of Corporate Development, said they were comfortable with the deal.  “We’ve had a good partnership with Citizen’s Bank,” he said.  “We’ve been happy with the relationship.”

But several board members questioned the terms of the agreement.  Jack Arehart felt they may be giving too much away. “I’d like to know the retail value of what we’re giving away,” he said.  “We’re giving 500 Whiteface tickets away and that’s a lot of money.”

Other board members asked if they could get a better deal from other banks.  Ed Weibrecht asked Potter to contact several other banks “to see if they have interest.” 

“We can certainly do that,” Potter said.  “We’ll reach out to a couple banks and see what we can find out.”

The sponsorship agreement was approved provided ORDA staff contact two more banks and provide a cost-benefit analysis of the Citizen’s Bank agreement.

-Chris Knight

MILLER TO RESIGN FROM LP SCHOOL BOARD

The Lake Placid Central School District Board will likely have to appoint a new member this summer following the news that Bob Miller of Lake Placid intends to resign.

Miller – who was elected unopposed to the North Elba Town Board in November – said he will be stepping down in the end of June.

“I just think it's important to only have one master,” Miller said. “I'm pretty serious about what I do. If I get involved with what I want to do on the town board the bottom-line is that I wouldn't have time to serve on both boards.”

After serving on the school board for more than five years, Miller said that with the graduation of his eldest child this year and the hiring of a new superintendent, he will not be finishing the final year of his three-year term.

Superintendent Ernie Stretton said Thursday that Miller had yet to submit his letter to the board but that the board would have 90 days to appoint a replacement after it accepts Miller’s resignation.

The successor would serve the remainder of Miller’s term, which is set to expire in July of 2009.

-Jacob Resneck

SCHOOL DISTRICT RESPONDS TO SEX HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS

Citing an increase in the number of sexual harassment complaints, the Tupper Lake School District is asking students at the Middle-High School to refrain from making any public displays of affection during the school day.

That’s according to School Superintendent Dan Bower, who responded Thursday to concerns raised by callers to WNBZ’s Talk of the Town about how the district was handling the situation.

“We’ve had an increase in sexual harassment complaints,” Bower said.  “One of the methods we’re using to address those is to have teachers remind students of what’s appropriate and not appropriate for school settings.”

Announcements were aired to students on Wednesday and Thursday asking them to “keep their hands off each other” and stop all public displays of affection, even boyfriends and girlfriends holding hands in the hallways.

“We’re asking our faculty to be more aware of what’s happening and reminding students of where an appropriate line might be,” he said.

The superintendent said they want to err on the side of caution. “I know some people think we’re going too far,” he said.  “But I’d rather go a little too far than not address the situation.  We take these things seriously.”

Bower said warnings were issued but no students had been disciplined for violating the notice.  “We’re not looking to punish students unjustly, but we don’t want a situation to get worse,” he said.  “We have five hundred students that we’re trying to give a safe, healthy environment.”

Bower said school officials will be working to further refine what kinds of displays of affection may or may not be appropriate in school.

-Chris Knight

DEC TO CAMPERS: DON’T MOVE FIREWOOD

With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, the Department of Environmental Conservation is urging campers not to haul firewood from home, to help prevent the unintentional spread of tree-killing pests.

Instead, DEC says campers should buy firewood from sources near their campsites.

The state says New York's forests are under attack from numerous invasive exotic insect pests. In years past, the state has been hit with Chestnut blight, European gypsy moth, Dutch elm disease and Beech bark disease, all with devastating results.

More recently, DEC has discovered Asian long-horned beetles, Pine shoot beetles and Sirex wood wasps infesting urban and rural forests and killing thousands of trees.

Another potentially devastating insect invader, the Emerald Ash Borer, has been moving west from Michigan and was found last year in Pennsylvania. The Asian beetle, discovered in 2002, infests and kills various North American ash species – 30 million trees so far in Michigan alone.

DEC says one of the easiest and most common ways for insect pests to spread is by the unintentional transportation of infested firewood. They can nest in logs and accidentally hitchhike hundreds of miles, only to escape to infect new timber stands.

Some states have enacted quarantines, banning the importation of out-of-state firewood. DEC says the state is studying the possibility of such a ban.

By not moving firewood, state Forester Robert Davies said campers can help in the battle against invasive species.   “As New Yorkers get ready to enjoy the summer camping season, we have to make special efforts to limit the unintentional spread of these extremely destructive insect pests, or face serious economic and environmental consequences,” he said.

POLICE REPORT

Tupper Lake Village Police charged 24 year-old Derrick Mueller of Diamond Point with unlawful possession of marijuana at 2:12 p.m. Thursday.  Mueller was arrested after his vehicle was stopped for a traffic infraction.  Police say he was allegedly in possession of five grams of marijuana.  Mueller was processed and released to appear in village court at a later date.