NEXT CONFERENCE ON TL RESORT PROJECT PUSHED BACK

The possibility of mediation between developers and opponents of the Adirondack Club and Resort project has been pushed back to early next year.

Administrative Law Judge Daniel O’Connell, who’s in charge of the adjudicatory hearing process for the project, is asking the parties involved to meet again for a conference in January or early February – not in early December as originally planned.

O’Connell, in an 18-page summary of a conference held October 24, said “it does not appear likely that a conference could take place by December 10.”

Instead the judge has instructed interested parties to submit a first round of comments on his latest recommendations by November 28. A second round of comments will be due on December 9.

Then, sometime in January or early February the group will return to Tupper Lake for a one-day conference where they’ll discuss whether or not to proceed with mediation.

If the parties agree to seek mediation, O’Connell said they’ll discuss the scope, timetable, and other “ground rules” that may be included in a draft memorandum of understanding.

If there’s no agreement on mediation, the discussion will turn to working out a schedule for continuing the pre-hearing conference and other steps related to the adjudicatory hearing.

O’Connell also addressed the disagreement between the applicant and the project’s opponents over the issues to be discussed during mediation.

Thomas Ulascewicz, attorney for the developer, said last month that mediation should only involve the issues identified by the Adirondack Park Agency when the project was sent to an adjudicatory hearing.  Others want any and all issues to be on the table.

O’Connell recommended the applicant consider whether other issues could be discussed in mediation. He also directed the prospective parties to determine whether any of the issues they raised could relate to issues the APA identified.

O’Connell’s summary also discusses the issue of “party status.” The judge is asking the resort’s neighboring property owners to consider whether “their interests and views about the proposal are similar enough that they could consolidate.” O’Connell also asks whether any of the environmental groups could represent the neighboring property owners during mediation.

He also wants the project’s developers to reveal the location of  the offsite Orvis shooting school since that could create more interested parties.

The judge has directed APA staff to check on the availability of the Goff Nelson Library in January and early February.

-Mike Fritts

SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

Saranac Lake School Board members and district officials discussed the search for a new superintendent at the board’s Wednesday night meeting.

Business Manager Mike Kilroy and Interim Superintendent John Raymond distributed a brochure they plan to use to advertise the position.  It provides information about Saranac Lake schools and outlines the qualifications the district is seeking of a new superintendent.

One of the first things the board discussed was the salary range they should include in advertising the job.  The range in the brochure was listed at $125,000 to $150,000 a year.

Board President Joan Schaeffer said that was too high.  “There is no way I would start with that,” she said.  “I would never, ever give that much.”

Kilroy reminded the board that both the Lake Placid and Malone school districts will be looking for a superintendent at the same time as Saranac Lake.

“But that doesn’t mean we have to go with the salaries they’re giving,” Schaeffer said.  She suggested they advertise a range of $110,000 to $140,000.

Raymond cautioned that if the figure is too low, they might not get any interested candidates.  “I think $110,000 is too low,” he said.

The board is looking to replace Scott Amo, whose salary when he started was $108,000.  When he left last month to take over as the superintendent in Beekmantown, his salary was $137,000 a year.

Board member Tracey Schrader said the salary range should be good enough to draw a strong pool of candidates. “I know we’re not competing with Lake Placid and Malone,” she said. “But I’m hoping we can draw a candidate that’s qualified and not get the leftovers.”

“We want to have someone that can bring this district to the next level,” added board member Debra Lennon.

But Schaeffer said the district taxpayers won’t support paying a superintendent a high salary.  “Considering that our enrollment is going down, I don’t see how we can go to the taxpayers and say this is the amount we’re going to start at,” she said.  “They would knock it down so fast.”

The board ultimately agreed to use a salary range of $110,000 to $140,000 in the brochure.

A residency requirement for the position will also be noted in the advertisement.  “I firmly believe residency should be moved to the top,” said board member Miles Van Nortwick. 

“I think that should be number one,” added Schaeffer.

The superintendent vacancy will be announced beginning on November 14.  The application deadline will be December 31.

The district is hoping to have a new superintendent hired by mid-March.

-Chris Knight

WHITEFACE UPGRADES SNOWMAKING EFFICIENCY

Whiteface Mountain is adding a fleet of new energy-efficient air compressors to its snowmaking system – a move that’s drastically cutting the ski center’s annual electricity and fuel oil bills.

“It’s a big savings for us,” Assistant Manager Bruce McCulley said Tuesday.  “Our electric bill is the biggest bill we’ve got.”

The project is part of a $5.7 million New York Power Authority energy efficiency initiative at both Whiteface and Gore Mountain ski centers. 

At Whiteface, the work involved removing 12 old air compressors, some of which dated to before the Olympics, and replacing them with six new models that are 33 percent more efficient. 

McCulley described the upgrades this week in a tour of the Whiteface pump house, where the new compressors are located. “This is the air plant for the whole snowmaking system,” he said.  “Each of the new air compressors are 800 horsepower, they each put out 4000 cubic feet per minute of air.  The total air output from this building is about 32,000 CFM. That’s all used for snowmaking up on the hill.  This is where it all begins.”

The upgrades also include a new closed-loop glycol system to cool the air compressors.  And, among other things, a new drive pump has also been installed to allow water for the snowmaking system to be more efficiently regulated.

The project will pay for itself in about 10-12 years through the money they’ll be saving, McCulley said.

The improvements will also benefit the skiers and snowboarders at Whiteface by increasing snowmaking capacity by thirty percent. “We should see quicker recoveries, quicker opening,” McCulley said.  “We’re going to see more snow guns running.  When we have marginal temperatures we may not be so anxious to make snow when its 29-30 degrees.  We can wait until it gets colder and have more resources to do it more efficiently.”

McCulley also said the project is tied into the new trails and terrain Whiteface will be opening next year as part of the Lookout Mountain expansion project.

ORDA CEO Ted Blazer said the upgrades will allow snowmaking crews to cover more ground and save a lot of energy. “It’s a new strategy we’re going to be employing,” he said.  “We have to go with the ebbs and flows of the weather.  But now we’re better equipped to be able to handle that and tackle it.”

The new air compressors were being brought online this week.

Whiteface crews are planning to begin snowmaking tonight on Little Whiteface, including the Excelsior, Upper and Lower Valley, Upper and Lower Northway trails.  The projected opening date for the ski season is Friday, November 23, weather-permitting.

-Chris Knight

ESSEX COUNTY TAX LEVY TO DROP ONE PERCENT

The tax levy in Essex County would drop one percent under a tentative 2008 county budget that will be the subject of a public hearing later this month.

The portion of the budget to be raised by taxes will drop from this year’s $13.37 million to $13.24 million next year, if the budget’s approved in its current form.

Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava, the county budget liaison officer, says increasing sales tax revenues have allowed the county to keep the tax levy under control.  The county increased its share of sales tax by three quarters of a percent last year collecting an additional $800,000.

“Without that you’d still be seeing an increase in the levy,” he said.  “But the sales tax we’ve been taking in and that ¾ percent increase has made a huge difference.”

Essex County has had no tax levy increase for the last four years.

The proposed county budget totals $94.7 million, which represents just a half percent increase in appropriations over the current budget.

No existing positions have been cut, although $250,000 in requests for new personnel was eliminated from the budget.

County Manager Cliff Donaldson told the county Board of Supervisors this week that Medicaid expenses have increased from $5.9 million dollars in 2007 to $6.2 million dollars in 2008.  But the net cost of the Department of Social Services was reduced by a total of $900,000.

The Public Health Department asked for $700,000 over the current budget, but that was trimmed by $450,000.

The county is increasing its tipping fees by $5 a ton for consumers with the proceeds to be used to pay for new equipment to collect and transport the county’s garbage to the Franklin County Regional Landfill near Malone.

Donaldson told supervisors they’re using $6.7 million in fund balance to help balance the budget – about $440,000 more than was used last year.  “We have been very conservative with our use of fund balance,” he said.

Scozzafava said he had been worried that the new budget would be up because of the costs associated with the new County Jail. “If you’d asked me two years ago what I projected for the 2008 budget, I would have said probably a double digit increase, just due to the indebtedness and the operation and maintenance of that new facility.”

Scozzafava thanked Donaldson, Purchasing Agent James Pierce and Accountant Linda Wolfe for putting the budget together.  “A lot of hard work and effort went into this,” he said.

The county Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the budget November 26 at 7 p.m. at the Old County Courthouse in Elizabethtown.

-Chris Knight

JRB KEEPS PUBLIC HEARING OPEN ON MUSEUM PROJECT

The Lake Placid-branch of the Adirondack Museum will need to complete its application with the state Adirondack Park Agency before gaining local approval.

That’s according to Bill Hurley, chairman of Lake Placid-North Elba Joint Review Board.

At the board’s meeting Wednesday night, no action was taken on the Main Street project, though museum officials did provide updated sketches and drawings of the 8,200-square-foot building to be built on the site of the Church of the Nazarene.

Hurley said the review board and APA work in tandem and he does not contemplate the board issuing permits until the park agency has enough information to deem the application complete.

The public hearing remains open over the $6 million project, which has been somewhat controversial due to its 64-foot tower and lack of off-street parking. The parking requirement was lifted last week after the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted to grant the project a variance.

Museum officials had requested that the public hearing be closed, but the board voted 4-3 to keep the hearing open, with JRB members Horst Weber, Kitty Nardiello and Mike Orticelle in the minority.

The board will revisit the project at its December 5 meeting.

-Jacob Resneck

CONSTABLE MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER OF AUNT

A Constable man has been indicted by a Franklin County Grand Jury for the alleged murder of his aunt in mid-October.

36 year-old Jack Allen Jr. was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and fourth degree grand larceny. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday at an arraignment before County Court Judge Robert Main Jr.

Allen is accused of killing 45 year-old Mary Allen sometime on or around October 12.  Mary Allen’s body was found on Sunday October 14, shortly after Jack Allen allegedly robbed a convenience store in Verona.

He was captured after an anonymous tip led police to an apartment in Utica.

An autopsy revealed Allen allegedly killed his aunt with multiple blows to the head.  He then allegedly stole her vehicle, which police say was used as a getaway car in the Verona robbery.

Allen, a native of Rome, is being charged as a second felony offender because he was convicted of robbery in Oneida County in 2002.

He’s being held without bail in the Franklin County Jail in Malone.

-Mike Fritts