REVIEW BOARD, ADK MUSEUM STILL AT ODDS

The Adirondack Museum and the Lake Placid-North Elba Joint Review Board continue to be at an impasse over the museum's proposal to build a Lake Placid branch of the museum on Main Street.

The major issue is whether the museum is required by the land use code to provide off-street parking. The Blue Mountain Lake-based institution has argued that the site is split on two lots and is therefore below the threshold required to provide visitor parking.

But at Wednesday evening’s meeting, the review board’s legal counsel, Plattsburgh attorney Dennis Curtin, as well as a majority of board members plainly disagreed with that interpretation of the tax map.

The only recourse – aside from constructing 40 parking spaces which the museum has dismissed as too costly – would be to seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to waive the parking requirement.

Adirondack Museum Chairman John Fritzinger asked members of board for a verbal commitment that the project would ultimately be approved before they spend any more time and money on the application.

“The museum is out of time and nearly out of money,” Fritzinger said. “Unless there is significant movement tonight I don't think my board is going to authorize anymore expenditures.”

Review Board Chairman Bill Hurley noted that aside from the JRB, the museum still needs a permit from the state Adirondack Park Agency before it can build its two-story, 8,200-square-foot structure on the present site of the Church of the Nazarene

As of this week, Hurley continued, APA staff has not received any of the information that had been requested in early July.  “We are in no way delaying the project by not voting tonight,” Hurley said, “because you're at least two months away (from APA approval).”

As he had done at previous meetings, Lake Placid attorney Jim Brooks, who represents the Adirondack Museum, cross-examined the seven-member JRB to see whether a majority favors the project. Four board members gave conditional support, while one, Peter Roland expressed some reservations and emerged as a swing vote.

Two other board members – Chip Bissell and Olga Krone – said they find the modern-design of the museum out-of-character with Main Street.

No action was taken at the meeting.  As he descended the stairs of the North Elba Town Hall, John Fritzinger said he and the rest of the his Board of Trustees are frustrated at the lack of progress in getting the project past the JRB. “The board was hoping for a dramatically different result than we got tonight and we didn't get it,” Fritzinger said. “We're just going to have to take it from there. But I think it's a seriously negative response from the board which is very disappointing for us because we're very keen on getting here.”

The Lake Placid-branch of the Adirondack Museum is expected to cost $6 million.

- Jacob Resneck

OUTSIDE FIRM CONDUCTING SURVEY OF SL SCHOOLS

Facing declining student enrollment, the Saranac Lake School District has brought in an outside firm to evaluate whether school officials are making the best use of their staff and facilities.

School board members met Wednesday night with Dr. Timothy Clay of Management Advisory Group, which the district hired at a cost of $6500. 

The Catskill, NY-based company began its survey of the school system this week, meeting and interviewing staff and touring the various buildings.

Clay had nothing substantial to report yet, but said they’re in the process of collecting all the information necessary to conduct their analysis.  “It’s been a pleasure to be here,” he told the board.  “You have a marvelous staff.”

Board President Joan Schaeffer said the decision to have a survey of the district performed was triggered by concerns about declining student enrollment. “We want to know that we’re making the best use of our staff and buildings,” she said. “This is going to help us make those decisions.”

In recent years, the possibility of closing Lake Clear and Lake Colby Elementary Schools has come up due to declining enrollment.  In May of 2006, district voters overwhelmingly turned down a proposition that would have triggered the closure of Lake Clear.

Schaeffer said bringing in an outside consulting firm is just one way they’re looking at the issue.  The board plans invite local residents to serve on a committee to review the company’s recommendations. 

“We don’t want them to say the board of education made the decision on its own,” Schaefer said. “We want to go the proper route and get the taxpayers at large involved. With enrollment going down for the foreseeable future, we’ve got to be able to justify to the taxpayers the facilities we now have running.”

Once it gathers all the necessary information, Management Advisory Group will begin the analysis phase of its study.  Clay said that could start in a week to ten days.

He said his company has performed similar reviews of 75 other school districts over the past 14 years.

In other business, board members and district business manager Mike Kilroy responded to questions from local resident John Vinograd about the recent hiring of a half dozen teacher’s aides.

Vinograd asked if the money for the new positions was part of the budget approved by the voters or if the decision to hire the aides was made because the district was saving money by having John Raymond as an interim superintendent. 

“The answer is no,” Kilroy said.  He said the aides were hired in early August before Scott Amo announced he was leaving as superintendent. “Those people were actually hired while Mr. Amo was here.”

Kilroy said he had to do some “fancy thinking” to come up with funding in the current budget for the new positions.

But the district was legally required to bring on the teacher’s aides for certain special needs students after receiving recommendations from the committee on special education.  Board member Cliff Donaldson said that if a special education student’s IEP or Individual Education Plan calls for a one-to-one student to staff ratio, they have to provide the additional staff. “There’s nothing we can do about it,” he said.

-Chris Knight

GROUP REPORTS PROGRESS ON SL, H-TOWN MASTER PLAN

Planning and zoning board members, elected officials and residents of the Town of Harrietstown and Village of Saranac Lake got an update Tuesday night on the process of drafting a new, comprehensive master plan for the town and village.

A group of volunteers has been working since last fall on what would be the first update to the town master plan since 1967.  The village master plan was re-worked more recently, in the 1980’s.

Jack Drury, a member of the Harrietstown Planning Board, said the goal of the effort is to preserve the past and prepare for the future. “The end result of the comprehensive plan is to have everything in place so you can update your code,” he said.  “It says these are the things we need in our community to make it a vibrant, healthy and growing community, protect what we want to protect and allow what we want to grow and prosper.”

To ensure the plan reflects the community’s wishes, the committee distributed a survey to town and village residents earlier this year.  756 responses were received out of the approximately 7000 people who live in the town and village.  “From a statistical analysis standpoint we have excellent results,” Drury said.

While some information is still being analyzed, the community’s answers to a series of survey questions were released Tuesday night.

Asked what issues were of greatest concern to them, 74 percent of respondents said property taxes, 49 percent said local jobs and economic opportunities and 46 percent said the cost and availability of housing.

When asked what types of housing is most needed, 80 percent said moderate-income and 58 percent said rental units.

The survey also focused on the types of economic development the area needs.  71 percent said reuse of existing buildings, 69 percent said downtown business development and 65 percent said retail development.

One of the more interesting responses came from the question that asked about the community’s recreational needs.  69 percent of respondents said public restrooms, which for some reason was in the recreation category.  Another 61 percent said bike, cross-country ski and walking trails and 40 percent said a skateboard park. 

Asked whether they support a size cap on retail stores, 62 percent said yes while just 38 percent said no.

Harrietstown Councilman Brian McDonnell said people put a lot of thought into their responses. “The amazing thing to me is how seriously people took the survey,” he said.  “It wasn’t just a quick response.  There were a lot of handwritten comments.  People took a lot of time energy when there was an opinion asked.  There were a lot of people that took it on themselves to answer the questions.”

After the survey results were presented Tuesday night, the audience split up into groups to list their top priorities and what they felt may have been missing from the survey.

The next step in the process has already been taking place – a series of neighborhood meetings.  One happened Wednesday night at the Saranac Lake Adult Center with another scheduled for next week at Saranac Village at Will Rogers.

Village Trustee Susan Waters said they’ll be approaching the town and village boards to apply for a state “Smart Growth” grant.  Part of the money will be used to hire a consultant to help write the master plan.  The rest of the funds would go towards a recreation plan and a downtown revitalization marketing and financing implementation plan.

The committee hopes to complete the comprehensive plan by January 31.  It will be subject to public hearings before being considered for adoption by the town and village boards.

-Chris Knight

CO-CREATOR OF FIBER OPTIC GIVING LECTURE TONIGHT

A co-inventor of fiber optics and inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame has joined the advisory board of the Community Broadband Network Connect and will be giving a public lecture tonight.  

Peter C. Schultz, Ph.D., who received the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton, will deliver a presentation entitled “The Evolution of Fiber Optics and the Potential Benefits to Your Community.”  The first of three such lectures takes place at 7 p.m. tonight in the Pine Room of the Joan Weill Student Center at Paul Smith’s College.  

Schultz has already given two similar talks in Willsboro and Essex.

“Both of these lectures were very well attended,” said CBN Connect Project Coordinator Julie West.

CBN Connect is working to build a 450-mile broadband fiber and wireless network within Clinton, Franklin and Essex Counties.  The project is currently being facilitated through SUNY Plattsburgh’s Technical Assistance Center in conjunction with the college’s Research Foundation and a large advisory board. In the future, the plan is for CBN Connect to become an independent entity.

Officials say Schultz’s presence on the board will help the organization fulfill its mission.  “Dr. Schultz's eminence in the field of telecommunications and experience lend a powerful air of credibility to the need for this vital infrastructure,” said CBN Connect Advisory Board Chair Andrew Abdullah.

Schultz who has been a seasonal resident of Essex since 2001 says the fiber optic infrastructure will have a positive impact on the economy and welfare of the residents of this region.  “I would like to do anything I can personally to make that happen,” he said.

Tonight’s event is free and open to the public.  For more information, call 564-2090.

-Chris Knight

POLICE REPORT

Saranac Lake Village Police arrested 21 year old Hannah E. Keese of Saranac Lake at 11:51 a.m. Wednesday and charged her with second-degree harassment and second-degree criminal contempt. She was arrested after police responded to a domestic dispute. Keese is alleged of striking, kicking and shoving a male subject during a dispute violating a Franklin County order of protection in the process. She was arraigned in village court and sent to the Franklin County Jail on bail or bond.

Tupper Lake Village Police arrested 36-year old Steven J. Farnsworth of Tupper Lake at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday night. He was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated for having a blood alcohol content of .18-percent. Farnsworth was released to a third party to appear in village court on October 29.