TO: Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee Members
FROM: Peter VanAvery
DATE: August 21, 2002
Don't forget your homework assignment! At the top of our web site (www.nybbac.org), you will find a link to a petition urging Governor Pataki to speed construction of the replacement Batchellerville Bridge and to resist attempts to increase the bridge height beyond the 42-foot vertical clearance announced in February. We want the Governor to receive lots of these petitions. So please print out individual copies for everyone in your household and for your circle of neighbors and friends. Total numbers count!
Mother Nature has provided a challenging year for the Regulating District in its maintenance of water levels on the Great Sacandaga Lake. In January and part of February, the level dipped below the 50-year median. Then, for much of May and June, the level exceeded "full" status (768 feet above sea level) and reached "emergency storage" status (768-771 feet above sea level). One undesirable result was that a number of members reported severe erosion to their banks, with their beaches submerged until mid-July. On July 1, as a result of the relicensing process for the E.J. West hydro facility at the Conklingville Dam, the signatories of the "Offer of Settlement" agreed to begin full implementation of the provisions for better management of lake levels. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to obtain Mother Nature's signature on the agreement. As I understand it, the Regulating District should aim at maintaining the water level no lower than 762 feet above sea level by Labor Day and no lower than 760 feet above sea level by mid-October. As of this morning, the level was below 761 feet above sea level and dropping fast.
As I mentioned in the last issue, the Albany Times Union, in an August 1 story about the Batchellerville Bridge replacement project, attributed a statement to Town of Edinburg Supervisor Jean Raymond that a 42-foot vertical clearance "would allow 77 percent of all boats currently on the lake to pass underneath." I have notified the Supervisor that the 42-foot vertical clearance would actually allow more than 99 percent of all boats currently on the lake to pass underneath. In addition, after a lot of prodding from me, the Times Union finally ran a "clarification" (Page A-2) today: "In an Aug. 1 story on the proposed new Batchellerville Bridge in Edinburg, it was reported that the new span's 42-foot height above the Great Sacandaga Lake would allow 77 percent of all boats to pass underneath. The 77 percent refers only to the 163 sailboats on the lake and does not include all other craft."
Keep sending letters to your local newspapers. Here's one that appeared in the Gloversville Leader-Herald on August 18:
Dear Editor:
In his letter about the replacement Batchellerville Bridge, Willard Roth, the Great Sacandaga Lake Association's president, claimed the state did not fully consider the economic benefits of a 55-foot vertical clearance. Wrong! In the three-year study leading to its adoption of a 42-foot vertical clearance, the Department of Transportation solicited inputs from every possible group of stakeholders. At last August's public hearing in Northville, the issue of economic benefits came up, but the arguments were not convincing. Incidentally, three GSLA directors signed up to speak, but when their turn came, only one was still in the auditorium. He did not say anything about the need for such a study.
Mr. Roth is wrong again when he claims there is time for an economic impact study because construction funding is not yet available. Before the bridge can be built, it must go through a lengthy design process, for which DOT has a budget. Before the design is completed, I expect that a dynamic politician like Senator Hugh Farley will help to provide construction funds. Instead of obstructing the process, the GSLA should follow the leadership of the Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee in petitioning Governor Pataki to speed construction. A copy of the petition can be accessed at the BBAC's web site (www.nybbac.org).
Mr. Roth asks if the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of an economic impact study is "irresponsible." It certainly is! As DOT learned, the public is deeply concerned over the safety of a high bridge in winter and its damage to the scenic view. If commercial benefits were the only motivator in the Adirondack Park, you'd find a fast-food restaurant, complete with access road, on every high peak.
The GSLA has only 630 members, less than 14 percent of the 4,550 access permit holders around the lake. When 86 percent of the people do not endorse your programs, they are not telling Mr. Roth: "We are on your side!" Their message is: "Get lost!" Everybody knows GSLA's board is dominated by an alliance between commercial interests and yacht club members. The thousands of us who do not own tall sailboats are not fairly represented.
Finally, Mr. Roth ignored the charge that the GSLA's board is sexist. Of its 15 members, only two are women. In this era of equal rights, I don't think the state is going to dance to a tune played by an old boys' club!
Constance Dodge
Edinburg