THE LEADER-HERALD
Gloversville, NY
October 11, 2003
DISTRICT TO WAIT ON RELEASING NEW LAKE FEE PROPOSAL
By Omar Aquije
ALBANY - The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District will wait for additional community input from an Oct. 22 public meeting before developing and presenting a new proposal regarding permit fees on the Great Sacandaga Lake.
Previously, the regulating district had intended to release a new proposal on its Web site next week based on comments from Monday's Board of Directors meeting where more than 50 people attended to voice complaints over the fee hikes. Officials at the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform informed the regulating district during the week to wait until after the Oct. 22 meeting to develop and release a new proposal, said Jim Conkling, second vice chairman of the board.
"This will slow the process down," Conkling said. "This will give everybody the time they need to really review everything thoroughly."
Conkling said the regulating district was told to wait for additional public comments before taking further action. The Office of Regulatory Reform was created in 1995 to review all new regulations and procedures.
Once the regulating district receives additional public input, it will need to make application to the Regulatory Reform office in order to raise the fees, Conkling said. The application would then need to be approved before any other action could occur. The process could take up to 75 days from when the application was first submitted. By providing an application, officials from the Regulatory Reform Office review what actions the regulating district wants to take.
As stated on the district's Web site, www.hrbrrd.com, the previous permit fee schedule was placed there prematurely and has been withdrawn.
On Monday, officials from the board said there would be an increase in the permit fee, but it would be substantially less than the original proposal. The original proposal called for a 500 percent, and in some instances a 1000 percent increase in the annual permit fees.
Representatives from the Regulatory Reform office will be in attendance for the Oct. 22 meeting, Conkling said.
In addition to the Oct. 22 meeting at the Northville Central School auditorium, the district's next board meeting will take place at 9 a.m. Nov. 3 at the Sacandaga Field Office on Bunker Hill Road, Northville.
THE RECORDER
Amsterdam, NY
October 12, 2003
Lakefront permit fee hike on hold
State Office of Regulatory Reform questions proposed user rate increases
By CRAIG CLARK
Recorder News Staff
BROADALBIN - The price of permit fees next year for lakefront access on the Great Sacandaga Lake is up in the air right now and could be for a while as the New York State Office of Regulatory Reform has become involved in that matter, officials with the reservoir's governing authority say.
The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District last month, citing skyrocketing legal fees and property taxes, proposed drastic increases in the fees it charges for lakefront permits.
The increases were proposed in conjunction with the district's new three-year budget.
The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District owns the land surrounding the Great Sacandaga, creating what is called the buffer zone between the high water mark and private property lines. The district then sells yearly access permits that entitles the holders to exclusive use of the district's land.
The district has not substantially increased the fees for the permits since the 1960s but last month proposed increases which for some permit holders could have meant thousands of dollars.
Public outcry forced the district to review the proposed increases and last week the district stated they were devising a new schedule of increases that perhaps permit holders would find more palatable.
Those plans are on hold now as the New York State Office of Regulatory Reform has stepped in, says the district's second vice-chairman, James Conkling of Northville.
The New York State Office of Regulatory Reform was created in 1995 for the purpose of examining bureaucratic regulations.
Conking says he's not sure how the Office of Regulatory Reform became involved. Several opponents to the district's proposed increases have stated they've contacted the Governor's Office in regards to the matter and state Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, has sent letters to concerned citizens expressing his serious objections to the district's proposed increases and alerting people that he too had contacted the Governor's Office.
Conkling says the Office of Regulatory Reform has told the district to seek more community input on a proposal regarding permit fees before it devises a new schedule of increases.
Once the district has gathered sufficient input, the district will be submitting their proposal and accompanying justifications to the Office of Regulatory Reform for approval.
Conkling said this weekend that he expects staff from the Office of Regulatory Reform to visit the district this week.
Once the Office of Regulatory Reform receives the district's new permit fee proposal they will have 75 days to review it, Conkling said.
Conkling says the old proposal is "dead" and he expects that the new proposal to be more to people's liking.
Of course in order to arrive at a reduction of the proposed fee increases, Conkling says, there will have to be substantial cuts in the district's new three-year budget and by the time they're through the budget will be an entirely different document.
"I think we can come up with something that everyone can live with," Conkling said, predicting, however, that there will still be a fee increase. Conkling said at this time there are discussions concerning spreading the increases out over the next few years.
The district is welcoming public input on the permit fees. The district still has a public forum scheduled for Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Northville Central School on Bridge Street.
The district has also moved their next regular board meeting from their Albany offices to their Sacandaga Field Office on Bunker Hill Road in Mayfield. That meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 9 a.m.