DAILY GAZETTE
Schenectady, NY
December 30, 2003

Sacandaga access fees won't rise

By JOE MAHER Gazette Reporter

JOHNSTOWN - Great Sacandaga Lake access permit fees will remain unchanged through the 2004-05 fiscal year, the Hudson River Black River Regulating District board decided on Monday.

Earlier this year, the district's board was considering fee increases that in some cases were more than 1000 percent.

That proposal caused a public outcry. And until Monday's vote, the board was still considering increasing fees by as much as 50 percent.

About 200 people turned out for Monday's meeting at the Holiday Inn, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 15 but postponed because of a snowstorm.

District Executive Director Willard W. Loveless was not present. The board's attorney, Timothy Foley, said Loveless used a personal day Mon- day. On Friday, Loveless announced his resignation, and it was accepted by the board on Monday, effective Jan. 14. Loveless had been at the center of the controversy over increased fees and in the announcment of his plans to retire he said the first proposed fee increase was "a mistake."

Board Chairman Timothy Noonan opened the meeting by asking for a motion to maintain the current access-permit fees for the coming year and the board approved it without comment.

The board then went behind closed doors to discuss personnel issues, emerged from the executive session after 20 minutes and voted to accept Loveless' resignation.

In the public comment session that followed, many people criticized the district for maintaining a historically high lake level this late in the season. The lake is nearly cresting the spillway at the Conklingville Dam.

On Monday, the surface elevation was 770.56 feet above sea level, more than 17 feet higher than the historic average for that date, 753.43 feet. The lake is considered full at 768 feet; the spillway elevation is 771 feet.

Speakers said erosion problems would worsen, that docks would be damaged and that snowmobilers would be in peril as the regulators lower the lake level and the ice surface drops.

"What we're concerned about is open caverns," said Andy Zawilinski, of Northville, the vice president of the Sacandaga Snowmachine Club.

Zawilinski said a lot of the snowmobiles on the lake are owned by tourists, outsiders who aren't necessarily knowledgeable about the lake.

"What we're concerned about is the safety of our visitors and the safety of the people that aren't familiar with the existing levels," he said.

"Historically the reservoir is lower in the fall and it provides safe areas to ride. Now the safe areas are gone, and actually they'll become hazard areas, and I'm very concerned we're going to have a problem," he said.

Foley said the district is working to lower the lake level before the spring thaw. He and engineer Robert Foltan said they have been hampered by the new lake-level settlement agreement.

The regulating district operates the lake as a flood-control reservoir designed to catch spring runoff, store it and then use it to augment the flow of the Hudson River in the drier months.

Foltan said the district is releasing the maximum amount of water allowed under the settlement agreement.

The agreement is a blueprint for reservoir operations that came out of the federal relicensing process for the hydropower generators at the Conklingville Dam several years ago.

District officials said that the settlement agreement precludes the release of water when the Hudson River is flowing at a rate of 7,500-8,000 cubic feet per second (CFS).

The river, as measured at Hadley, exceeded 8,000 CFS for nine days from Oct. 27 to Nov. 23, forcing the regulators to stop releases on those days.

The district can release up to 4,000 CFS on days when the Hudson's natural flow is below the 7,500-8,000 CFS mark.

According to district calculations, based on average inflow for the next three months, the lake level should be close to the mid-March target level of 748 feet.

Officials are predicting a lake level of 764.8 feet on Dec. 31, 759.3 feet on Jan. 31, 753.2 on Feb. 29, and 751.7 on March 15.

Regulating district officials said Monday that they have initiated talks to declare an emergency situation that would supersede the settlement agreement and allow for the release of more water.

But critics said it should have been done weeks ago.

"The district is mismanaging water levels," said Peter VanAvery of the Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee. He referred to a Dec. 8 press release in which the district said it was going to consider an emergency release.

"Today, three weeks later, the lake is iced over and stands more than one foot higher. What a disaster for dock owners," VanAvery said.

"I can assure you, everyone is aware of the issue and no one quite knows what's going to happen," Foley said. "It's being looked at very carefully by the DEC as well as the regulating district," he added.

State Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Matt Burns said: "We're aware of the issue. Certainly, we're committed to working with the district to ensure the safety of all recreational activities on the lake."

Burns said he couldn't speculate on specific plans but the DEC has been in contact with the regulating district about possible options. He said snowmobilers should always be careful when driving on the ice.

"The department urges snowmobilers in general, not just on Sacandaga Lake, to use extreme caution and, if possible, to avoid crossing frozen lakes and ponds. Certainly this would be the case, too, with Sacandaga Lake with the recent high water levels," he said.

TIMES UNION
Albany, NY
December 30, 2003

Lake access fees won't rise in 2004

Johnstown-- Great Sacandaga Lake panel still faces concerns over water levels as it searches for new executive director

By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer

The Hudson River Black River Regulating District will not raise Great Sacandaga Lake access permit fees for 2004, board Chairman Timothy Noonan announced Monday.

Noonan also formally announced the resignation of Executive Director Willard Loveless, effective Jan. 14. Former Adirondack Park Agency Chairman Richard Lefebvre is among the candidates to succeed Loveless.

Although the regulating district's attorney, Timothy Foley, would not comment on the board's candidates, Lefebvre confirmed Monday he is on the list.

"I was asked if I would consider going into public service again and I indicated I would," Lefebvre said from his Canada Lake home.

If appointed, Lefebvre faces a hornet's nest of unhappy access permit holders along Great Sacandaga Lake. There are about 4,600 permit holders.

The announcement about the access fees put to rest -- for now -- lakeside residents' fears that the cost of permits would rise 1,000 percent, as announced in October. Since 1987, a permit for up to 10 feet has been $43; up to 50 feet is $48 and up to 100 feet is $56.

Still, many of the 200 people who attended the board meeting walked away unsatisfied with the board's explanation for high water levels in the reservoir.

The lake was built in the 1930s to protect downriver communities from flooding, but now the regulating district serves at the pleasure of power companies that harness the Conklingville Dam for energy, said Marilyn Sargent of Batchellerville.

"Where is our flood protection?" Sargent said.

Others at the meeting complained about the expense of fixing beaches damaged by high water. Andy Zawilinski said high water levels have trapped docks in ice, posing a danger to snowmobilers.

"When the water is high, about six inches freezes. When it goes down, that ice breaks and people who come in from out of town don't know. They assume they're riding on dry lake bed, the way it usually is," Zawilinski said.

Robert Foltan, chief engineer for the regulating district, said the board is releasing as much water as it is allowed under a settlement agreement signed by the district and Erie Boulevard Hydropower, which produces hydropower for Niagara Mohawk.

"Before the settlement, releasing water was at the district's discretion. That is no longer the case," Foltan said.

The settlement licensed the hydroelectric plant at Conklingville Dam under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It was signed in March 2000 by Erie Boulevard, the district and a long list of environmental groups.

Residents called for an independent audit of the regulating district, which also oversees five other reservoirs that control water in the Hudson and Black rivers.

Lake resident Peter VanAvery said an audit would help facilitate management of the district. He suggested the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Management for the job of creating a "showpiece public benefit corporation."

Bob Monacchio of Edinburg, who said he has owned a camp on the lake for 25 years, said the permit holders' relationship with the regulating district has always had its ups and downs. Now fed up and suspicious that the board is "in bed with the hydro facilities," Monacchio said a performance audit is the way to go.

John Sheehan, spokesman for the Adirondack Council, said he would be comfortable with Lefebvre at the helm.

"He was a great chair of the APA and a man of strong integrity," he said. "He will also be a better communicator, something the district desperately needs."

Lefebvre, 65, was APA chairman for five years before retiring in November 2002. He said he has spent many hours on the road traveling through the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park. A job at the regulating district would put him close to home -- Lefebvre said he lives 22 miles from Sacandaga Lake.

LEADER-HERALD
Gloversville, NY
December 30, 2003

District won't increase lake fees in 2004

By OMAR AQUIJE, The Leader-Herald

JOHNSTOWN - Permit fees for lakefront access to the Great Sacandaga Lake will remain at current rates for the 2004-05 season after the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District Board of Directors approved the decision Monday.

Board Chairman Timothy Noonan opened the meeting by asking for a motion to keep the fee schedule the same for another year. The decision was approved by the board without discussion.

Afterward, the board met in executive session for nearly 20 minutes before returning to approve a letter of resignation from Executive Director Willard W. Loveless.

Loveless, who was not present on Monday, has been a target of controversy for the district's attempt to increase permit fees as much as 1,000 percent.

The district's attorney, Timothy D. Foley, said Loveless had taken a personal day.

Foley said the decision regarding the fees will give the board adequate time to receive more public comment before creating a proposed fee schedule.

"I foresee that the board will be considering everything that was said here today," Foley said.

The district issues nearly 5,000 permits annually and operates on three-year budget cycles. Under the current fee rates, 10 feet of lakefront costs $43; 11-50 feet costs $48; 51-100 feet costs $56; 101 to 200 costs $72 and anything more than 200 feet costs an additional $20 for every 100 feet. Permits can be issued for up to 2,400 feet.

The original fee proposal, which was removed after heavy public opposition, would have increased a $43 permit to $200.

Last month, a revised fee proposal that called for a 50 percent increase was discussed with a steering committee composed of several local organizations, but that plan was not adopted by the district.

Foley said those numbers dealing with the 50 percent increase are still being looked at by the district.

The news of the fee schedule was no surprise to permit-holder Marilyn Sargent.

"I think it's the only thing they can do," Sargent said. "They had no other way out."

Bills for the upcoming permit year are normally issued to residents around December.

Although there will be no change in the permit schedule next year, the public demanded that the district hire an independent auditor to review the district's financial situation.

Several speakers from the public suggested that in order to regain public trust, the district should have an independent audit before creating a proposed fee schedule.

Peter VanAvery, co-founder of the Batchellerville Action Committee, suggested the governor sponsor an independent management consulting study of the complete district. This study would be not just to review the permit schedule, but to redesign the district from scratch.

"We believe that a streamlined district, with fewer office sites and personnel, could do more with less, increasing its productivity while reducing the costs to all concerned," VanAvery said.

Foley said he is confident the district will give a close look at whether it will have a independent audit.

The district's next meeting will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 12 in Albany.