TO: Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee Members
FROM: Peter VanAvery
DATE: July 22, 2004
With all the thousands of seasonal property owners finally back in summer residence at Great Sacandaga Lake, the Regulating District held its July 12 board meeting 170 miles away in Watertown. I suspect they were a little surprised to see your humble correspondent walk into the room. Here are some meeting highlights:
- The new Chief Fiscal Officer -- Henry S. Hess -- was introduced.
Selected from among 46 applicants for the position, he replaces
Secretary/Treasurer George Scaringe, who has retired.
- The Board is advertising again for a firm to conduct a so-called
"independent performance audit" to establish the actual costs of the
access permit system. The findings will determine how much access permit
fees will be hiked in Fiscal Year 2005/06. The Board's first ad
generated inquiries from several audit firms but no bids.
- Unbelievably, the subject in which I was most interested -- the status
of the NYS Comptroller's Office's final report on its audit of the
District -- was not mentioned at the meeting. So I asked about it during
the Q&A session. The answer: The District is still waiting for it. In
the meantime, I have invoked the Freedom of Information Law to request a
copy when it becomes available. I suspect that some of the folks at the
District are a trifle uneasy about what that report might contain.
- Executive Director Richard Lefebvre wants to put out an issue of
Waterline, the District's newsletter. It used to be an annual
publication, but the District skipped 2003. The old version was poorly
written and uninformative, and I doubt that it was missed. Done right,
this publication could be valuable to access permit holders. For
example, the front page of the next issue should feature a warning that
since the Federal license on the reservoir has not been amended, the
excessively high water levels that damaged our beach assets in 2003 and
2004 will return. Keep in mind that publication and mailing costs
probably will be added to the expense of running the access permit
system, which we will pay for.
- The District's workboat has remediated erosion damage on about 20
access permit segments so far this season. It has to be pulled out of
the lake when the level drops to 764 (it is currently at 765.8). Below
that point, the workboat can no longer float up to the launching ramp
for removal.
- Chief Engineer Robert Foltan briefly discussed the Cultural Resources
Management Plan the District was required to fund under the 2002 Federal
license. Among numerous provisions, it requires the District to set up
procedures for protecting historic properties (e.g., Native American
remains) threatened by shoreline erosion or other ground-disturbing
activities. What does this mean to you? As I understand it, if you want
to do some major shoreline work, you'll now have to obtain a permit from
the New York State Historic Preservation Officer in addition to the
usual permits from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and
the Regulating District. Just what we need: another layer of bureaucracy.
- I asked about the status of the Reapportionment Study. Chief Engineer
Foltan responded that now that the 2004/05 budget is in hand, the
District plans to fund yet another study to determine additional
beneficiaries that can be assessed for operation and maintenance of the
reservoir. We access permit holders are, of course, on the potential hit
list.
Here's some other news from around Great Sacandaga Lake:
- Earlier this month, the NYS Department of Transportation conducted
tests on the structural integrity of the Batchellerville Bridge. The
results will determine what, if any, additional repairs are needed.
- Saratoga County has begun to replace the 30-foot-long bridge across
Batcheller Creek, just south of the eastern abutment to the
Batchellerville Bridge. The new bridge will be built next to the old one.
- The Northampton Planning Board has proposed that the town place a
moratorium on future housing projects, excluding single-family
dwellings, until a master plan is put in place. This will not apply to
two already announced projects -- a $2 million condo cluster in
Sacandaga Park and a $240,000 tourist accommodation in Fish House --
that have generated loud controversy in their communities.
- Saratoga County supervisors have approved a $72.5 million plan to
create a countywide water system with water piped from the upper Hudson
River. The system, which will draw 4-6 million gallons of water daily,
could be in operation by 2007. In June, I asked Chief Engineer Foltan if
this would have any effect on water levels in the reservoir. He said
that it would amount to just a drop in the bucket.
- The Adirondack Park Agency is continuing to reject Saratoga County's
proposal to build three new emergency radio communications towers on
mountains in Hadley, Day, and Edinburg. The APA wants the county to
investigate alternatives that would keep the towers off mountain tops.
- The Regulating District's board will not meet in August. After all,
those pesky seasonal residents will still be hanging around.