Statement by Peter VanAvery, Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee,
at Hudson River-Black River Regulating District Board Meeting,
Albany, NY
January 14, 2008

Last January, in his first State of the State address, Governor Spitzer promised that state authorities would be more accountable and transparent. A few days later, at your January Board Meeting, you worked against his intent by permanently eliminating the Town Meeting from your agenda. This popular question-and-answer session had been a fixture of Board Meetings since 2004. In its absence, members of the public can make a statement, but any questions we ask are answered with silence.

Your minutes of that January 2007 meeting state: "Chairwoman McDonald commented on the elimination of the Town Meeting from the Agenda. She stated the Public could address their concerns, questions, or comments to Mr. LaFave who would then contact the Board."

Well, nearly two months ago, I emailed an inquiry to Mr. LaFave about the termination of the Town Meeting. I asked: "Whose decision was this? I don't recall a Board Meeting vote on the subject. Nor is there a mention of such a vote in the minutes of the December 11, 2006 Board Meeting." I did not receive a response. In a recent letter to Governor Spitzer, I mentioned this incident and suggested that he might have better luck in extracting an answer from you.

At that December 2006 Board Meeting, Board Member Eyre complained about the public's behavior during the previous month's Q & A session. He began by objecting to a joke told by a member of the public. Mr. Eyre found it offensive. But he apparently forgot that the joke had not been told during the Q & A session but two hours earlier during the Public Forum. Following the meeting, I emailed a correction to Mr. Lafave ... to no avail. Two months later, when the minutes of that December Board Meeting were finally issued, I was shocked to see that Mr. Eyre's comment about the joke was printed verbatim. Anyone can make a mistake. But for the District to knowingly perpetuate a mistake is deception.

Mr. Eyre also complained about a public comment that the Board had "hid out" by holding a meeting at the Stillwater Reservoir. To quote your minutes: "The Board seeks to afford all areas under our jurisdiction an opportunity to host a meeting. He doesn't believe that one meeting at the Stillwater Reservoir in the modern history of the Board is excessive." But just a year later, in October 2007, the Board was back at the Stillwater Reservoir, where the number of public attendees was zero.

Since 85 percent of your revenues come from the Hudson River area, you ought to hold eight of your 10 annual Board meetings in the Hudson River watershed. Instead, you split them 5 and 5. Last November, the Board met in Watertown. Number of public attendees: just one. This history sure seems like hiding out to me.

So your rationale for terminating the Q & A session is based on misleading premises.

Since mid-2007, as a result of an Executive Order issued by Governor Spitzer, state authorities have been required to webcast Board meetings on the Internet. At remote locations in the Black River watershed, you often deal with controversial matters affecting Great Sacandaga. So these webcasts are a blessing. The webcast of the Stillwater Reservoir Board Meeting in October was especially instructive. At the end, when some of you thought the camera was off, we heard you joking and laughing about the absence of the public. This happened just two months after you voted to pay a PR firm $48,000 to improve your image. If you persist in shooting yourselves in the foot, that investment will be a total waste of money.

In webcasting its meetings, the District has followed the letter of the Governor's Executive Order, but not its intent. As the latest webcast is posted on your website, its predecessor is removed. This, I believe, is contrary to the Governor's wishes (although I can certainly understand why you would want the webcast of the Stillwater Reservoir Board Meeting to have as little exposure as possible). In the interest of accountability and transparency, these webcasts should be archived.

In conclusion, I ask you to reexamine your roles as Board Members. Your sworn duty is to act as the public's first line of defense, ensuring that the District operates appropriately and effectively. Your task, for which you volunteered, is to safeguard the public from the District, not the other way around. You need to work much harder at it. A good start would be to put the Q & A session back on your agenda, restoring two-way communications between the public and the Board.

Thank you.