2008-03-19 SP. MTG.#12 JOINT MEETING WITH COU
SPECIAL TOWN BOARD }.IEETING 03-19-2008 }'ITG. #12
JOINT MEETING WITH WARREN COUNTY
547
SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING
MARCH 19, 2008
6:30 P.M.
WEST GLENS FALLS VOL. FIRE CO.
STATION 1
33 LUZERNE ROAD, QUEENSBURY, N.Y.
MTG. #12
RES. 188-189
JOINT MEETING TOWN OF QUEENSBURY /WARREN COUNTY
EMINENT DOMAIN PUBLIC HEARING
(Attached to this meeting stenographer's transcript of the public hearing)
Town Board Meeting Continues
Supervisor Daniel Stec
Councilman Anthony Metivier
Councilman Ronald Montesi
Councilman John Strough
Councilman Tim Brewer
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING FOIL APPEAL DENIAL LETTER
RESOLUTION NO. 188, 2008
INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Tim Brewer
WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION
SECONDED BY: Mr. Ronald Montesi
WHEREAS, John Aspland has sought to obtain copies of notes from
Town employees to the Town Board regarding the Town's selection of legal
counsel pursuant to the Freedom of information Law (FOIL); and
WHEREAS, the Town Clerk, as Records Access Officer, has
denied access to these notes on the basis that they are exempt from
disclosure as "intra-agency materials" pursuant to FOIL; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Aspland has appealed that denial by letter of
February 29th; and
WHEREAS, the Town Supervisor has prepared a draft letter in
SPECIAL TOWN BOARD }.IEETING 03-19-2008 }'ITG. #12
JOINT MEETING WITH WARREN COUNTY
548
response to the appeal setting forth the reasons for the denial.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOL VED, that the Town Board authorizes the Town Supervisor to
fOlward the letter to Mr. Aspland as explanation of the denial and also
provide a copy to the New York State Committee on Open Government
pursuant to the Public Officers Law.
Duly adopted this 19th day of March, 2008 by the following vote:
A YES: Mr. Metivier, Mr. Montesi, Mr. Strough, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Stec
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
RESOLUTION ADJOURNING TOWN BOARD MEETING
RESOLUTION NO. 189, 2008
INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Anthony Metivier WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION
SECONDED BY: Mr. Ronald Montesi
RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby adjourns its Special
Town Board Meeting.
Duly adopted this 19th day of March, 2008 by the following vote:
AYES: Mr. Metivier, Mr. Montesi, Mr. Strough, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Stec
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Respectfully,
Miss Darleen M. Dougher
Town Clerk-Queensbury
10
11
12
1
1
2
3 JOINT EMINENT DOMAIN PUBLIC HEARING OF WARREN
4 COUNTY AND THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK
5
6
7
WARREN COUNTY ROUTE 28
8
CORINTH ROAD/MAIN STREET
9
BROAD STREET, P.I.N. 1753.80
13 Public Hearing to provide an opportunity
14 for individuals to become acquainted with the
15 proposed improvements to County Route 28, held
16 at the West Queensbury Fire Department, Glens
17 Falls, New York on March 19, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
18 before Joan A. DeCaro, Court Reporter and
20
19 Notary Public.
22
21 A-P-P-E-A-R-A-N-C-E-S:
23
24
25
WILLIAM E. LAMY
Warren County Superintendent
of Public Works
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
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2
1
BRIAN N. HUMPHREY,
2
Deputy Superintendent of
Public Works
3
4
JEFFREY E. TENNYSON,
5
Deputy Superintendent of
Engineering/Environmental
6
7
8
9
DANIEL G. STEC,
10
Supervisor, Town of Queensbury
11
12
TIMOTHY BREWER, Dep. Supervisor &
Councilman
13
JOHN STROUGH, Councilman
14
RONALD MONTESI, Councilman
15
ANTHONY METIVIER, Councilman
DARLEEN DOUGHER, Town Clerk
MILLER, MANNIX, SCHACHNER & HAFNER, LLC
BY: ROBERT H. HAFNER, ESQ.
LEAH EVERHART, ESQ.
MICHAEL SHAW, Sewer Superintendent
STUART BAKER, Senior Planner
BUD TAYLOR & WILLIAM KENNEY
City of Glens Falls
Board of Supervisors
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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- -"--'-------~~---_._-_."-_._.~.,_._~-_.
3
1
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
2
No.
Description
Page
3
1
Affidavit of Mailing
5
4
2
Affidavit of Mailing
5
5
3
Letters to homeowners
5
6
4
Transportation Project
Report
5
7
8
5
Brochure
76
9
SPEAKERS
Name
Page
William Lamy,
Superintendent Public Works
Warren County
5
Daniel Stec,
Supervisor, Town of Queensbury
11
William Lamy
19
Ray Rumanowski
Clough Harbour & Associates, LLP
23
Don Fletcher,
Barton & Loguidice
35
Daniel Stec
46
Richard Hite,
RK Hite
60
Robert Hafner, Esq.
Counsel to Town of Queensbury
67
Daniel Stec
75
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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21
22
23
24
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10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
-. -""~"--"'-'<._'------~--"--~---~,>~-~"->~,--,, .....-.-....
4
1
William Lamy
75
2
3
William Dow,
National Grid
77
4
5
Trina Steves
83
6
7
Karla Buettner, Esq.,
Representing Cumberland Farms
84
8
9
William Miller,
Cumberland Farms
88
Karla Buettner
90
Mark Zoller
91
Patricia Evans
93
Dawn Clifford
98
John Reilly
100
Keith Cavayero
103
Don Kruger
105
Raymond Ash
107
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
- ---'--------_._-----_."..,----_._._-...~
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
5
1
(Exhibits 1 through 4 were
2
marked into evidence prior to start of
3
hear ing . )
4
MR. LAMY:
My name is Bill Lamy.
5
I'm the Superintendent of Public Works
6
for Warren County Department of Public
7
Works, and Warren County is the lead
8
agency in the project.
We have
9
partnered with the Town of Queensbury
10
and the City of Glens Falls in
11
enhancing this road improvement
12
project, Corinth Road, Main Street and
13
Broad Street, Route 28.
I would like
14
to welcome you to our joint Eminent
15
Domain Public Hearing that is
16
sponsored by Warren County and the
17
Town of Queensbury.
18
The purpose of the hearing is to
19
review the design alternatives
20
prepared for the construction of
21
County Route 28 from Big Bay Road to
22
Hudson Avenue in the Township of
23
Queensbury and the City of Glens
24
Falls.
You will receive presentations
25
by most of the panel up here.
We have
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
6
1
County personnel, we have Town
2
personnel.
The county is represented
3
by Cough Harbour, also RK Hite.
The
4
Town of Queensbury is represented by
5
Miller, Mannix, Schachner and Hafner.
6
First, there will be no drugs,
7
alcohol or smoking on or around the
8
property.
Second, the fire exits are
9
located to my right, your left.
There
10
are exits in the rear of the building
11
as well, and I believe rest rooms are
12
located in the building.
13
This is a copy of the hearing
14
brochure that is available on the desk
15
where you came in.
If you have not
16
picked one up, certainly feel free to
go over and do that.
The brochure
contains a project description, the
project objectives and the anticipated
project schedule.
On the table with the brochures,
there are also comment forms.
And in
order to speak when it gets to that
point of the process, we ask you to
fill in the blue card and return it,
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
7
1
and you will be called upon to speak.
2
The hearing is going presented
3
in two parts.
The presentation of the
4
project will be first.
Then that will
5
be followed by the comment period from
6
any of you that desire to do that.
7
During the first part, the County and
8
the Town representatives will explain
9
the project purpose and the
10
background.
They will discuss the
11
design alternatives and the real
12
estate procedures.
We expect that
13
this will take about thirty minutes.
14
After the presentation, we will take a
15
short break and when we resume, we
16
will give the opportunity for anybody
17
that wants to state their concerns or
18
their support of the project.
19
The reason we are here tonight
20
is not only to present the project,
21
but we want to hear your views about
22
the project.
The hearing is not
23
intended to be a question and answer
24
period, but we certainly want you to
25
feel free to state any of your
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
T own of Queensbury and Warren County
8
1
concerns.
You're certainly going to
2
be given the opportunity to ask
3
general questions about the project.
4
If you get down to a specific question
5
that is detailed about your own
6
individual lot, Clough Harbour has a
7
staff in the rear of the room. The
8
real estate people are here. During
9
one of the breaks or after the
10
presentation, it probably would be
11
most effective for you to seek out one
12
of the staff people and zero in on the
13
particular concern that you may have
14
on your specific lot.
15
I will be calling speakers using
16
the blue card system.
I urge you to
17
fill that out.
If you decide that you
18
don't want to speak, but you would
19
like to submit written comments, we
20
have a form that you can certainly put
21
down any of your written comments on
22
and that should be returned to my
23
attention at the Warren County
24
Department of Public Works.
Whether
25
you speak or whether you write, all
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
9
1
your comments carry the same weight.
2
It's just whatever you are the most
3
comfortable doing.
4
The design public hearing for
5
this project was held on August 25th,
6
2004 satisfying the provisions of
7
Title 23, U.S. Code Section 128, which
8
requires public hearings on major
9
highway projects.
This hearing was
10
conducted in accordance with the
11
requirements of the u.s. Federal
12
Highway Administration Federal Aid
13
Policy Guide 23 of CFR 771,
14
Environmental Impact and Related
15
Procedures in accordance with Article
16
2 of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law
17
of New York State, and Article 8 of
18
the Environmental Conservation Law in
19
New York State.
Due to the length of
20
time which has elapsed from this
21
hearing date, a second Eminent Domain
22
Public Hearing is required in order to
23
continue the right of way acquisition
24
for the highway project.
25
Also tonight the Town of
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
10
1
Queensbury is conducting a similar
2
public hearing concerning right of way
3
easements for utility upgrades in the
4
project area.
Supervisor Stec from
5
the Town and his staff will present
6
these elements of the project
7
following the County's presentation.
8
The purpose of the hearing has
9
multiple objectives and I will read
10
them:
11
A.
It's to meet the legal
12
requirements of Article 2 of the
13
Eminent Domain Procedure Law, and that
14
had been incorporated in a notice
which is part of the record.
B.
To provide information of
the project background and the
activities that have led up to the
hearing.
C.
To describe the project, the
public use, benefit or purpose to be
served, and the anticipated project
schedule.
D.
To explain the property
acquisition process.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
11
1
E.
To receive public comment
2
and documents.
3
F.
To provide information as to
4
the next steps, and,
5
G.
The next step for the Town
6
of Queensbury will be considering the
7
comments, whether verbal or written
8
that are made here tonight.
9
MR. HAFNER:
Bill, not to
10
interrupt, but the Town Board of
11
Queensbury, they have to formally
12
start the meeting.
13
MR. LAMY: Absolutely.
14
MR. HAFNER: Why don't we have
15
them do that now.
16
MR. LAMY:
Sure.
17
MR. STEC:
Thank you.
18
Good evening, everyone.
Thank
19
you for attending this evening.
This
20
is an important project.
We are
21
delighted this much interest.
I know
22
the subject at hand is one that is
23
often written about in newspapers and
24
near and dear to everyone's heart,
25
because it involves property, in
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
12
1
particular, many of your properties.
2
My name is Dan Stec.
I'm the
3
Town Supervisor, and present tonight
4
is the rest of the Town Board and the
5
Town Attorney who I will introduce to
6
all of you.
Present tonight are
7
Timothy Brewer, the Deputy Town
8
Supervisor and Councilman, and to my
9
left respectively are Councilman
10
Anthony Metivier, Councilman Ronald
11
Montesi, Sr., Councilman John Strough.
12
Robert Hafner is here tonight from the
13
firm of Miller, Mannix, Schachner &
14
Hafner, who represent the Town of
15
Queensbury, along with Town Attorney
16
Leah Everhart, and to my right from
17
Barton and Loguidice is Don Fletcher,
18
one of the town's consultants on the
19
project.
Again, we are happy to have
20
you here tonight.
21
I will echo but I wouldn't
22
repeat a lot of what Bill said, that
23
the purpose of this is to receive
24
comments on the project, in
25
particular, the impact that you mayor
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
13
1
may not have to property with respect
2
to the Eminent Domain or condemnation,
3
the scope of the big picture on the
4
town's end of the project, and, that
5
is, while the county's focus is the
6
roadway and the physical improvements
7
you will see above ground by way of
8
curbing, sidewalks and asphalt, the
9
Town has responsibilities to the
10
project here for utilities that are
11
under ground.
By utilities, I mean
12
the County's water line needs to be
13
replaced, a new sewer line will be
14
installed, and, of course, the
15
electrical utilities, the cable,
16
telephone, and electrical power.
When
17
we say "utilities", we do mean all
18
three of those, electric, water and
19
That is the purpose of ours as
sewer.
20
well.
21
We are behind the County, not to
22
say we should be, but they are farther
23
along on the processes than we are.
24
You met -- we both hired the same
25
consultant, RK Hite.
A lot of you had
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
14
1
contact with RK Hite already.
2
Certainly, you probably have been
3
dealing with RK Hite on the County's
4
needs for property for the road
5
portion. It's my understanding they
6
also have, they want to let you know
7
they will be back, probably the same
8
folks you have been talking to, will
9
be back on behalf of the Town in the
10
near future for the underground
11
utilities, which will be a different
12
set of easements that the Town will
13
need for our uses.
14
But it's a similar process.
15
We're both required to follow the same
16
process, which is why we felt rather
17
than drag you out two nights
18
inconveniencing everyone twice, we
19
will combine the proceedings here
20
tonight and kind of do it in a one
21
stop shop.
22
We do have several members of
23
the Town staff here tonight, our sewer
24
superintendent, Mike Shaw, is here,
25
and our Senior Planner, Stuart Baker
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
T own of Queensbury and Warren County
15
1
is here.
And also as a courtesy and
2
I'm very happy to have them here, two
3
Glens Falls Supervisors on the County
4
Board that serve with me are also
5
here, and that is Bud Taylor and Bill
6
Kenney, again, both from Glens Falls
7
and we're happy to have them here as
8
well.
I'm kind of wearing two hats
9
here tonight, the County hat and the
10
Town hat.
But I did want to do that
11
and also I want to recognize our Town
12
Clerk, Darleen Dougher, who is here,
13
and the stenographer tonight is Joan
14
DeCaro.
She will be taking down steno
15
notes tonight and later when we get to
16
her portion, there will be somebody
17
that will remind you, don't do what I
18
just did and ramble on and sayan
19
awful lot really fast during a short
20
period of time, because she will
21
transcribe verbatim what is being
22
said.
23
Again, I think Bill may have
24
mentioned the sign-in cards for anyone
25
who wants to speak, sign the cards.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
16
1
She may interrupt.
We will give her
2
the green light at the beginning that
3
if she doesn't catch something and she
4
needs to for her record, if all of the
5
sudden Joan at the end of the table
6
interrupts you, that is why.
7
The final thing I want to do is
8
thank the West Glens Falls Fire
9
Company for allowing us to use their
10
facility tonight rather than having
11
everyone come to Town Hall in trying
12
to be a little more convenient for
13
With that said, I will hand
everyone.
14
it over to our attorney, Bob Hafner,
15
who will go through some more of the
16
legalese.
17
MR. HAFNER:
To some extent you
18
will hear similar things said more
19
than once.
The reason I just want to
20
warn you, not that we will change,
21
because we have to follow the same
22
process for Eminent Domain, we are not
23
having one public hearing.
We are
24
having two public hearings that are
25
happening at the same exact time.
The
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
T own of Queensbury and Warren County
17
1
Town has to make sure it dots its i's
2
and crosses its t's, just like the
3
county has to.
I want to remind you,
4
as Bill did, that there are two
5
separate projects that are being
6
discussed.
Bill talked about the
7
County's project of widening the road.
8
And Dan went through the Town's
9
projects.
The Town, just to remind
10
you, has three sub-projects to its
11
public purpose here tonight.
They all
12
revolve around utilities and the need
13
to have, to make sure we have enough
14
easements so that we can deal with the
15
utility work that will result as part
16
of the County's road widening.
There
17
is first the water replacement.
There
18
are water lines which will be replaced
19
at the same time as this road project.
20
The Town is going to be putting in a
21
sewer line.
You will hear about that
22
later.
And the third thing and that
23
probably most of the Town's discussion
24
tonight may explain is the
25
undergrounding of utilities along the
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
18
1
Main Street Corridor in the Town of
2
Queensbury.
The County, I believe, is
3
looking for fee ownership.
They will
4
own the land under the road.
We are
5
looking for what is called an
6
"easement," which is a right to use.
7
We are going to have, as part of the
8
Eminent Domain process, we will end up
9
with an easement that grants us the
10
right to use a portion of the property
11
that is going to be described later
12
tonight for use for our various
13
utility purposes, which I explained,
14
water, sewer, and undergrounding of
15
all sorts of utilities, power,
16
electric, gas, telephone, cable, any
17
other utilities that might be there.
18
But I want to explain we are going to
19
be taking an easement.
20
As I already explained, Bill
21
Lamy will handling the meetings for
22
the County, and Dan Stec for the Town
23
Board.
24
Bill, we are back to you.
25
Very good.
I miss my
MR. LAMY:
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
19
1
Teleprompter here.
Just got a couple
2
of more formalities to go through
3
before we get into the presentation.
4
Let me touch on the hearing process.
5
There will be a formal presentation,
6
once again, with the project history,
7
the project design presented by
8
Clough, Harbour and Barton &
9
Loguidice.
There will be a discussion
10
of the project acquisition process by
11
RK Hite.
Then we will receive public
12
comment, oral and/or written, and
13
documents.
We also receive
14
comments and documents will be
15
received until the close of the
16
hearing -- and how many days do we
17
keep the hearing open?
18
Okay, I must state once again
19
like Dan said a transcript is being
20
prepared, it will be available for
21
examination and copying.
And at this
22
time I need to read the notice that
23
appeared in the paper.
24
A legal notice concerning the
25
County's hearing was published in the
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
20
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Post Star and the Albany Times Union
2
on March 4th through March 8th, 2008
3
and was also sent certified mail,
4
return receipt requested, to each
5
affected individual and/or entity
6
based on the assessment billing
7
records.
8
Bear with me as I read this
9
notice. "Notice of Public Hearing
10
pursuant to Eminent Domain Procedure
11
Law Section 202, paragraph C.
Please
take notice that in accordance with
New York Eminent Domain Procedure Law,
Section 202 C, notice is hereby given
of a public hearing regarding the
proposed public project, project
identification number 1753.80 to
reconstruct an approximately 2.9
kilometer section of Corinth Road,
Main Street, Broad Street, County
Route 28, from 160 meters west of the
intersection with Big Bay Road in the
Town of Queensbury, extending easterly
to the intersection with Hudson Avenue
in the City of Glens Falls, Warren
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
21
1
County, New York.
2
The public hearing will be held
3
on March 19th, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at
the West Glens Falls Firehouse,
4
5
Station Number 1, located at 33
6
Luzerne Road, Queensbury, New York.
7
The purpose of this hearing is to
8
outline the project's purpose,
9
proposed location and alternate
10
locations, if any, and to present
other pertinent information, including
maps and property descriptions of the
properties to be acquired and adjacent
parcels.
Persons may appear in person or
by agent and will be given the
opportunity to present oral or written
statements and to submit other
documents or information concerning
the proposed project.
Questions regarding the hearing
may be addressed to William E. Lamy,
Superintendent, Warren County
Department of Public Works, 4028 Main
Street, Warrensburg, New York 12885.
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Telephone number, 518-761-6556.
2
Americans with Disability Act
3
Notice.
To request accommodations for
4
a disability, please call Kevin J.
5
Hajos at Clough, Harbour and
6
Associates, LLP, 518-453-8256.
Please
7
request those accommodations three
8
days in advance of the meeting so we
9
can seek to meet your needs." Thank
10
you.
11
At this time the County exhibits
12
that will be entered into the record,
13
number 1 is an affidavit of mailing,
14
number 2 an affidavit of public
15
notice, number 3, certified public
notice letters, and number 4, final
design report, dated April 2005.
Before I turn the microphone
over to Clough, Harbour, I want to
make a couple of other introductions.
With me is Jeff Tennyson, the Deputy
Superintendent for Engineering for
Warren County Department of Public
Works, and at this time I will also
introduce Ray Rumanowski, a partner at
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Clough, Harbour who will give the
2
presentation.
With Ray is his staff
3
member, Kevin Hajos, in the back of
4
the room.
With that, I will turn the
5
mic over to Ray.
He will start with
6
the presentation.
7
MR. RUMANOWSKI:
Everybody hear
8
me okay?
All right.
Thank you, Bill.
9
Thank you, Supervisor Stec.
10
Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen.
My job tonight is to
present to you what is going on as far
as the improvements for Corinth Road.
The project has had a long history.
We started working on this back
somewhere in 1998-1999.
It started
out with project scoping phase where
we took traffic counts, so forth, kind
of came up with how big an improvement
was needed for the project.
I will go
through that later on in my
presentation.
Then in 2001, we began
the preliminary design and
environmental studies to determine the
exact location of where the road is,
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Public Hearing
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where the impacts will be.
We had a
2
public informational meeting back in
3
July 01.
Then New York State DOT
4
said, okay, the project shouldn't go
5
from Big Boom Road to Glens Falls.
6
You have to use the area underneath
7
the Northway.
Okay, so that was added
8
to the project.
They evolved concepts
9
of the Exit 18 area in 2003, and we
10
put together a Final Design Report,
11
and we had a public informational
meeting in April of 04.
As Bill
mentioned, August 25th, we had the
design public hearing and first EDPL
hearing.
The reason why we are here
tonight, the statute of limitations on
the first EDPL hearing had expired, we
had to conduct a second one for the
highway project, and we are here to do
that tonight so we can continue the
right of way acquisition process for
the highway work.
The project extends from Indiana
Avenue which is just west of Big Bay
Road and goes all the way down to the
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Y at the hospital by Hudson Avenue and
2
Stewart's in Glens Falls.
The main
3
project objective is to improve the
4
overall traffic conditions.
That is
5
why we are doing the highway job for
6
the most part.
7
As you can see on the next
8
slide, we did an analysis of the
9
traffic.
It is heavy, okay.
If you
10
look at that slide, the yellow says
11
okay, it's working pretty good today.
12
You get to the blue, it's getting
13
worse, and at red you have gridlock
14
conditions in the peak hours.
You're
15
all probably aware of that traveling
16
every day.
But as time goes on
I
17
have to go back here, it's not
18
cooperating -- in 2015, if we didn't
19
do anything, you can see all of the
20
intersections all have red dots on
21
them, meaning it will be total
22
gridlock on the route.
So that is the
23
main purpose of the project.
24
Other things we want to do while
25
we are in there is the pavement is
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pretty bad, improve the drainage.
A
2
nice rainy day like today, you see
3
puddles. There are no drain systems
4
out there. We wanted to add that on
5
as part of the project.
6
We also wanted to improve
7
bicycle accommodations.
I saw driving
8
up here today people trying to walk in
9
amongst the traffic and the puddles,
10
it's difficult.
We wanted to solve
11
this as part of the project.
12
I mentioned the top three, but
13
there are some secondary things we
14
want to do as we are going through.
15
In design of the road, we want to try
16
and keep the impacts to your property
17
at a minimum. We also want to work
with the Town. It's desirous to have
underground utilities, add water and
sewer, and also develop the corridor
as a gateway, something for the area
to be proud of as an entranceway into
the Town of Queensbury and the City of
Glens Falls.
What we looked at back
in the scoping phase were four
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different alternatives.
They are all
2
on the screen there.
First of all is
3
the no build.
That's if we did
4
nothing.
I will show you on the
5
slide, every intersection operates on
6
a level such as this, which is
7
gridlock; it doesn't fulfill the
8
project objectives.
The pavement gets
9
worse and worse.
There are no
10
facilities for pedestrians and
11
bicycles.
12
We looked at a five-way
13
intersection through the area. That
14
surely will improve traffic. It will
15
make it level, you will see everything
16
better and it means everything works
17
fine.
But it requires the taking a
18
lot of property, 4.6 acres.
We would
have to acquire 40 residences and take
commercial properties, and the cost is
well over 10 million dollars.
We
thought, what else could we do?
So we
looked at a four lane section.
It
gives us the traffic improvements we
desire. But it has a disadvantage,
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with no center turning lane.
If
2
somebody tries to turn left, it will
3
block the lane which will degrade the
4
capacity of the roadway.
Also it
5
requires a lot of property,
6
approximately 30 residences,
7
commercial properties, and it was
8
nearly 9 million dollars.
9
Then we looked at a three-lane
10
intersection.
Again, it provides
11
suitable traffic operations, but it
12
requires a lot less property, and we
13
can squeeze the three lane section
14
throughout the area without having
15
acquisitions to the area, and its cost
16
is far less than the other
17
alternatives.
18
So back in 2001 in the scoping
19
phase, it was determined by the
20
County, whose the lead agency on the
21
project, with Pete Beck from the Town,
22
New York State D.O.T. and the federal
23
highway, that this might advance to
24
this project.
25
The major project corridor, that
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was the initial project that went from
2
Big Boom down to the City of Glens
3
Falls, we have the Exit 18 area, which
4
we added on later.
In the main
5
project corridor, we will have two 14
6
foot lanes in each direction, with an
7
11 foot turn lane.
The 14 foot will
8
allow passage of bicycles safely
9
within the traffic, we have a
10
two-and-a-half foot buffer area well
11
behind the curb, and a five-foot wide
12
sidewalk, and then the County's going
13
to acquire property, two foot in back
14
of that sidewalk as far as the highway
15
project.
Then take a grading release
16
which blends the remaining soil and
17
slopes to match it to the properties
18
there.
There we go.
19
So there is a new closed
20
drainage system, probably going to
21
plant some trees to dress up the
22
landscaping, adding a sidewalk,
23
pedestrian CDLC street lighting, help
24
with the gateway effect, and as I said
25
before, two foot outside is where the
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right of way acquisition is where the
2
highway project will go.
3
As far as your utility work,
4
they will add the new water, which
5
will be inside the pavement, a new
6
sewer, which is going to be adjacent
7
to the sidewalk area, and power, phone
8
and cable, outside of that, outside of
9
-- in most areas the two foot required
10
for the highway project and the
11
sidewalk.
So that is what is going on
12
in the main project corridor.
13
One thing I should mention in
14
the City of Glens Falls, generally
15
they will be resurfacing the roadway
16
there.
It's not total reconstruction.
17
We will replace the curbs and replace
18
the sidewalk and there will be very
19
little impact to any properties which
20
may be a foot or so of the sidewalk
21
throughout those areas.
22
At exit 18, this is what will
23
happen.
I'm not happy with the speed
24
of this, so I will abandon it.
We
25
will relocate Big Boom Road.
We're
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going to move it further to the east
2
opposite what is called Media Drive,
3
used to be called South Street.
It's
4
a new road that the Town just put in.
5
There will be a traffic signal there.
6
There will be a traffic signal there.
7
We are going to add turning lanes,
8
one to I-87, more turning lanes on the
9
southbound lanes, on the southbound
10
under-ramp.
On the northbound
11
under-ramp, we will make it a
12
three-way ramp to improve the traffic
13
flow, and the second lane between Big
14
Bay and the turn lane, that goes into
15
Big Boom.
That's what's going to
16
happen there.
17
We will also put a four-lane
18
section under the I-87 bridges.
19
There's only three there now.
We will
20
also extend the sidewalk through the
21
interchange all the way out to the
22
Indiana Avenue.
So that will be
23
serviced up to that point.
This will
24
provide continuous moving actions in
25
combination throughout the whole
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project area.
2
At the overpass, this is what
3
you have today.
You have three 12
4
foot lanes with small shoulders.
What
5
we will do since we have 47 feet
6
there, we will move the barriers out,
7
right out to the piers, and build four
8
11 foot lanes, which will help traffic
9
flow to that immediate area.
I think
10
probably in the next 10 or 15 years,
11
that bridge will have to be replaced.
12
Then we will put in further capacity
13
improvements in that area.
14
As far as maintenance,
15
protection of traffic, we will try to
16
maintain two-way traffic through the
17
project area.
There will be a time
18
when we will be excavating the
19
pavement, and we will have to close
20
down short stretches.
At that time
21
what we will do is to have a detour.
22
It should be a westbound detour.
We
23
will use westbound traffic coming out
24
of Luzerne during the hours of nine
25
and three.
We will use Luzerne and
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into Media Drive to get out of the
2
construction zone and we will still
3
have traffic using Main Street to get
4
into Glens Falls using the eastbound.
5
This will allow the subcontractor to
6
get the project done much more quickly
7
and try to maintain the two lanes of
8
traffic going during the day and
9
eliminate a lot of waste in
10
construction. It will be a short term
11
inconvenience, but what it will do is
12
vastly speed up the project.
13
Lastly, I just want to talk
14
about the environmental processes we
15
went through as far as the design
16
hearing.
Back in 2004, the
17
documentation of the Final Design
18
Report, we took all of the steps to
19
satisfy the SEQR process and the NEPA
20
We received Federal funds
process.
21
and we performed many studies, looked
22
at wetlands, water quality, air
23
quality, visual impact, threatened or
24
endangered species, hazardous waste
25
and contaminated materials, and
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archeological throughout the whole
2
project area.
We found nothing would
3
be affected other than taking strips
4
of property throughout the area.
5
As far as property -- we have
6
one more slide, but we will talk about
7
the schedule first.
Well, we are
8
planning if everything goes well at
9
the hearing tonight is to continue the
10
final design and right of way
11
acquisition, and, hopefully, we will
12
finish that late this year, so we can
13
start construction someplace in March
14
of next year and probably continue to
15
mid-year 2011.
16
As far as right of way
17
acquisition for the highway, there is
18
92 properties. There's going to be
19
one relocation, the old Mobil station
20
where Big Boom Road will be relocated.
21
This will be required for the project.
22
We are still working on that.
23
Ninety-one offers have been made.
We
24
have fifty-nine signed agreements.
25
Thirty-four of those properties have
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been paid out.
We have fifty-eight
2
left, remaining, to acquire all of the
3
property we need for the highway
4
project.
5
So I think that concludes what I
6
have to say about the County highway
7
project.
I want to turn it over to
8
Supervisor Stec to continue.
9
MR. STEC:
Thank you, Ray.
10
Actually what I was going to do, I was
11
going to turn this over to our
12
consultants, Barton and Loguidice, Don
13
Fletcher, who is the engineer in
14
charge of the Town's end of things.
15
With that said, Don will come out and
16
go through a short presentation.
17
MR. FLETCHER:
Good evening.
18
Everyone hear me?
I'm Don Fletcher of
19
Barton and Loguidice as Dan said.
I'm
20
the consultant for the Town looking at
21
three primary objectives as part of
22
this overall project.
First, being
23
the reconstruction of the water main
24
along Main Street, which would be
25
essentially the TOWN-CITY line heading
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west to the I-87 corridor,
2
construction of a new sanitary sewer
3
along Main Street.
It would be a new
4
sanitary sewer line connecting into
5
the City of Glens Falls sewer.
We
6
will extend west beyond I-87 interpass
7
to the Stewart's property.
The third
8
is the undergrounding of private
9
utilities, which is the power,
10
communications, and cable.
With that,
11
there are two other objectives as we
12
have been working now for seven years
13
with the Town -- and Ray and Bill
14
talked about it a little bit -- is,
15
you know, one, is the Town is really
16
looking at this as an opportunity to
17
plan for redevelopment of the Main
18
Street area in that primary corridor
19
for the Town to optimize community and
20
economic benefits.
And the other is
21
to provide a significant gateway into
22
the Town as well as the City of Glens
23
Falls.
24
Talking a bit about the project
25
cost, the water is $300,000, which is
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the water district's share, and the
2
remainder of that would be paid for as
3
part of the County project, so that if
4
the Town did not do water line
5
improvements with the re-aligning of
6
the road and change in the vertical
7
profile of the road, it would affect
8
the water utilities. So the highway
9
project would pay a portion of that.
10
The Town is paying for the portion
11
where they would not normally be
12
affecting that water line, as well as
13
we are looking to up-size the water
14
line from an 8 inch to a 12 inch line.
15
The sewer is 1.365 million dollars.
16
That is the sewer district's share.
17
Obviously, the people that are in the
18
sewer district will pay that cost of
19
1.3 million dollars and 65,000 which
20
is extending it to the end of the
21
district for excess capacity
22
provisions for the future for the
23
western part of the town.
The other
24
is the private utilities; 5.2 million
25
is the overall cost of placing it
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underground.
A Local Law was passed
2
in 2004 as part of this project
3
identifying several corridors in the
4
Town that would have underground
5
utilities with construction of
6
roadways and widening of roadways, and
7
this is one of the corridors.
Pending
8
the Local Law developed, several
9
months later National Grid filed a
10
lawsuit against the Town against the
11
Local Law.
So, as we see on the
12
following table, there is a breakdown
13
of cost, the National Grid cost of 2.2
14
million and Verizon, approximately 1.3
15
and Time Warner Cable, 60,000.
These
16
are all part of the Local Law.
17
Basically what that means is the Local
18
Law, that had been passed, states that
19
the utility companies would be the
20
ones paying for that portion of the
21
cost.
22
The service connections, which
23
are going to the main line utilities,
24
those utilities along the road, you
25
know, the services going to the
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buildings and into the houses, is
2
$575,000, estimated, and what is
3
stated here, it's funded 100% by
4
federal, state and local, meaning it's
5
a project eligible expense, meaning a
6
County project.
7
And finally there is the design
8
coordination and all the easement
9
acquisitions, which is part of the
10
Local Law cost, also approximately 1.2
11
million.
12
Ray showed you earlier this is
13
the existing condition showing gas
14
along there, existing water on the
15
property as well as the existing
16
telephone on the north side of the
17
road.
And this is the alternative
18
that is being looked at, the
19
reconstructive three lane alternative.
20
The primary ones I want to point out
21
to you is the new water line, which
22
would be approximately the same
23
location as the existing water line
24
underneath the north gateway, and this
25
would be underneath the sidewalk on
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the south side.
And the primary
2
location of the power, cable and
3
telephone underground would be on the
4
south side.
As Ray stated, it's
5
outside of the roadway right of way.
6
It's two feet outside of the sidewalk,
7
and there would be a common utility
8
used for water and sewer and
9
underground utilities.
That is where
10
the utilities would be.
11
As shown on the north side,
12
there are some locations where some
13
new cable and telephone would be
14
going, same thing on the north side
15
just outside of the roadway.
These
16
would be located, half of it is in an
17
easement, it is not in a fee taking.
18
Relocation of the underground
19
utilities, advantages and
20
disadvantages.
An advantage, it's a
21
context sensitive solution consistent
22
with the gateway concept to redevelop
23
the corridor.
It's aesthetically
24
appealing, and one of the big concerns
25
is the safety concerns of utility
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poles for whatever reasons.
You know,
2
we had a lot utility poles going along
3
this corridor.
They would be between
4
the roadway and the sidewalk.
There
5
are obviously vehicular concerns and
6
ice concerns about downed lines.
That
7
is one of the main purposes of
8
developing the Local Law, and the Town
9
working at the solution with moving
10
forward with underground utilities.
11
Then to make it aesthetically
12
appealing, we want to make it a
13
primary corridor for the Town into the
14
City.
15
The disadvantages are logistical
16
requirements.
It's more, takes longer
17
to basically work out.
The seven
18
years we are taking with National
19
Grid, obviously they are above ground
20
now, they are overhead, and we have to
21
work out the requirements of putting
22
all the utilities underground while
23
keeping everybody obviously in service
24
and being able to make the service
25
switch overs to the underground and
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ultimately removing the poles.
That
2
is one of the disadvantages.
3
There is above ground cabinetry
4
attached, which I have slides to show
5
you, photos.
That is a primary
6
concern of residents in that regard
7
that we talked to in the area.
8
Cost.
It is more of a capital
9
impact cost up front compared to
10
moving lines and the poles back.
Part
11
of that went into looking at the Local
12
Law with National Grid and Verizon and
13
some of the costs were offset with the
14
services indicated by the projects.
15
There are obviously then construction
16
schedule impacts. As the County
17
indicated earlier, this project
18
started in 1998, and it will be done
19
in 2011.
It's a 13 year schedule for
20
the planned construction.
21
From a visual impact, these are
22
typical above-ground, three-phase
23
transformers for the commercial
24
corridor areas, locations that are in
25
three-phase power, not typical
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residential power.
These are some of
2
the examples of transformers.
These
3
are some pictures of single phase
4
transformers. The larger box is a
5
three by three. If you look at the
6
upper right photo, that is a picture
7
that you see different boxes in there.
8
As you look at some of residences, you
9
see different boxes.
One is for the
10
cable and one is for telephone, then
11
this box, this is underground
12
electric.
13
MR. STEC:
Tim, could you get
14
the lights for Don?
Thank you.
15
MR. FLETCHER:
On some of the
16
locations, there are approximately
17
this is a three by three box.
18
Basically this box is similar to this
19
box.
It's just a different view, like
20
these two boxes are similar.
In many
21
locations, the top right one, this is
22
in a typical residential subdivision
23
for this underground residential
24
property.
It is the same idea.
So
25
that is what it looks like as you are
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1
looking at the maps.
2
I know you have gotten a map on
3
the easement, which shows an easement
4
strip and then there is a bump out on
5
many of them.
What we are trying to
6
do at the property lines, as close to
7
the property lines as much as we can,
8
put these above ground -- or
9
underground, in the case of the
10
electric, from there.
That is where
11
the services go.
12
This is an another photo
13
basically showing the corridor with
14
trees and pedestrian lighting and
15
transformers with power, three phase
16
transformers.
17
I want to discuss an alternative
18
that was considered during the
19
planning phase, the armless pole or
20
candle stick alternative.
Basically,
21
instead of having the overhead wires
22
the way they are now, up and down a
23
pole, this is a means of putting poles
24
up taller and bundling wires, looking
25
to try to get it above the viewshed as
Joan A. DeCaro
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you go down the corridor.
There are
2
three phase hubs.
The pole height
3
would be increased.
4
And this is, you know, the
5
reconstruction alternative showing
6
still the relocated gas underneath,
7
below ground, obviously with water and
8
sewer, and with the taller pole
9
alternatives.
One of the main
10
concerns is the icing effect on
11
overhead wires.
That is a problem.
12
The location of the pole with regard
13
to vehicular safety, really, this is
14
an opportunity when you look at it to
15
maybe minimize the aesthetics of it
16
compared to underground or general
17
overhead, but maybe the safety
18
concerns are is one of the reasons why
19
it was not chosen as the primary.
20
This is the armless pole alternative,
21
without the transformer showing, the
22
candle stick poles.
23
So one item I would like to
24
discuss in closing is environmental
25
concerns, which we, the Town Attorney,
Joan A. DeCaro
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and the Board are looking at now.
We
2
have similar concerns as the slides
3
Ray put out for the County project.
4
They have like concerns.
There are
5
threatening endangered species through
6
the corridors.
We have the same
7
environmental concerns as the County,
8
you know, looking at basically the
9
same conclusion that the County and
10
their consultants came up with.
11
with that, I will turn it over
12
to Rich Hite.
13
MR STEC:
I just have one thing
14
I have to do.
15
Thank you, Don.
As you may
16
know, the Town is considering taking a
17
portion of certain properties adjacent
18
to Main Street and Corinth Road in
19
order to use those properties for
20
undergrounding of utilities and for
21
our new sewer line.
This taking is
22
sometimes referred to condemnation or
23
the exercise of the powers of Eminent
24
Domain.
25
It's important that the people
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understand the Town is not seeking to
2
condemn any property in its entirety,
3
nor is the Town seeking to be the
4
owner of any property.
The Town
5
merely wishes to acquire the right to
6
use certain portions of the property,
7
commonly called an easement, running
8
along the bounds of County Route 28.
9
All property owners have received a
10
survey map of their
11
property/properties depicting the
12
location of the proposed easement.
13
The Town wants to receive
14
easements by mutual agreement with
15
property owners.
Condemnation is the
16
last resort.
17
It is also important for
18
everyone to understand that this is
19
not the first time the Town has
20
considered required utilities in the
21
town to be placed underground.
The
22
Town of Queensbury explored the
23
possibility of requiring the
24
undergrounding of utility facilities
25
in particularly sensitive areas within
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the town since 2001.
In 2002 the Town
2
began considering requiring
3
undergrounding along the Main Street
4
corridor.
In that year the
5
engineering firm of Barton and
6
Loguidice was called upon to prepare a
7
detailed study to address a number of
8
considerations.
This study was called
9
the Town of Queensbury Utility
10
Undergrounding Implementation Plan and
11
was dated April of 2002.
The
12
Implementation Plan addressed issues
13
of safety, aesthetics, function,
14
operation and economic considerations
15
related to undergrounding.
16
In May 2002 Barton and Loguidice
17
prepared and presented the Main Street
18
Plan.
The Main Street Plan described
19
the possible coordinated effort with
20
the County Board whereby the County
21
would approve the Main Street Corridor
22
by enlarging and relocating the bounds
23
of Route 28, also known as Main Street
24
and Corinth Road.
By coordinating the
25
efforts the Town and County could, 1)
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recognize County Route 28's importance
2
as the gateway to the City of Glens
3
Falls, as well as the major access
4
point to the Town of Queensbury, and,
5
2) provide an adequate right of way
6
with less impacts to adjoining
7
property owners than would be suffered
8
by two concurrent projects rather than
9
two consecutive projects, and (3)
10
improve streetscape appearance and
11
quality of life and (4) improve the
12
safety, aesthetics and function of the
13
corridor by removing the vast majority
14
of aboveground facilities.
15
The Town considered the benefits
16
of such a project including the
17
following:
18
Improving visual quality and
19
aesthetics due to the reduced
20
potential for obstruction to scenic
21
resources for residents, as well as
22
travelers;
23
Improved safety due to reduced
24
traffic hazards, as well as electrical
25
accidents;
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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The potential for reduced access
2
problems and/or increased access
3
reliability;
4
Potential for reduced utility
5
maintenance costs due to enhanced
6
utility liability;
7
The reduced potential for
8
impacts related to aboveground utility
9
failures;
10
Increased property values, as
11
underground utilities may be a
marketable characteristic;
Enhanced economic development
potential;
And improve visitor experience
as a result of improving scenic
quality.
The Town further considered
feasibility of such a plan including:
Benefits and liabilities of
undergrounding;
Affordability of undergrounding;
Cost determinants and budget
constraints;
Cost to the individual property
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_._~~-~--'---_._--"-_..,."._----_._~
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
51
1
owners and the Town;
2
Fairness and equality of funding
3
mechanisms;
4
Criteria for prioritizing of
5
areas;
6
And ongoing operations and
7
maintenance.
8
In addition to considering the
9
Town of Queensbury Utility
10
Undergrounding Implementation Plan
11
and the Main Street Plan, the Town
12
Board also considered the experiences
13
of other communities that have
considered undergrounding as they are
reflected in the publications titled
the Experience to Listen, the Power to
Solve, dated January 2001, and the
Planning Advisory Service Packet.
After considering all relevant
concerns, the Town Board determined
that undergrounding had several
benefits beyond the removal of visual
clutter.
These benefits include:
Undergrounding would be a
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one-time investment, but will produce
2
aesthetic returns for generations;
3
Construction of buildings will
4
be made easier as buildings may reach
5
maximum heights allowed without
6
limiting height to avoid contact with
7
above ground wires;
8
Undergrounding results in fewer
9
poles, less clutter and better
10
pedestrian access;
11
Undergrounding allows a greater
12
variety of street trees to be planted
13
and to grow in their natural canopy;
14
Maintenance costs attributably
15
to tree trimming and clearing as well
16
as pole replacement will decline;
17
Undergrounding will produce a
18
more attractive streetscape and may,
19
thereby, encourage greater transit use
20
of pedestrian activity;
21
These positive impacts may
promote pride in and patronage of
neighborhood commercial areas as
24
attractive places to frequent and
shop;
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Public Hearing
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These positive impacts may
2
thereby increase property values in
3
affected areas; and
4
Undergrounding costs may be
5
reduced if undergrounding is done
6
simultaneously with the County's
7
planned improvements of County Road
8
28.
9
Consistent with these positive
10
impacts in 2004, the Town considered
11
adoption of a Local Law to amend the
12
Town's Zoning Ordinance by creating an
13
Underground Utility Overlay District.
This would require utility facilities
to be placed under ground where those
facilities are new, or where existing
facilities must already be located.
In such cases, the utility companies
would be required to place their
facilities underground.
After careful consideration of
all issues involved, the Town
determined that a multitude of utility
poles close to the street constitute a
traffic hazard by increasing visual
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Public Hearing
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clutter and the likelihood of
2
accidents related to the resulting
3
distraction as well as by presenting a
4
collision obstacle for vehicles which
5
leave a lane of travel for any reason.
6
The Town Board further determined that
7
utility poles and overhead lights pose
8
a threat to public safety as they are
9
vulnerable to being downed by ice and
10
wind storms.
In addition, the Town
11
Board has determined that the
12
appearance of the major arterials in
13
the town contributes significantly to
14
the overall impression of the
15
community held by residents, visitors
16
and commuters, and that by placing
17
utilities underground, this general
perception will be improved and the
appeal of the community will be
positively impacted.
Based on these determinations,
the Town decided to move forward with
the zoning amendment.
A public
hearing was held and comments from
public were solicited.
The Local
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Public Hearjng
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
55
1
Law initially passed by unanimous vote
2
on July 26, 2004 and was reaffirmed
3
and readopted by the Town Board on
4
November 1st, 2004 after the Town
5
undertook environmental review of the
6
proposed action.
7
After considering all legally
8
relevant inquiries, the Town Board
9
determined that the proposed Local Law
10
did not create any potentially
11
significant adverse impacts.
The Town
12
prepared an Environmental Assessment
13
Form and by addressing each of the
14
criteria outlined therein, determined
that there would be no negative impact
to any of the following areas:
Existing air quality or surface
or groundwater quality, noise levels,
existing traffic pattern, solid waste
production or disposal, potential for
erosion or drainage.
Resources such as aesthetic,
agricultural, archaeological,
historic, natural or cultural;
Vegetation, fauna or wildlife
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species or significant habitats or
2
threatened or endangered species;
3
The community's plans and goals
4
of land use;
5
Growth, development or related
6
activities likely to be reduced by the
7
action, and
8
Long term-short term cumulative
9
or other effects.
10
By November 2004 the County
11
Planning Board and the Town Planning
12
Board had the opportunity to review
13
the legislation which require the
14
undergrounding of utilities.
Both
15
Planning Boards recommended adoption.
16
The issue of undergrounding
17
utility facilities was again addressed
18
in April 2005 where the Town passed
19
Local Law 1 of 2005 in order to
20
clarify the situation, which would
21
give rise to the requirement to
22
underground.
23
Before reaching this juncture,
24
the Town considered the information
25
contained in the Town of Queensbury
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Undergrounding Implementation Plan,
2
the Main Street Plan, The Experience
3
To Listen, The Power To Solve, and the
4
Planning Advisory Service Packet.
5
The issue is now being addressed
6
by the Town in the context of the
7
potential condemnation of properties
8
to accomplish the stated goals of
9
undergrounding.
10
One of the things that I just
11
raised, that I wanted to emphasize,
12
the Town and the County, as well,
13
desire to amicably resolve whatever
14
easements and property acquisitions
15
need to be done by the Town and the
16
County for this project, that
17
condemnation is a last resort, but
18
because it's a possibly and there are
19
19 properties involved, there is a
20
good possibility that one or more
21
being required this option.
So for
22
those of you that are in attendance
23
thinking to themselves -- and I know,
24
because calls came in the Town Hall
25
and I'm sure the County, hey, we
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already closed, why am I getting a
2
letter in the mail saying we want to
3
talk about condemnation and eminent
4
domain? If you are one of those
5
folks, you're headed down the path we
6
are trying to strive for, minimizing
7
the amount of property we are going to
8
be involved with, because we respect
9
your property, but we have this public
10
project to do. So we are trying to
11
head down that path.
We don't want to
12
end up in a position where we have to.
13
But if we have to, there is a process
14
that is involved, so that is why we
15
are here.
Again, this is a required
16
step.
But if everyone is satisfied
17
tonight and in the subsequent meetings
18
with RK Hite, you are satisfied with
19
the dollar amount that is discussed
20
for your particular case, and you want
21
to close, that's fine, and the rest of
22
this process won't proceed.
23
Again, there are 92 properties
24
involved.
A couple of them, we admit,
25
are going to be ones that are probably
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going to be difficult for one reason
2
or another, so we need to do this as
3
well.
But it is our hope to use this
4
as a last resort only.
Hopefully, the
5
vast majority won't need to worry
6
about this.
It's a required step.
7
At this point we are about to
8
start taking your comments. Hopefully
9
you will find this has been a nice
10
update and as several have pointed
11
out, we have been working on this
12
project for a long time and not a lot
13
has changed.
I don't want you to
14
think what is new here.
We don't
15
think a lot is new here.
16
This is a wonderful turnout.
We
17
are very pleased with that, a little
18
bit of an information exchange.
Those
19
are my comments.
Most of my talking
20
for the evening is done.
21
We will proceed on
MR. LAMY:
22
the presentation of the right of way
23
acquisition processes.
And the
24
consultant is RK Hite & Company.
with
25
us tonight is both Rich Hite and Bob
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Hite of RK Hite.
2
Rich, I believe you are doing
3
the presentation?
4
RICHARD HITE:
Yes.
5
Thank you, Bill, for the
6
introduction.
Thank you all, again,
7
for coming this evening.
My name is
8
Rich Hite with RK Hite & Company.
We
9
are property rights specialists who
10
deal primarily with highway
11
improvement projects such as this.
12
The purpose of my presentation
13
this evening is to explain the process
14
we will use to acquire real property
15
rights for this project.
Essentially,
16
there are four steps in the process,
17
the initial meeting with each property
18
owner, the real property appraisal,
19
establishing just compensation,
20
negotiating a settlement, and the
21
transferring of title to the County
22
and/or Town.
23
Our primary goal throughout this
24
process is to negotiate a fair
25
settlement with each property owner
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that is affected.
2
First step in the process is a
3
preliminary meeting with one of our
4
property rights specialists.
The
5
property rights specialist will
6
contact you to schedule a convenient
7
time to meet at your property.
At
8
this meeting the property rights
9
specialist will provide you with
10
information about the acquisition
11
process and the explanation of the
12
proposed impacts to your property.
13
At this time they will also
14
inspect the property to gather
15
preliminary information necessary for
16
the rest of the process.
The person
17
you will meet will also handle your
18
negotiation.
I think it's important
19
for you to have one person you can
20
contact if you have any questions.
21
The next step in the process is
22
the real property appraisal.
The
23
appraisal will be used to determine
24
the fair market value of the property
25
rights to be acquired by either the
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County or the Town.
The appraiser
2
will first research and analyze the
3
real estate market in your area.
4
Comparable sales data and other market
5
information will be reviewed.
Next
6
the appraiser will inspect each
7
property.
Site specific information
8
will also be gathered at this time.
9
One very important point I would like
10
to make.
You will be given the
11
opportunity to accompany the appraiser
12
during this visit.
You should take
13
advantage of this offer.
As you have
14
seen, this process has been going on
15
for some time.
We realize there's no
16
one who knows your property better
17
than you do.
18
Finally, the appraiser will
19
prepare a report.
The report will
20
document the findings and state the
21
fair market value of the rights to be
22
acquired.
Just compensation is the
23
price the County and Town must pay to
24
acquire your property.
The County and
25
Town will establish a figure they
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believe to be just compensation.
This
2
amount will not be less than the
3
highest approved fair market value for
4
the property.
As stated previously,
5
the fair market value is determined
6
during the appraisal phase.
We try to
7
offer an amount which reflects the
8
price a willing buyer and willing
9
seller would agree to in the open
10
market.
To avoid any possible
11
confusion, we will prepare an offer, a
12
written offer, for each property.
The
13
offer will include a statement of the
14
just compensation amount, the basis
15
for the just compensation amount, and
16
a description of the property and the
17
interest to be acquired.
18
We will contact each property
19
owner and schedule a convenient time
20
to meet.
At this meeting a negotiator
21
will deliver and review the written
22
offer.
23
I would like to stress one
24
poin t .
While we use the word
25
"negotiator", we, in fact, work under
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what's called a one offer system.
We
2
are required by law to offer you the
3
full amount of the highest approved
4
appraisal.
So unless there are
5
compelling reasons to raise the offer,
6
we will stand by the one offer amount.
7
Once you have accepted the offer, we
8
will prepare the necessary papers and
9
schedule a closing.
The closing is
10
similar to other real estate
11
transactions you have been involved in
12
within the past.
13
I would like to quickly
14
summarize the process that the Town
15
and County will use to acquire real
16
property for this project.
First, we
17
will meet with each property owner to
18
provide information on the project and
19
potential impact to the property.
20
Next, we will appraise your property
21
to determine the fair market value.
22
The fair market value will be used by
23
the County and Town to establish the
24
just compensation amount.
Once the
25
County and Town have established just
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compensation, we will prepare and
2
deliver a written offer to each
3
affected property owner.
We
4
understand the right of way process
5
may be new to some of you.
I know
6
some of you have been through this as
7
we have been working on the
8
acquisition process for quite sometime
9
around now, but I will stress we will
10
do our best to make it as easy as
11
possible for you.
We would like to
12
make every effort to acquire the
13
property through negotiations.
14
This concludes my portion of the
15
presentation.
I will be available to
16
answer any questions.
Thank you.
17
At this point we will
MR. LAMY:
18
take a ten-minute break to serve two
19
One is to allow our
purposes.
20
stenographer to catch her breath and
21
take a short break.
The second thing
22
will be for each of you that wish to
23
speak, it will give you a chance to
24
pick up one of the blue cards over by
25
the table where you came in and if you
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would, if you want to speak, please
2
fill one out and return it up here to
3
me, and we will
once I get the
4
cards, if there is any public elected
5
officials that would like to speak, we
6
will give you the honor of speaking
7
first.
Then we will go to any of the
8
appointed officials.
Then we will
9
stay here for as long as we need to in
10
order to hear from all of you in the
11
public.
We will be back here in about
12
10 minutes.
Thanks.
13
(At which time a ten-minute
14
recess was taken.)
15
MR. LAMY:
If I can have your
attention, please.
If we can start
moving back to your seats, we will
reconvene this meeting here.
Is there anybody else with a
blue card that they need to turn in?
If you signed a blue card, move
towards the front row.
You can use
the microphone here at the front
table.
You are welcome to sit or if
you want to stand, just take the
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microphone out of the holder.
2
MR. STEC:
Ladies and gentlemen,
3
we are going to resume.
You are
4
welcome to stay, but we need you to
5
keep it down a little.
6
I will turn it back to Bob
7
Hafner.
Thank you.
8
MR. HAFNER:
The County has read
9
a notice into the record.
We have to
10
follow the formalities and read our
11
notice.
Please bear with me.
12
The Notice of Public Hearing
13
Pursuant to Eminent Domain Procedure
14
Law Section 201.
15
This notice was published in the
16
Post Star March 1 through 5, 2008 and
17
was also sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to every
property owner that is possibly
affected.
We also mailed to each
property owner a letter, which I will
read after, and a copy of the map
showing you exactly where the easement
boundaries are located.
Now I will
read the notice of the public hearing
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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into the record.
All of our records
2
are kept by Darleen Dougher, our Town
3
Clerk.
That is where all the official
4
documents will be.
Later on we will
5
tell you where they will be stored if
6
anyone wants to review them.
7
"Please take notice that the
8
Town of Queensbury will hold a Public
9
Hearing pursuant to Section 201 of the
10
New York State Eminent Domain
11
Procedure Law on March 19th, 2008 at
12
6:30 at the West Glens Falls Fire
13
Station No.1, located at 33 Luzerne
14
Road in the Town of Queensbury for the
15
purpose of describing and soliciting
16
public comment on a proposal to place
public and private utilities below
ground and to place ancillary utility
facilities above ground.
This
proposal is undertaken concurrently
with a Warren County Public Project
PIN No. 1753.80 to reconstruct and
widen approximately 2.9 kilometers of
County Route 28, also known as Corinth
Road, Main Street, and Broad Street.
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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The County's project will affect
2
properties located along County Road
3
Route 28 from 160 meters west of the
4
intersection of Big Bay Road in the
5
Town of Queensbury extending easterly
6
to the intersection with Hudson Avenue
7
in the City of Glens Falls, Warren
8
County, New York.
9
The Town's public project, as
10
proposed, contemplates simultaneous
11
construction by the Town and County
12
along the above referenced bounds of
County Route 28.
However, the Town's
project will impact only lands located
within the municipal limits of the
Town of Queensbury.
The Town's
proposed project will result in the
placement of all public and private
utilities along the bounds of a
portion of County Route 28, which is
Main Street and Corinth Road,
underground along the widened and
reconstructed bounds of County Route
28.
The Town's proposed project also
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
T own of Queensbury and Warren County
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includes the placement of ancillary
2
utility facilities above ground along
3
the bounds of County Route 28 as
4
widened and reconstructed.
The Town's
5
easement will permit utilities
6
underground and/or above ground.
7
The properties over which
8
easements are being considered are
9
located in the Town of Queensbury
10
along the bounds of County Road 28
11
adjacent to the County's public
12
project and are further identified by
13
the following tax numbers."
I will save you the reading off
of all the numbers.
They were duly
published and in the notices of every
property owner.
"All persons interested in the
proposed project are invited to attend
and may present oral or written
statements or documents relating to
the project.
If easements over the properties
identified above are taken, any person
owning such property wishing to
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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challenge acquisition by means of
2
judicial review may do so only on the
3
basis of issues, facts and objections
4
raised at this public hearing.
5
Questions regarding the public
6
hearing may be addressed to Dan Stec,
7
Supervisor, Town of Queensbury, 742
8
Bay Road, Queensbury, New York 12804,
9
518-761-8229.
10
Americans With Disabilities Act
11
Notice.
To request accommodations for
12
a disability, please call Don Fletcher
13
at Barton & Loguidice, P.C. (518)
14
218-1801. To help insure your needs
15
are met, please request accommodations
16
three days in advance of the public
17
hearing. II
18
As I stated, it was published in
19
the Post Star March 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
2008.
We mailed a copy, certified
mail, return receipt requested, to the
addresses on the Town's assessment
billing record, and mailed one to each
property owner.
In addition, we later
mailed a copy of the map related to
Joan A. DeCaro
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each parcel showing the exact bounds
2
with this letter:
3
"Dear Property Owner:
4
As you are likely aware for
5
sometime the Town of Queensbury has
6
been contemplating the condemnation of
7
the properties adjacent to Main
8
Street-Corinth Road.
The purpose of
9
this taking is to facilitate the
10
widening and reconstruction of County
11
Route 28, i.e., Main Street-Corinth
12
Road-Broad Street, as well as the
13
placement of public and private
14
facilities, both below ground and
15
above ground along the properties on
16
Main Street/Corinth Road as widened
17
and reconstructed.
This is what we
18
call the project.
19
The Town will hold a public
20
hearing on March 19th, 2008 at 6:30 at
21
the West Glens Falls Fire Station No.
22
1, located at 33 Luzerne Road, Town of
23
Queensbury.
Notice of this public
24
hearing was duly published in the Post
25
Star March 1st-March 5th, 2008.
In
Joan A. DeCaro
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addition, a copy of this notice was
2
sent to you, return receipt requested,
3
at the same address at which you
4
receive the Queensbury Real Tax bills.
5
The public project, as
6
contemplated, includes a condemnation
7
of the portion of the properties owned
8
by you located in close proximity to
9
the Main Street, Corinth Road in the
10
Town of Queensbury.
Enclosed you will
11
find a map of your property, which
12
depicts the location of the proposed
13
easement contemplated by the Town of
14
Queensbury.
In the event your
15
property is taken by the Town of
16
Queensbury in furtherance of a public
17
project in accordance with the laws of
18
Eminent Domain, otherwise known
19
condemnation, you may have the
20
opportunity to challenge this
21
acquisition.
You may do so only on
22
the basis of issues, facts, and not
23
objections raised at a public hearing.
24
If you are unable to attend the public
25
hearing, you are free to submit
Joan A. DeCaro
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written materials to the Town.
2
Please be advised the Town will
3
not accept the material after the
4
close of the public hearing."
5
So signed by Daniel G. Stec,
6
Supervisor.
7
I also would like to read two
8
other things, if you don't mind, Bill,
9
before we send it back to you.
First,
10
I would like to remind everyone this
11
is a public hearing.
I will -- as you
12
can tell, we are following the strict
13
rules of the Eminent Domain Procedure
14
Law.
We have to hold a public hearing
15
and the purpose of the public hearing
16
is to get your public comments about
17
this proposed project.
It's not a
18
dialogue, question and answer period.
19
If questions are asked, they will be
20
duly noted as comments for the record.
21
The Town Board mayor may not respond
22
to them in the future.
Also, before
23
you start making public comments,
24
Bill, the Town Supervisor needs to
25
formally open our public hearing for
Joan A. DeCaro
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the Town.
We will do that and send it
2
back to you.
3
MR. STEC:
Thank you, Bob.
4
And, yes, Bill was about to open
5
the public hearing for the County.
6
I will declare the public
7
hearing for the Town of Queensbury on
8
this subject opened at this point, and
9
I'll let Bill open it for the County,
10
so there will be two simultaneous
11
public hearings going on regarding
12
this project.
We will follow one set
13
of rules, and Bill will call folks up
14
and control the flow of who speaks and
15
in what order.
16
The Town's public hearing is
17
open.
18
MR. LAMY:
I will at this time
19
declare the County's public hearing on
20
this project is also open and running
21
concurrently with the Town's.
22
The next order of business is I
23
will enter into the record the
24
brochure entitled EDPL Public Hearing,
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Warren County Route 28, Corinth Road-
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Main Street-Broad Street, Project
2
Identification Number 1753.80, marked
3
as exhibit 5 in evidence.
4
(Exhibit 5 was deemed in
5
evidence. )
6
MR. LAMY:
I will call your name
7
and have you come up to make your
8
comments.
If you could state your
9
address also, it would be appreciated.
10
And it would be beneficial if you
11
could let us know if the parcel in
12
question is being impacted by the
13
right of way easement taking or the
14
condemnation proceeding.
If it's an
15
address other than what is on your
16
card, we would appreciate you letting
17
us know what the address is.
We will
18
try to -- I will ask you to limit your
19
comments to five minutes so we can run
20
through all of the speakers.
If you
21
feel you need more time than five
22
minutes, I will gradually call you
23
back up to continue after everybody
24
has had a chance after the first five
25
minutes go round.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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I think we have taken care of
2
all of the rules and procedures.
3
Let's begin with Bill Dow representing
4
National Grid.
5
MR. DOW:
Good evening.
6
MR. LAMY:
You can come to the
7
front and sit or stand, whatever you
8
are comfortable with.
9
MR. DOW:
I have a little bit of
10
information here, so I better sit
11
down, I guess.
My name is Bill Dow.
12
I'm a supervisor of Real Estate Asset
13
Management at National Grid.
I'm out
14
of the Albany office.
My address,
15
work address, is 1125 Broadway in
16
Albany 12204, and I'm happy to be
17
here.
18
Supervisor Stec, Mr. Hafner,
19
Bill, a few other familiar faces, Mr.
20
Shaw -- anyway, I would just like to
21
start out by saying that I'm here
22
primarily concerning how the project
23
affects our high voltage power lines.
24
It's the Queensbury -- Henry Street,
25
number 14, which runs north and south
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
78
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on the east side of the Northway.
I'm
2
not here for the undergrounding of the
3
electric utility part of the project
4
that is so prominently discussed
5
tonight.
Although I have been asked
6
to note that there is a legal
7
challenge that Don had mentioned
8
earlier that my company has filed to
9
the Town Underground Utilities Overlay
10
District Local Law pending in New York
11
State Supreme Court, which may have an
12
impact on this proceeding, but mainly
13
all I wanted to do, I had a few
14
questions and comments regard how the
15
project affects this power line.
I'm
16
sure we will be able to work out the
17
details as we worked on it over time.
18
We got some information, we are trying
19
to figure out how the project will
20
affect it.
21
The maps we received are
22
different.
The most recent maps we
23
got from the Town are maps we have not
24
seen before for the utility taking.
25
We had some questions on that.
You
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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did clear up something that I was not
2
aware of, the difference between the
3
Town and the County, the County
4
acquiring the road improvements and
5
the Town working on the utilities, so
6
that helps.
7
And with regard to the County's
8
acquisition of the road improvements
9
for Big Boom Road, it will cross under
10
this power line, so we do need to look
11
at some plans and profiles to see how
12
our utilities would be affected for
13
the protection of the public, the
14
traveling public, in proximity to a
15
high voltage power line and in further
16
protection of our facilities.
17
Also mentioned this evening the
18
County would like fee taking for the
19
road improvements.
I would like to
20
state for the record it's National
21
Grid's policy to grant permanent
22
easements to municipalities for public
23
highways which cross under high
24
voltage electric transmission line
25
corridors.
These rights of way are
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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for the protection of the power lines
2
and safety of the traveling public,
3
and fee taking compromises our efforts
4
to secure the property and the
5
facilities that are on the property.
6
Permanent easements have served
7
municipalities very well over many
8
years across upstate New York, and we
9
expect that this service will continue
10
for this project.
I noted this in a
11
letter to RK Hite in November of 2007.
12
So I want to leave a copy of that with
13
you guys for the record.
And you can
14
have that.
15
Also I just have a little
16
statement I will finish up with, and
that will be our part for this
evening.
We have been in contact with
the Town and County regarding the
areas that need, we need a plan
profile map in order to insure the
construction operation and maintenance
of any proposed facilities do not
interfere with the existing operations
of the Queensbury to Henry Street
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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number 14, 34.5 kilowatt electric
2
line.
If a conflict exists, the Town
3
and County will need to enter into an
4
agreement with the company to
5
reimburse National Grid for the
6
relocation of the facilities in
7
conflict.
If there is no conflict
8
with the existing facilities, then the
9
company has a comprehensive program to
10
allow third party users of its land
11
and provided the company standard
12
easement is used, which is issued, it
13
provides important safeguards to the
14
public.
These include line to ground
15
clearance reviews, which is why we
16
need a plan and profile, notification
17
to Niagara Mohawk prior to the start
18
of construction.
Monitoring of the
19
construction by an inspector is
20
required, as well as insurance
21
indemnification, preservation of
22
drainage, proper compaction of
23
excavation, assurances Niagara Mohawk
24
will have continuous access to its
25
electric line.
We ask that the plans
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and profiles be provided to allow us
2
to examine these and that any
3
easements issued to the Town or County
4
be in accordance with our existing
5
policies and procedures.
6
Lastly, I would like to note
7
that for the record that the property
8
is held in the name of Niagara Mohawk
9
Power Corporation, doing business as
10
National Grid.
And the most recent
11
maps and letters that were addressed
12
to National Grid are in error.
13
Lastly, I guess the only other
14
question I had was -- we already
15
talked about it -- were the utilities
16
and how the taking for these
17
utilities, and we'd also like to
18
review what utilities are proposed for
19
this particular property.
20
with that, I'm done with any
21
statement for this evening.
Thanks
22
for your time.
23
MR. STROUGH:
Did you mean to
24
say they were addressed to National
25
Grid in error or Niagara Mohawk?
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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MR. DOW:
The ownership of
2
record of all of our properties is
3
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation.
4
MR. STROUGH:
Thank you, Bill.
5
MR. LAMY:
Thank you for your
6
comments.
Next speaker is Trina
7
Steves.
8
MS. STEVES:
My name is Trina
9
Steves, 74 Main Street.
I lived there
10
for 20 years.
My husband and I
11
strongly oppose the placement of the
12
underground power electrical junction
13
boxes citing health and safety
14
reasons.
I have done some research on
15
electric magnetic fields.
I have two
16
grandchildren that sleep within eight
feet of the power site.
I have very
big concerns in regards to this.
I do
have a letter for Mr. Stec and Mr.
Lamy, which I will give to you after,
showing pictures of where the
footprints were put in regards to
where my grandchildren sleep.
Thank you for your time.
MR. LAMY:
Thank you, Trina.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
84
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Next I have got two people
2
representing Cumberland Farms.
I
3
don't know, doesn't make any
4
difference in which order you go in.
5
Karla Buettner, you are the next
6
speaker, and you are welcome to bring
7
Will Miller.
8
MS. BUETTNER:
We will do a
9
little tag teaming if you don't mind.
10
I am Karla Buettner.
I'm a t an
11
attorney at the Bartlett, Pontiff,
12
Stewart and Rhodes law firm. I'm
13
representing Cumberland Farms. With
14
me is Will Miller, the question and
15
answer person for the Cumberland Farms
16
organization.
We own Cumberland Farms
17
at 100 Main Street.
18
First I want to thank you both,
19
Mr. Lamy and Supervisor Stec, for
20
holding the hearing and allowing us to
21
speak on this.
We think this is a
22
very good project.
We support the
23
project.
Obviously we have been
24
working with the Town and County from
25
the inception when we first renovated
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Public Hearing
T own of Queensbury and Warren County
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the store there up to the present.
2
I know Jeff Tennyson from my
3
office had wanted me to personally
4
extend concerns on that.
We have a
5
list of concerns with respect to our
6
property located at 100 Main Street.
7
With respect, first, to the safety by
8
moving the road closer to the traffic,
9
closer to the gas station, and,
second, with respect just varying
degrees of, I guess, with respect to
certain specifications we have.
Before I go into those, I would like
to say I know our time is short and
10
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12
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14
15
there's a lot people here.
We have a
16
lot of specific questions.
So I would
17
like to request on the record there be
18
some sort of sit-down with a
representative of the Town and the
County, and perhaps, you know, any of
the consultants so we can work out
what our specific issues to our
property are so as not to take up all
of your time tonight.
The few things we do have issues
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with, the Cumberland Farms building,
2
the proximity of the proposed Town
3
right of way is within a foot or two,
4
I believe, of the canopy for our gas
5
tanks.
These are safety issues we are
6
concerned about.
The proposed right
7
of way is adjacent to the filler pad
8
which also poses problems with our
9
tanker trucks coming in, which could
10
pose a safety problem with traffic
11
going up and down Main Street.
12
We have a sign that is right
13
there.
It will have to be removed.
14
We don't know where it's going to go.
15
I know there had been some discussions
16
with the County on how we can move
17
that.
One of the things we are
18
concerned about with the sign is it's
19
right in the right of way.
Our main
20
concern is where it's going to go.
21
Obviously, we are a gas station.
You
22
drive down the street, you want to
23
know where the cheapest gas is.
To
24
Cumberland Farms, that is obviously
25
important to have.
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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One of the things that was
2
discussed is in the event we have to
3
get a variance for the sign from the
4
Town of Queensbury that it will be,
5
the process to obtain a variance,
6
would be at no expense to Cumberland
7
Farms.
Again, if the variance is not
8
permitted, there will be have to be
9
some negotiations where, again,
10
Cumberland Farms would not have to pay
11
for the fact -- they would have to
12
have some sort of compensation from
13
the Town and County with respect to
14
that.
15
The customer service island is
16
immediately adjacent to the easement,
17
almost right on top of the easement.
18
with the new transformer -- I may be
19
speaking out of turn -- the new boxes,
20
it's right there.
It's right on top
21
of it, the customer service island.
22
We have lights on our property
23
now that were put there because the
24
Town wanted us to put them there.
25
They are not on the map.
We don't
Joan A. DeCaro
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know where they are going to be.
2
There are four poles there.
3
The drainage basin right there,
4
we don't know where that will go.
As
5
you can see, we have specific issues.
6
Again, we think this is a very
7
good project.
We really support it,
8
but we need to look at things a little
9
more.
We request that the Town and
10
County look at things to perhaps work
11
with us and with the rest of the
12
community and reposition things or
13
work so that everyone is happy at the
14
end of the day, but that the safety of
15
our customers and the automobile
16
traffic and the pedestrian traffic is
17
taken into account.
I don't know if,
18
Will, at this time if you want to add
19
anything.
20
MR. MILLER:
I would like to
21
repeat we are totally in favor of this
22
project.
We do believe there are some
23
discussions that need to be continued
24
regarding the safety of individuals,
25
both as pedestrians and in vehicles,
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
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coming down this Main Street corridor,
2
particularly in light of the merger of
3
two lanes to one right at the major
4
driveway turning into our property.
5
We stand ready to meet with anybody at
6
any time to move this project forward,
7
because we think it's, in the long
8
term, in the best interests of this
9
area.
10
Thank you.
11
MR. LAMY:
I would like to say
12
your request is certainly valid.
I
see no reason why we can't meet with
representatives of the Town and the
County and our consulting firms to
continue the dialogue with you, Karla.
Thank you very much.
MR. HAFNER:
Karla, I say ditto
to what Bill said.
And the Town wi 11
want to work with you and is very glad
to hear you are in favor of the
project.
Just as, again, we have to
be technical here, if any of the
comments that you said you don't have
time to say tonight are ones that you
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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think are relevant to objections to
2
the Eminent Domain procedure, this is
3
the time they have to be raised.
4
MS. BUETTNER: Understood.
5
MR. HAFNER: They sounded
6
logistical, but for the record at the
7
end of the public hearing, those
8
comments have to finish being said.
9
MS. BUETTNER:
Sorry, I have one
10
last thing.
Not with respect to what
11
you said, but when we did start the
12
project four or five years ago -- Will
13
and I can't remember -- as part of the
14
site plan review, the Town, we had
some extensive negotiation with the
Town, and the Town required us to push
our property out closer to the road.
So we are kind of in a position where
we did that, now we have to backtrack.
I wanted to put that on the record.
MR. STEC:
Is this also the
property where you have your septic
back there, and when you hooked up to
the sewer, that freed up part of your
space?
Is this that parcel?
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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MR. MILLER:
No, the septic
2
leeching field is behind the Subway,
3
but we totally support connecting.
4
It's one of the issues on our list.
5
We totally support connecting to the
6
sewer system and hope that is a major
7
part of this project.
8
MR. STEC:
Thank you.
9
MR. LAMY:
Mark Zoller,
10
Z-O-L-L-E-R.
11
MR. ZOLLER:
I'm Mark Zoller.
12
I'm the president for U-Haul.
I'm
13
here to speak on behalf of AREC-l0,
14
doing business as U-Haul, at 112 Main
15
Street.
Bear with me, I'm not
16
normally a public speaker.
I do need
to raise a fair amount of objections
to this taking.
I understand that it
needs to be done tonight, and I'm glad
you have given us the opportunity to
do that.
I want to briefly go through
them.
First, we object to the way the
project has been proposed in the
manner of having two separate takings
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
92
1
at the same time for apparently no
2
reason but to make it difficult to
3
ascertain responsibilities and
4
damages.
These takings will prevent
5
us from using our property as it is
6
being used now.
The combination will
7
alter the manner of access to our
8
property.
It will create a dangerous
9
traffic situation.
It will eliminate
10
most of our parking spaces.
This will
11
render our property unusable for the
12
current and intended use.
It may
13
cause our property to be in violation
14
of zoning and building codes.
We will
15
have to move our signs.
We have to
16
move our signs -- everything is pushed
17
off.
We have no idea of what the
18
zoning will be after that.
We don't
19
feel appropriate consideration was
20
given to why not use the area across
21
the street, not on our property.
At
22
this time it will make it difficult,
23
if not impossible to use storage
24
facilities.
Slow moving trucks will
25
create a traffic hazard on the road.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
93
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We do not believe the County or Town
2
is complying with New York State
3
Conservation Law requirements.
4
We also object on the procedural
5
basis.
By combining two public
6
hearings at one time, property owners
7
have been deprived of their
8
constitutional rights and due process.
9
Those are our positions.
Thank you.
10
MR. LAMY:
Thank you very much.
11
Our next speaker is Patricia
12
Evans.
13
MS. EVANS:
I do have some
14
pictures which I will bring up to the
15
desk and ask you to pass them around.
16
This is my particular property.
My
17
name is Patricia Evans and my property
18
is 13 Main Street.
Just for the
19
record, the map that is up in the back
20
has the previous owner listed as the
21
property owner.
I have owned the
22
property at 13 Main Street since 2002.
23
So the map is extremely outdated.
I
24
think you should be checking the names
25
of the property owners before you post
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
94
1
that map up there.
2
I've had my business on Main
3
Street for 20 plus years, 14 at 108
4
Main and the last six at my present
5
location.
One of the reasons I
6
relocated and purchased the property
7
at 13 Main was in anticipation of the
8
improvements of the Main Street
9
corridor. I have been patiently
10
waiting, attending the meetings which
11
were open to the public, and expressed
12
my interest in seeing the project
13
complete.
In a perfect world with
14
unlimited financial resources, the
15
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
16
and New York State and the Federal
17
government could acquire all the
18
properties along Main Street, widen
19
the road putting in sidewalks, install
20
underground utilities, including a new
21
sewer system, new lighting and
22
landscaping, and provide a functional,
23
beautiful gateway to Glens Falls.
24
However, this is 2008.
The
25
economy is facing a recession.
Gas
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
95
1
prices are soaring.
The value of real
2
estate has declined and property taxes
3
have increased.
I can only imagine
4
how much more this project is going to
5
cost with all the delays, and that is
6
without going underground with the
7
utilities.
What are the taxpayers of
8
Queensbury spending to litigate with
9
National Grid?
Why would National
10
Grid agree to bury utilities at a much
11
higher cost than to relocate and
12
eliminate the poles?
How much will it
13
cost to acquire the properties for the
14
easement to go underground, and what
15
is the cost to each of us owning
16
property on the street?
Why does Mr.
17
Stec and others feel this particular
18
area of Route 28 needs such a major
19
reconstruction?
This is a commuter
20
corridor, not a scenic roadway.
21
People who driving down this road are
22
en route to their jobs, not enjoying a
23
leisurely Sunday drive. The road
24
needs to accommodate this traffic and
25
by creating a third lane, this will be
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
96
1
accomplished.
2
The City of Glens Falls recently
3
completed reconstruction of Warren
4
Street.
They did not put utilities
5
underground.
It looks very nice as
6
you drive into the city, especially at
7
night with all the new street lamps on
8
it.
Main Street could look just as
9
nice without the huge expense of
10
undergrounding.
11
Now, as to my first personal
12
concerns, I have several.
According
13
to the map, the Town of Queensbury
14
needs a much wider strip of land than
15
Warren County has already taken from
16
it.
This mean I will lose my front
17
lawn, my extensive garden, one half of
18
my sign, my entire flower bed on the
19
eastern boundary, which will instead
20
have a uti1ity box, and my entire bed
21
on the western boundary, as well as
22
the lawn on that side. I spent the
23
last five years beautifying my
24
property in keeping with the, quote,
25
"Master Plan" for the reconstruction
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
97
1
of Main Street.
To now have this torn
2
up to bury utilities is unnecessary
3
and an expense that the taxpayers of
4
Queensbury and the property owners
5
should not have to bear along Main
6
Street.
Is the Town of Queensbury
7
compensating me for my property,
8
including my newly sodded front lawn,
9
my underground irrigation system, the
10
mature flowering trees and shrubs, my
11
perennials, and signs, and the loss of
12
pleasure I derive on a daily basis
13
from my gardens?
Is the Town of
14
Queensbury financing the individual
15
hook-ups of power and sewer to every
16
property owner along Main Street?
Are
17
underground utilities that important
18
or necessary that you would burden the
19
taxpayers of Queensbury to such an
20
expensive reconstruction?
21
I believe Main Street could be
22
rebuilt to ease the commuter
23
congestion, improve the pedestrian
24
safety, and to beautify the corridor
25
without burying the utilities
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
98
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underground.
Let"s get the road
2
rebuilt and let"s get it done now.
3
Thank you very much.
MR. STEC:
4
The next presenter is
MR. LAMY:
5
Stan Walczyk?
Did I pronounce it
6
right, Stan?
I will set that one
7
aside.
8
I have Dawn and John Clifford?
9
Hello.
Thank
DAWN CLIFFORD:
10
you for having this meeting.
I want
11
to say like some of the other folks
12
did, we are very much in favor of the
13
project, but we do have a question.
14
We own property at 34 Main Street and
15
we have two-and-a-half lots there.
16
The most recent map that I received
17
from Mr. Stec indicates that there"s
18
what turns out to be one of those
19
junction boxes.
If you look at our
20
lot as a unit, which we like to do,
21
that will come pretty near in the
22
middle of the property, and so we
23
wanted to make sure we had an
24
opportunity to talk to the planners
25
and see if that could be relocated
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
99
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somewhere else, you know, on the edge
2
of the property or something so that
3
it"s not there.
We anticipate someone
4
will want to build on the whole unit
5
and not have a box in the way.
6
I also want to make a comment
7
that those boxes are not very well
8
maintained.
There is one in the
9
neighborhood where we presently live
10
and ever since we moved there almost
11
eight years ago, it has not been
12
painted.
It looks like it was a
13
sickly green originally.
Now it"s
14
about one-third or more rust and has
15
not been kept up.
For the people that
16
are concerned about the boxes, they
17
ought to go around and look at some of
18
them and see how well they are
19
maintained.
And so that was our main
20
Thank you.
concern.
21
MR. STEC:
Mr. and Mrs.
22
Clifford, not that we will be able to
23
Certainly we
answer every question.
24
don"t have the details to give you a
25
firm answer, the kind of flexibility
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
100
1
you are inquiring about, where you own
2
two properties as described earlier in
3
the presentation.
They try to do that
4
to minimize the impact and try to
5
locate things like on a property line
6
as opposed to somebody"s front and
7
center.
Your case is different
8
because you own two properties.
There
9
is a very good chance there is
10
flexibility, they will be able to
11
slide it over to accommodate you.
No
12
guarantee, but, you know, generally
13
speaking, there is probably a way they
14
will be able to have enough
15
flexibility to accommodate your
16
concerns.
17
MR. LAMY:
John Reilly.
18
MR. REILLY:
Good evening.
I "m
19
not actually on the corridor.
I may
20
be out of line here.
I had a couple
21
of points.
You talked about
22
pedestrians, putting in sidewalks.
I
23
had a couple of questions about that
24
that you may not have the answer to,
25
but who would be responsible for the
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
101
1
snow removal when you are plowing that
2
much snow?
When you are putting in
3
sidewalks, you defeat the purpose.
4
The follow-up to that, if the
5
homeowner is responsible for that, it
6
may not happen.
Anybody who has a
7
driveway, it"s a difficult situation
8
to handle.
So that is one concern.
9
It"s unclear how pedestrian
10
traffic will cross the Northway.
11
Doesn"t look like there is currently
12
space for pedestrians to be there.
I
13
grew up on Western Avenue in Albany.
14
Over the past 30 years, there have
15
been a number of fatalities at the
16
Northway interchange there.
It"s a
17
pretty good concern for me.
18
Two other things.
There"s
19
mention of the sanitary hook-ups.
20
Whose responsibility is that?
The
21
third thing, the three-phase boxes.
22
Was there any consideration for having
23
additional easements to move the boxes
24
off the property? Cumberland Farms
25
mentioned that. Is there a
Joan A. DeCaro
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102
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possibility you could move it further
2
off the corridor?
Could you take an
3
extra effort to look into that?
If
4
it"s the acquisition of additional
5
property, a small sliver to put the
6
utility boxes out of the way, it"s
7
something that should be looked at.
8
MR. STEC:
Thank you, Mr.
9
Reilly.
10
MR. LAMY:
Brian Granger?
11
He"s not here.
Okay, Raymond
12
Ash?
13
MR. ASH: I will pass.
14
MR. LAMY: Is Stan Walczyk here?
15
Brian Granger?
Anybody else
16
that would be to speak that has not
17
filled out a card?
18
Could I have your card, please.
19
MR. STEC:
Mr. Reilly, just -- I
20
can answer two of your questions.
You
21
don"t need to come up.
The first
22
questions are easy ones to answer.
23
Several years ago, the Town Board
24
passed a Local Law that defines
25
sidewalk maintenance responsibilities
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
103
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on Town roadways.
The homeowner"s
2
required to remove the snow.
On
3
County and State roadways, for the
4
exact reason you are concerned about,
5
the Town has taken that
6
responsibility.
That would be a
7
County road.
8
The pedestrian under the
9
Northway, we didn"t talk about it.
10
It"s not the purpose for tonight.
11
Briefly though, it is my understanding
12
that the design includes a walkway
13
that will be between the slope and the
14
abutment.
It will be removed.
As far
15
as getting underneath the Northway, it
16
will behind the columns and elevated
17
just to get
so I figured those were
18
two easy answers.
19
MR. CAVAYERO:
Keith Cavayero
20
I"m representing One Main Street.
I
21
own the adjacent property to the CVS
22
Pharmacy property on Luzerne Road.
I
23
was involved in that development and
24
other projects on Main Street.
First
25
off, I"m speaking off the cuff.
I
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
104
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would like to mention that I am in
2
very strong support of the project.
I
3
have been doing business in
4
Queensbury, Glens Falls for 18 years.
5
I have been on Broad Street for ten
6
and a half years, and have been in the
7
Total Care Plaza now for almost eight
8
years, but seventeen years conducting
9
business.
And I do that drive every
10
day off of Exit 18 down to the C.V.S..
11
My residence, my home is in Saratoga
12
Springs, New York, which I"m not
13
trying to compare Glens Falls to
14
Saratoga.
They both have, they are
15
both beautiful in their own way.
But
16
I believe the effort the County and
17
Town are making right now would be
18
very beneficial to the City of Glens
19
Falls and to the Town for merchants,
20
for businesses, for property values.
21
Many days I drive down the road, it"s
22
a little dreary at times, could be
23
depressing.
There is great potential,
24
great hope.
I believe this project
25
will put it in that direction.
I
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
105
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think it should move forward.
2
Thank you very much.
3
MR. STEC:
Thank you very much,
4
sir.
5
MR. LAMY:
Is there anyone else
6
that would care to make any comments
7
on the record?
Is there anybody that
8
previously spoke? We have a taker.
9
MR. KRUGER: Don Kruger.
10
MR. LAMY: What is your address?
11
MR. KRUGER: My mailing address
12
is Three Osprey View, Queensbury.
I
13
own the property at 60 Big Boom Road,
14
and although it doesn't -- when they
15
first started talking about it, they
16
were talking about impacting us, which
17
apparently wouldn't happen now.
The
18
only question I really had was there
19
is so much traffic on Big Boom Road
20
now to try to go through there with
21
construction -- I'm in the
22
construction business -- I fail to
23
understand how they will work it out.
24
If you go through there at nine
25
o'clock in the morning, between U.P.S.
Joan A. DeCaro
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106
1
trucks and my trucks and Ready Mix
2
trucks, it's incredible.
I was
3
wondering if they could make a
4
temporary road to the right go down
5
like River Street and towards Glens
6
Falls so we can get away from that.
7
It will be impossible for all of us to
8
get in and out of there.
If we can
9
look at that in a constructive manner.
10
If it was only a temporary road that
11
we will take up later, but it should
12
follow like an old train thing.
They
13
used to go back and forth there with
14
four train tracks, used to go down to
15
the IP.
Build the tracks all the way
16
back through my property all the way
17
down .
18
I have been in the construction
19
business for 49 years.
I fail to
20
understand how it will work and have
21
everybody do work and live together at
22
the same time.
That is my only
23
thought.
24
MR. LAMY:
Certainly handling
25
the traffic during construction is one
Joan A. DeCaro
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107
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of our major hurdles.
We will
2
certainly be giving that all kinds of
3
thought.
4
Anybody else like to make any
5
comments on the record?
Is there
6
anybody that previously commented that
7
still has more they would like to add?
8
MR. ASH:
I gave up my place
9
before.
You
I have a question.
10
stated that the property that is going
11
to be taken in front of the house,
12
including the sidewalk, you will have
13
two feet beyond the sidewalk.
Is
14
that, did I understand that correctly?
15
In other words, you will have the
16
portion in the front by the road, the
17
sidewalk and two feet beyond that?
18
MR. LAMY:
I believe that is
19
where we are establishing the County
20
line.
21
MR. ASH:
Now, if that is done,
22
how much property, how much area
23
should there be before the property
24
and that easement?
How much are you
25
taking?
Joan A. DeCaro
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Town of Queensbury and Warren County
108
1
MR. LAMY:
I'm not sure.
I
2
think the easement would share a
3
common line.
4
MR. ASH:
With the house?
5
MR. Hafner:
Yes.
6
MR. ASH:
Is there a particular
7
distance that is supposed to be
8
between the sidewalk and the house
9
supposedly, or isn't there any
10
measurements that is supposed to be
11
there?
12
MR. LAMY:
I don't have an
13
answer to your question.
14
MR. ASH:
I'm at 76 Main Street.
15
From the map back there, I'm one of
16
the closest houses to the road, and I
17
was very concerned, because otherwise
18
the sidewalk will be right up against
19
my window, you know? I'm concerned
20
about that, you know? I have a
21
bedroom and living room in the front
22
of the house there.
You know, it is a
23
concern.
24
MR. HAFNER:
Your name and
25
address?
Joan A. DeCaro
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Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
109
1
MR. ASH:
Yes, Raymond Ash.
2
They have a card there.
3
MR. LAMY:
Anybody else have any
4
with that, before we close
comments?
5
the public hearing, I have a couple of
6
procedural things to go through.
Let
7
me look at my notes and do that.
8
At the completion of the
9
hearing, a transcript will be
10
developed and copies of the County's
11
record will be available for
12
inspection or copying at the Warren
13
County Municipal Center, both at the
14
County Clerk's office and also at the
15
Office of the Clerk of the Board of
16
Supervisors.
There it will be a copy
17
placed at the Crandall Public Library
18
and the Queensbury Town Hall Activity
19
Center.
20
MR. HAFNER:
Would you prefer it
21
at the Clerk's Office rather than the
22
Activity Center? I'm asking you.
23
TOWN CLERK: The Town Clerk's
24
office.
25
The Town's record
MR. HAFNER:
Joan A. DeCaro
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1
will be at the your office as opposed
2
to the Community Center. Do you want
3
the record at your office, as well?
4
They want to store it at Town Hall.
5
Do you want it at your office?
6
MR. LAMY:
Let me correct that.
7
The County's copy of the proceedings
8
will be at the office of the Town
9
Clerk in the Queensbury Town Hall.
10
MR. HAFNER:
Can I jump in and
11
say the Town's will be kept at the
12
Queensbury County Clerk's Office and
13
the Warren County Clerk's Office?
We
14
will have two copies at those
15
locations.
16
MR. LAMY:
I will also add the
17
determination and findings, a brief
18
synopsis will be published within 90
19
days of the conclusion of this hearing
20
in two consecutive issues of the
21
official newspaper.
22
With that, I would like to thank
23
everybody for attending.
Thank you
24
all for your input and comments.
25
MR. STEC:
Unless anybody wants
Joan A. DeCaro
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1
to comment on the hearing, on behalf
2
of the Town's portion I will declare
3
the public hearing on behalf of the
4
Town closed.
5
MR. LAMY:
Before we close our
6
portion of the public hearing, for
7
clarification I need to state for the
8
record that the County's copies of the
9
record will be available for
10
inspection or copying at the Warren
11
County Municipal Center at the office
12
of the County Clerk and at the office
13
of the Clerk of the Board of
14
Supervisors, as well as the Crandall
15
Public Library and the office of the
16
Town Clerk at the Queensbury Town
17
Hall.
18
MR. STEC:
That is where the
19
copies will be.
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The Town's will be at the Town
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Hall at our Clerk's Office and the
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Warren County Clerk's Office.
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We have closed the Town's
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hearing.
I want to thank everybody
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for their participation.
Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832
Public Hearing
Town of Queensbury and Warren County
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MR. LAMY:
I will close the
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County's portion of the public
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hearing, and thanks, everybody, for
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attending.
Thank you very much for
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your patience.
We have gone through
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all the procedural stuff.
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MR. STEC:
The Town Board will
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take a brief recess and the Town
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Boards will vote on a considered
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resolution on separate Town business.
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Joan A. DeCaro
Martin Deposition Services, Inc.
(518) 587-6832