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118 entries categorized "Towns | Ghent"

August 4, 2012

Hurry up and wait for TCI test results

This TCI shipping manifest, found in the electronic records of New York State, is one of many showing PCBs leaving the company’s Ghent facility (here, en route to their sister company in Alabama).

At a Thursday press conference, officials sought to reassure an anxious Columbia County public about the intense fires and explosions which leveled the warehouse of waste handler TCI. Among those reassurances: that the U.S. EPA and New York State DEC were testing the Ghent site and other areas for toxic releases such as dioxins.

The results should be back “within 24 hours,” the County’s director of emergency management said at the time. Multiple publications, for example The Berkshire Eagle, reported that these would be available before this week’s close of business: “Tests results for dioxin, a potential byproduct of the burning, are expected by Friday.” (The Eagle added that “a Massachusetts response team, whose members donned protective suits, fanned out in parts of Southern Berkshire County to test soil and air”).

But more than 24 hours have come and gone, with no new test results forthcoming.

Late Friday, the County emergency management office released the statement that “State officials have confirmed that testing for Dioxins will begin on Monday for the TCI incident.” In other words, these highly-anticipated test results of tests could not have arrived Friday, because evidently the testing has not even begun yet.

Left to wait over the weekend, citizens eager to breathe easier may also begin to wonder about Thursday’s reassuring announcement that no traces of PCBs were found. James Odato and Dayelin Roman of the Times-Union reported Friday night that a spokesman for the EPA named Mary Mears “said test results for polycholorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, should be in next week.” Elsewhere in the T-U article, Bill Black says on behalf of the County that “soot samples showed no indication of PCBs” but that DEC “will do some follow-up testing for PCBs and will expand its sampling in a 15-mile region around the fire site in Ghent.”

This may be a simple case of miscommunication, or possibly the two officials are referring to two different sets of tests. But it again leaves open the question: How were celebratory announcements made that no PCBs were detected, if these tests are ongoing? The seeming confusion may be explainable, but it the meantime it can only further any doubts in residents’ minds about whether they are getting the full story.

Whether warranted or not, adding to such public concerns is the refreshingly frank statement from a representative of the Columbia County Sheriff's Department that the County “does not have a precise accounting of the types and quantities of chemicals and substances at TCI,” and that records of storage at TCI are two years old. Nevertheless, “state health department officials do not think the dioxin testing is necessary.” This nonpartisan website, which tracks public data about facilities like TCI’s, says that “the last inspection” of their Falls Industrial Road site “took place 489 days ago.”

Meanwhile, the T-U’s County source also conveys that “state officials believe it is unnecessary to test milk and other farm produce and products in the region.”

Again, the obvious question arises: If officials are still trying to determine what chemicals and materials were onsite, how can the State make such premature assessments of the extent and necessity of testing? The T-U article concludes with the warning that “results from dioxin and dibenzofuran tests can take weeks.”

Despite these generalized reassurances of low- or no-risk, the County and State Department of Health would appear to be taking in other respects a “better safe than sorry” approach in issuing advisories for how to remove any soot and ash deposits around people’s homes, on their cars, on air conditioners, in their gardens and pools, and on pets. (The advisories conclude, again in the absence of test results, that wells and other drinking water supplies ought to be safe.)

Now, companies like TCI which handle delicate or hazardous materials are required by law to submit “manifests” of their delivery and shipping activity. After obtaining information on how to search the NYS DEC’s (well-hidden and password-protected) database of these manifests via the agency’s Deb Aldrich, and conducting an initial review, this site spoke with Bob Schick of the agency on Friday afternoon.

Mr. Schick acknowledged the same thing which my initial review noted—that the State’s electronic records of TCI manifests do not seem to include any documents since a flurry activity in late February and early March of this year. During a three-week period, these records indicate the company made or received multiple shipments of PCBs in both liquid and solid form. This could mean one of several things:

(1) Ideally, that TCI stopped shipping or accepting PCBs in March;

(2) Less ideally, that TCI stopped reporting such activities to DEC in March; or,

(3) that DEC may be behind in scanning more recent hard-copy shipping manifests submitted by TCI since March for inclusion in their online database.

Mr. Schick confirmed that DEC itself is now in the process of determining whether there are any post-March records somewhere in their possession. This site has sent DEC a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, also pursuant to the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, for any and all records documenting what TCI of NY has stored or managed in Ghent during this calendar year. More to come on that.

August 3, 2012

Fire Alley: 2.5 years, 4 miles, 5 fires

Click the image above to enlarge it.

In the past two-and-a-half years, there have now been five devastating “structure fires” that destroyed buildings in a short four-mile corridor of State Route 9H in Ghent. This of course includes Wednesday night’s massive fire and explosion at TCI, which caused such widespread disruption and concern across Columbia, Berkshire and Rensselaer counties.

The stretch of highway, running roughly from the intersection of 9H and 66 to Falls Road, takes about four minutes to traverse at the posted speed limit.

Below is a timeline with notes detailing those five major fires, keyed to the map above:

— SITE [B] —

WHERE: Meadowgreens, 1238 Route 9H

WHEN: January 21st, 2010, about 4 am

WHAT: A total loss, this intense fire occurred during renovations, and was ruled accidental.

— SITE [D] —

WHERE: Amanda's Fireplace, 1871 Route 9H

WHEN: May 18th, 2010, about 2 am

WHAT: This fire was deemed an arson in June 2010, but with no known culprit. The company applied for and apparently received some or all of $2.5 million in then-available stimulus bonds from the County IDA as part of rebuilding and expansion, though reports indicated they also had fire insurance. Note: Published fire and rescue reports also indicate that on April 26th of this year at around 10:40 am, firefighters from West Ghent responded to a fire alarm at Amanda’s fireplace, but deemed it a false alarm.

— SITE [A] —

WHERE: Private Home, 930 Route 9H

WHEN: October 25th, 2011, about 8:30 pm

WHAT: The home of newly-married couple, Brian and Susan Mathew, was destroyed by a fire while dining at the groom's mother’s house nextdoor.

— SITE [C] —

WHERE: TCI of NY, 39 Falls Industrial Park Road off 9H

WHEN: January 25th, 2012

WHAT: A fire raged in two trailers adjoining the TCI facility, reportedly containing palettes, “dirty rags” and mineral oil. Tires nearby also ignited. An anonymous commenter using the name “swingbatter2” at the Register-Star’s website wrote: “PCBs -- highly toxic carcinogenic stuff -- sitting next to dump trailers of dirty rags and flammable tanks? Doesn't sound so environmentally safe to me. Hopefully the firefighters were not exposed to nasty fumes that could make them very sick for the long term. Will DEC follow up to make sure containment and safety practices are being followed? The potential for soil and groundwater contamination should be of major concern to all neighbors.”

— SITE [C] AGAIN —

WHERE: TCI of NY (again), 39 Falls Industrial Road

WHEN: August 1st, 2012, about 10 pm

WHAT: A massive fire and explosions burn entire facility to ground, requiring State and Federal assistance, and causing evacuations and air quality warnings across three counties.

Now, of course fires happen all the time. But most fires are not total losses. And they aren’t all grouped in within a couple of years, or within single short corridor along a busy highway. Moreover, three of the fires occurred within a few hundred yards of each other, and one of those fires was deemed an arson—though to this site’s knowledge nobody was arrested for it.

Coincidences certainly happen, and the above pattern could be just that. But one would think that some resources might be devoted at this point, following this week’s near-disaster, to determining if there is any connection.

in Accidents & Emergencies, Towns | Ghent | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

August 2, 2012

Notes on 1:30 pm news conference about TCI

UPDATE: A Hudson resident makes the insightful point that there have been three fires—one at Amanda’s Fireplace, and two now at TCI—within a few hundred yards of each other in the past couple of years. Makes you wonder if there is a firebug in the neighborhood.

Listening to this afternoon’s press conference by County, State and Federal officials on WGXC was frustrating, as two out of the three speakers were almost inaudible—either due to mumbling or the poor quality of the audio feed. (CBS6’s live stream was apparently much clearer.) With that caveat, here are some notes on what was said, to the extent that it could be heard:

• The fire is now “99% out” and the cause of the fire is “under investigation.”

• The alert for the 15-mile radius (or rather, 15-mile diameter) of the site has now been lifted.

• “A drum of PCBs,” said to be a “very small amount” was onsite. (A little polychlorinated biphenyl goes a long way.)

• 20,000 gallons of mineral oil, some motor oil, and some propane tanks were also onsite, contributing one supposes to the intensity of the fire. (Mineral oil? Is there an epidemic of diaper rash in the County?)

• Officials are “doing some additional testing,” but claim that no traces of PCBs were found in residues near the site.

• Testing for “other chemicals,” such as highly toxic dioxins—which, as previously reported here, PCBs can morph into when burned—is not yet complete, but is expected maybe by tomorrow.

• It was decided to were “pull out” firefighters at some point due to the intensity of the blaze and lack of certainty as to what was onsite.

• A question was asked by reporters in the audience about what agency is “supposed to be monitoring this facility,” and when it was last “checked out,” especially considering that it had a smaller fire barely six months ago. “That is under investigation,” was the answer.

• People were still working there after the January fire; it isn’t clear if anyone was working there last night.

• Officials feel satisfied that they did what they could to “notify everybody as quickly as possible,” while conceding that unlike some neighboring counties, Columbia does not have a reverse 911 system.

• The Columbia County Health Department will be issuing a guidance document on how to deal with any soot people find on their property or in their homes.

• The 15-mile radius was chosen to ensure that if there were a wind change, causing a change in the direction of the plume, people would be on alert.

• In response to a question about whether any people were called in the potentially most-impacted areas, the answer was “I would say no.”

• The County requested help from State Emergency Management, and received it asw ell frm ROTC, Dutchess, Greene and Rensselaer counties; a truck also came from an Air Force base at 9 am this morning.

• A speaker commented that after 25-30 years of fighting fires, “I have never seen explosions like on this fire.”

More TCI updates

• The Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which was passed in 1986, requires that “Information about accidental chemical releases must be made available to the public.” More info is at: http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/epcra/

• This alert from the County comes via Patty Metheney of Ghent CANN: New York State Ags & Markets have recommend that if you have animals outside that if possible move them to cover and only use feed/hay that has been covered. If anyone needs more information please call Ag & Markets at 518-457-3502.

• Via a Hudson resident, a New York Times article on a town in Canada which was devastated by “a fire in a warehouse used to store oil contaminated with chemicals known as PCB's” back in 1998: http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/11/world/canadians-return-to-town-evacuated-in-pcb-fire.html

• A press conference is going to be held in Hudson by County emergency management officials at their office at 1:30 pm today. Some obvious questions that might be asked:

— Is the fire now out? If not, when is it expected to be?

— Is the warning for residents within 15 miles meant to be a radius, or a diameter, of the fire site?

— What materials (hazardous, toxic, or otherwise) were stored on the site, and in what quantities?

— How many people, if any, were evacuated from the immediate vicinity?

— What steps, if any, were taken after TCI's smaller fire in January to prevent future fires?

— How did TCI, which is based in the Deep South, wind up in Columbia County? Who owns and manages it?

— Has TCI received any local, County, State or Federal assistance?

— What agencies were responsible for inspecting the site for safety?

— What emergency notification systems does Columbia County have in place for residents, most of whom were unaware of the potentially toxic event from when it began sometime after 10 pm yesterday, until around 7-8 am this morning?

— Some residents of Berkshire and Rensselaer counties report receiving reverse 911 or robocalls alerting them to the fire, and precautions to take. Did Columbia County issue any such warnings?

— Have our firefighters and other first responders been adequately protected from what might be highly toxic fumes?

— Will the County be recommending any cleanup or sanitizing measures for nearby residents?

More to come...

Plume

UPDATE: I’ve spoken with Rick Georgeson, a public information officer for the DEC, and he is going to attempt to pull any records the State might have of hazardous materials stored onsite at TCI.

UPDATE #2: The Associated Press is calling the fire “stubborn” and that “Police say the firefighters are spraying foam Thursday morning because they don't know exactly what is burning. A reader reports as of 1 pm that a dark plume is still visible from Route 66 heading north toward Chatham.

A reader in the Ghent/Stockport area just sent in the above photo of a lingering plume this morning from TCI’s fire. As previously noted, one County official has said that at its peak, this plume was two miles long.

Another reader reports an as-yet unconfirmed rumor from a Columbia Memorial Hospital worker that the National Guard was brought in to assist firefighters. Anecdotally, CMH has apparently had some walk-ins with eye and throat irritation.

The Berkshire Eagle reports on air quality warnings across the border in Massachusetts:

A Great Barrington emergency management team issued telephone calls around 5 a.m. on Thursday to residents of Egremont, Alford, Sheffield and Great Barrington about the fire in West Ghent and the possibility that their may be toxic fumes drifting their way in an air plume because of the wind patterns. As of 8:15 a.m., the alert has been expanded to Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, Richmond and Sheffield. Residents have been warned to close their windows and not use air conditioners which may filter polluted air into homes.

Meanwhile, while some Hudson officials have attempted to tamp down concerns, The Catskill Daily Mail reports that even eastern Greene County residents are advised to turn off their A/Cs and stay inside. The paper writes:

Occasional explosions were heard inside the building, including one series that resembled rolling thunder, causing some spectators to run in the opposite direction.

“There are a lot of hazardous materials here,” said Emergency Medical Services Coordinator P.J. Keeler. “That’s our concern.” Keeler was pulling a cooler that had dozens of water bottles stacked on top of it.

County Emergency Management Director William Black said the building contained big mineral oil tanks, two tractor trailers of fuel oil, fork lifts with propane tanks, and other hazardous substances. “It’s the combination when they mix we have to be concerned with,” he said. “There’s sodium in there.”

Here is a handy link if you want to follow media reports of the event on Google News.

Close your windows, central Columbia

In the wake of explosions at a hazardous/toxic waste handler’s building in an industrial park off Route 9H in West Ghent, Columbia County emergency management officials have issued this alert:

A mutual aid fire at TCI of NY, a transformer recycling company off of Route 9H on Falls Industrial Park Road in West Ghent has resulted in a State of Emergency for the immediate area being declared by Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Patrick Grattan. Multiple fire companies, rescue squads, and various county and state agencies are on scene. The area, Route 9H and surrounding roadways around TCI are closed to the public. People who reside in the area are asked to remain in their homes. If they feel they must leave their homes due to smoke a shelter has been established at the Chatham Fire House at 3 Hoffman Street Chatham, NY. If anyone requires emergency assistance please call 911. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Columbia County 911 is circulating the above map on Facebook, urging people in the red area to turn off air conditioning units and avoid outdoor air if at all possible:

Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that anyone with a 15 mile radius of the incident (Route 9H/Falls Rd, Ghent) limit outdoor activity... remain indoors. State Health Department officials are conducting air quality tests in the vicinity of the fire. Out of an abundance of caution, please remain indoors and limit outside activity. Anyone experiencing eye irritation, difficulty breathing or cough should seek medical attention. For additional information, contact the Columbia County Health Department at 518-828-3358 ext. 1293.

Note that the above map has been described as depicting at “15-mile radius,” but in fact it appears to show a 15-mile diameter. Columbia County is only about 18 miles wide at the middle, from Hudson to the Berkshire line, as the crow flies. Hudson is under 7 miles from the TCI site.

On Facebook, reports are coming in that Berkshire and Rensselaer county residents got reverse 911 and/or robocalls alerting them to the event. It is not clear that similar notification occurred in Columbia County.

Photo: Matthew Perry

A half-mile radius near the facility, located off Route 9H in Ghent near the Toyota dealer and First Fuel, is reportedly being mandatorily evacuated. As noted above, a smoke recovery center has been set up at the Chatham firehouse. Fire companies from Claverack, Ghent, Stockport, Stottville, and Stuyvesant Falls responded, with requests to other units (e.g. Livingston and Niverville) going out all night.

Albany television stations reported a chemical hazard alert early this morning after neighboring Rensselaer County emergency management officials issued their own alert:

The Rensselaer County Executive has announced that due to an Emergency condition at TCI, Inc., 39 Falls Industrial Park Rd, Ghent, NY, Columbia County, all persons living or working in the Towns of Nassau, Schodack, and Stephentown, should shelter within[g], close all windows, shut off all air conditioning units, and devices that draw in outside air. Residents should be prepared to shelter within for the next 12 hours, and are advised to spend as little time, if any, in the outside environment as possible. This measure is a precautionary measure for your protection. Residents are instructed to NOT dial 9-1-1, unless you have an emergency. For further information, you may contact 266-7684 or 266-7686. As additional information becomes available, it will be provided.

YNN has a video depicting a massive plume arising from the site this morning, and an interview with Bill Black, the County’s emergency management director. Black indicates that last night the plume was about “2 miles long.” The NYS DEC and US EPA are conducting residue and air quality tests, with early results expected in “early afternoon.”

A road closure notice has also been posted, as passed along by Virginia Martin:

Issued By: NYS - DOT

Jurisdictions: Columbia County

Headline: RD CLOSURE: N/S State Hwy 9H between Rabbit Ln & CR 22 (Stockport Rd) closed at 7:20am due to a structure fire for 8 hrs - T/Hudson - Columbia Co

Description: N/S State Hwy 9H between Rabbit Ln & CR 22 (Stockport Rd) closed at 7:20am due to a structure fire for 8 hrs - T/Hudson - Columbia Co

Instructions: Use alternate route.

The waste handler, a company called TCI, had a smaller fire last January. According to the company’s website, TCI claims to provide:

environmentally safe disposal of oil filled and drained electrical equipment, <50ppm PCBs, 50-499ppm PCBs as well as >500ppm PCBs.

In addition to handling PCB wastes, the company lists the following waste items which it accepts: “transformers, regulators, padmounts, switches, breakers, bushings, capacitors, ballasts and bulbs, debris, drummed oil, PILC cable, etc.”

The site claims that its facilities “were built with the latest safeguards, such as triple-spill containment systems which include 40 ml or 60 ml high density polyethylene liners beneath the concrete floors, special chemical-proof epoxy floor coating and steel floor plating in high contact areas to assure there will be no absorption of PCBs into exposed concrete in the event of a spill.” Such measures, however, appear intended to protect against spills, not the risk of fire.

The company further notes that it “maintains eleven million dollars of pollution liability insurance to protect both TCI and it's customers.”

TCI of NY, LLC is registered with New York State as a Foreign Limited Liability Company, with a Delaware jurisdiction. Its registered agent is something called CT Corporation System, which has offices at 111 Eighth Avenue in New York City but seems to be based in Georgia. (That may just be a legal service for incorporating LLCs.)

July 17, 2012

Misc. notes (mostly nutritious)

Miscellaneous notes from around Hudson and its environs:

Café on the Hudson, which briefly graced Riverview Street in Stuyvesant with organic, locally-sourced meals (the buckwheat pancakes were a real treat) appears not to be reopening after what was expected to be a Winter hiatus; for rent signs are in the windows.

Dana Wegener, the proprietor of MOD Restaurant who was unceremoniously locked out of her own Front Street establishment earlier this summer, is said to be reopening as a breakfast/lunch spot in the former Strongtree location, across from the Amtrak station in Hudson.

The Chai Shop in the 400 block (across from Swallow and upstreet from Spotty Dog) is going to start serving Indian dinners starting July 21st, though on Friday and Saturday nights only for starters.

Crimson Sparrow’s Sunday brunch is a great way for those wanting to try out the chefs’ ambitious cooking (and equally novel interior renovations in Hudson’s 700 block to do so without making a major investment. Their flat $16 brunch menu allows you to choose four items from a list of a dozenoptions, from waffles to fried green tomatoes.

The former Richter’s building in the 500 block (for decades a local source of tube socks and jumpsuits) has reportedly sold to Kinderhook’s John Knott, who is said to be planning a different sort of men’s shop there—likely to carry more Brooks Brothers-y haberdashery than FUBU sweatshirts.

Dan Gibson, proprietor of Grazin’ Angus Acres in Ghent and the Grazin’ diner in Hudson, has taken over Milk Thistle Farm’s former dairy operations whichsadly closed last winter.

Renovations at the former Fabrications and Mix locations (in Hudson’s 400 and 500 block, respectively) seem to be going slowly, with paper still up in the windows of each. Work on the former Verdigris location on 3rd Street, where NYC restaurateur Zak Peliccio is aiming to extend his Fatty Crab/Fatty ’Cue empire, looks to be actively progressing. Also in the renovations department, work is likewise moving along on former Etsy honcho Rob Kalin’s North Front Street warehouse, the future home of his new Parachutes venture, though it’s likely to take a while given the size and condition of the building.

TOAD, which has moved its mountain of tie-dyed tees and headshop paraphernalia around Warren Street probably a half-dozen times in the past 15 years, has lost its most recent location in the 700 block due to the sale of the building... No doubt it will reëmerge from under some other lilypad in town.

June 28, 2012

Primary turnout in Columbia County

As first reported here, voter turnout for Tuesday’s Democratic Congressional primary contest between Julian Schreibman and Joel Tyner was dismal. Fewer than 1 in 10 registered Democrats bothered to participate in the new 11-county 19th District.

That sub-10% figure also applied to Democrats here in Columbia County. Below is a town-by-town chart of how each municipality in the County did, turnout-wise, correlating Board of Elections tallies and voter registration data obtained last March:

Remarkably, County Democratic Chair Cyndy Hall characterized these numbers as a “tremendous victory” for her party committee... If 9 out of 10 voters staying home is a tremendous victory, one wonders what a tremendous failure would look like.

UPDATE: Primaries 0f course tend to attract fewer voters than general elections. However, as a point of reference showing how poor Tuesday’s turnout was: More than 550 Democrats voted in the 2011 primary between Nick Haddad and Linda Mussmann; but this week, fewer than 150 voters cast ballots in Hudson.

June 23, 2012

Gibson takes lead on power line issue

The citizens’ organization Protect Ghent has posted a strong letter from Congressman Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) to in support of a more stringent review of NYSEG's proposed power line. Gibson notes that the line potentially would impact three towns he represents: Chatham, Ghent and Stockport. The Congressman hits all the key points that concerned residents have been raising when he writes that:

Specifically, I am concerned about the loss of active agricultural lands in one of our state's more rural areas, the projects potential impacts on important historic and archeological resources, and its visual impacts on our parks, recreation areas, open space and scenic byways, all of which contribute to the unique community and neighborhood character of Columbia County in general, and my District in particular, which the residents have cultivated and protected for decades.

Possibly alluding to the power company’s end-around of local zoning, Gibson further notes that he is “deeply concerned with NYSEG’s apparent disregard of the input of an concerns expressed by local elected officials in my district.”

Gibson’s letter concludes by urging the Commission to place “the agriculatural, environmental and social concers set forth above on at least an equal footing with cost concerns or administrative convenience. The law requires it, and our residents deserve nothing less.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, five days following Gibson’s June 17th letter, the PSC sent NYSEG notification that its application was incomplete. The agency found that due to “deficiencies” in the company’s filing, it does not comply with their requirements to begin a public hearing process.

By getting out in front of this issue in the heart of his District, Gibson also accomplishes a secondary task: forcing the region’s often-hesitatant Democratic establishment to play catch-up. Protect Ghent also reports that members have solicited similar help from Democrat Didi Barrett, who was recently elected to the State Assembly, and are hopeful that they will get her support as well. (The Columbia County Democrats seem more interested in trying but failing to gin up partisan outrage over small stuff like vanity license plates, rather than leading on substantive issues that might actually change people lives.)

Further details and action steps can be found at Protect Ghent’s website.

March 28, 2012

Divisive math

In a letter this morning to The Register-Star brimming with resentment, Marcel Boisvert blames the lack of motocross racing in the Town of Ghent on “an influx of folks from 212 area code” who came to the area “15, maybe 20 years ago.”

There’s an obvious factual problem with Boisvert’s argument, beyond its inflammatory and divisive tone: The local zoning code which prevents motocross tracks and events in Ghent was enacted some 40 years ago, in the early 1970s.

So by the author’s own claim, the newer Ghent taxpayers—derisively described by Boisvert as “guests”—arrived 20, maybe 25 years too late to play any role in passing the laws to which he objects.

In short, that zoning code was enacted four decades ago by longtime residents, not newcomers (if one must discuss issues in these simplistic demographic terms). Still, Boisvert claims that “motocross has long been something the hardworking people of this town have enjoyed for decades,” ignoring that it has been illegal in Ghent for his whole lifetime.

Moreover, a majority of the current Town board (none of whom, to my knowledge, are newcomers possessed of the “ugly” sense of “entitlement” alleged in the letter) recently reaffirmed that they aren’t going to change the code.

Not that anyone’s length of residency should matter. The law is the law, to be fairly and evenly applied to all. Every Ghent resident has the same rights and obligations under it. The amount of taxes you owe (or the number of votes you cast) is the same whether your family has lived in a place for 2 or 200 years. (This same point was raised by commenters on newly-minted Town Board member Richard Sardo’s Facebook page, though he appears to have deleted much of that dialogue. Sardo was in the minority not agreeing to drop efforts to change the 40-year-old code to suit a single property owner.)

UPDATE #1: Mr. Boisvert does not appear in the voter rolls anywhere in Columbia County, at least as of last month—despite his strongly-worded opinions on citizenship and community. (His letter to the local papers ends with a call for people to “get involved with town meetings and business... before it’s too late.” Registering to vote would be a start.)

UPDATE #2: The Town of Ghent completed its extensive Comprehensive Plan revisions in 2009. Motocross and other motorized racing were not part of it. The committee in charge consisted of Jim Galvin, Jim Beal (chair), Janice Fingar, John Fishman, J. Aaron Groom. Frank Mendelson. Peter Nelson, Sr., Gilbert Raab, Nicolas Tipple, Phil Trowbridge, Lawrence VanBrunt, Jonathan Walters, Kyle Wilber and property rights activist Albert Wassenhove. This was not a group that can be accused collectively of being dominated by “citiots” or “newcomers.”

in Planning & Land Use, Towns | Ghent | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 15, 2012

Power struggle (or: Issues come in bunches)

Image via http://berkshires.org/member/fields-sculpture-park-at-art-omi-international-the/

PHOTO: Berkshires.org

Issues often seem to come in bunches in rural towns. The Town of Ghent, which had been struggling in recent years with the Molinari gravel mine project, also now has a controversy over motocross racing at Meadowgreens, which has gone forward despite decisions reaffirming that such uses are not permitted by the zoning code. (The Town’s code was adopted, by the way, some 40 years ago, when there was nary a weekender in Ghent; but that hasn’t stopped some from playing the usual us vs. them cards.)

Meanwhile, a separate group called Protect Ghent has sprung up to address another pressing issue: a proposal by New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) to string a high-voltage power line on high towers across the Town. The proposed zig-zag route would run through farms owned by longtime residents, past historic resources, and through several large landholdings such as Francis Greenburger’s Art Omi.

Protect Ghent has posted a handy Google Map showing NYSEG’s proposed route, which would involve clearcutting a 50-to-150-foot swath from east to west, and potentially placing one or more substations on private property. An obvious question arises: Why not take the most direct route possible, to impact the fewest neighbors?

The answer would appear to involve a bit of regulatory sleight-of-hand. By law, if such lines are shorter than 10 miles, local towns gain some oversight of the project, and thus the ability to modify or prevent the line from going through at all. But if they are longer than 10 miles, the central permitting responsibility lies instead with New York’s Public Service Commission (PSC). Protect Ghent says it has a low-voltage alternative, and has hired attorney Bill Hurst to represent their interests following an organizational meeting several weeks ago.

This confluence of controversies in Ghent got me thinking about how issues often seem to crop up in bunches in our towns. If your town has a racetrack issue, you’ve probably also got a mining issue. If you have a cement plant issue, you probably also have a corruption issue—and a tax assessment issue, and an open government issue, and about seven other issues.

I tend to doubt that some bad karma, or mystic aligning of dark stars, accounts for issues coming all at once in small towns. The reality is that every place has its problems. But many short-term or institutionalized local problems stay under the radar until people mobilize to do something about one of them.

Once citizens get activated on on thing, they start to notice all the other things that are amiss, from ingrained problems with their local government, to proposals which appear quietly in the legal notices. They learn how zoning and planning regulations work (or don’t work). They educate themselves about their State’s open meetings laws and freedom of information acts. They put their local reps’ numbers on speed dial, and encourage neighbors to attend meetings.

Soon enough, they realize that politics is often at the root of the problem. So then they start registering new people to vote, explaining to existing voters why it’s so crucial to turn up at the polls, and demonstrating to everyone why it’s essential to pay attention to what happens in Town Hall.

They often also begin asking more fundamental questions: How did these issues arise in the first place? What safeguards and tools do we have? And where do we want to go in the future—both to prevent further controversies, and to take responsibility for bettering the places we live in.

Some of these converging issues may involve compatible groups, or competing ones. But one set of citizens’ willingness (or proven ability) to make progress on one issue tends to inspires others to be less apathetic about their own.

But it’s that first issue which turns on people’s radar, and makes everyone realize how little real adult supervision there is most places. If you want to live in a safe, healthy, vibrant community, the burden of responsibility falls as much or more on “ordinary” citizens than on local government or big name institutions, both of which are often the last to recognize a problem as it develops.

(In the case of the massive, coal-fired new industrial city proposed in the late 90s by St. Lawrence Cement, pretty much every “major” institution in the region, from local government and development agencies, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Business Council, from the Columbia Land Conservancy to Scenic Hudson, either ignored the problem or even cheerleaded for the project for several years, until grassroots citizens forced everyone to reconsider through sustained, tenacious research and organizing.)

Hudson 3rd Ward Supervisor Ellen Thurston has been known to say that Hudson’s slogan should be: We’ve Got Issues! There’s a general sense among some residents that Hudson is more troubled or turbulent than other municipalities in the area. But if you turn over a rock most anywhere in the County, you’re going to find some worms. Taghkanic was an epicenter of problems for several years, from the Wilzing Racing Manor to Republican vote suppression antics to the Berry Pond mining proposal. Right now in Ghent, a lot of the same rocks are starting to get pried up.

September 14, 2011

Ghentlemen, start your engines?

Motocross is rumored to be slated for the former Meadowgreens site on Route 9H in Ghent (once my preferred place for watching Red Sox playoff games).

A proposal abutting the Columbia County airport, is expected to be discussed at a Zoning Board meeting tonight in Ghent.

UPDATE: See the comments for added details, post-meeting.

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