SamPratt.com

Curb your enthusiasm

The long-vacant commercial property at the corner of 23 and 9H (once an outpost of the Video Cave, way back when people used dollar bills to borrow tapes of movies), has been under construction lately—fueling much speculation about what was coming next.

At one point, a complex of shops was going to be built there, and then later plans were floated for a pizza place. With the Claverack Market still empty, people who pass through this intersection frequently have hoped for something fun, different, or at least useful.

Now the word from someone working at the site this week is that it will be a Subway. (Guess it could be worse... Could be another gas station. Or a Long John Silver’s.)

The Departed: Mary Davidson

Mary Davidson, participating in the Stop the Plant polaroid project

June 21st, 2001, was an uncomfortable day by any standard. The temperature around Hudson reached 90 degrees, and humidity averaged 87%—running all the way up to 100% at its peak. The afternoon was punctuated by downpours and thunderstorms, literal and figurative.

This was also the day that an estimated 1,000 citizens turned out for a public hearing on the St. Lawrence Cement proposal. It began at 10 am in the gymnasium of Columbia-Greene Community College, which had no air conditioning. Administrative Law Judge Helene Goldberger finally closed the session nearly 15 hours later, at 12:40 am.

Concerned—correctly—that it would be outnumbered at the hearing, the cement company set up an operation to bus folks to its headquarters on Route 9, offering them a free meal and a t-shirt in exchange for appearing at the hearing. Many did not realize that they were expected to speak on the company’s behalf. Though they were also provided with magazines (labeled “property of St. Lawrence Cement”), most of those shanghaied to Columbia-Greene left long before their names were called.

Not so with plant opponents, many of whom waited all day for a chance to be heard. 

In the evening, one of the late speakers was Mary Davidson. She had signed up to speak at 3 o’clock, and waited through many sweltering hours to be called to the microphone. Unlike most of the attendees, Davidson was not a stranger to the venue: A professor at Columbia-Greene, her office was not far away. Here is what she said to Judge Goldberger:

MARY DAVIDSON: I'll be brief because much of what I was going to say has already been said by other people. I expected to talk about three this afternoon.

I am a taxpayer in the town of Claverack. I've lived here since 1977, and I'm on the faculty of this beloved institution for 24 years. But let me make my point clear. I do not speak for this institution, but I do speak as an educator on the faculty.

I teach social sciences, classes—psychology, sociology and social work. I'm currently teaching a social problems class focusing on the environment, which I’ve designed specifically around the areas of St. Lawrence Cement, Athens Generating and the dredging of the Hudson River.

As a concerned social scientist, I recognize the need that people have for well paying, quality jobs. Indeed, it pains me to look out amongst the audience today and see many friends and workers that I know in this community who are so desperate for decent employment that they are supporting this cement plant.

This company is not going to provide in the long run well-paying jobs for a number of people; not even in the short run.

But even if they were, why must it pay at the expense of our health in order for that to take place? If the local elected officials in this community were doing their job, we should be able to have decent employment without work ruining our health.

I’m a mother and also a grandmother and I would like my grandchildren to grow up to be healthy. What a choice we have, to be able to have well-paying jobs at the expense of our health, or be able to have good health at the expense of not having any jobs?

It’s time for this community to wake up. Are we not able to trust the testimony of our very own local hospital officials who have adamantly stated over and over and over that this plant is going to ruin the lives and health of all of us?

I’m going to cut it here, I think. I just wanted to go on record as saying I’m a opposed to this plant for the sake of the health and well-being of all of us and future generations to come. Thank you very much.

A native of Buffalo and graduate of SUNY New Paltz, Mary taught Human Services for 30 years at Columbia-Greene. Indeed, she was among the original faculty at the college when it opened in Greenport. At her memorial in 2011, her daughter noted that she “was an activist her whole life for woman’s rights and social justice.”

What I remembered most about Mary’s involvement in the cement battle was her tenaciousness. As the Polaroid photo above shows, she not just determined, but also confident, that justice would prevail. An email she sent in 2003 to a group of activists said: “The world needs more people who are willing to sacrifice to do the right thing.”

The Departed: Milt Meisner

First installment in a series

The phone rang one afternoon in 1999 at my makeshift Stop the Plant office—a third-floor walkup in the back, donated by realtor Steve Kingsley. On the other end was a gravelly, well-measured voice: “This is Milt Meisner. You got my wife all riled up at some meeting last weekend in Claverack. Meet me at the diner in Hudson at 8 am tomorrow.” Click. 

Image: Hudson Farmer’s Market

Oh jeez, I thought, here we go. Fearing the worst from the tone of his phone call, I braced myself for an earful of pro-SLC slogans, which were then saturating all local media: full-page print ads, radio ads, and hokey TV spots. (One of these featured a 1950s-style housewife removing a sheet of chocolate chip cookies from the oven, saying to her kids in a sing-song voice, “I just don’t know how anyone could be against it!”)

By now I was getting used to meetings where I’d have to shoot down a litany of company lines: about how “the plant” was supposedly going to create lots of new jobs, be squeaky-clean, and hidden from public view. Each claim was easily debunked with facts straight from SLC’s own application—except that the company’s misleading p.r. had firmly lodged these ideas deeply in many residents’ consciousness.

All I knew about Meisner at that point was that he had farmed in the area for a long time, had a farmstand on 9H&23 in Greenport, and that his wife Rosalyn  had been at a meeting that weekend in the home of Irma Brownfield and Frederick Rostock on Route 23B.

The 20 people crammed into the living room heard a presentation from me and Dr. Ira Marks—who had delivered a large percentage of the babies born in Columbia Memorial Hospital for several generations—about the health effects of the proposed coal-fired St. Lawrence Cement plant. The pollution, we’d noted, would largely move from west to east, directly over Claverack. 

So the next morning, we drank coffee in a booth the Columbia Diner, which was then run by a cook with the unusual nickname of Chewie. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Milt was already deeply skeptical of the cement company’s claims. “Roz” had relayed much of the content of the meeting in detail, and he simply wanted to hear some of the details firsthand, and quiz me in more depth. I learned, among other things, that at one point he had worked some of the scarce tillable land on Becraft Mountain adjoining the former Atlas Cement quarries—and that he was considered by many to have been the first organic farmer in the County.

According to his Register-Star obituary in 2010, Milt was actively involved in NOFA, Agway, the Cooperative Extension, the Dairy League, and helped found the Hudson Farmer’s Market. Born in Hudson in the 1920s, and a graduate of Hudson High, Milt wore a number of other hats besides farmer, including realtor, co-owner of a car dealership. His seemingly gruff demeanor—which usually included a well-worn baseball cap and tinted glasses, reflecting many hours spent outside in his fields—belied his warm commitment to his community, including involvement in both the Greenport synagogue and Meals on Wheels. 

Meeting Milt in this way reminded me to never judge a neighbor by their demeanor or demographic profile. People from all walks of life either already doubted the cement company, or could be convinced to abandon their support, if they could just get more accurate and balanced information than was available in the local media. He and Ros were steadfast supporters of our cause from start to finish, and their involvement gave many others the courage to get involved.

Note: My remembrance of Ira Marks, who himself died in 2011, can be found here.

 

Ginsberg’s also got $400,000 loan from CEDC

Food company has the largest of 50 agency loans—and pays the lowest interest rate

The picture of the extraordinary package of public assistance which Ginsberg’s Foods has garnered over the years keeps getting larger.

In addition to more than $2 million in new government incentives to expand, and a previous PILOT tax deal about to expire, the company is now in the final year of a $400,000 loan from Columbia Economic Development Corporation.

According to a CEDC loan table obtained by this site, that amount is the largest of 50 current loans to area businesses by the agency.

Ginsberg’s 1% interest rate also stands out as the lowest paid by any of the 50 current loanees listed on the chart, dated 30 September 2014. By contrast, more than half of the other loan recipients are paying between 7% and 8.5% interest. Only 5 of the 50 recipients pay less than 5% interest, with none paying less than 2% other than Ginsberg’s.

As noted here previously, the Albany Business Review pegged Ginsberg’s revenues at $142,000,000 in 2013, suggesting that there was no urgent need to charge the company much less interest than other recipients.

Moreover, half of CEDC’s other current loans are for $25,000 or less. The next largest loan after the $400,000 for Ginsberg’s is $284,000 to a Livingston dairy operation. The third largest is $150,000 to a food business in Ancramdale. Those businesses are paying 5% and 6% interest, respectively.

The 10-year term of the Ginsberg’s loan is also tied for second longest on the table. One other distribution business has a 15-year loan for $100,000. Three other businesses have a 10-year loan. More than three-quarters of the loanees have terms of 6 years or less.

The loan was initiated in 2005, and appears to partially overlap with the tenure of David Ginsberg as President of CEDC. Ginsberg stepped down from that post in 2010, but remained on the board of CEDC until shortly before the State approved a $1.5 million assistance package in late
2013.

The grant application and permitting for the project was initiated while Ginsberg was still serving on CEDC, along with the head of the engineering firm for the company’s expansion project in Ghent and Claverack.

The company has also requested a second Payment in Lieu of Tax plan from the County IDA. According to a report in The Register-Star, that new PILOT would save Ginsberg’s some $700,000 in local taxes, for example to the Taconic Hills School District. It is not known how much the previous PILOT netted the company in savings.

Both CEDC and the IDA share Ken Flood as their executive director. Flood was hired to fill those roles, as well as director of Columbia County Planning, when Ginsberg was still head of CEDC

Meeting minutes inadvertantly expose chronic CEDC conflict concerns

Stark contradiction in Flood and Crawford statements

The CEDC Board prepares to meet. Five chairs were provided for the audience in the room; the overflow of another 8-10 people had to try to listen from the nextdoor anteroom.

Recently-circulated minutes of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) inadvertantly expose the agency’s growing perception problem regarding conflicts-of-interest among its members and staff.

Scrutiny has focused on CEDC Board President David Crawford’s dual role as the principal of Crawford & Associates Engineering (which is the engineering firm for the Ginsberg’s Foods expansion project along the border of Ghent and Claverack), as well as former Board President David Ginsberg’s influence.

Approved at yesterday’s Board meeting, the minutes for its previous August 26th gathering quote Executive Director Kenneth J. Flood on the topic of Crawford’s participation on the Ginsberg $1.5 million grant and $1 land deal:

“Mr. Flood stated to the best of his knowledge, Mr. Crawford had not taken part in any discussion or vote regarding the Ginsberg’s project.”

However, the following pages of the same minutes document examples of Crawford participating in such discussions.

In a Board debate about the hiring of Behan Communications to assist with p.r. for the Ginsberg project and to improve CEDC’s image, the minutes state:

“Mr. Crawford gave the Ginsberg’s project as an example, noting the public relations had room for improvement.”

Earlier  minutes also show Crawford on the record about Ginsberg’s during Board meetings. For example, CEDC’s June 2014 minutes state that

“Mr. Crawford noted that Ginsberg’s was well on their way to completion. He noted Behan could use Ginsberg’s as a CEDC accomplishment.”

Behan Communications, by the way, is also the p.r. company for TCI of NY, the PCB-processor whose Ghent facility exploded two summers ago, forcing County residents to stay inside for much of a summer day. Crawford’s engineering firm also likewise worked for TCI. Other Board members not directly connected to Ginsberg’s, such as former Independent publisher Tony Jones, have questioned the $10,000 retainer of Behan, which was intially greenlighted—reportedly by Flood and Crawford—without Board approval.

Later, the minutes’ account of a discussion of the conflict-of-interest question raised by Hillsdale Supervisor Art Baer again cites Crawford participating in a matter related to Ginsberg’s. Development czar Flood reported that

“Supervisor [Baer] had not backed down from his request for a formal legal opinion about the land transaction as well as a statement stating there was no conflict of interest by any Board member. Mr. Crawford stated this was all due to politics.”

Meeting in private, the minutes further state that the $1 sale to Ginsberg’s of 33 acres acquired by the County for $109,500 had been voted upon by the CEDC Executive Committee. After the meeting, this site was told by Board member Mary Bartolotta that the Executive Committee includes Crawford.

Crawford with Columbia County Republican chair and CEDC Board member Greg Fingar (SOURCE: Crawford Associates’ blog)

(Though it involves more than two members of a public body as defined in New York State Open Meetings Law, the Executive Committee does not provide notice of its meetings, and no minutes of its meetings are taken, according to a Board member speaking on condition of anonymity. As a result, there is no known record of whether Crawford participated in the above-mentioned Executive Committee discussion and vote.)

Ginsberg’s Food co-owner David Ginsberg was formerly the President of CEDC until 2010, remaining as a Board member until just two months before the application submitted by CEDC was approved by the Cuomo administration.

As also reported here, a source familiar with the process for hiring Ken Flood says that Ginsberg took the lead on the hiring process. At minimum, there appears to have been an overlap between the last year of his Board Presidency and the hiring of Flood as CEDC director. Flood has since been at the forefront of promoting and securing grant funding, tax incentives, and other benefits for Ginsberg’s Foods.

The conflict of interest issues raised by Baer, which the Executive Committee and its attorney have declined to address, clearly do not appear to come as surprise to CEDC members. The minutes of its October 2013 meeting reported that:

“Mr. Flood stated he had to hire a consultant to write the expedited application in order to submit it on time to have the [Ginsberg] project reviewed... Ms. Bartolotta asked it to be clarified in the formal meeting minutes that David Ginsberg of Ginsberg’s Foods had resigned in the beginning of the month.”

The May 2014 minutes likewise record Crawford as actively promoting the hiring of Behan by CEDC to assist Ginsberg’s, which originally was going to carry the cost of public relations itself. Crawford explicitly tied the image of the Board and Ginsberg’s together:

“Mr. Crawford stated that he and Mr. Bohnsack had met with Ginsbergs at the beginning of their project to encourage them to hire a public relations firm [to] head off any issues. He stated Ginsbergs had stated they would do their public relations in house. Mr. Crawford stated he was now encouraging CEDC to hire a public relations firm to get CEDC’s mission out to the public... He stated this should include the message about Ginsberg’s. ... Several board members cautioned against using the public relations company for only Ginsberg’s, noting it should be iused for the advancement of CEDC. Mr. Crawford asked for a motion to obtain a proposal from Behan Communications not to exceed $10,000.

The May minutes then state that “Mr. Fingar made the motion, which was seconded by Colinn Stair and passed unanimously.” No absentions were noted in the minutes, by either Crawford or anyone else.

Subsequent minutes show that staff of CEDC went ahead and signed a contract with Behan before the Board ever saw a proposal. By July, Crawford was backtracking on his original reason for hiring Behand, now claiming in that month’s minutes that “the firm had been hired to do general public relations and not specifically for Ginsberg’s.”

(NOTE: The minutes quoted above were all unanimously approved by the full Board, which includes Crawford et al. assuming they were in attendance.)

Inside the Ginsberg’s goodiebag

Apparent conflicts of interest raise eyebrows even among supporters

The maneuvers and machinations behind the Ginsberg’s Foods deal—resulting in some $2 million in public fundings and tax credits—strike many local observers as irregular at best.

Ginsberg family members and employees have touted the company’s longevity, local roots and continued “investment in the community” as reasons for the company to benefit from substantial County largesse and indulgence from town permitting agencies.

To a large extent, both have rolled over and given Ginsberg’s everything they’ve asked for, from public handouts to multiple zoning variances.

But while development officials have voiced a shining appreciation for the employment provided by Ginsberg’s, such testimonials seem tarnished by a growing sense that inside government influence has been used to achieve a private company’s expansion goals.

Below is an inventory of some of the more dubious ways in which this deal has been advanced. Taken together, these raise the questions: Why should a highly successful company, with a massive cashflow and presumably healthy profits, need the public to underwrite its expansion? And: Is it really appropriate for County agency board members with close ties to Ginsberg’s to be going to bat on its behalf?

(1) Ken’s Conflict. The main public booster of Ginsberg’s expansion has been County economic development czar Kenneth J. Flood. But Flood appears to owe a significant professional debt of gratitude to the top dog at Ginsberg’s.

According to sources familiar with the search to fill the job eventually landed by Flood, that search was led by none other David Ginsberg himself. At the time of Flood’s appointment, Ginsberg was the President of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation, and apparently was responsible for both the interviewing and the ultimate selection of candidates.

The search resulted in Flood assuming the titles of Executive Director of CEDC, Commissioner of Columbia County Planning/Economic Development, and Executive Director of the Columbia County IDA.

If true, Flood would not only would appear to be helping out the guy who hired him, but is heading an agency with direct financial dealings with that person’s firm. Audits of the IDA, conducted by the politically-connected accounting firm of Pattison Koskey Howe & Bucci, show G’s Best Realty listed under the agency’s Projects, Exemptions and Payment in Lieu of Tax programs. G’s Best Realty is understood to be a real estate holding company for Ginsberg’s Foods, sharing the same address (Box 17 Route 66, Hudson NY 12534) and appearing on some of its applications.

(2) David’s Dual Role. About a year after hiring Flood, Ginsberg relinquished the Presidency of CEDC in the Spring of 2010. But he remained on the CEDC board for several more years. It appears the company’s expansion plans were not only well known, but also actively advocated by the agency, well before Ginsberg finally stepped down entirely from that board.

Flood told the Register-Star in July 2013 that “the company has expressed interest in potential assistance from the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency and Columbia Economic Development Corporation”—two of the three agencies Flood had been hired to direct.

Indeed, there is evidence that Flood knew of Ginsberg’s plans even earlier than that. The minutes of CEDC’s June 18th, 2013 meeting note that Consolidated Funding Applications (CFAs) to the State were due by August 12th. Flood states in the minutes that several CFAs would be submitted, including the “Ginsberg’s expansion.”

At the CEDC’s August 2013 meeting, a conversation to discuss the Board’s Code of Ethics occurred. The meeting minutes note that “The Board expressed dissatisfaction with the inability to loan to a company due to the fact that the owner was a Board Member.”

No specific company or Board Member was specified. But David Ginsberg resigned from the board shortly thereafter, sometime between CEDC’s September and October meetings—and just before the State approved a package of more than $1.5 million in tax credits and funding for Ginsberg’s in late November. In the December press release, Flood praises Ginsberg’s Foods without acknowledging any prior relationship or obligation to the former president of CEDC.

(3) Crawford’s  Connections. Succeeding Ginsberg as CEDC President was another David—David Crawford, the head honcho of the Hudson-based engineering and planning firm Crawford & Associates.

Crawford’s firm has represented Ginsberg’s efforts to obtain permits before the various Claverack and Ghent boards reviewing its expansion plans, even as CEDC has gone to bat for the company. The abovementioned $1.5 million funding applications appear to have been submitted during Crawford’s (ongoing) tenure as President of CEDC.

Crawford has also used his role as CEDC boss to speak up for his client’s interests in more purely symbolic ways. At its the same May board meeting, “Mr. Crawford stated it was appropriate for the Board to honor Mr. Ginsberg” and “presented Mr. Ginsberg with a trophy as a token of thanks.” The minutes do not disclose what the trophy cost, or what shape it took. (A cornucopia, maybe?)

(The main Crawford & Associates spokesperson at meetings about the project has been Brandee Nelson, who has elsewhere been rumored to be the odds-on “favorite” to unseat County Department of Public Works honcho David Robinson.)

(4) Spinning Ginsberg’s. Meanwhile, Crawford recently pushed for a public relations firm to be hired to help get its message out, including “the message about Ginsberg’s”—again, his client.

According to the May 2014 CEDC minutes, a motion was passed to seek “a proposal from Behan Communications.” Behan is in turn connected with Crawford Associates and at least one other CEDC board member, attorney Bill Better. Both Crawford and Better have performed high-profile work for TCI of NY, the former Ghent PCB processor whose Falls Road facility infamously exploded several summers ago, causing a widespread lockdown and the installation of an emergency notification system.

Despite the Board only approving the solicitation of a “proposal” from Behan, at the next month’s meeting Flood revealed that he had already started working with Behan.

This revelation caused board member Tony Jones, former publisher of The Independent, to express his “confusion,” goven that “only a proposal and not a contract had been authorized by the board vote.” Crawford jumped in that “Behan could use Ginsberg’s as a CEDC accomplishment” to help burnish the misunderstood agency’s image. (Once again: Ginsberg is Crawford’s client, and both Crawford and Better rubbed elbows with Behan while they all worked for TCI.)

Despite the evident consternation among several more independent CEDC members, at the following meeting Mr. Crawford announced that “Behan had been hired.”

Minutes of the August meeting have not been published yet online, but attendees report that Crawford and Flood have already gone ahead with spending $4,000 of a potential $10,000 retainer with Behan, though the CEDC board still had not authorized the hiring of any P.R. firm... It is not clear if Behan had a hand in placing the recent, fawning profile of David Ginsberg in the Register-Star.

(5) Land Grab. Another tasty morsel in the Ginsberg Goodie Bag is the County’s plan to “sell” them 33 acres of developable, vacant farmland along Route 66 for the princely sum of $1. Ken Flood told the media that “we had an appraisal done two months ago, and the appraised value is $280,000.” A public hearing on the gift is scheduled for today (Wednesday) at 10 am at the West Ghent Fire House on Route 9H near Kozel’s.

But other land owned by CEDC is hardly given away for a sawbuck. For example, at its May 2014 meeting, the Board approved the sale of 5.8 acres—about half of it wetland—to Tierra Farm. The price? $50,000, loaned at the extravagant rate of 10% interest for 5 years. The company promised to create 25 new jobs, roughly half of Ginsberg’s estimate.

So why was Tierra Farm required to pay $50,000 and 10% interest, while Ginsberg paid $1 and got $1.5 million in credits and grant funding? The minutes do not say. Flood has spun the giveaway by saying that his agency heard of no interest in the land after years of it sitting empty. But this appears to be more a reflection on CEDC and the IDA’s inept-to-nonexistent marketing efforts than on its real worth.

(6) Corporate Blackmail? In spite of his longtime official role as a booster of Columbia County development, David Ginsberg has made a point of threatening to move his company elsewhere, if the County does not support its expansion with funding.

Before State funding was obtained, rumors ran rampant (spread by whom?) that Ginsberg’s was mulling the idea of moving to Rensselaer or Berkshire counties. Even recently, as Ginsberg’s has racked up benefits and approvals, Ginsberg told the Register-Star:

“(People) offered to sit down and talk to me about the incentives about going somewhere else,... It’s not like I need to be here. I could be 25 miles in any direction and continue the same business model I presently have.”

(7) The $220,000,000 question. So is it worth it to spend about $2 million? That same Reg-Star article noted that “nearly 60 percent of the company’s approximately 260 employees are current Columbia County residents, he added, with the proposed expansion yielding anywhere from 50 to 75 new jobs.”

That would indicate that Ginsberg’s currently employees approximately 156 local residents, with the number climbing to something like 200 in Columbia County if the expansion goes through.

Now, according to the New York State Department of Labor, there are 21,800 people filling nonfarm jobs in Columbia County as of June 2014.

This means that Ginsberg’s provides less than 1% of the employment in the county. If every local business were to receive grants and tax credits in the same proportion to Ginsberg’s based on the number of jobs each provides, the County and State would have to pony up more than $220,000,000.

* * * * *

At the end of the day, even those who might hope to keep Ginsberg’s Foods locally have to wonder: Why all the handouts to a huge business which is said to have revenues in the tens of millions? Can't Ginsberg’s afford to pay its own way?

After 100+ years, doesn’t Ginsberg’s have the assets and credit to get a low-interest loan of its own, without reaching into the pockets of State or County taxpayers? Why should a small farm pay $50,000 and 10% interest on 6 acres, while Ginsberg’s gets 33 acres for a measly dollar?

When even the conservative-coddling Register-Star blasts the deal, it’s a sign that County insiders may finally have gone too far. The Register wrote that “most [residents] will not benefit from Ginsberg's multi-million dollar investment,” and that the handling of the land deal and PILOT leave an “impression that the deal with Ginsberg's is not above board.”

 

County plans to “donate” 33 acres to Ginsberg’s, in addition to other giveaways

The February 14th, 2014 minutes of the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency reveal that the County intends to make a “land donation” of approximately 33 acres to Ginsberg’s Foods.

Former Claverack Planning Board member (and Churchtown firefighter) Nathan Chess dropped that bombshell research at tonight’s joint meeting with the Ghent and Claverack planners, as part of a a scheduled public hearing.

The gift presumably is dependent upon approval of the company’s application for a new 300,000 refrigerated warehouse, office space and trucking center on Route 66, just north of the intersection with 9H on the Ghent/Claverack line.

The IDA minutes found by Chess state that the County’s Economic Development Council (CEDC) “continued to negotiate with Ginsberg’s about the land contract.” The 2014 head of CEDC is David Crawford, the principal of Crawford Engineering—the same firm which is spearheading Ginsberg’s application before the two Planning Boards. David Ginsberg himself was listed as a member of CEDC as recently as its September 2013 meeting.

Mr. Chess further noted that the company appears to be operating under two names, G. Best Realty and Ginsberg’s Institutional Foods, per a letter from County economic development czar Kenneth Flood authorizing the company to pursue an application for a project on County-owned land. Mr. Ginsberg was in charge of the candidate search which eventually hired Flood, according to sources familiar with the hiring process.

Sardonically referring to himself as “an investor” in Ginsberg’s—as a County taxpayer—Chess further noted that the IDA’s December 3rd, 2013 minutes discussed giving the company a $30,000 “mortgage tax exemption” in relation to its Payment In Lieu of Tax (PILOT) deal for its existing, smaller facility further west on 66.

In addition to the apparent land donation and mortgage tax exemption, New York State has agreed to provide Ginsberg’s with roughly $1 million in tax credits, and over $500,000 in community block grants to fund the expansion.

The public hearing was marked by an unusual number of interruptions and admonishments of public commenters by Ghent Planning Board chair Jonathan Walters, (who serves as an editor and writer at Governing magazine). Walters warned those wishing to speak not to repeat others’ comments, and made numerous interjections during various attempts by citizens to enter questions and comments into the record.

Resident Donna Davey was among those cut off by Walters, when she attempted to express concerns about “sprawl.” During the remarks of others, such as Mr. Chess, the hearing officer made eye and hand gestures indicating he wanted the speaker to hurry up or abandon certain lines of argument.

By contrast, officials such as Columbia County Chamber head David Colby and former Claverack Supervisor Jim Keegan, along with employees of Ginsberg’s who spoke in favor of the application, were allowed to speak uninterrupted. A supportive letter from County Supervisors chair Pat Grattan was read aloud by Brandee Nelson of Crawford Engineering, again without interruption. 

Meanwhile, concerned neighbor Tom Runyon was lectured to “read the application” before the next time he offered comments, even though Runyon’s softspoken questions reflected an obvious familiarity with key details of the application.

Runyon pointed out that the two Boards had proceeded with a public hearing despite not having voted to deem the Ginsberg’s application complete, a normal procedural hurdle. Joint attorney for the two boards, Jeffrey S. Baker, argued that the application was “substantially” complete, conceding that some environmental formalities remained to be formally adopted.

Walters appeared impatient with what he characterized as Runyon’s “procedural” comments, and urged him to focus instead on the meat of the application. But Runyon was again shot down when he quizzed the Boards and their joint attorney about such particulars. He noted, for example, that the application was for a “warehouse,” but also included other components such as an 85-bay trucking operation. Board members and Ginsberg’s reps claimed that the trucking component was for “repairs,” though other discussion clearly indicated that the trucks would be loading food in and out of the facility.

Runyon’s concern about emissions from the 85-odd vehicles running “all night” appeared to be deemed more germane by several on the two Boards.

 Runyon, along with Ghent resident Patti Matheney and others further managed to tease out information that the water tower proposal for the property was a “County project,” which apparently would be paid for by the County, not Ginsberg’s. Though the proposed water tower was a frequent topic of discussion at the meeting, it does not appear to be mentioned in the public notice for the project.

The often hostile back-and-forths with audience members struck this observer as highly unusual, given that Planning Boards serve in a “quasi-judicial” capacity—with an obligation to not render an opinion until all input, including public comment, is received.

At dozens of similar hearings attended over the years, this attendee has seen members of a diverse set of municipalities and agencies take input on a wide variety of topics, without attempting to divert or derail the commenter’s line of thought. Members typically do not interact with commenters during a formal public hearing, of which a transcript is supposed to be made, answering only the simplest procedural and factual questions when these can be addressed succinctly and without tainting the proceedings with any appearance of bias.

Issues and other comments raised by commenters are more usually addressed later in a reply document, which sorts out new substantive issues from those already addressed in the course of the review, and setting aside those not germane to the process. Such reticence helps preserve the appearance of a Board not rendering objective judgements free of premature, arbitrary or capricious decisions.

A big week for backing down (Part I)

Last week was a big one for Columbia County politicians to back down from  indefensible, controversial positions.

In Claverack, two outgoing officials—Supervisor Robin Andrews and Town Board member Bob Preusser—made a 180˚ change of course in deciding not to remove Churchtown firefighter Nathan Chess from the Planning Board. They were joined by Board member Katie Cashen to override two Republicans still in favor of punishing Chess for refusing to just “go along to get along.”

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The reversal came as a huge surprise to many. Andrews herself had signed and pushed for the tendentious complaint against Chess, with the unanimous support of Preusser, Cashen and the two GOP members. Allies and foes of Chess alike expected that despite the thinness of the case against him (plus the evaporation of the Town’s attorney almost immediately after a less-than-impressive Star Chamberish prosecution), the Board would again vote unanimously for removal.

What explains the change of mind? One would like to think that the three came around due to the (lack of) evidence and the obviously subjective nature of the complaint. Chess made a strong, concise case the Town Code did not support the allegations. And as the intensely personal of the dispute came into focus at last Fall’s hearing dragged on for several excruciating hours, the ongoing prosecution seemed to become a costly embarrassment for all involved.

One would like to think that this was a case of cooler heads prevailing. But given the pettiness of what preceded the final outcome (including the non-hanging offense of Planning Board meetings “not being fun anymore”), the change from a 5-0 to 2-3 vote likely derived from less noble sentiments.

As Supervisor, Andrews had bent over backwards to ingratiate herself to the Claverack Republicans—much too far backwards for many Democrats’ taste. She became a huge booster of the Pine Haven nursing home boondoggle-in-the-making, a pet cause of Tea Party elements such as Albert Wassenhove. She refused to take a courageous stand on key issues which crept into Claverack from neighboring Ghent, such as the TCI fire, or the County airport expansion.

Likewise, in her failed attempt to vault from one-term Supervisor to the State legislature, Andrews opposed common sense gun regulations just before the Sandy Hook tragedy, and opposed increasing the State minimum wage.

Thus the attempt to nail Chess to the cross had every appearance of yet another move rightward by Andrews. Yet despite all her accommodations and cop-outs, the incumbent Supervisor lost not only her State Senate campaign, but her local re-election bid. Any of the above issues could have cost her the 20 votes by which she trailed winner Kippy Weigelt. (In a bitter and undignifiied email circulated by Andrews’ partner, the candidate’s other half blamed weekenders for not mailing in their absentee ballots, though absentees cut her deficit from 80 to 20.)

In this context, the changed votes look less like listening to reason, than a departing middle finger to the GOP: We played nice and knuckled under to the GOP agenda for four years, but didn’t get any credit. So here’s something for you Republicans to remember us by. (Chess’s term runs through 2016.) Had Andrews shown that spirit earlier, galvanizing her base rather than demoralizing it, she might be getting sworn back in on January 1st, 2014.

The second instance of backing down last week came from New Lebanon Supervisor Mike Benson, who grudgingly declined to make his threatened motion to suspend the County Airport Committee’s work before it had begun.

Like the end of the Chess game in Claverack, Benson’s retreat seemed based more in calculation than reason: by the end of last Wednesday’s standing-room-only meeting, he must have realized he did not have the votes to carry such a motion. But unlike the Claverack situation, one did not get the sense that Benson had heard the public’s concerns, or recognized any error in his ways, and so his push to use eminent domain against Carmen Nero may well come back at a future meeting.

A more detailed run-down of Wednesday’s illuminating airport meeting will follow in the next day or two.

When do absentee ballots matter?

Several candidates tonight in Columbia County won by fewer votes than the number of absentee ballots remaining to be counted. In some cases, the absentees could readily change the outcome; in others, it’s extremely unlikely.

To help determine which races are still close and which really are not, it’s a good time to break out a formula posted at this site a couple of years ago. This version applies to the candidate who is ahead on Election Night:

To see how this works, consider three undecided races in Ghent, Claverack and Taghkanic.

In Ghent, two candidates are vying for one remaining seat: Mallory Mort and Larry Van Brunt. Mort got 731 votes “on the machine” and Van Brunt got 734. According to sources, about 125 absentee ballots have been received so far. (A few more may trickle in, but we’ll use the 125 figure, assuming that not everyone casts a vote for every office.)

To overturn Van Brunt’s Election Night win, Mort must get 65 of the 125 absentees. That would mean he wins the absentees 65-60, picking up 5 votes. If he wins the absentees only by 64-61, it’s a tie. Meanwhile, if Van Brunt gets 62 or more of the 125 absentees, he wins by at least one.

In other words, in this Ghent Town Board race, every vote will really make a difference. Ghent Democrats are confident that Mort will win once the absentees are counted, though not by a huge margin.

For Claverack Supervisor, Kippy Wiegelt is ahead of Robin Andrews by 74 votes, 859 to 785. This site was told by a Claverack politico that about 120 absentees have come in so far. To secure victory, Wiegelt needs only 24 of the absentees: that would give him a one-vote win, 883-881. So even if Andrews takes 80% of the absentees, Wiegelt narrowly retains his lead.

That frankly looks like a lock for Weigelt, especially considering that unlike some other towns, Claverack’s absentees come as much from local nursing homes as from second home owners.

In Taghkanic’s Supervisor race, the numbers might seem similarly bleak for the Democratic candidate, though there’s a twist... Wilzig Racing Manor majordomo Erik Tyree leads current Town Board member Larry Kadish, 272-214, a 58-vote lead. A well-placed source indicates that there are 111 absentees to count at this point.

Tyree thus needs just 27 of the 111 absentees (25%) to hold on for a 299-298 win. Kadish would appear to be in serious trouble. However, in recent Taghkanic election cycles, absentees have overturned the Election Day result, sometimes quite dramatically, because the Taghkanic Democrats have a very robust absentee ballot ground game. One would still favor Tyree to eke out a not-very-convincing victory, but it won’t be by much.

N O T E : All of the above computations are based upon publicly-reported Election Night results, and more shaky reports of the number of absentee ballot returns. All of the projections above could vary somewhat, if the base numbers change.

Claverack’s special counsel goes AWOL

In an unexpected and inexplicable new twist, the lawyer hired by the Town of Claverack to make its case at last week’s cringe-making hearing to remove firefighter Nathan Chess from the planning board suddenly appears to be off the case.

A leaked email sent to special counsel Dionne Wheatleigh, who conceded drafting most of the brief attacking Chess that was signed by Supervisor Robin Andrews, yielded this automated response yesterday afternoon:

I have retired from RWGM.  All of my messages are being forwarded to Elayne Gold. 

 

For further assistance, please contact Karen Pelland at 518-464-1300 ext. 406

Thank you,

 

Dionne Wheatley

Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP

At the hearing, Wheatley certainly did not appear to be of retirement age, leading one to suspect an inapt choice of words. A second message sent yesterday evening from Wheatley’s account appeared to be hand-typed, not automated:

Please be advised that as of 9/30/13, I will no longer be with the firm and thus will not be accessing email.  Emails to this email address may be viewed by another colleague for a short time.  Additional communications such as the documents from Mr. Chess and the hearing transcript should be mailed to me as indicated below.

The second message is even more difficult to parse: Why would follow-up materials related to the hearing be mailed to Wheatley, if she is “retired” or “no longer... with the firm?”

Where does the Town’s heavyhanded campaign impugning Chess’s character stand, if their attorney who spent months preparing their case has decamped? Getting a new attorney up to speed on the endlessly byzantine and not-terribly-convincing line of argument crafted by Wheatleigh with Andrews would seem both time-consuming, and costly. Reportedly, one of the firm’s partners has been assigned to the matter, at least for the moment.

Claverack’s Kangaroo Court

One kept expecting the Monty Python crew to break into last night’s hearing in Philmont, held to consider removal of Planning Board member and Churchtown volunteer firefighter Nathan Chess.

The proceeding, instigated by a tendentious complaint from Claverack Supervisor Robin Andrews, appeared to serve little purpose except to give certain residents and officials a chance to vent their spleen against Chess. Having badly lost her attempt to become a State Senator last year to a Tea Party candidate—despite pandering to the far right on guns and the minimum wage—Andrews’ complaint looks an awful lot like another clumsy attempt to curry favor with Republican insiders.

In over 15 years of watchdogging local meetings, this observer has never seen such a proceeding initiated, let alone actually held; and nothing that Chess is accused of seems that unusual by local standards. The airing of several hampers worth of dirty laundry—consisting mainly of petty personality disputes—reflected poorly on the entire Town and Planning Board, several of whose members appeared mortified to have to testify on one side or the other.

If the Board really felt the need to take some action against Chess, it would have been better served by passing a toothlessly symbolic reprimand, rather than dragging their constituents, Town employees, and volunteer agency members along this five-hour slog through the Philmont mud. This audience member began to suspect that the attorney’s fees devoted by Andrews and her colleagues would be better spent on group therapy, rather than litigation.

Even the Town’s handpicked special counsel, Dionne Wheatley, seemed to grow embarrassed by the thinness of the case handed to her by Andrews and her colleagues on the Town Board, with Wheatley’s once-confident tone becoming less and less audible as she sank lower and lower in her chair.

Commanded by the Town Board—which serves in this case as both accuser and jury—to appear in this Star Chamber, Chess hewed closely to self-researched legal arguments and lawyerly cross-examination. He managed, in Perry Mason style, to get Planning Board chair Steven Hook to admit he had incorrectly testified about the words used during their parking lot argument. Chess also pointed out that the Town had filed the complaint under an outdated portion of its code, and had failed to identify an adequate cause for removal, which needs to be factual, not subjective. Likewise, he poked legal holes in his accusers’ argument that he improperly raised safety concerns reviews by citing the Planning Board mission to ensure public safety.

Later, Chess provided a detailed illustration of the type of expert input he brings to the task of reviewing applications, explaining the importance for First Responders to have a turnaround on any long driveway to ensure that emergency vehicles can pass each other.

Several members of the Planning Board testified, with obvious reluctance, that while they might not always approve of Chess’s attitude, his continued presence had not altered the workings or effectiveness of the Board. (One took this to mean that it had been dysfunctional before, and remains dysfunctional after.)

Meanwhile attorney Wheatley refused to allow Chess to question his accuser, Supervisor Andrews—and Ms. Andrews did not insist on standing behind her accusations. Instead, the Supervisor attempted to paper over the ugly nature of the process that she’d put in motion. During the second break at hour three, Andews put on grinning Den Mother act, serving by-now cold pizza to the 30-plus attendees.

Meanwhile Wheatley wisely denied Big Up concert host Sam Wright’s request to be put on the witness stand, likely calculating that the belligerent and intensely personal nature of Wright’s various outbursts from the audience were not aiding the Town’s attempt to paint Chess as rude and intimidating. (Later, during the public comment portion of the meeting, a member of the audience who is friends with both men accused Wright of attempting to pick a boozy fight with Chess at a local pub.)

As the meeting’s fifth hour came to a close, Chess’s real offense came into focus: his steadfast refusal to just Go Along to Get Along. Two fellow members of the Planning Board complained that meeting were “no fun any more” and “not enjoyable,” to which Chess countered that reviewing an application is “not supposed to be fun. It’s work.”

Whether elected or appointed, local agencies are infamous for favoring the appearance of harmony over the more challenging process of weighing facts and regulations. When a lone Board member insists on a proper debate and review, this means his or her colleagues may have to actually read the materials, think for themselves, defend their reasoning and (worst of all) remain at the meeting long enough to miss the first hour of Prime Time TV.

The only bright spot of the evening was the impartial and good-humored moderation by Ancram Supervisor Art Bassin, who managed to dial down several potentially-explosive moments.

NOTE: In an amusing irony, one of the charges against Chess was that he had used expletives during a “man-to-man” discussion with Hook in the aftermath of a contentious meeting. An article in The Register-Star the morning just before the hearing, Bassin himself was reported to have used the word “bull----” in response to evasions by County Development czar Kenneth Flood—during the meeting, not “man to man.” This prompted this attendee to wonder out loud whether Ms. Andrews planned to file a similar complaint against her colleague. Don’t hold your breath; the obvious point here was not integrity or consistency, but the selective politicization of the Planning Board.

New electrical substation proposed for Claverack

A putative partnership of major energy companies calling themselves NY Transco has sent a report to the State, which proposes (among other things) to “build one new 40 mile 345kV line between National Grid’s Leeds and Con Ed’s Pleasant Valley station.” The new line would “traverse Greene, Columbia, and Dutchess Counties.” The complete report can be read here as a PDF. 

A supporting document circulated to some officials by National Grid specifies that this new line would include several “new substations,” including one at an undisclosed location in Claverack:

Transco claims that its plan supports Governor Cuomo’s goals to supply Statewide electricity needs, claiming it “reduces transmission constraints, assures the long-term reliability of the system and accommodates the development of renewable generation resources throughout the state.”