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The board of trustees has decided to hire an engineer to review the work of CLA Site, the firm hired to do the site assessment and design work for the Village Gateway Project _ now known as the Cooperstown Intermodal Transit Project. That review will cost up to $12,000.
At the same time, the Town of Otsego Planning Board has asked an engineer to review the design as part of its site plan review of the project, which is located outside the village in the town. The planning board wants the village to pay for that engineering review _ in the same way other applicants are required to pay for services required in the review of a site plan.
Town Planning Board Chair Paul Lord said Tuesday that he has been asked to demonstrate where the town derives the authority to require an applicant to pay. The town has required applicants to do so in the past, but Lord has so far been unable to find it in the land use law or elsewhere and is continuing to research the issue.
It is common practice to require applicants to pay for the cost of additional help in reviewing projects and the mayor and village board should know it. The village planning board does exactly that _ just ask Bassett Hospital how much it paid when the village hired an engineering firm to review its parking project plans.
Instead of stepping up to the plate and doing what it, too, requires of applicants, some board members don’t seem to think the village should be held to the same standard.
During a special meeting July 7 to discuss hiring an engineer to review CLA Site’s work, Gateway Project Chair Chuck Hage commented, ``I don’t think the town will require the village to pay. I don’t think the village should pay the town.’’
We are at a loss to understand why the village should not be required to do what it requires others to do, but then we don’t understand the need for extra engineering review in the first place.
The village has frequently hired engineering firms to do the design work for projects without hiring someone to look over their shoulder. There have been vague comments about the quality of CLA Site’s work by the mayor and some trustees who admit they don’t have the knowledge themselves to review the work. Supporters of the proposal say having another engineer review the design will enhance the chances of qualifying for the next round of funding, but don’t explain why it would enhance the chances.
To us, it appears to be a redundant layer of review for a project that will also be looked at by the town planning board’s engineer and engineers for the NYSDOT when the design is submitted to that agency.
It also seems somewhat ironic that the village has hired Clough Harbour Associates to do the review. Clough Harbour was one of the firms that originally submitted a proposal to do the design work for the project, but was rejected in favor of CLA Site.
If there are legitimate, quantifiable concerns about the quality of CLA Site’s work, they should be clearly stated to justify the expenditure of additional taxpayer funds for the review.
Our Opinion
Our Opinion: What’s good for the goose...
- Our Opinion
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
It does not look like there will be much snow, if any at all for this year’s Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Although many events are weather-dependent, that will not spoil all the festivities. As far as getting out your hats and mittens, you might want to dig them out. At least it does not look like the weather will be as abnormally warm as it has been so far this winter.
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Our Opinion: Roses
Roses to Cooperstown sixth-grader Tom Knight, who once again might have the chance to compete in the state level geography bee. He won his school district’s competition for the second year in a row this year and will be taking a written test to see if he qualifies. One could wish him luck, but Tom said he feels more confident taking the test this time around the now knows what to expect. He also said he feels more comfortable answering questions on paper that out loud in front of an audience.
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Our Opinion: Buying locally is right
We are happy to report this week that buying locally made products appears to be on the upswing in the Cooperstown area. We have long been a proponent of shopping locally. It stimulates the local economy, returns more sales tax to the county and is more environmentally sound. Buying locally made or grown products takes it one step further.
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Our Opinion: Confused much?
As if figuring out one’s tax bill isn’t mind boggling enough. Now, with a two percent limit on property tax increases, there will be more brains flustered. It is not a simple calculation at all. In fact, the tax cap will affect each school district’s levy in various ways. So don’t think you will be able to take your bill from last year and just increase it by two percent. The process uses a much more complex formula eight steps, as a matter of fact.
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Our Opinion: We’ll miss Nicols
Cooperstown Police Chief Diana Nicols will be leaving her job shortly and will be missed by the community. She is being retired by the New York State and Local Retirement System that notified her last week that she is “permanently incapacitated for the performance of duties.” The incapacitation is the result of a knee injury she received in 2008 during a training class.
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Our Opinion: Roses and Raspberries
Roses to Cooperstown Central School graduate Molly Pearlman for putting off her college plans for a year to serve a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program. She said her inspiration to participate in the program came from her father and brother.
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Our Opinion: Looking forward
While many will spend the next few days reminiscing about 2011, we at the Crier are looking forward to next year. We are ready to ring in a new year and look forward to the events to come. Of course there are those events that happen annually such as the Cooperstown Winter Carnival,The Goodyear Polar Bear Jump, the Farmers’ Museum’s Junior Livestock Show, The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Father’s Day Classic and Induction weekend, the Pumpkin Festival and Regatta and many more.
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Our Opinion: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
At this holiday season, we take great pleasure in reprinting one of the classic newspaper editorials of all time − perhaps the best Christmas editorial ever written. It has survived the test of time and seems particularly fitting and poignant this year.
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DEC should not dismiss findings
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the findings in a draft of a new federal report that links hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Wyoming with groundwater pollution. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that pumps millions of gallons of chemically treated water into gas wells to fracture the rock and release the gas.
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Our Opinion: Who would have guessed?
Much has been revealed during the baseball winter meeting in Dallas this past week. The Miami Marlins seem to be in hot pursuit of all the big name players to fill their new stadium, Manny Ramirez announced he would like to return to Major League Basbeall, Pedro Martínez announced he plans to officially retire, elections have been held and it appears former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is swapping places with the franchise’s new manager Bobby Valentine.
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
