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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETINGS

UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW

FOR

SCHUYLER TOBACCO ASSET SECURITIZATION CORPORATION

The Sole Member and the Board of Directors of the Schuyler Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation will be conducting its annual meeting at 2:00p.m. on May 30th, 2008 at 105 Ninth Street, Watkins Glen, New York. These meetings are annual meetings. This notice is given in order to comply with the Open Meetings Law.

Dated: April 29, 2008

Legislature OKs justice-sharing measure

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, May 6--The New York State Legislature has given final legislative approval to legislation sponsored by State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) to allow two or more adjacent towns to elect a single justice to preside over their town courts.

The legislation (S.3228/A.6645) now goes to Governor David Paterson to be signed into law.

“This legislation seeks to provide another option for localities looking for ways to cut costs and ease the local tax burden,” said Winner, adding that the initial study of sharing a town justice could qualify for a municipal shared services grant under a program currently administered by the state Department of State.

Current state law allows for the combining of town justice courts, but Winner said that may not be convenient if it forces residents or law enforcement officers to travel a greater distance to a new, combined town court. The sharing of a single town justice by adjacent towns, as provided under Winner’s legislation, would be more cost effective since it would maintain a justice court in each town.

The Legislature's action comes in the wake of last week's report from the 15-member Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, a panel established in April 2007 to study how New York’s 4,200 local governments can provide public services more efficiently and more
cooperatively in an effort to bring down local property taxes. The commission's report, "21st Century Local Government," estimates that the implementation of its recommendations, which included the consolidation of justice courts, could produce more than $1 billion in cost savings to local governments statewide. The full report can be found at www.nyslocalgov.org

Other initiatives being advanced by Winner include allowing adjoining towns to merge into a single new town through local initiative; authorizing two or more municipalities to jointly initiate the municipal annexation process; and encouraging the sharing of local highway services.

Schuyler among efficiency grant recipients

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, May 4-- In the wake of a report earlier this week from the state Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) said today that several area municipalities are among 67 localities statewide receiving grants under the latest round of funding through New York's "Shared Municipal Services Incentive" (SMSI) program.

Among the recipients is Schuyler County, awarded $483,000 to establish a partnership with the Watkins Glen School District, town of Dix and village of Watkins Glen to construct a shared public works facility, which will provide central administration to the delivery of public works.

Winner said that the Legislature created the SMSI program three years ago to promote shared services and other cooperative agreements among local governments. SMSI grants support the development of local projects aimed at cutting local costs.

"These grants have been worthwhile investments in the ongoing effort to encourage local government efficiency as a cornerstone of future property tax relief," said Winner.

Earlier this week the 15-member Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, which was created last April to study and make recommendations on how New York’s 4,200 local governments can provide public services more cooperatively and efficiently, issued its final report. (The commission's report can be viewed at www.nyslocalgov.org.) The commission estimated its recommendations could produce upward of $1 billion in cost savings to local governments.

The state's Division of Local Government, which administers the SMSI program, announced that 67 municipalities will share a total of $13.7 million in grants under the program's latest round of funding. In addition to Schuyler County, the 67 grant recipients include the following area municipalities:

-- Chemung County, $173,880 to undertake a study about existing fire fighting service costs and needs, as well as recommendations for future improvements to be achieved through intermunicipal service-sharing agreements;

-- Chemung County, $304,290 to provide organizational and technical support to the Chemung County Advisory Board during the board's examination of opportunities for increased shared highway services;

-- Tompkins County, $82,245 for a project to document and evaluate the county's existing water and sewer infrastructure and prepare plans with a focus on the rural centers;

-- Village of Bath (Steuben County), $276,276 to assist the construction of a de-icing salt and sand storage facility to accommodate the needs of both the village and town of Bath, which currently operate two separate facilities.

Winner legislation seeks gas-price relief

Will also join colleagues in call for suspension of state gas taxes in summer

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, April 30 -- State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) has introduced legislation to allow New York’s service station operators to buy and sell unbranded, less expensive motor fuel to their customers.

Winner is also joining his Senate Republican colleagues later today to formally call for a suspension of the state's gas taxes, which currently amount to nearly 33 cents a gallon, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Winner's legislation (S.6151/A.9073), which is sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle (D-Irondequoit), is being reported out of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee today. If enacted, it could provide consumers locally and statewide with some additional gas
price relief.

“The state doesn’t have a great deal of influence over the price of a gallon of gas, but we can take actions like this one to increase marketplace competition and bring down prices at the pump,” said Winner. “We have to consider every avenue of relief from today’s rising prices.”

Most motor fuel retailers are bound by franchise contracts to operate under a single brand name and sell only the fuel products associated with that brand. Distributors are similarly prohibited by contracts with refiners from selling unbranded fuels to franchised dealers.

The Winner-Morelle legislation would do away with these contractual restrictions and permit service station owners to accept unbranded gas from other vendors if their chief suppliers do not offer the same alternative.

The lawmakers said the new bill will encourage competition and lower the cost of a gallon of gas.

From left: Planning Board members Amedeo Fraboni, John Vona, Joe Fazzary (chairman), and Kevin Smith, who was attending his first session since being appointed. He replaces Wayne Weber.

Glen Planning Board okays two projects, gives blessing to Donuts site layout change

WATKINS GLEN, April 17 -- The Watkins Glen Planning Board Wednesday night gave final site-plan approval for a Famous Brands expansion and for a cannoli shop, and decided that a planned change in the layout at the Dunkin' Donuts development site does not warrant another hearing.

The Famous Brands plan calls for construction of a second story atop the store behind what is now a facade that appears to be a second floor facing Franklin Street. The address, 408-412 N. Franklin, will -- when the project is completed -- contain a 5,000 square foot retail addition to the store.

The Planning Board had given preliminary site-plan approval at its March 19 meeting, and the Schuyler County Planning Commission subsequently gave its approval. Following a public hearing at Wednesday's session -- a hearing at which nobody from the public spoke -- the board granted the final approval.

The project's target completion date, the board said, is Oct. 1.

The cannoli/bakery shop will be on a side porch of Vincent Scuteri's property at 409 E. Fourth Street. The Planning Board gave preliminary site-plan approval on March 19, and the County Planning Commission then approved the plan.

After nobody spoke at a public hearing on the plan during Wednesday's meeting, the final site plan was approved, and Scuteri -- after distributing canoli samples to everyone in the board room -- said he hoped to be open for business in two months.

Dunkin' Donuts woes

The major portion of the meeting was devoted to the Dunkin' Donuts franchise planned for Franklin Street, across from Durland Place. Watkins Glen Code Enforcement Officer Gordon Wright said the project hit a snag recently when -- after the land was cleared of an existing structure and landscaping had begun -- the State Department of Transportation insisted on a change in the entrance-exit to and from the donut franchise.

The original concept had been for an entrance-exit near the north end of the property, and an exit on the south, at the end of a drive-through lane. But DOT said there could only be one entrance-exit, and that it had to be directly across from Durland. This resulted in a meeting of a DOT official with village leaders, and a preliminary DOT assurance of a second exit -- subsequently denied by DOT again.

So in order to meet the entrance-exit demand, the planned setting of the Dunkin' Donuts building has to be moved south 15 feet, putting the drive-through lane (which will snake left and then right on the way out, rather than straight ahead) close to the adjoining neighbor's property. In order to accomplish that, the village's Zoning Board of Appeals must give its blessing to the removal of the previously planned 15-foot buffer, which would have likely contained lawn and shrubs.

Now, says Wright, a fence could conceivably be built to cut down on the noise and lights, although he said he is not aware of specific plans for one.

Of the DOT's insistence on the single entrance-exit, Wright said he "liked the original plan a lot better. I don't agree with the DOT at all."

As a prelude to the ZBA decision, Wright asked the Planning Board Wednesday if it would require another site-plan approval, which would include another public hearing. The board decided that wouldn't be necessary.

Board Chairman Joe Fazzary said he'd "feel better if the (Dunkin' Donuts) neighbors could speak to the matter, but I guess they will before the Zoning Board of Appeals."

The ZBA session is set for the evening of April 23 in the board room at the Village Hall.

New board member

Kevin Smith, recently defeated in the four-person race for two seats on the Watkins Glen Village Board, attended his first Planning Board session Wednesday night since his appointment as a replacement for Wayne Weber.

Weber was elected to the Village Board and can't serve as a member of both groups.

Photos in text:

Top: Planning Board Chairman Joe Fazzary shows photos of the Famous Brands site.

Middle: Vincent Scuteri distributes a cannoli to Planning Board member Kevin Smith.

Bottom: Revised map of the Dunkin' Donuts layout, with a single entrance-exit directly across from Durland Place.

Legislator Del Bleiler, who was acting Chairman at Monday's meeting, is interviewed after the session by WENY-TV.

Schuyler County legislators approve county's use of Offender alert system

WATKINS GLEN, April 14 -- The Schuyler County Legislature Monday night approved a resolution allowing county participation in an online reporting service that will provide it with e-mail alerts regarding sex-offender residence changes within the county's communities.

The service, called Offender Watch and produced by Watch Systems, provides automatic notifications to service registrants when a sex offender moves nearby. It also, according to the resolution, "provides a management tool for law enforcement to track and manage sex offenders in Schuyler County, and provides a resource for the Sheriff's Office to provide information to school districts and students concerning sex offenders via personalized postal flyers and tip sheets."

Legislator Del Bleiler, who served as Acting Chairman at Monday's session in the absence of Chairman Tom Gifford, has met with area school officials in an effort to include them in the system -- which has an overall cost of $3,500. The cost would be shared by the county and school districts, although County Administrator Tim O'Hearn said Assemblyman Tom O'Mara has indicated he might secure funding through his office.

"I'm pleased with passage" of the resolution, Bleiler said. "It will help people in the community in terms of communication. It's a win-win situation."

O'Hearn told legislators that all three superintendents in the county -- Tom Phillips at Watkins Glen, Wendy Field at Bradford, and Jim Frame at Odessa-Montour -- "expressed interest" in joining with the county in procuring and utilizing the system.

The county is also considering a Local Law that would establish residency rules for Level 2 and 3 sex offenders -- the most extreme levels -- in relation to their proximity to playgrounds and parks. That legislation was discussed at the Legislature's January session, but tabled for further study.

In other business Monday, the Legislature:

-- Listened during the public participation portion of the meeting to statements read by Civil Service Employees Association representatives regarding the recent job reclassification and pay cut involving Office for the Aging employee Shannon Slater, and regarding a case involving Probation Department worker Beth Covert, who they said "involuntarily" missed work "due in part" to a domestic incident. Both workers, said Sue Brill, president of the CSEA Local 849, are "being treated very badly" by the county. She presented a suggested resolution that called for reinstatement of Slater "to the pay and grade level" she previously held, and for the county to allow Covert "to return to work immediately without being required to hold the County harmless from any and all actions arising from" her work absence.

Photos in text:

Top: From left, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn, Acting Chairman Del Bleiler, and Legislator Doris Karius at Monday night's meeting.

Middle: Legislator Mike Yuhasz, left, and County Attorney James Coleman.

Bottom: Badge in evidence on the clothing of several of the workers on hand Monday in support of two CSEA members.

The following caricatures were created by Jon Haeffner at Monday night's meeting of the Schuyler County Legislature.

Left: Legislator Dennis Fagan. Right: Legislator Del Bleiler.

Left: Legislator Mike Yuhasz. Right: County Administrator Tim O'Hearn.

Catharine Valley Trail extension draws some fire; action expected after 30 days

WATKINS GLEN, April 9 -- A Watkins Glen Village Board public hearing Monday night on the planned extension of the Catharine Valley Trail to the Seneca Harbor Park drew about 20 area residents -- "some upset and some not," according to one village official.

The session came two weeks after another gathering in which the extension drew fire from a small number of area residents upset with the proximity of the trail to their property.

The trail will, when the village portion is completed, run from Fairgrounds Lane to Fourth Street, following a former railroad bed along the eastern edge of Watkins Glen School District property. It will run across the Black Bridge over Glen Creek, and along the Finger Lakes Railway tracks on the east side of Magee Street. From there it will cross Fourth Street, continuing along the tracks to the county-owned Seneca Harbor Park situated near Captain Bill's and the Village Marina.

Some Magee Street residents are upset at the proximity of the trail to their homes, and want the village to install a fence that would separate the trail from their property. Their concern: trespassers and misuse of the trail. Any section of trail alongside the live rail line will require such a fence between the trail and the line.

Mayor Judy Phillips, as part of the State Environmental Quality Review process, read a lengthy question-and-answer form at Monday's hearing. The board could take no action, the SEQR law requiring a 30-day response period so that interested agencies such as the State Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers can weigh in on any related environmental issues.

If there are no significant objections from those agencies, the Village Board can issue a Negative Declaration -- meaning there is no significant environmental impact in the project. After that, the board -- lead agency on this northernmost section of the trail, "will be able to proceed," the official said.

The trail work is being funded by state grants -- about $280,000 for the village portion and about
$60,000 for the county section at the park. The trail will be 10 feet wide, paved, and closed to motorized vehicles -- with barriers at entry points. The two main entry points will be at Watkins Glen High School, in the east parking lot, and at Seneca Harbor Park.

When completed, the Catharine Valley Trail will stretch from Seneca Harbor Park to Mark Twain State Park in Horseheads. Of those 12 miles, roughly seven are now open, including a section through Queen Catharine Marsh.

In other business:

-- The board heard from Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development (SCOPED) representative Charles Peacock, who is urging trustees to encourage residential development on the second floors of business buildings along Franklin Street. Such residential improvement would enhance the value of the properties, thereby increasing the building owners' tax loads. To help offset that, the board was told by Peacock, it could adopt a Local Law embracing Section 485a of the Real Property Tax Law, whereby tax increases from such improvements could be delayed for 12 years -- the first eight at 100% and the final four in diminishing percentages.

This would supplement available Main Street Grant money already available to enhance facades along Franklin, trustees were told. Trustee Nick Kelly made a motion that would have directed Village Clerk Donna Beardsley to prepare the Local Law, but nobody seconded the motion. Mayor Judy Phillips agreed to revisit the issue at the next meeting, however. "I want to wait one meeting to be comfortable with whatever we do," she told Kelly.

-- The board welcomed back Wayne Weber, who won a four-year term as trustee in the March 18 village election a year after losing his seat. He signed the oath-of-office book, as did trustee Greg Coon, who was re-elected last month.

-- Bids for foundation work at the new Clute Park office were opened. Seven were received, ranging from about $11,000 to $41,000. They will be reviewed, and action likely taken at the next board meeting.

Photos in text:

From top: Trustee Wayne Weber and Mayor Judy Phillips; trustee Nick Kelly makes a point; SCOPED's Charles Peacock. Seated next to him (foreground) was Kevin Smith, recent candidate for a seat on the Village Board.

Legislature increases local roads funding

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, April 7-- The New York State Legislature has given final approval to legislation authorizing funding in the 2008-09 state budget for highway, bridge and mass transit projects statewide, including a total of $363 million for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improve Program (CHIPS), according to State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira).

Winner said that the 2008-09 CHIPS funding represents a $51 million increase in aid over last year. The legislation now goes to Governor David Paterson to be signed into law.

“The quality of our local roads represents an economic lifeline for the future of the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region,” said Winner. “CHIPS funding helps lift the burden for the improvement and maintenance of local roads off the backs of property taxpayers. It’s a critical investment in the upstate economy.”

Winner said that the Legislature rejected an executive budget proposal earlier this year to cut CHIPS funding and instead will provide an overall increase for the local transportation aid. Area counties will see the following increases in CHIPS aid:

> Chemung County will see its CHIPS aid increase from $1,213,951 in 2007-08 to $1,387,267, a 14.28% increase;

> Schuyler County, from $637,463 to $727,530 (+14.13%);

> Steuben, from $3,188,177 to $3,688,392 (+15.69%);

> Tompkins, from $1,461,330 to $1,684,617 (+15.28%); and

> Yates, from $838,328 to $982,686 (+17.22%).

Legislature OKs increased aid to localities

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, April 4 -- The final 2008-09 state budget will increase state aid to the region’s cities, towns and villages, State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) has announced.

Budget legislation enacting the funding has now been approved by both houses of the Legislature and will be delivered to Governor David Paterson to be signed into law.

“It’s a key part of an overall effort to help lift the burden off the backs of our local property taxpayers,” said Winner, who noted that the legislation rejects an executive budget proposal earlier this year calling for a two-percent cut in local aid.

Winner released the following 2008-09 aid figures for the cities he represents:

> Corning will see its aid increase from last year’s $1,545,048 to $1,622,300 in 2008-09;

> Elmira, from $4,422,592 to $4,820,625;

> Hornell, from $1,473,731 to $1,576,892; and

> Ithaca, from $2,589,088 to $2,880,532.

Winner said that every town and village throughout his 53rd Senate District will see increases in state aid of between three and five percent.

Senate backs measure to protect EMTs, firefighters who miss work in emergencies

Special to The Odessa File

ALBANY, March 26--The New York State Senate Wednesday unanimously approved legislation co-sponsored by Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) to prohibit employers from penalizing employees who serve as volunteer firefighters or EMTs and miss work while responding to an
emergency.

The legislation was approved by a vote of 54 to 0.

“Many communities face an enormous challenge to recruit and retain emergency services volunteers. We need to keep focusing on ways, large and small, that recognize and reward the critical role emergency services volunteers play in our communities," said Winner, chairman of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. “For example, volunteer firefighters and EMTs should never be put in the position of volunteering at the risk of losing their jobs.”

The legislation Winner co-sponsors would prohibit an employer from firing or otherwise disciplining an employee who is also a local emergency services volunteer and is absent from work while responding to an emergency.

The measure is currently in the Assembly Labor Committee. It must be approved by the Assembly and signed by the governor before becoming law.

"Our emergency services volunteers save lives, protect property and provide essential services that otherwise would impose a huge financial burden on local governments. They deserve our strong support," said Winner, who also continues to sponsor additional volunteer recruitment legislation known as the "Emergency Services Volunteer Incentive Act." Among several other incentives, the act would allow emergency services volunteers to participate in certain public employee health insurance
plans.

The number of volunteer firefighters nationally has declined 10 percent over the past 20 years, while the number of calls to volunteer fire companies rose 50 percent or more. In New York State, the number of volunteers has dropped by at least 11,000 over the past three to five years, to 109,000, according to the Fire Association of the State of New York.

Wide-angle view of the Schuyler County Legislature meeting Monday night.

Legislators back CCC 5-year Master Plan

WATKINS GLEN, March 11 -- The Schuyler County Legislature Monday night unanimously approved Corning Community College's 5-year facilities Master Plan, which envisions $27 million in expansion and maintenance projects.

CCC's vice president of administrative services, Tom Carr (pictured at right), told legislators that the plan -- which calls for construction of a new Athletic Center at the college; renovation of the existing gymnasium into a Wellness Center; renovation and expansion that would turn the library into a multimedia services center; and renovation of the Commons, or student union -- could be followed long-term by other projects that would inflate the price tag to above $100 million.

But the first phase will be limited to those projects mentioned, along with critical maintenance projects. In any event, Carr said, the college is not seeking to increase the capital chargebacks paid by counties. That chargeback is $300 per full-time equivalent student, which raises $1 million per year. Another $1 million is provided through matching state aid.

That amounts to $2 million per year, or $10 million over the life of the Master Plan. The rest of the $27 million -- and any funds beyond that for other projects (such as construction of a Child Care Center on campus, construction of a new Fine and Performing Arts Center, relocation of the existing Observatory, construction of a new Nature Center, and possible consolidation of the Criminal Justice Center on Goff Road and the Business Development Center on Denison Parkway) -- will be raised through Major Gifts Campaigns and donations.

The college is required each five years to approach the legislatures in Schuyler, Chemung and Steuben counties for approval of a Master Plan. Carr said he had not yet visited the Chemung or Steuben units. After that, approval is required from the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York.

In other business, legislators:

-- Set a special meeting for April 9, at 9:25 a.m., regarding declaration of the Rural Urban Center and the former Office for the Aging building in Montour Falls as surplus property, necessary to putting them up for bid. The meeting will feature a public hearing and possible legislative action. Both buildings housed departments and agencies now lodged in the new Human Services Complex.

-- Listened during the public participation portion of the meeting to a statement read by Shannon Slater, an Office for the Aging case supervisor questioning her recent job reclassification, which will make her a case worker -- a demotion carrying a pay cut. On hand were two dozen friends, family and union representatives, one of whom told legislators that the demotion would have a "chilling effect" on other county workers, and "is not going unnoticed." Legislators had no comment, and Slater and the group filed out.

Photos in text:

Top: CCC's Tom Carr, vice president of administrative services, addresses legislators.

Middle: Legislator Paul Marcellus at Monday's meeting.

Bottom: Legislator Mike Yuhasz.

4 seek 2 seats on Watkins Village Board

Odessa has uncontested races; Montour has Independent race

WATKINS GLEN, Feb. 13 -- Four candidates filed independent nominating petitions in Watkins Glen by the deadline Wednesday in the race for two seats on the Village Board.

The election for the pair of four-year seats will be March 18.

Seeking office are Republicans Greg Coon (an incumbent) and Phil Barnes -- both selected at a party caucus and now running on the Listening Party line after filing independent petitions with the required 50 signatures.

The Democrats' nominee, Wayne Weber -- who served a four-year term on the Village Board before narrowly losing his seat in last year's election -- filed independent petitions under the People's Choice Party.

And newcomer Kevin Smith of 406 Sixth Street filed petitions for an independent slot under the name of the Village Voice Party.

Incumbent Republican Village Board member Nick Kelly filed letters with the village challenging the petitions of both Weber and Smith, saying they lacked enough signatures.

Weber's initial petitions contained 60 signatures, but lacked necessary dates specifying when petitioners signed them. According to a Democratic Party representative, Weber -- upon learning of Kelly's intention to challenge the petitions -- went out and got a new batch of signatures with the required dates. The new petitions, submitted by Weber just before Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. deadline, contained 78 signatures.

There was no indication in Kelly's challenge -- a brief letter submitted to the village clerk -- how Smith's 58 signatures failed to meet the 50-signature requirement.

The challenges will be decided by the Schuyler County Board of Elections, according to Village Clerk Donna Beardsley, who said the one taking exception to Weber's petitions would likely be invalidated since it pertained to Weber's first submission of signatures -- since withdrawn. Weber's second set of petitions was not challenged. (Editor's Note: the challenges were later rejected.)

Village Democratic Party chairman Joe Orbin, meanwhile, secured copies of the Coon and Barnes independent petitions and said he would be going over them with "a fine-tooth comb."

Glen Notes:

-- Two other people -- a man and a woman -- picked up nominating petitions, but did not file them by Wednesday's deadline.

-- Democrats will have the top line on the ballot, with Republicans underneath. Then, say village officials, will come the Village Voice, Listening Party and People's Choice lines, their positions based on the order in which petitions were filed with the village.

Odessa

Betsy Austin, appointed to the Odessa mayor's post in December after the resignation of Rob Ketchum, submitted a nominating petition to run for the final year of Ketchum's term. She is unopposed. Also unopposed are incumbent trustees Peggy Tomassi and Rita Decker, running for new two-year terms.

Montour Falls

Three people -- two of them incumbents -- are seeking two 2-year seats on the Village Board, all under independent party banners.

Incumbent Phil Joe Smith and newcomer Linda Brown were selected by the Republican Caucus, but the caucus chairman failed to file the nominations in time for Smith and Brown to appear on the ballot as Republicans. So the two circulated petitions as independents, instead. Gillemot, completing his first term on the board, is seeking reelection, also as an independent.

Burdett

Three people are running for two 2-year seats on the Village Board -- incumbents Laurence Jaynes and Ronald Welsch, and newcomer Claudine Ciprich. All were nominated in caucus by the Citizens Party.

Photos in text:

From top: Watkins Glen candidate Wayne Weber submitting petitions Wednesday; trustee Nick Kelly at Village Hall, where he submitted letters challenging petitions submitted by Weber and Kevin Smith; one of the two letters submitted by Kelly; logos of the Listening Party and the Village Voice Party.

Legislature clears way for festival alcohol

Continues past practice on county grounds, with each request judged individually

WATKINS GLEN, Feb. 12 -- The Schuyler County Legislature Monday night voted 6-1 in favor of continuing a past practice of allowing alcohol to be served on county grounds during festivals.

The resolution actually reestablished the practice following passage of a previous resolution weeks ago that blocked alcohol on all county grounds. That resolution had been passed in response to a request by an agency to raise funds through a wine-tasting event at the Human Services Complex in Montour Falls.

Legislators stressed that the new resolution provides the county with leeway to approve or reject any requests on a case-by-case basis. It was noted that while wine tastings have been approved for the Grand Prix Festival and Thunder in the Glen festival in the past, beer sales have not -- and that the resolution retains that flexibility.

The measure was opposed by Legislator Del Bleiler, who said he thought it would "create more problems than it solves." He moved to table it for further discussion, but nobody seconded the motion -- so the resolution was put to a vote and passed. Legislator Glenn Larison was absent from the session.

Before the vote, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn told legislators the measure "doesn't obligate you to approve every incident at every festival. Decisions will be made by committee on a case-by-case basis." He was referring to the Legislature's Public Works Committee.

After one legislator suggested limiting approvals to "county-produced" wines or beers, County Attorney James Coleman weighed in by saying that any effort to change the resolution's wording to make it more specific would be fraught with difficulty -- and that the resolution has a built-in "safety valve" anyway. By deciding on a case-by-case basis, he said, "you come as close as humans will get" to a resolution that works effectively.

Responded Bleiler: "The best insurance is not to do it."

The vote followed, and the resolution was approved.

In other business, the Legislature:

-- Heard from O'Hearn that the County Board of Elections has chosen optical scanner voting machines made by Sequoia Imagecast for use in future elections. The county will spend more than $200,000, he said, on machines to be used in 17 voting districts. The local share, he has been told, will be 5 percent. New machines must be utilized by 2009.

-- Heard from Chairman Thomas Gifford that the long-vacant Business Park on Route 414 in the Town of Dix is drawing interest -- most recently from a company that had it on "the short list" of possible sites it was studying. The company, he said, first wanted 25 acres, but then upped that to 50 -- but "we only have 47." Added Gifford: "Nothing happened," but the incident shows "there is interest out there."

Photos in text:

From top: Legislature Chairman Thomas Gifford, Legislators Doris Karius and Del Bleiler, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn, and County Attorney James Coleman.

In the Watkins board room ...

Pictured above are the key players at Watkins Glen Village Board sessions. From left in the photo -- snapped at a board session on Feb. 4 -- are, from left: Public Works Superintendent Mark Specchio, trustees Greg Coon and Nick Kelly, Village Clerk Donna Beardsley, Mayor Judy Phillips, account clerk-typist Rhonda Slater, trustees Mark Swinnerton and William Smagner, and Police Chief Thomas Struble.

Watkins mayor asks Spitzer to reconsider

Proposal to cut trooper presence in schools is 'an insult to our community'

WATKINS GLEN, Feb. 4 -- Watkins Glen Mayor Judy Phillips has written a letter to Governor Eliot Spitzer expressing concern over his plan to remove New York State Trooper School Resource Officers from local schools in order to add trooper personnel to larger cities in the fight against crime.

The Spitzer proposal appeared in his proposed budget, unveiled late last month.

"I am very concerned after hearing my local newscasts the past few nights," Mayor Phillips wrote to the governor. "There have been several stories stating that your proposed budget would remove local State Police protection from our local schools and realign the funding with larger metropolitan areas.

"To consider our schools less important than other parts of New York State is an insult to our community. Just because Watkins Glen, and Schuyler County, is small, rural and poor does not mean that our residents do not deserve the same protection that the rest of the state demands.

"I had the honor of working with 3 of the 4 women gunned down by a madman in the local Department of Social Services office in 1992. Tragedy and terror happens in every part of our country. I feel it is a denial of the rights of all residents to take police coverage from one part of the state for another. Just because we do not have money or a lot of voters does not mean that we are any less important than everyone else. To deny our children security is a very grave insult, not only to those of us working and trying our best to represent our constituents, but to the memory of those who have already given their lives to unpredictable terror.

"I am asking you to reconsider this action."

Photo in text: Watkins Glen Mayor Judy Phillips (File photo)

Sewer fund, hearing top quiet session

WATKINS GLEN, Feb. 4 -- The Watkins Glen Village Board Monday night conducted a public hearing on a planned Time Warner franchise agreement, was cautioned on the state of the village Sewer Fund, and denied a request for forgiveness on an odd-even parking ticket.

The hearing, at which nobody outside of Mayor Judy Phillips and Village Clerk Donna Beardsley spoke, pertained to an agreement that would succeed a 10-year cable franchise contract that expired in August and has since been extended.

Beardsley (pictured at right) said no changes in rates are planned -- that the hearing was a formality. Also being discussed with Time Warner, she said, is a separate issue involving pole attachment fees. The village, unlike most municipalities, owns its poles.

The Sewer Fund issue was raised by Mayor Phillips, who said she had been reviewing the village budget as of the end of December, and found the General Fund and Water Fund "doing pretty well, with a positive cash flow. The Sewer Fund, however, isn't doing well." While declining to provide specifics, she said the board needed to keep a close eye on the situation. "If it continues," she said, the board will "need to look again" at the fund's rates.

The request on the odd-even ticket came from a resident who said he or she forgot that there were two consecutive odd days at the end of January and beginning of February, and was thus ticketed for parking on the wrong side of the street. There was little sympathy from the board, however, which declined to act on the request. Said Police Chief Tom Struble: "If we do it this month, are we going to do it (for someone) next month?" The only support came from trustee Nick Kelly, who said the odd-even format is confusing.

The board also:

-- Noted that the first Boat Buoy Committee meeting will be held Wednesday evening in the board room at the Village Hall. Trustees Mark Swinnerton (pictured at right) and William Smagner (left) will meet with boater representatives Marty Roberts and Brad Golden -- and possibly other boaters -- to discuss the issue of boats anchored near Clute Park during summer festivals. The board had sought to reestablish a buoy distance from shore of 1,000 feet, but continued the current 500-foot distance after almost a hundred boaters upset with the 1,000-foot proposal showed up a board session late last year that dealt with the issue.

-- Appointed election inspectors, two from each party, for the village elections at Village Hall being held from noon to 9 p.m. March 18. Appointed were Democrats Deb Schmidt and Katie Discenza, and Republicans Marlene Lum and Joyce VanAmburg.

Photos in text: From top, Mayor Judy Phillips, Village Clerk Donna Beardsley, and trustees William Smagner (left) and Mark Swinnerton.

Montour Falls Village Board members Phil Joe Smith, left, and Philip Gillemot at Tuesday's session.

Low-keyed meetings held in 2 villages

WATKINS GLEN and MONTOUR FALLS, Jan. 22 -- Brief meetings with few agenda items were conducted Tuesday night in the villages of Watkins Glen and Montour Falls.

Montour Falls:

The Montour Falls Village Board heard from Heather Colunio (left), who is seeking the establishment of local regulations aimed at improving the life of dogs who are constantly chained outside. Colunio said she represents a movement called Dogs Deserve Better, which lobbies for laws that will force landowners to house their dogs indoors.

The board -- which is led by Mayor Donna Kelley (above) -- agreed to write to the Schuyler County Legislature urging a ban on such dog chaining. Meanwhile, trustee Bonnie Howell (pictured below with village DPW chief Tim Dupuy in the background) will research sample laws for the board to consider.

-- The board also heard from The Lions Club, which wants to use the Department of Public Works facility for parking for its Walk for Sight, to be held in April on the Catharine Valley Trail; discussed expanding the village's website; and touched on ongoing talks with the village-owned library regarding the possible transfer of the property ownership to the library itself.

Watkins Glen:

-- The Watkins Glen Village Board received a letter from some residents who live near the site of the Padua gravel pit, who were expressing concern over the runoff that washes down from the pit onto their properties.

The gravel pit's planned sevenfold expansion was recently given the blessing of the state Department of Environmental Conservation after concerns about the expansion's environmental ramifications were aired in various public forums.

Mayor Judy Phillips agreed to pass the concerns along to the DEC.

-- The Board received a letter and petition from Ervay's Marina seeking a dredging of the canal by the New York State Canal Corporation to deepen the waterway. The canal, the letter argued, is close to impassable at some points. The canal was 12 feet deep after dredging 20 years ago, but is considerably shallower now.

The board voted to have Mayor Phillips send a letter to the Canal Corporation in support of the dredging proposal.

-- Mayor Phillips said she will be contacting village employees by memo to seek participants in this year's Schuyler Steps Out walking competition, in which teams walk with pedometers in an effort to improve the participants' health and help their teams place high in the competition against other teams representing business, industry and various organizations.

Photos in text:

From top: Montour Falls Mayor Donna Kelley (right); Heather Colunio (left); trustee Bonnie Howell

Legislators put sex-offender plan on hold

Wine-tasting proposal nixed; lease of former OFA building OK'd

WATKINS GLEN, Jan. 14 -- The Schuyler County Legislature Monday night tabled a proposal that would have established sex offender residency and proximity restrictions in the county.

The move came after a detailed presentation by former Public Defender and longtime attorney William Elkins of Burdett, who pointed up several apparent shortcomings in the plan and urged the lawmakers to give it further study. Elkins is court attorney for Schuyler County Court, but said he was speaking on his own behalf -- not for the court.

The motion to send the issue back to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee came from Legislator Paul Marcellus, who argued that the proposal -- while designed to protect children from sexual predators -- went too far.

As proposed, he said, the plan put restrictions on sex offenders whose offenses had nothing to do with children, and established signage in public settings that would raise unwanted alarm in the minds of visitors. While public parks are part of the restrictive areas, he noted, the county-owned Seneca Harbor Park is no children's park -- not a playground -- and yet signage would warn of the proximity of sex offenders.

"It's unnecessary for visitors to see a sign saying 'Look Out -- Level II and III sex offenders in area.' It needs some work," he said.

Elkins -- the county Public Defender from 1966-71, a Probation Officer from 1958-60 and an attorney starting in 1949 -- spoke at length during a public hearing preceding presentation of the resolution, which is based on laws enacted elsewhere. He said he was concerned that the measure added punishment to punishment already sustained; that "most of the child molestation cases I've seen are committed in the home"; that rather than applying to Level II and Level III offenders, it should "be limited to Level III, the real serious ones"; and that a stipulation requiring a move within the first month of the law by offenders who are renting be eliminated since there is "an exemption provided for people who already live here" on "their own property."

"I'm not saying you don't pass it," he said of the proposal. "I'm saying table it and study it some more."

The board -- after Marcellus's motion -- decided to do exactly that in a 7-1 vote. If the resolution does not make it back to the Legislature within the next three regular meetings, it will expire.

Wine-tasting debate

The Legislature debated -- and effectively turned back -- a proposed resolution that would have altered the county's building use policy to permit alcohol at scheduled events. The move was prompted by a request from an agency to conduct a wine-tasting fund-raiser on county grounds -- in the Schuyler County Human Services Complex.

Objection was raised by Legislator Glenn Larison, who offered an amendment that removed such permission from the resolution. "I don't see any reason," he said, "for us to be in competition with other businesses in the area. It would set a very poor precedent" and "sends the wrong message."

Legislator Del Bleiler agreed, saying he had "talked to a lot of people about it, and only one was not opposed. It's the perception that bothers me ... I'm not opposed to alcohol, but I am opposed to alchohol on county grounds."

The legislators voted 5-3 in favor of Larison's amendment -- leaving the county buildings alcohol-free.

County-Village Flap

The legislators were caught off-guard when Montour Falls Village Board member Bonnie Howell read a statement in which she said she was "surprised" to have found that the Legislature was considering a resolution that would lease to Schuyler Hospital for one year the county-owned former Office for the Aging building on Main Street in Montour Falls.

She said the county had told the village it would try to sell that property (and thus return it to the tax rolls), not lease it, and that "public officials shouldn't make promises to public officials" when those promises aren't going to be kept. She left as soon as her statement was completed.

In the discussion that followed, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn said he had been in regular contact with Montour Falls Mayor Donna Kelley regarding the lease developments. "This is not a surprise to the Village of Montour Falls," he said. "I've made every effort to keep the village, through the mayor, informed. She's been aware of this all along."

Efforts continue to sell the building, he said, but the lease arrangement in the meantime has "economic benefits to the village that are far greater than the value of the building." Legislator Dennis Fagan noted that those benefits include "10 employees working in Montour Falls" at the former OFA structure.

Legislator Glenn Larison, however, proposed easing the tension created by the move through approval of a fee-for-service in which part of the lease payment would go to the village.

The legislators ended up voting 7-1 (Larison opposed) in favor of the lease, with the intention to discuss in committee a possible fee-for-service arrangement with Montour Falls.

Photos in text: From top, Legislator Paul Marcellus, resident William Elkins, Legislators Del Bleiler (background) and Glenn Larison, Montour Falls trustee Bonnie Howell, and County Administrator Tim O'Hearn.

DEC still likes Padua gravel-pit project

WATKINS GLEN, Jan. 8 -- The State Department of Environmental Conservation, which came under fire last year for a Negative Declaration it gave the proposed Padua gravel-pit expansion, has reiterated its support of the project.

A Negative Declaration refers to the possible impact a project might have on the environment, as determined in a State Environmental Quality Review. So "negative" in this instance is an endorsement.

The DEC -- in a report on the matter sent to various individuals and governmental units that had weighed in on the expansion proposal at meetings around the area several months ago -- reiterated that it "has determined that the proposed action (the expansion) will not have a significant effect on the environment and that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will not be required."

The expansion would increase the gravel pit from 14.33 acres to 106.27 -- but, says DEC, "will not result in a significant change from previously permitted historic operations. While the overall acreage of the mine will increase over the life of the project, the active mining excavation area, previously mined unreclaimed areas, and processing areas will not exceed 15 acres at any one time."

The gravel pit is owned by Greener Now, Inc., which "owns 281 acres on NYS Route 409 in the Town of Dix," the report said, adding: "The Department has concluded that the mining and reclamation plans have been prepared, and where necessary, revised to avoid, minimize, or mitigate to the extent practicable, adverse environmental impacts potentially associated with the project. After a full review of the application, the Department is satisfied" that all requirements have been met.

Trash, roads top Village Board session

WATKINS GLEN, Jan. 8 -- The Watkins Glen Village Board Monday night dealt with a number of minor items highlighted by concern over the improper use of Main Street trash receptacles. The Board also officially sanctioned the naming of two streets in the village-owned Glenwood Cemetery.

The trash problem was raised by Mayor Judy Phillips, who said she had seen someone placing an amount of private trash in a public receptacle. She suggested "sticky signs" on such receptacles saying they are not for private use.

Rob Prior, recently appointed to replace Jim Colunio as Superintendent of Streets, said he has seen people using the receptacles for their private trash "a lot." And trustee William Smagner said he had seen it occur at Lafayette Park.

"We need to be more proactive," the mayor told the board. "The purpose of those receptacles is for coffee cups" and other small discardable items, not personal trash collections.

The board will work with Police Chief Thomas Struble in order to -- as the mayor put it -- "come up with a procedure" for dealing with the problem.

The Glenwood Cemetery streets, meanwhile, are two streets within the cemetery that had never been officially named -- although they had been known as Maple Avenue and Vista Circle. The board -- apprised that such sanctioning would enhance state road funding by adding length to the mileage total of village streets, opted to make the names official ones. (The funding comes through the New York State CHIPS program -- the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program -- that provides funding for local road and bridge improvements.)

In other business, the board:

-- Heard Public Works Superintendent Mark Specchio say that purchase and installation of a security system for the Village Hall is on hold. Specchio said a vendor the village had talked to was "a little high" in its prices, and that "there are some things we can do ourselves." Accordingly, he said, "we're looking for places to purchase equipment" that can increase security in the building.

-- Commended Prior for the snow removal during recent storms, and the leaf pickup instituted with the January thaw. Mayor Phillips commented that odd-even parking "made a difference (in snow removal) with storm after storm after storm."

-- Approved a contractual letter including the village in a flyover project that digitally photographed the terrain in the village and in Montour Falls. The project, by the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination, costs $3,000 per village. It will place the villages in a statewide imaging system.

-- Noted the absence of trustee Nick Kelly, the proud father of newborn twins Aidan and Ava.

-- Heard from Village Clerk Donna Beardsley that the changeover of village utilities and taxes to a new software system will start next week with installation of payroll software. Different modules will be added "every two, three or four weeks," she added, until the project is complete.

-- Heard the Mayor cite a "problem with consistency" on a couple of streets in the recycling pickup done contractually by the Cassella firm. She said she wants a letter sent to the firm, asking for a written report "on the tonnage being picked up every other week" under the current contract as opposed to the monthly tonnage from before.

Photos in text:

From top: Watkins Glen Mayor Judy Phillips, trustee Mark Swinnerton, trustee William Smagner and Village Clerk Donna Beardsley at Monday's board session.

Seated, from left: Deputy Clerk Jamee Mack, Clerk Stacy Husted, Legislator Doris Karius, and County Attorney James Coleman. Standing, from left: Legislators Paul Marcellus, Del Bleiler, Stewart Field, Glenn Larison, Michael Yuhasz and Dennis Fagan, Chairman Tom Gifford, and Administrator Tim O'Hearn.

New year, new legislator, same chairman

Legislature opens 2008 with reappointment of Gifford, various appointments

WATKINS GLEN, Jan. 3 -- The Schuyler County Legislature opened 2008 Thursday with its annual organizational meeting -- at which longtime Chairman Thomas Gifford was named to his 10th year in the post.

Gifford was nominated by Legislator Michael Yuhasz and re-elected to the chairmanship without opposition. He has been a member of the Legislature since 1998.

A pair of swearing-in ceremonies highlighted the earliest portion of the meeting, held in the Legislative Chambers of the County Building. County Judge J.C. Argetsinger was sworn in by County Clerk Linda Compton to his second 10-year term, and he in turn conducted a mass swearing-in of all the Legislators and clerks, with County Attorney James Coleman and County Administrator Tim O'Hearn thrown in for good measure.

"That was different," noted one participant who said previous swearing-ins had focused only on legislators starting new terms. But in the new process instituted by the judge -- a move that one observer suggested elevated the pomp of the ceremony -- those two legislators (re-elected incumbent Dennis Fagan and newcomer Stewart Field) were indeed sworn in.

In the meeting that followed, the Legislature approved a number of appointments without comment. One that did draw comment was that of Historian, where Barbara Bell was reappointed for another year after many in the job.

Legislator Del Bleiler expressed concern that the county should take advantage of the knowledge Bell possesses and interview her on tape to "start capturing all that she has in her head." Bell is doing "a great job," he noted, but such taping could establish a long-term "continuity" in the area of county history.

Among the other appointments were:

-- Incumbent Stacy Husted to a new four-year term as Clerk of the Legislature, through 2011, and to a four-year term as County Auditor;

-- Blanche Borzell to a one-year term as Chief Coroner;

-- Incumbent James P. Coleman to a new four-year term as County Attorney.

Photos in text:

Top: County Judge J.C. Argetsinger shakes the hand of Legislator Dennis Fagan after the swearing-in ceremony was completed. Fagan is starting his second four-year term.

Middle: County Judge J.C. Argetsinger is sworn in to his second 10-year term.

Bottom: Legislature Clerk Stacy Husted chats with Legislator Michael Yuhasz after Thursday's session.

Solomon's plea for a reversal is denied; Montour House foreclosure will stand

Village plans mixed use of building if grants attained; will seek developer

MONTOUR FALLS, Dec. 19 -- A State Supreme Court justice has denied an application by Ed Solomon, former owner of the Montour House, to vacate the Judgment of Foreclosure that wrested the historic building from his possession.

The ruling, issued by Justice Judith F. O'Shea on December 13, was received by Schuyler County and relayed to the village of Montour Falls. It clears the way for the village -- given the property title in a municipal transfer from the county two months ago -- to seek a developer for a project that would turn the historic building into a mixed-use facility housing retail and office space and possibly residences.

The ruling means that "the foreclosure process can go forward, as well as eviction," said Montour Falls Mayor Donna Kelley. Solomon has continued living in the Montour House during the legal process, said Kelley.

In her ruling, Justice O'Shea wrote that Solomon -- who had owned the property since 2000 -- appeared to have relied "on past practices of redeeming his property by tendering past due taxes prior to the date of public auction." It was a mistake, the judge added, to assume that same practice would hold sway this time. The county, she said, was within its rights in rejecting his late payment.

"The Court finds," the ruling says, "that (Solomon) has failed to proffer a reasonable excuse" for his failure to pay in a timely manner. Accordingly, it concludes, the "respondent's application to vacate the default Judgment of Foreclosure is hereby denied it its entirety and the Judgment of Foreclosure remains in full force and effect."

The foreclosure arose after Solomon tried to pay his back taxes -- $6,528.21 -- and redeem the property as he had in the past. But in this case, the Village of Montour Falls stepped in and expressed an interest in taking title and spearheading a long-awaited renovation of the historic building. The county veered from established practice and decided to transfer the title to the village for those same back taxes Solomon had owed.

Once Solomon filed in State Supreme Court, the entire project was put on hold pending a ruling. Now, said Kelley, the village can move forward with RFPs (Requests for Proposals) that were prepared by the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development. SCOPED has been working with the village in the development of a plan for the property.

"The RFPs are prepped and ready to go," said the mayor.

The village, upon receiving title to the building from the county, had voted to seek a developer, contingent on attainment of $2.5 million in grant money from Restore NY for the building's rehabilitation. Other funding sources, such as Historic Preservation grants, will also be sought, and tax credits applied.

The village, Kelley has said, will not be paying for the project itself. A developer, once one is found, would have to pay in a percentage of the grant funds, assuming they are obtained.

"We will," she said, "be looking very carefully at developers. We want to be sure we have a reliable, dependable developer."

The Montour House was erected in the early 1850s and served as a hotel, bank, club and office, and for a time was the residence of Charles Cook, who had built it. In recent years, however, it has been little used and has fallen into disrepair.

Photo in text:

Top: The Montour House on Main Street in Montour Falls. (File photo)

Bottom: Ed Solomon (File photo)

Mosher appointed as Public Defender

Miller out in conflict over office move; Larison issues 'protest vote'

WATKINS GLEN, Dec. 10 -- Schuyler County's plan to move the Public Defender's office into the County Building as a cost-cutting measure has triggered a change in who holds that post.

The County Legislature Monday night appointed Holly Mosher (pictured at right in a file photo) to the $77,500-a-year job for the next four years in a move that ends the tenure of Connie Fern Miller after one term.

The resolution appointing Mosher prompted an executive session discussion before the vote -- a vote which ended 6-1 in her favor. The only opposition came from Legislator Glenn Larison in what he described as a "protest vote."

According to Larison, the switch in Public Defenders developed when Miller resisted the plan to move the office to the County Building from its current off-site location at 601 N. Decatur Street, where rental paid to Miller has been $24,000 per year. That cost will be eliminated by locating the Defender in the County Building, which has gained space with the move of the Social Services Department to the new Schuyler County Human Services Complex in Montour Falls.

Larison said Miller -- a former Schuyler district attorney -- objected to moving the Public Defender's office because she saw relocation to the County Office Building as compromising the confidentiality of her clients' cases. He said Miller ended one meeting with legislators by saying she would not accept such a move -- a statement read by legislators as an intention on her part not to seek a second four-year appointment.

Accordingly, Larison said, the Legislature empowered County Administrator Tim O'Hearn to seek out a successor and negotiate a contract. That person was Mosher, currently an assistant district attorney earning about $40,000. She has been with the DA's office for a little over a year.

"My vote was a protest vote ... just a protest vote," said Larison (pictured at right during Monday's meeting), who explained that Miller had not intended to lose her position and had asked for his support. "I knew the resolution would pass, because we were obliged ethically to follow through with Holly. We had instructed the Administrator to find someone and negotiate in good faith. But I'm sorry it had to end this way."

One additional item considered by legislators was an opinion sent to County Attorney James Coleman by a New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA) staff attorney, Susan C. Bryant. It states in part that:

"In New York, and particularly in small upstate counties, there has been a tradition of attorneys switching between district attorney and public defender offices. Over the years, NYSDA has seen this occur repeatedly, causing numerous problems for counties and clients. One of the greatest problems is conflicts of interest. When a district attorney becomes a public defender, for example, the public defender's office is prevented from representing certain clients and those clients must receive new counsel. ... County public defense costs grow dramatically in those situations."

A cover letter to Larison from NYSDA executive director Jonathan Gradess also touches on the call last year by the Kaye Commission for a state takeover of the Public Defender system. Accordingly, the letter urges that the county "try not to carelessly tinker too much until that happens."

But O'Hearn said such a state takeover could be years away, and cannot be deemed a factor in this situation.

The county currently finances the Public Defender's $391,000 budget, minus $68,709 in grant funds. Had she been reappointed, Miller's salary would have been about $84,000, according to Larison and O'Hearn.

But Miller, said O'Hearn, "indicated she had no desire to be reappointed under those conditions" that included a move to the County Building.

O'Hearn was asked if Mosher would be replaced in the DA's office.

"I know the DA expects it," he said, referring to District Attorney Joseph Fazzary. "But that will be discussed."

The DA's office has one other assistant district attorney: Matt Hayden.

In other action Monday night, legislators:

-- Set a public hearing for Jan. 14 on a proposed Local Law that would establish "residency and proximity restrictions for sex offenders who have committed criminal sexual offenses against minors."

The proposed law says that "a number" of sex offenders -- including Level II and Level III offenders -- are living within the county. Level II offenders are deemed to pose "a moderate risk of committing another sexual crime," while Level III offenders are deemed "a high risk" to do so.

The proposal would prohibit a sex offender from entering or remaining in "or upon any County Park or County Playground" as defined by the Local Law.

County Administrator Tim O'Hearn has been quoted as saying the measure is modeled on laws in Seneca and other counties.

-- Heard from O'Hearn that a grant application seeking funds for a Public Works Facility to be shared with other municipalities was almost ready, and would be mailed the next day.

Photos in text:

From the top: Holly Mosher (file photo); Legislator Glenn Larison; Legislature Clerk Stacy Husted and County Administrator Tim O'Hearn; Legislators Doris Karius and Del Bleiler.

Mayor Judy Phillips, standing in background at the Village Board table, addresses the crowd after the meeting was moved to the Clute Park Community Center.

Watkins board rescinds buoy resolution

Large turnout forces meeting move; further action tabled for '08 boat season

WATKINS GLEN, Dec. 3 -- The Watkins Glen Village Board Monday night -- reacting to a turnout of nearly 100 concerned boaters -- voted to rescind its resolution of a month ago in which it had sought state approval to move buoys in Seneca Lake near Clute Park to 1,000 feet from shore -- twice as far as the current distance.

Such a buoy move would have effectively banned boats from a popular mooring spot near the park, which is located along the southeast corner of the lake.

The board then tabled for the 2008 boating season any move to change the current buoy distance while a four-person committee composed of two board members and two boating representatives examines the issue to determine the best course to pursue.

Those actions came at the urging of trustee Nick Kelly after the direction of Monday's meeting seemed to indicate the committee would examine the problem while the issue of the buoy distance remained up in the air -- which in turn could have left some boaters facing a decision of whether to pay for marina slips for 2008 with continued uncertainty about a rule they clearly disliked, or find another lake for recreation.

The meeting started at the Village Hall, but was moved to the Community Center off Fourth Street when the turnout exceeded the capacity of the board room. Mayor Judy Phillips offered the crowd the opportunity to pick a handful of representatives to meet with the board in the Village Hall, but the sentiment of the boaters was to have a meeting in which they all could hear an explanation of the board's intent and respond freely -- not through someone else.

Phillips told the gathering, once it had reconvened, that the board action last month had come in reaction to "incidents" involving "alcohol abuse" at the Italian-American Festival and Fourth of July gathering at Clute Park. She said it would be up to a committee to gather input from law enforcement personnel to determine the extent of such incidents -- and to gather input from other boaters -- in order to craft a recommendation for the board.

Phillips assured the crowd that its concerns regarding the approaching deadline for the procurement of marina slips -- along with fears that a move to 1,000 feet offshore would make anchorage difficult and ostensibly endanger younger swimmers ill-equipped to deal with water 30 feet or more deep -- would be carefully considered by the board.

Deputy David Centurelli of the Schuyler County Sheriff's Department's Marine Division explained to the gathering that 1,000 feet was actually the distance originally established by local ordinance in 1996. "Over the years," he said, acceptable crowd behavior and a recognition of the income brought in by boaters prompted local officials to move the buoys in closer to shore -- to within 500 feet, where the water is shallow and boaters can wade to shore for festivals. But the board's move last month, he said, means "they're looking to move (the buoys) out to where they belong" under the ordinance.

More than a dozen speakers expressed disappointment in the board's intent -- with some urging enhanced police presence at festivals and others threatening to pull their boats and business from the lake -- until trustee Kelly entered the fray by echoing their concern regarding the approaching slip-rental deadline (for some, at the end of the calendar year) and by suggesting the entire matter be tabled.

"We need to say at this point that nothing changes," said Kelly. "The committee can recommend for (2009). I don't think we can do this (now) in a timely fashion ... I don't think it would be fair for us, and I don't think it would be fair to (the boaters)." That brought a rousing ovation from the audience.

Trustee Greg Coon pointed out that the motion adopted last month to seek state approval for the 1,000-foot distance had to be rescinded before anything could be tabled -- and it was in short order.

The issue was then tabled for the 2008 boating season, with the understanding that the committee -- trustees William Smagner and Mark Swinnerton and boater reps Marty Roberts and Brad Golden -- would study the matter.

Note: Montour Falls village trustee Phil Joe Smith arrived after the boating discussion had ended, with the intent of conveying to the Watkins board that the Montour board had earlier Monday evening passed a resolution opposed to moving the buoys farther from shore. The Montour board's sentiment, he said, was that such a buoy move could lead to fewer boaters, and thus fewer customers at the village-owned Montour Marina.

Photos in text:

From top: Crowd scene in the hallway outside the Village Hall meeting room, before the session was moved to the Community Center; boater representative Brad Golden addresses the board; Mayor Judy Phillips speaks to the crowd while board members William Smagner (left) and Mark Swinnerton listen; and Jason Snow, one of the boaters who opposed last month's buoy resolution.

Clute Park camping, skating fees go up

WATKINS GLEN, Dec. 3 -- The Watkins Glen Village Board Monday night approved fee increases for camping at Clute Park, and increased the price for roller skating on Friday nights at the Community Center.

The camping rates were increased in reaction to increases in wages and the rising cost of supplies and fuel. Day rates for electric-water-sewer sites are going to $37 from $32, weekly rates to $235 from $200, monthly rates to $625 from $600, and July and August rates to $650 from $625.

Day rates at tent sites are going to $25 from $22, and weekly rates to $130 from $125.

Seasonal rates are going to $1,800 from $1,700, with seasonal launch site parking to $135 from $125. Firewood will go to $4 a bundle from $3.50, and ice to $1.50 per bag from $1.25.

The board also agreed to increase the Friday night skating charge -- effective January 1st -- to $4.50 from its current $4. Park Manager Michelle Hyde had proposed a $5 fee, but at the urging of trustees Nick Kelly and Mark Swinnerton, the 50-cent hike was approved instead. The fee had gone from $3.50 to $4 in November 2005.

An increase in "special skates" -- for a party of 20 or more skaters -- was also approved. The new rate will be $85 for 20 people (plus $5 for each extra skater). The old rate was $80. Prices include admission and skate rental.

The board also:

-- Briefly discussed the notice being put in area publications seeking bids for a 1991 Smith stainless steel 1 3/4 cubic yard electric material spreader the village no longer needs, and which is being sold in "as is" condition (it needs an electric motor). The board last month had said it would put the spreader -- which fits on a pickup truck -- out for bid rather than sell it to a nearby municipality that had expressed a desire to buy it.

"There was other interest in it," explained Mayor Judy Phillips Monday night, "so we had to put it out for bid."

Photos in text:

Top: From left, Watkins Glen Public Works Superintendent Mark Specchio and trustees Nick Kelly, William Smagner and Mark Swinnerton.

Bottom: Clute Park Manager Michelle Hyde.

Winner announces energy grant for Glen

State funding will assist upgrades at Village Hall

WATKINS GLEN, Nov. 30 -- The Watkins Glen Village Hall will ecome more energy efficient thanks to a $45,000 state grant announced by State Senator George H. Winner, Jr. (R-C-I, Elmira).

“Attention to energy efficiency is one of the most effective and immediate ways that we can help reduce the cost of government,” said Winner. “I’m pleased that the village of Watkins Glen will benefit from this state assistance.”

Winner said that the grant is provided from Petroleum Overcharge Restitution (POCR) funds established from proceeds of court settlements relating to major oil company violations of federal price controls in the1970s and '80s. The New York Power Authority administers the funding.

The Watkins Glen Village Hall is currently heated by 40-year-old steam radiators controlled by a single, non-programmable thermostat. Window and split system heating and cooling units have been added to three rooms to help better control the space temperature, but an energy audit performed by the Power Authority found that the heat is still inefficiently dispersed.

Winner said that the grant will be used by the village to install new thermally efficient windows and to insulate the building walls to prevent heat loss. New fluorescent lighting will also replace old
incandescent bulbs to further reduce energy costs while improving area brightness.

The Power Authority estimated that when all of the measures recommended in its energy audit are completed, the village can reduce energy expenses by nearly $5,000 annually.

The Watkins Glen Village Hall -- located on the western side of North Franklin Street -- was constructed in 1929. It provides office space to the village clerk, public works, police and building code departments on the first and second floors. The building also houses a court room and a large public meeting area. The entire structure, including the basement, encompasses approximately 18,000 square feet of space.

Montour board OKs marina rate hikes

MONTOUR FALLS, Nov. 20 -- The Montour Falls Village Board Monday night approved an increase in the rates charged at the Montour Marina for campsite and dock rentals.

The increase, of roughly 3%, raises the campsite's seasonal rate to $1,340 from $1,300. The seasonal rate for dock rentals was raised to $577 from $560 for basic berths, and to $1,010 from $980 at berths that have electric and water service.

In other business, the board:

-- Found no negative environmental impact in a planned renovation of the Falls Park -- that area fronting the Shequaga Falls along Genesee Street. Such a finding was necessary -- as part of a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) -- before the project could proceed.

The renovation plan includes removal of the blacktopped walkway in the middle of the park, installation of concrete walkways on either side, a patio area where blacktop and grass now exist at the base of the basin wall, landscaping with soft lighting, and possibly -- if permitted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation -- repair of the basin wall and replacement of existing chain-link fencing atop the wall with black iron railings.

Cost of the project -- if all aspects are realized -- would be about $56,000 over three years, officials say. A total of $20,000 was provided through a state Legislative Member Initiative grant arranged by State Senator George Winner and Assemblyman Tom O'Mara.

-- Discussed the planned demolition -- in the near future -- of condemned property at 228 Clinton Street acquired by the village prior to a county tax sale. Plans call for the fire department to level the building with a controlled burn as part of the unit's training.

-- Authorized payment of $1,000 as the village's share of a countywide water study being arranged by the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development.

Photo in text: The blacktopped walkway leading toward the falls would be removed as part of the village's renovation project at the Falls Park.

Montour board told of DOT bridge plans

MONTOUR FALLS, Oct. 16 -- The Montour Falls Village Board, meeting in regular session Monday night, heard from a Department of Transportation representative about plans to upgrade two bridges next year on Route 14.

Mike Griffin of DOT said the bridges over Catharine Creek and McClure Creek will have their decks replaced in a project that could stretch from May until fall.

Traffic will be reduced during that period to a single lane over the bridges as first one-half of the deck of each bridge is removed and replaced, and then the other half.

He also told the board that paving of Route 14 from Raymond Street south to the county line will take place in October of 2008.

In other business, the board:

-- Approved a local law banning parking on the east side of Belle Cornell Drive for 1100 feet north from Steuben Street.

-- Approved a local law under which the village will send water and sewer bills directly to property owners instead of to their tenants. This, one official noted, will eliminate some collection problems, as well as some shutoff problems associated with multiple tenancy.

Village Board OKs grant application

Seeks Restore NY funds for Montour House renovation; hearing upbeat

MONTOUR FALLS, Sept. 24 -- The Montour Village Board -- following a brief public hearing at which the only two speakers were in support of the board's move to acquire the Montour House -- approved a resolution Monday night to seek $2.5 million in grant money from Restore NY for the building's rehabilitation.

The hearing and subsequent, brief board session were devoid of what some observers thought might be disenchantment with the board's move earlier this month to obtain the building from Schuyler County after the county had taken it over for back taxes owed by the previous owner, Ed Solomon.

Solomon had attempted to pay those back taxes and redeem the property after it had been listed for tax auction -- a redemption move that the county has traditionally permitted. But in this case, with the village stepping in and expressing an interest to take title and spearhead the long-awaited renovation of the historic building, the county veered from established practice and decided to transfer the title to the village for those same back taxes Solomon had owed.

Officials expected Solomon to attend Monday's board session to present data on financial backers and a bank commitment letter he told trustees last week that he had in his possession. He was, at that previous session, hoping that the board would rescind its offer to the county to take the building.

"This was his night to do that," Mayor Donna Kelley said of Solomon's planned presentation. "He didn't."

It's doubtful that such information would have swayed the board, anyway, given its determination to make sure the building -- in Solomon's hands since he bought it at foreclosure seven years ago -- is renovated. The board considers it a key to the revitalization of the downtown.

Kelley said the intended use of the three-story building is "possibly professional office space, residential lodging and retail. But at this point that's only preliminary."

Of more immediate importance, she said, was the need to simply move forward -- to meet the Restore NY application deadline of Friday, so that the village has at least a chance at those funds.

Restore NY is, according to its website, a program designed to encourage economic development and neighborhood growth by providing financial assistance for the revitalization of commercial and residential properties. Funds from the program can only be channeled through municipalities, not individuals.

Next on the horizon is another public hearing, on Oct. 3, a prelude to a resolution calling for acquisition of the property from the county. The cost is only $6,528.21 -- the amount of the back taxes.

That hearing is not a legal necessity, Kelley and trustee Bonnie Howell said. But, Howell added, "we want the public aware of what we're doing and why we're doing it." When informed that a county official had said such a hearing was essential if the village hoped to procure Historic Preservation funding in addition to the Restore NY funds, they both conceded that might well be the case.

Once the village gains title to the structure, Kelley said, a developer will be sought. The village will not keep ownership beyond a short period of time, she said. "At this point in time, nothing is definite, except that we won't maintain ownership in the long run. Ultimately somebody will own it, just not the village."

Kelley said the board is "very hopeful" that Restore NY will grant the requested funds, "but hopeful doesn't get the money."

The Montour House was erected in the early 1850s and served as a hotel, bank, club and office, and for a time was the residence of Charles Cook, who had built it. In recent years, however, it has been little used and has fallen into disrepair.

Kelley said the board became aware of the tax-auction status of the Montour House after signs announcing the building's inclusion in the auction were posted on its windows. A check with county officials to see what steps the village might take to circumvent the auction led Kelley back to the board and a decision to seek ownership. "And here we are," she added.

She said she was surprised at the general support shown thus far by the public, adding that the process has nonetheless "frazzled" her. "You never know what you're going to walk into," she noted.

While Monday's hearing might have concerned her, comments were supportive -- from Jim Howell of the Village Planning Board, and from former trustee Antoinette DiCiaccio. The heavy majority of the 15 persons on hand didn't speak.

If the village obtains the Restore NY funding, that would not cover the full cost of renovation. Other funding sources, such as Historic Preservation grants, would be sought, and tax credits applied. The village, Kelley said, will not be paying for the project itself; a developer, once one is found, would have to pay in a percentage of the grant funds, assuming they are obtained.

For now, the village will continue working with the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development (SCOPED) in the development of a plan.

"This has unfolded so fast, it's hard to say" what the specific plans might be, Kelley said.

In a general sense, she said, they will fit into the Downtown Revitalization Plan evident on Main Street in the sidewalk and curbing work being done at the eastern and western ends of the business district, the recent upgrade of Bennett Park, and plans to upgrade the Shequagah Falls park with $20,000 in state money provided by State Assemblyman Tom O'Mara and State Senator George Winner.

Whatever the outcome of the Montour House project, Kelley said, what she and the trustees have done and are doing "is better than sitting here and doing nothing."

Added trustee Howell:

"We're trying to save the building. That is our goal."

Photos in text:

From top: Montour Falls Mayor Donna Kelley before the start of Monday's public hearing; trustees Larry Scofield and Bonnie Howell; and trustee Philip Gillemot.

Planning Board OKs Chinese restaurant

WATKINS GLEN, Sept. 20 -- The Watkins Glen Planning Board Wednesday night gave final site-plan approval to a proposed Japanese-Chinese Restaurant at the corner of Franklin and Sixth Streets.

The move came following a public hearing at which nobody spoke.

"You're on your way now," board chairman Joseph Fazzary said to the applicant, Yang Zhi Liu, a native of China now living in Wayland. "Of course, now you've got to deal with your code issues."

Code Enforcement Officer Gordon Wright has said that "there will be a lot of remediation to turn a mercantile building into a restaurant." Yang -- also known as Jason -- plans to reduce the size of the building, specifically at its rear in order to provide adequate dumpster space and adequate space for supply deliveries.