Town to acquire Big Tupper lands, if it can

-photo courtesy of Photographer Rick Godin

by Dan McClelland

The Tupper Lake Town Board members unanimously agreed Thursday for the town to try to purchase the 440 acres on Mt. Morris where the Big Tupper Ski Center now sits idle, if the property comes up for county tax auction this year.

For months the members of the Tupper Lake Business Group have been lobbying town leaders to formalize their interest in acquiring the Big Tupper lands, if and when it ever comes up for sale.

Acquiring those Mt. Morris lands by the town to lease the ski center to a private or public operator and to develop other recreational venues there is the cornerstone of a recreational strategy advanced by the steering committee of the new business group last fall.

The ski center parcel is currently owned by Preserve Associates LLC, a limited liability company formed by Philadelphia Attorney Michael Foxman when he purchased the Big Tupper tract from owners Peter Day and LeRoy Pickering a score of years ago. The ski center was a centerpiece of Mr. Foxman's plan to develop the 700-unit Adirondack Club and Resort development on lands on and surrounding Mt. Morris.

There are currently about $130,000 in back taxes owed on the parcel, with about $40,000 added in penalties and interest by the county.

If the county leaders put the parcel in their package of properties to be sold at county auction this year and the back taxes aren't paid at that point, the town leaders want the chance to acquire it from the county. The plan would be that the county leaders would grant the town title to the acreage before it ever got to auction.

Supervisor Patti Littlefield briefed her board members Thursday on “the multiple meetings” she and Councilman John Quinn have had with the Tupper Lake Business Group in recent months via Zoom. The TLBG had also met with the other town officials in separate meetings.

The business group made a presentation of all its goals to the town board at January's regular monthly meeting of the town.

The seven members of the TLBG's steering committee were also tuned into last week's meeting, anxiously anticipating the good news from the board.

“The long and the short of it is, and you all know and we all know, that the Big Tupper lands may or may not be on the county's foreclosure list this year, along with multiple other properties here.

“Some of the properties we're interested in are Big Tupper Ski Area, Cranberry Pond (below it) and a little waterfront parcel” at the foot of the Big Tupper/Country Club Road. The third piece was a tiny waterfront lot on Tupper Lake where the ACR developers had proposed a water in-take station to provide an alternative to Cranberry Pond for getting water up the mountain to operate an artificial snow-making system for a renovated and rebuilt ski center in the ACR plan.

“The business group members have been working very, very hard to come up with a plan to recommend to the town on what could happen should the town be able to acquire title to those parcels. Dan McClelland has written story after story, editorial after editorial explaining it all, so I'm not going to go there tonight, because we all know it.”

“The only thing I would iterate this evening is that nothing is for sure at this time!”

She said there was a deadline of February 9 set by the county where every owner of a property to be foreclosed upon had the opportunity to contact the county treasurer, “a nice lady by the name of Fran Perry who I speak to frequently,” to make arrangements for a payment schedule with the county to eventually satisfy their back taxes debt.

Mrs. Littlefield said she was unaware of any repayment schedule formulated between Preserve Associates LLC and the county at this time.

The supervisor said that “because of COVID-19 the governor has pushed back until at least May any date for a foreclosure action” and subsequent tax auction.

She said that while the governor's intention was to protect individuals with individually-owned parcels from foreclosure until after the pandemic, Franklin County leaders opted to include all properties with back taxes owed in their interpretation of the governor's order.

She admitted the governor's foreclosure postponement date has moved several times “and may move again. We don't know! For now it's sometime in May.”

“So that means that in May, county officials may or may not see taxes paid on those properties at Big Tupper and Cranberry Pond.” She said when the governor permits foreclosures to go forward the county could then schedule the properties it intends to sell at public auction.

A foreclosure notice by County Judge Robert Main customarily precedes any county auction of properties with outstanding back taxes, she noted. “He makes the judgement that the county can foreclose on these parcels.”

“When and if the Big Tupper lands should, or may or do get listed among the properties to be sold, the business group would like the town- and we've talked about it openly for a long time- to ask the county if the town could be considered to acquire those parcels.” An option, she said, would be for the county to give the town those lands, as it has done in arrangements with many towns and villages around the county when parcels come up for back taxes.

“Typically the county does that,” she said, remembering the title change that came when the village acquired for free the former Sabin's Electric lot for back taxes. The property is now village parking.

Because of the size of Big Tupper lands and their taxable assessment it may be that the town has to pay the back taxes owed.

The business group is currently exploring different ways a county-town deal could be consummated.

The supervisor said the business group leaders have asked the town to draft a resolution indicating its interest in the Big Tupper properties to the county legislature.

She said the town will “go through” County Legislator Paul Maroun “to get his blessing” on the proposal. The two local lawmakers met several times in recent weeks to discuss the proposal.

The business group has also met with Mr. Maroun numerous times by Zoom in recent months and he has strongly indicated his support for any plan whereby the community sees a re-opened ski area to economically and recreationally benefit Tupper Lake and its citizens in the years ahead.

Mrs. Littlefield said last week after the most recent meeting with the business group she spoke with the chairman of the Franklin County Legislature, Don Dabiew of Malone and they had what she called “a very nice conversation.”

“One of the things he said to me was that typically if a town or village wants a particular parcel that is going up for foreclosure, it could ask for it and we would normally turn it over to it.”

She said, however, because Big Tupper is a much larger piece of property than normal it may not come to the town as an outright gift.

“We talked about that and the fact it will all have to go before Judge Main and the entire county board” before anything came to pass.

Mrs. Littlefield noted that the Big Tupper property has not yet been foreclosed upon by the county at this point and the owners have “plenty of time to pay their back taxes, right up until the point the county takes title.”

She admitted there are a “lot of what if?” questions ahead in the months to come.

“What Don and I talked about is: how about if the town drafts a letter to everyone one of the Franklin County board of legislators” after we talk with our legislator, Paul Maroun, and let them know in writing upfront that we would like to be at the table with the county in the event it takes title to the property?” She said the county chairman liked that idea.

Mrs. Littlefield said she knows Paul Maroun has been exploring ways that the Franklin County Industrial Development Agency might be able to help with financing of any purchase, if necessary.

The supervisor said if the town is required to pay for the acquisition that any price include only that back tax amount and not any penalties or interest that have been levied against that parcel.

“We're not asking the county leaders to write the entire thing off and give it to us for nothing. We're saying we could probably pay the back taxes. -And we at least want the option of being at the table to discuss it all, should it get to that point!”

She told her colleagues she had drafted a letter that day, using “bits and pieces” of much of the information provided her by the business group in recent weeks and forwarded the draft to them that day. “I don't know if there are things you want to change or edit or have it sent to our attorney.” She said she welcomed any or all comments from those four board members and Town Attorney Kirk Gagnier, who was on that evening's call.

“Mr. Dabiew thought a letter like this to all the county board members would be 'a great idea' for the town board to do.”

He told Mrs. Littlefield that any letter from her and the board would be read out loud at a county meeting so every county elected official would be aware of the Town of Tupper Lake's desire to re-acquire the Big Tupper lands. “That way they would all have a record of our sincere interest in it!” she said he told her.

“That's the long and short of it,” she concluded.

Councilman Mike Dechene said he had time to read her letter before the meeting that evening “and I liked it.” He said there were a “couple of typos” that needed to be corrected.”

“It's very well written and it gets across all the information we need to get to the county board, in the event something does happen. We need to be involved and at the table with this. I'm all in favor of it!”

Councilwoman Mary Fontana said she also had a chance to read the supervisor's letter and she echoed Mr. Dechene's comments about it.

“Overall I was very satisfied with the letter. I think it clearly makes our position known.”

The supervisor apologized for the typographic errors, explaining she was writing it that day at the same time when she was trying to get into a Zoom meeting with the Development Authority of the North Country about another town project, “when the internet went out.” She said it took sometime for her and staffer Angie Snye to connect to the Zoom meeting, after which she had no time to proofread her letter.

Councilman John Quinn, who has in the past called the reacquisition of those recreational lands on Mt. Morris by the town “a no brainer,” had several suggestions to the board letter.

He said omitted in the letter was mention of the tiny shoreline property just off Route 3 which some future operator may need to draw water from the big lake. Mr. Quinn also suggested that Assessor Paul O'Leary provide “exact tax numbers” for those three properties for quoting in the letter so there is not confusion or ambiguity about the parcels requested.

Mike Dechene also thought that small parcel was important for the town to own and said any pump station eventually erected there could be an important source of water also for the town-owned golf course in the future.

Mr. Quinn additionally suggested sending copies of the town letter to not just Mr. Dabiew but to every county legislator and to various county officials like the county clerk, county manager and the county treasurer “so we know everyone there got a copy.”

Mr. Quinn was bothered somewhat by one sentence in the letter which mentioned that the town wanted a role in any county decision about the future ownership properties. He said it should be made clear that while he hopes the county leaders will consider the town's request favorably, all decisions relating to those disposition decisions ahead are the county board's alone.

“I'll support the letter with those changes,” the deputy supervisor told the supervisor.

Supervisor Littlefield reminded Mr. Quinn of their conversations with County Treasurer Fran Perry several years ago shortly after she was appointed to her position about the town's future interest in the Big Tupper lands, should she ever become available. The treasurer had placed a note in the parcel's file of the town's interest in possibly acquiring those at some time in the future.

Mrs. Littlefield admitted town board interest in those lands date back to her arrival on the town board.

She agreed to make the changes to the letter suggested that evening and forward the final version of it to all board members for their review before it is sent to the county lawmakers and county officials. Mr. Gagnier was also asked to review it in the days ahead and he said he would.

She told the business group members attending that evening the contents of the board letter won't be shared with them until it is in final form for mailing to the county leaders. “It becomes public information at that point and not in draft form as it is tonight!”

The Tupper Lake Business Group leaders also met in recent weeks with Assemblyman Billy Jones via Zoom where he has offered his support for the acquisition by the town of the Mt. Morris lands and for the group's entire recreational proposal.

The motion to send the letter, once in final form, came that evening from Mr. Dechene and Ms. Fontana. It passed 4-0 with Councilwoman Tracy Luton absent that evening.