Summer Sunset performance series at bandshell moves to Monday nights

by Dan McClelland

The Village of Tupper Lake’s Summer Sunset Series on the sunset stage of the bandshell in Flanders Park will be every Monday night this coming July and August.

On Friday morning Tupper Arts leaders and members of their bandshell committee detailed to village board members the merits of staging the popular evening concerts on Monday nights.

Last year the Summer Sunset Series concerts and performances were held on Tuesday nights and each week between 150 and 200 people came out to stretch out on the lawn and enjoy the varied entertainment.

The concert series was started by the new Tupper Arts organization two summers ago. The first year the performances took place under the Rotary pavilion in the park. Those performances were held on Friday evenings that first summer. Last year the series was moved to the bandshell, after it was completed late last spring.

Last year the entire eight-week series and the cost of the performers (about $5,000) was underwritten by the village, as part of its effort to bring summer visitors from local campgrounds and summer camps into the community. The village also paid to advertise the shows.

Friday’s meeting was prompted when village leaders asked Tupper Arts organizers why Monday night was chosen this year.

“Some of the board members had some questions” about the day that was selected, Mayor Paul Maroun said in opening the morning session.

Susan Delehanty, who succeeded Louise McNally as the president of Tupper Arts, thanked the board that morning for meeting with her group and its bandshell committee.

She said her group in recent days has mulled the choice of the day at length, weighing the positives and negatives of different days of the week or the weekend.

Mrs. Delehanty turned over the presentation to George Cordes, who lined up all the performers and acts for the past series and who is working on a new schedule right now. He explained why the concerts were moved from Tuesdays to Mondays.

Mr. Cordes, who is active in both Tupper Arts and its bandshell committee, said the first year when the series was presented Fridays at the pavilion, “attendance was good but there were some issues with conflicts” with other events in town at local venues like P-2’s Irish Pub and Raquette River Brewing and others.

“There was some thought that may be that some people went to one event or the other,” but not both, he noted.

Mr. Cordes, who operates High Peaks Opera with his wife, music teacher Liz Cordes, said the night was changed to Tuesday when the series moved to the new bandshell.

“Part of the rationale was that we would catch people in camp for their vacations or at nearby campgrounds like Fish Creek and give them something to do in the middle of the week.”

He said in this year’s choice of Monday nights, the other factors they considered were the other events going on around the area. For example, Thursday evenings are Long Lake's Friends of Music series.

“The nature of what we were thinking of doing was a variety of music by different musicians and performances by groups like High Peaks Opera and Shakespeare in the Park. We wanted to draw people from surrounding communities who would be interested in those types of performances.”

He said Childwold also has a Thursday evening concert series. Lake Placid has its bandshell series on Tuesdays this summer.

Even with that conflict, the local series did very well on Tuesdays last year, drawing over 150 people to each event, he noted.

Mr. Cordes said Wednesday evenings this summer are when the bandshell series in Saranac Lake is held.

“We were hoping to put our performances on a night that wasn’t in conflict with other events that were similar,” he said.

He said by each community having their concerts and performances on different evenings of the week there may be some opportunities for joint marketing to help each other promote our respective series.

Mr. Cordes said he intends to announce the bandshell performances in neighboring towns at performances here each Monday and is hoping other bandshell neighbors will do the same for Tupper Lake.

An issue with Friday evenings is that the Historic Joseph Synagogue has Friday evening services close to the bandshell, “so there is a noise issue.”

On Saturday evenings there are commonly other events at local bars and venues, he noted.

Mr. Cordes said there are also businesses in the area which feature Friday and Saturday entertainment which could possibly conflict with weekend performances at the bandshell here.

He said he recently rejoined the Adirondack Center for the Arts at Blue Mountain Lake as its artistic director and that group has performances there and around the area on weekend nights. “That would be a big conflict for me.”

Mr. Cordes regularly serves as master of ceremonies at the performances here.

“We felt we had great turn-outs last year on Tuesday evenings. It gave people here something to do on a night other than Friday or Saturday.”

Paul Chartier, another member of Tupper Arts bandshell committee, said a weeknight choice for the series gave people entertainment during the week. “On weekends there’ stuff going on everywhere! We’d be competing with all of that!”

He said having performances Monday mights will give local organizers a chance to book bands and acts who were in the area performing over the weekend and might wish to stay an extra day and perform on a Monday night.

“It’s easier to bring a band from downstate to our area if the performers know they have a second gig nearby!”

“They come up from downstate or out of state and maybe play at the Waterhole in Saranac Lake on Saturday and they may stick around and play here that Monday if that option is there.

Susan Delehanty said her organization was very thankful to the village for paying for the performances in the series in past summer. “At our last board meeting we agreed to match the village’s $5,000 so we could double our budget for the series. It will help us attract those bands which have been out of our price range before and really improve the quality of what we are able to offer.

She added, too, that the series would also offer local groups and acts this summer, as it has done in the past.

“Anecdotally, we’ve heard from a lot of summer people who say that when they come to their summer places, a lot of times they are inundated on the weekends with their company and they are doing things at their camps. It is easier for them to come out into town on a weeknight!”

“That was another reason we were looking for a weeknight. Monday nights seem to be the night there wasn’t any competition in the area!”

“-And because of its proximity to the weekend, we might get groups who might extend their weekend stay and take a gig with us.”

Dan McClelland, another member of the bandshell subcommittee, said last year they heard from several restaurant owners who said “the weekends take care of themselves here.” They felt it would be nice to attract people on a weeknight to come to town, have dinner and attend events at the bandshell or vice versa.

Mr. Chartier noted at one point it is tough for anyone to compete Thursday nights against the Raquette River Brewery when “half the community” is there for its Thursday specials and entertainment.

Trustee Ron LaScala said he and some of his board members just wanted to know why Tupper Arts chose Monday evenings and the information they heard from the arts promoters that morning seemed very logical. “I understand now why you chose Mondays!”

“For us, when we first heard Monday night, we figured it’s the beginning of the week for most people and when they go back to work. And for many of us it’s the most hectic day of the week.

Trustee Clint Hollingsworth, who also deferred to the wisdom and research of the art promoters here, said that one of the reasons many communities don’t have events scheduled on Mondays is because “Mondays are Mondays,” and as the start of the work week and often the busiest day of the work week, people are exhausted.

He said he didn’t think the local organizers should be worrying about what is going on in the neighboring communities as there are plenty of visitors in town during the summer to attend all events.

He said he did understand the concern by organizers about event conflicts on busy weekends here each summer.

Mr. Chartier said their group had also considered Sunday night as a possible series night. “But like Monday night, people still have to go to work the next day.”

Trustee LaScala thought that weekend performances would have paired up with other events in town to give people more options on a weekend here.

“It was great to have this conversation!” he told the arts promoters.

Mr. McClelland said that there is some opportunity for other performances at the bandshell this summer like the Lions Club did last summer when it retained the Tupper Lake Ecumenical Chorus for a Thursday night performance last August. “I’d like to do a few more of those,” with some private sponsorships. Maybe have businesses pair with local bands?”

Mr. Cordes said Tupper Arts is still facing a learning curve when it comes to its Summer Sunset Series, finding out which things and which dates work best for Tupper Lake and its residents and visitors.

He said it takes a while to train the community that concerts here are on a certain night “and word will eventually spread that Tupper will now begin each week with the arts.”

He also noted that Tupper Arts sound technician Russ Fahr, who did the sound for last year’s series and does the sound work for the other bandshell series, is available on Monday nights. “Monday was a perfect day for him!”

Mr. Cordes said a number of bands have already agreed to perform here Monday nights, including the U.S. Army band from Fort Drum, which is coming in August.

Louise McNally said she is looking forward to the benefits the bandshell series organizers in each local community will get cross-promoting all the events and working together to expose as many people in the area to what’s going on during the different nights of the week.

“We have the prettiest setting of all...the most beautiful bandshell. If we can start pulling people from Saranac Lake and Lake Placid to Tupper, it’s just going to benefit everyone here!” she told the village leaders.

“Right now Monday nights make the most sense for us!” Mrs. Delehanty told the board members, who expressed their appreciation to the volunteers for their willingness to share their research with them.

New restaurant and bar operator appointed at golf course

by Dan McClelland

The town board in January approved two leases- one between the golf course board of directors for the use of the town-owned facility on Mt. Morris and one with the new concessionaire at the golf course restaurant building.

Jaime Armstrong of the Glen Falls area is the golf course board's choice to operate the restaurant and bar next summer, Councilman Mike Dechene, who serves on the town board's country club committee with Supervisor Patti Littlefield, told his colleagues on the evening of January 9. His contract with the golf course board is for three years.

The restaurant has been operated by Jim Ellis as the Burgundy Steakhouse for the past three years, but that contract wasn't renewed for 2020.

Mr. Dechene and Mrs. Littlefield met Mr. Armstrong at a recent golf course board meeting and Mr. Dechene described him as a “fine, young gentleman.”

Mr. Armstrong has a background in golfing and has competed in the Tupper Lake Pro-Am several times, the supervisor noted. “He knows our course.”

Mr. Dechene said while Mr. Armstrong has never operated a restaurant by himself, he has worked in their kitchens at the golf courses he has been associated with in past years. “He is familiar with ordering and restaurant set-up,” Mr. Dechene said. “I think we are heading in the right direction!”

Mr. Armstrong is currently working to obtain his state liquor license through Attorney Kirk Gagnier.

Mr. Armstrong was recently associated with the Green Mansion Golf Club in Chestertown, N.Y. He studied professional golf management at SUNY Delhi.

Mr. Dechene drew his colleagues back to action they had taken at the December meeting to purchase some new equipment for the restaurant's kitchen. The deal was the town would buy some pieces, including a three-bay sink and faucet and a dishwasher and the golf course board would buy other needed pieces like a new gas stove.

When Mr. Ellis took over the operation, many of the old pieces were junked and he brought in much of his own equipment. With his departure this fall he rightfully took his appliances with him.

Last month the board voted to spend upwards of $5,000 for the dishwasher, sink and faucet assembly.

“The club sent me some invoices for the equipment we were looking to acquire,” Mr. Dechene told his colleagues.

He said board member Gerry Goldman is point man on the appliance acquisitions and contacted a company out of Albany with ties to state contract purchasing “which is how we want to purchase this equipment.”

Mr. Dechene said for the type and size of kitchen at the golf course the company suggested a model of dishwasher that would be appropriate for the operation there.

He said the company representative suggested a dishwasher and sink and faucet which totaled $5,700.

The elected official said the golf course board has agreed to contribute the extra $700 so the amount didn't exceed the board's upper limit of spending.

Mr. Dechene said Mr. Goldman plans to talk more with the company to try to shave more off the $5,700 price quoted.

Mr. Dechene suggested the board defer action to give Mr. Goldman time to negotiate a better price.

For its part in replenishing the kitchen equipment the golf course board intends to purchase a new gas stove, sandwich board and deep fryer.

“All the pieces that will be purchased will belong to the town, even the appliances that the golf course board buys.”

“So everything in the kitchen will be owned by the town?” asked Councilman John Quinn. Mr. Dechene said it all would be.

“The golf course board members are happy we're working with them,” he said as an aside.

“-And we're happy they have found someone to run the restaurant, and so quickly!” asserted Supervisor Littlefield.

Fat bike riders added to trail users

by Dan McClelland

On the recommendation of town recreational trail boss John Gillis, the new all-season, multi-use trail in the forest around the golf course will be open to riders of bicycles with what are called “fat tires.”

They will be able to finesse the trail network henceforth, just like skiers, snowshoers and hikers do now.

The new on- and off-the-road bikes, with knobby, over-sized and under-inflated tires, can also be used on the nordic trails built on the golf courses cart paths too in the winter.

A few of the new bikes were on display at last year's Brewski event at the golf course.

John's request to the board last week involved the purchase of a pull-behind groomer that is specifically designed for fat tire bike grooming.

Late in the meeting the board voted unanimously to buy a new fat bike groomer in the amount of about $2,500 with funds that have been donated to the town by skiers there in recent years.

The first place it will be used to groom will be on the cart paths of the golf course where many of the nordic trails are located.

“Today the skiing was great. We have rain coming Saturday and maybe ice. Monday we could be back on our ski trails with fat tire bikes and not hurt a thing,” Mr. Gillis said at the Thursday meeting.

“We're trying to give more recreational opportunities to people,” he told the board members, who were eager to hear it.

“We're the trifecta” of trail systems in the North Country. “We're free, we're groomed and we're dog friendly. No one does that anywhere around!”

He said the local trail system attracts people from all over the Northeast and Canada. “Go up their any weekend and you'll see out of state plates in the parking lot.”

“Last winter I ran into a couple from Rochester who come to Tupper each winter and stay for a week to ski our trails. It's a cheap vacation for them!”

“All they pay for is their meals and lodging and the recreation is free!”

Councilman Mike Dechene, who serves on the town board's golf course committee, said he has received many compliments about the trail system in recent years. “And that was before this new trail. Skiers have told me the system is fabulous and the scenery is beautiful.

He said he thinks the fat tire bikes will be most welcome there.

Charles St. Pierre severely injured working at Whiteface Mt.

by Dan McClelland

A Tupper Lake man had a near brush with death on December 2 while working as a snow-making operator at the state's Whiteface Mountain at Wilmington.

Charles “Chuck” St. Pierre was slammed in the face between his upper lip and his nose by a compressor hose that had somehow come lose from a snowmaking machine he was attending.

The metal nozzle on the hose which was under 200 pounds per square inch of pressure shattered many of the bones in his face and severely lacerated it. His jaw may have also been detached by the blow.

His sister Christin Hunter, who organized an online fundraising page with another sister Rashelle St. Pierre, last week wrote “on the morning of December 2 my brother nearly lost his life performing his job due to a faulty snow machine.”

She wrote “a rogue compressor hose came spiraling off the machine and made direct contact with his face at 200 psi.”

“When discovered by a co-worker he was taken back to the base of the mountain where he was airlifted to Fletcher Allen Trauma Center in Vermont for immediate surgery. Although very groggy, Chuck apparently never lost consciousness.

“The team at Whiteface did a fantastic job insuring Chuck had prompt medical attention,” said Christin.

She said the initial emergency surgery was eventually able to stop the facial bleeding which was difficult at first. His upper lip was detached by the blow and his palate was completely shattered. Many facial bones were believed to have been broken and there was extensive damage to his airways and jaw.

The surgeons at Fletcher Allen “are working to develop a long-term plan of attack” for his facial reconstruction, wrote Christin last week. They had to wait several days for the swelling to go down and for the antibiotics to take effect.

The first surgery was a grueling 12- to 13 -hour procedure Friday to reconnect with wire the three sections of his palate that had separated in the accident. To do that most of Chuck's face had to be lifted, family members said this week.

Before the surgery last week the sections of palate, to which the upper teeth are attached, floated freely.

The first reconstruction surgery was very successful, according to reports.

Rashelle St. Pierre wrote on the online page Sunday that her brother's surgery went very well. “The group of surgeons did an amazing job to say the least. Chuck still remains in high spirits although he's anxious to get out of the hospital.

There was initial concern about his eye socket and possible optic nerve damage but no damage was found apparently in Friday's procedure.

Further surgeries may be planned.

Chuck has had an amazing attitude from the start, despite the severity of his injuries, family members indicated this week.

“My brother is the most strong-willed person I've ever known,” Christin noted.

Chuck is a U.S. Marine veteran, who served in Afghanistan.

“He's a true Jarhead through and through. The doctors are surprised that he survived. They don't understand how he survived, let alone not lose consciousness” when he was struck.

There was speculation this week that Chuck may have had the presence of mind to shut off the machine after it struck him.

Christin said he has a long road ahead but is expected to make a full recovery.

Chuck, who rents an apartment on High Street and who commutes daily to his 6a.m. to 6p.m. shift at the Olympic mountain, has told the Free Press many times in recent months that he loves his job at Whiteface. He's also a certified snowboard instructor there and he particularly likes those assignments.

Christin said he does love his job there and he harbors no ill feelings about the accident.

The sisters were raising the money to help cover immediate living and travel expenses like the cost of transporting Chuck and his family members back and forth to Vermont for visits and follow-up treatments. As of Monday the goal of $5,000 was exceeded by $395.

Chuck is expected to be staying with his grandmother Rita on McLaughlin Ave. as he recovers in the weeks ahead.

Chuck is the son of Bruce St. Pierre who recently moved back to his hometown from Plattsburgh and his mother is the former Elise Miller, also a native of this village.

His uncle, Pierre St. Pierre, who visited him in Vermont last week, said it's incredible how upbeat and positive Chuck has remained during the entire ordeal. “He's already talking about getting back to work!”

Channel 5 news carried a segment on Chuck's accident Wednesday which showed a very injured but very energized Chuck in the Burlington hospital.

Family members say he has been buoyed by all the support he's received from family members and friends.

New movement in long-stalled ACR project

by Dan McClelland

There is new movement on the long-stalled Adirondack Club and Resort project.

Last month the holders of the mortgage on the 5,800 acres of Oval Wood Dish Corp. Liquidating Trust lands on the east end of Lake Simond foreclosed on Preserve Associates, the company that had intended to sell 18 large great camp lots as part of the Adirondack Club and Resort.

The legal maneuver was initiated by a limited liability company called Crossroads ADK to sell the parcel at public auction where it or an affiliated group would be the successful bidder.

Stanley Hutton Rumbough is the principle of Crossroads and Michael P. McNally, is key member of the management team who along with their wives, purchased the former Ginsberg's Department store building several years ago and dramatically renovated it.

Mr. McNally has been very active in the community in recent years, working alongside his wife, Louise, who founded Tupper Arts here over a year ago and which has enjoyed amazing success.

Stanley Rumbough, the grandson of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post who owned Camp Topridge on Upper St. Regis lake, spent his summers there as a boy. He is known for his generosity and philanthropic gifts to many worthwhile causes. including those entities in Tupper Lake.

He and Mr. McNally met 45 years ago when Rumbough was a Lt. in the Marines and stationed at MCAS EL Toro and Mr. McNally was a corporate pilot. Mr. Rumbough is also a licensed glider pilot.

“It's a way to untangle a web of debt on that large parcel,” Mr. McNally, the managing partner in Crossroads Preserve told the Free Press Monday.

The land on which the Adirondack Club and Resort partners dreamed of subdividing into large farm-sized lots where great camps would someday be built was sold to Preserve Associates in May, 2017 by the heirs of the Hull family founders of the Oval Wood Dish Corp. whose gigantic manufacturing site on Demars Blvd was a major employer here for much of the last century.

Preserve Associates is one of four companies that are the landowners of the various pieces of the ACR project which included Big Tupper, Cranberry Pond and a marina on Tupper Lake.

In the original ACR plan, the sale of 18 great camp lots, the largest of which is about 1,200 acres in size, was expected to raise $50 million or more in revenues- a percentage of which (7.25%)was going to be used to rehabilitate, and modernize the Big Tupper Ski Center.

Preserve Associates LLC, whose principals include Michael Foxman and Tom Lawson, apparently failed to make any payments to the Oval Wood Dish trust on the $5.15 million mortgage and didn't meet other obligations of the financial document including the maintenance of insurance coverage and payment of land taxes.

In October the trust sold the mortgage to Crossroads ADK, which last month started the foreclosure action against Preserve Associates, in the face of no payments and the other mortgage conditions not met.

In it’s foreclosure filing, Crossroads named everyone with liens on the property, including law firms, architects, engineers and another llc created by Mr. Rumbough and Mr. McNally. This is a legal requirement when anyone forecloses on a mortgage that is in default..

“It was a way to get the project going again, because as things now stand it was and is at a standstill.” said Mr. McNally. “We're just trying to clean things up and move forward.”

He explained that the project is currently “drowning in mountains of debt” and in such a state it would never be attractive to a new developer and potential investors.

Rumbough and McNally would like to attract a developer/investment group with a successful track record in large scale projects to do the entire project and might even consider “partnering” with that developer/investor. “We believe the ACR is a great project”.

Their goal, he said, is to simplify the very complicated financial situation that now surrounds the project and move things forward.

Mr. McNally emphasized, however, that the foreclosure action currently in the courts has nothing to do with re-opening the Big Tupper Ski Center on Mt. Morris.

“We would all like to see that happen, but that is down the road.”

Asked to predict the future of the entire project, he said candidly: “there's definitely still hope.”

This foreclosure action is an attempt to save the project, not destroy it.

He also emphasized that negotiations with Mike Foxman and his partners started last fall and are still ongoing. “We're hoping they will sell to us, but right now we're at an impasse unfortunately.”

As a result of that impasse in the negotiations, the foreclosure action was necessary.

In an investigative piece by Jim Odato that was published in the Adirondack Explorer in recent weeks Simos C. Dimas, a Manhattan attorney representing Crossroads ADK said the goal is to bring the project through to fruition using a third-party developer. “This in an attempt to save the project, not destroy it!” he was quoted as saying.

Mr. Dimas said Mr. Rumbough and his partners have been studying the project for months after he invested millions of dollars on improvements to the project site and facilities. He told the regional magazine-style publication the foreclosure action is a remedy to gain control of the property “so that work on the project can finally begin and jobs can start to be created.”

In that same article, Nancy Hull Godshall, a trustee in the Oval Wood Dish Corp. Liquidating Trust was quoted as saying her group is encouraged and optimistic by the latest developments.

“Our family has long ties to this community and we care deeply about the future of the Adirondack Club and Resort” and Tupper Lake in particular. “The trust sold the mortgage with the community's interests at heart, firmly believing the buyer (Crossroads ADK) has the incentive, capital and ability to move the project forward, and understanding that the buyer has already made very significant investments in the project.”

Franklin County to Participate in Statewide STOP-DWI Thanksgiving Crackdown Enforcement Effort

Franklin County District Attorney Craig Carriero announced this that Franklin County police agencies will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.

This Thanksgiving weekend, millions will hit the roads eager to spend time with family and friends. It’s one of the busiest travel times of the year, and unfortunately Thanksgiving has become one of the deadliest times of the year on America’s roads because “Thanksgiving Eve,” the Wednesday before the holiday, has become one of the year’s biggest drinking days. Whether it’s young people home from college or adults who know they have the next day off from work, Thanksgiving Eve has contributed to a rise in drunk driving deaths around the holidays. More people on the roadways mean the potential for more vehicle crashes. During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2015 (6pm on Wednesday, November 25, to 5:59 am on Monday, November 30), there were 301 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes across the nation. Tragically, 50% of those killed were not buckled up at the time of their fatal crash.

In a combined effort to stop impaired driving, prevent injuries and save lives law enforcement officers across New York State will take to the roads. The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on November 27th and will end on December 1st 2019. New York State Police, County Sheriff and municipal law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in force.

The STOP-DWI Thanksgiving Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association with additional funding from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and implemented by the STOP-DWI Foundation. Throughout the remainder of the year the Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign will also target the national Holiday Season in December. “We want people to enjoy the holiday but they have to know if you’re going to drink then don’t drive. It is really that simple” said Franklin County STOP-DWI coordinator Craig Collette. “Drinking and driving is 100 percent preventable.”

While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol and drug related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers. Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Franklin County local development corporation launches county-wide destination development & marketing fund

The Franklin County Local Development Corporation (FCLDC) announced in recent days the launch of a new funding opportunity available to for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, and municipalities in Franklin County. The Destination Development & Marketing Fund (DDMF) was created to support projects and activities that increase recreational, tourism or cultural visits to the county and enhance visitor experience.

Tourism in the North Country Region is over a $1 billion industry and is one of its fastest growing sectors in economic impact. The FCLDC identified a high priority need to support this burgeoning industry by increasing resources and opportunities for tourism within Franklin County. To meet this need, the FCLDC partnered with Franklin County to develop the DDMF. The goals of the fund are as follows:

Increase the number of products, experiences and services available for visitors and residents, particularly those that are hospitality and tourism-related;

Enhance the quality of experiences and events available for visitors and residents;

Grow the number of visits, length of stay and spending by visitors;

Strengthen tourism-related businesses and organizations; and

Keep Franklin County competitive with other destinations.

Available funding for the first round of grants totals $20,000. Awards are expected to range between $500 and $5,000 and will be issued on a reimbursement basis. Applications are accepted and scored on a rolling basis until all funds are exhausted. Examples of eligible projects that will be considered include:

Rental of timing system for a snowshoe race

Construction of a trail

Construction of an ADA fishing pier

Advertising for a first-time event

Support an outdoor summer movie or concert series

Print trail maps

Development of a website & marketing plan for a new guiding business

Construct a canoe launch

Create an outdoor seating area for a restaurant

Purchase of a bicycle repair kiosk

Additional information about this program, including contact information and the program application, is available at www.franklinida.org. Another round of funding is anticipated for early 2020.

Donna Kissane, Franklin County Manager, said, “Franklin County is excited to contribute to the Destination Development & Marketing Fund and looks forward to seeing the projects that are supported.  The County has many great destinations and opportunities to offer its residents and tourists alike. This fund will not only increase the number and diversity of activities, it will also help to increase visitation and the visitor experience and put Franklin County on the map as a world class destination.”

Jeremy Evans, CEO, Franklin County Industrial Development Agency, said, “Supporting tourism is a key component of the FCLCD’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and with programs such as the DDMF, we are able to support initiatives that grow and enhance our tourism assets and leverage efforts that are already underway by our regional partners. We hope there is a lot of interest in this program so that we can make more opportunities like this available in the future.”

Veterans' Day observances Monday; well decorated soldier to speak

The members of the local veterans posts here are again inviting the community to join them in remembering our veterans at the Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov 11 at 11a.m. at the veterans park on Park Street.

Also at 2 pm, post leaders will be honoring our veterans at Mercy Living Center. The public is invited to each event. In the event of inclement weather, the 11 a.m. ceremony will be moved to the TLHS auditorium.

Guest speaker at the 11a.m. service will be Sergeant First Class Michael D. Fouse, a native of Pittsburgh, PA.

He enlisted into the United States Army in November 1992 and attended Basic Training at Fort Benning, GA. He attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, GA as an 11B (Infantryman). In 1996 he attended the United States Army Special Forces Qualification course (Green Beret) from which he was awarded Honor Graduate.

Sergeant First Class Fouses' assignments include: Long Range Recon Patrol (LRSD), 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg North Carolina; 1 st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell; 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Bragg North Carolina; 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, Fort Bragg North Carolina; 2nd Battalion, and 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell. Michael has served in South and Central America as well as the Middle East and Central Asia as part of nearly 20 overseas deployments or missions. Six of those deployments were combat operations during Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan OCT 2001 to FEB 2002) in the initial stages of the mission (Horse Soldiers); Operation Iraqi Freedom (3 tours) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Horn of Africa.)

Sergeant First Class Fouses' military education includes: Airborne school, Infantry Officer's Basic Course, US Army Ranger Course, Pathfinder Course, Military Freefall Parachutist course, Static Line Jump-master course, Military Freefall Jump-master course, Survival Evasion\ Resistance and Escape (SERE) level C, USMC High Risk Personnel course, Civil Affairs course, Peacetime Governmental/Hostage Detention course, US Army Instructor training course, Special Forces Qualification Course (18B).

Sergeant First Class Fouses' awards and decorations include: three Bronze Star Medals, three Meritorious Service Medals, one Army Commendation Medal with V device (for valor), six Army Commendation Medals, two Joint Service Achievement Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Bronze Arrowhead device and two Bronze Star devices, Iraq Campaign Medal with three Bronze Star Devices, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Pathfinder badge, MFF Parachutist & Jumpmaster Badges, Parachutist Badge, and the Master Parachutist Badge.

Sergeant First Class Fouse is married to the former Erin Mahoney of Malone, and together they have four daughters; Katelyn (22), Loryn (20), Ashley (19) and Sydnie (17).

Meet the candidates for town board on October 15

A reminder to all our readers that a “meet the candidates” forum to publicly present the four candidates running for town council next month and to hear some of their views will be held at the Knights of Columbus hall on High Street on Tuesday, October 15 from 6p.m. to 7:30p.m. All local voters are encouraged to attend.

Republican incumbents Tracy Luton and Mary Fontana are being challenged this November by Democrats Dean Lefebvre and Daniel “Boonie” Carmichael. The top two vote-getters will sit at the town board table as of January 1 and serve a four-year term. No other candidates for town office- town clerk, highway superintendent and town justice- are opposed this year.

The event will be hosted by the Tupper Lake Free Press and Stuart Amell's new Property Rights group. Free Press Publisher Dan McClelland will serve as moderator.

The event will feature opening and closing statements by each of the candidates as well as their views on three questions on current town topics. There will be no questions taken from the audience, due to time limits.

Oktupperfest returns to park this fall with Vintage Snowmobile Show

After a year’s hiatus, Tupper Lake’s beloved fall festival is returning, bringing the community together on shared love—beer, food, fun, live music and fall foliage this Saturday (October 5).

This will be the first time that the Oktupperfest will actually be held in October. Traditionally it has been the last weekend or so of September.

This will be the first time too it is paired with another local event.

The Oktupperfest will run from 1p.m. to 6p.m. at the Tupper Lake Municipal Park, on the gazebo side of the outer field.

From a lack of event-coordinating personnel, the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Oktupperfest couldn’t come together last year but this year it’s coming back in full action.

“We’re trying to get something a little different going this year,” said lead organizer, Hayley McCottery, the former chamber event-coordinator who ran community events like the Brewski and the Phil Edwards Memorial Hockey Tournament. “It’s hard that we can’t be at the mountain, that’s what everyone knows about Oktupperfest.”

With support from the chamber of commerce, the festival is coming to fruition with the excitement and enthusiasm that the young events-coordinator brings to her projects. Although Ms. McCottery is no longer affiliated with the chamber, she’s returning to her old role temporarily to revive this event.

For over 30 years Oktupperfest was held atop Mt. Morris where the community informally celebrated the end of the short Adirondack summers, the beautiful red, orange and yellows of the changing season and the approaching winter where, back then, the community would go on to ski the slopes of Big Tupper months later.

The last Oktupperfest, in 2017, the event had to, regretfully, come down from the mountain for the first time. The event was held instead at the Tupper Lake Municipal Park due to the Adirondack Club’s developments that were underway on the mountain.

Despite the community’s unconditional support that year, the cold, rainy weather and overall environment at the park didn’t quite feel like an Oktupperfest that this community was used to. Something felt a little off.

A few locations were considered for this year’s event with the municipal park never making the cut.

Organizers considered Little Wolf Beach, Tupper Lake’s local vacation spot and the destination for the tri-annual Little Wolfstock, with its sandy beaches and its close-proximity to the downtown and the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory, leaving opportunity for a diverse range of activities.

After further planning, Little Wolf Beach had to be ruled out. The beach’s water supply was shut off at the end of the summer which would cause issues with attaining food permits required by the food vendors that will be on site at the event.

Organizers came to a more-appropriate location, not far from the original Oktupperfest grounds—the Tupper Lake Golf Course. Unfortunately a wedding that day at the Burgundy Steakhouse made it difficult to stage the major event there.

So the decision was made to stage it again at the municipal park. The outer area of the park was the setting for this month's successful Rock the Arc and things there worked out well.

Organizers are hoping for great weather to make the event the best it can be.

Final preparations are coming together well this week.

Like a typical Oktupperfest, there will be plenty of activities for all ages to enjoy including archery tag, an inflatable obstacle course, a mechanical bull to ride, pumpkin painting and crafts. It will be a day of fun for the entire family.

Organizers are also getting Zorb Balls for the event, giant inflatable, human-sized hamster balls where anyone can roll, bounce and bump around in a safe and playful nature.

Local rock band Bitter Sweet will be providing musical entertainment, as well as Night School, a Tupper Lake favorite whose musical instructors will be teaching lessons on the changing leaves and German traditions. Night School will start to play at 1p.m. and Bitter Sweet at 3p.m.

Event-goers can also expect a variety of beer to enjoy, including craft beers and lighter options like Coors Light, Miller Lite and Bud Light.

Organizers are also working out food vendors for the event to provide a variety of foods to go along with the festivities. One popular food purveyor will be the Tupper Lake Lions Club which will be serving up hamburgers and hotdogs, smothered, of course, in the famous Lions caramelized onions.

All the monies generated at this year's Oktupperfest will go to benefit the Tupper Lake Rescue Squad, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The chamber of commerce is always looking for additional support, sponsorships and volunteers. If interested, contact the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce at (518) 359-3328, or pop into their office at 121 Park Street.

This year marks the first time that the Oktupperfest will be paired with the Tupper Lake Snowmobile Club's second Vintage Snowmobile Show at the park. The snowmobile event will be staged around the Rotary pavilion.

That show begins at 8a.m. and awards for the best and most unusual vintage sleds will be presented about 2p.m.

Trophies will be awarded in nine classes: antique, trail 67-85, muscle sled pre-81, factory race sled pre-81, actively raced sled pre-1986, custom, cutter, mini and best of the show.

Entry fees are $5 per sled but $15 is the maximum fee.

Many vendors will be present and there are expected to be tons of door prizes.

Reese and Kelly Fleury are again two of the key organizers.

For more information call or text 518 524-2005.

“Bring Professional Baseball to Tupper” campaign launched

by Dan McClelland

The volunteers who are working hard these days to retrofit the municipal park ball field for next summer's arrival of the Tupper Lake River Pigs, in cooperation with two local groups, have launched an internet crowdfunding campaign to generate $10,000 to complement the $20,000 the village government has pledged to the project and another $10,000 donations raised so far.

All monies will be used to bring the hometown field up to Empire League standards

The local Empire League committee has teamed up with the Adirondack Foundation, whose program, Adirondack Gives, channels investors' money into popular community benefit programs, and with Tupper Lake's ARISE (Adirondack Residents Intent on Saving their Economy). ARISE, whose volunteers operated the Big Tupper Ski Center for seven years here, is an Internal Revenue Service 501-(c)3 corporation, donations to which are tax-deductible. ARISE has helped with fundraising on several other recreational projects here in past months.

The Adirondack Foundation's “Adirondack Gives” web site on the new campaign leads with the headline: Bring Professional Baseball to Tupper Lake,” which is the slogan of the new campaign.

As of Monday $675 has been donated to the $10,000 campaign.

The Tupper Lake River Pigs semi-pro team is the newest franchise of the Empire Professional Baseball League, bringing the total teams to eight in that league. The teams are from Saranac Lake and Plattsburgh and also from Puerto Rico, New Hampshire and Maine.

The league is considered a Rookie to Class A-level minor league baseball, meant to give players out of college an educational pro experience. Some players have been called up to the majors and other higher leagues, league President Eddie Gonzalez has told local supporters.

The Empire Professional Baseball League is a nonprofit operation that is completely funded by revenue streams such as advertisement sales, ticket sales, try-out revenues and donations. The young players assigned to the teams are compensated with housing, transportation and an expense stipend based on their classification.

“The Empire League is very excited to bring this team to Tupper Lake and looks forward o building a great relationship with community as well as bringing business to locals while making a huge economic impact,” the promotional information on the web site reads.

In addition to the village money pledged, the now non-active Tupper Lake Softball Association has donated $9,000 to the project. Tupper Lake Supply Co. has also agreed to donate materials for the construction of the two-tier deck which will house food and drink concessions. The new deck arrangement replaces deteriorated bleachers that the village was set to replace anyway.

The local committee has also recycled some of the fencing at the park for the use in other areas in what will be a completely renovated ball field when the River Pigs start their play next summer. Other coming improvements include new roofs for recently uncovered dug-outs, parking lot improvements, Amish style team lockers/change rooms, some field lighting improvement and grandstand netting.

The ARISE organization, directed by Jim LaValley, approached the local Empire League committee and offered to help, citing similar economic goals.

The ARISE mission is to support economic growth in Tupper Lake, while respecting the natural resources that make our area unique. This includes tourism, manufacturing, development of the second home community and the service industry here.

More information about this campaign can be obtained from any of the local volunteers or by calling the Lake Placid-based Adirondack Foundation at (518) 523-9904.

Rock the Arc will rock the park this weekend

by Ian Roantree

The Tupper Lake Municipal Park will be a hub of activities for all ages this weekend on Saturday, September 14 with the return of the Adirondack Arc’s annual Rock the Arc festival.

All proceeds from the event go to benefit the Adirondack Arc, a not-for-profit organization that supports the needs of people with developmental disabilities.

Throughout the summer months, rumors began to circle the community, stating that Rock the Arc wasn’t happening this year. Those rumors were mostly true.

“This year we thought about taking a break,” said Scott Stiles, CEO of the Adirondack Arc and chief organizer of the event. “But when word got around, we got a lot of feedback and community support.”

Because the games, activities and admission to Rock the Arc are free, the Adirondack Arc relies on sponsorship support and raffle ticket sales to keep the event afloat and successful. This year, the organizers were having trouble finding sponsors.

“After doing this for six years in a row, it’s hard to keep asking for sponsorships from the same groups,” Stiles said.

But at the last minute, the Adirondack Arc was able to get its sponsorships.

Sponsors for this year’s Rock the Arc include Hoffman Auto, Ralph Benefit Advisors and Hoffman Hanafin & Associates.

Rock the Arc will attract the likes of both the young and old with its variety of activities, games, live music, food and attractions.

The main attraction of Rock the Arc is the raffle drawings and the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000!

The second place raffle winner will take home $2,000, the third place winner will take home $1,000, the fourth place winner will take home $500, and five finalists will be awarded $200!

The winners of the raffle will be announced at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening.

Other prizes can be won through the raffles including a Webber Grill, and gift packages.

Younger crowds will get a kick out of the activities geared towards them like the jousting arena, bounce house, inflatable obstacle course, face painting, and kid kingdom. There will also be games commonly found at carnivals like the fishing derby game, ring toss, plinko and dart and balloon games.

There will also be lots of different food and beverages to enjoy. Typical of a Tupper Lake event—and for good reason—the Lions Cook Shack will be on site serving up delicious hot dogs and hamburgers, smothered in their famous Lions onions.

There will be popcorn and ice cream vendors to satisfy the sweet and salty tastebuds as well as a Honduran food vendor, adding to the variety of food choices. P2’s Irish Pub, like previous years, will be serving up beer in their beer garden providing the choice of craft and light beer.

Throughout the day, starting at 1 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m., live music will rock the park (and the Arc). Kicking off at 1 p.m. is local classic and 90’s rock group, Bittersweet, playing until 3. From 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. is jam band, Atom Ghost from Massena, and headlining the evening, playing from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. is pop and rock group, Night School.

After the music, at 9 p.m., there will be a spectacular fireworks display, a show you won’t want to miss.

Door’s open at noon on Saturday, providing a full day’s worth of fun and entertainment, and it’s all free!

Tupper residents can vote Saturday on a name for new baseball team

by Dan McClelland

Tupper Lake residents will have a chance Saturday to vote on a name for the new Empire League franchise coming to Tupper Lake next year.

In past weeks since the announcement of the coming of Tupper Lake's new semi pro baseball team there have been numerous letters to the editor and public comments in opposition to the suggested team name, the “River Pigs.”

The name was selected by League President Ed Gonzalez, after researching our community's logging heritage and finding the name that was a term for the men who rode the logs down rivers and across lakes to mills. Old timers have said the men were revered for their agility and skill, doing one of the most dangerous jobs in a dangerous industry.

In the face of the local opposition to the name, the local support committee for the Empire League, headed by Trustee David “Haji” Maroun, decided it would be in the community's best interest to give people a one-time chance to vote on another name.

The village board was set to mull the issue next month (see related story this week), but that won't be necessary now.

The vote will take place on Saturday, August 31 at the municipal park ball field between 12p.m. and 6pm.

Anyone wishing to vote on the team name will fill out a confidential ballot and place it in the box there. Everyone must cast your vote in person if you would like their voice heard, Rick Skiff, a member of the Empire League baseball committee said this week.

Tallying the votes after 6p.m. will be Free Press Publisher Dan McClelland and Adirondack Daily Enterprise reporter Aaron Cerbone. Seems the committee couldn't find honest people to do that.

The committee members have teamed up with Rick Reandeau of New York Life and together they will be selling hot dogs and hamburgers all afternoon, with all proceeds going towards the work being completed on the municipal field.

“We encourage as many of you as possible to attend, said Mr. Skiff. “It will only take a few minutes to cast a ballot. In addition, the committee members can answer any questions you may have concerning the field construction.”

The following is the list of possible team names chosen based on public suggestion with all names vetted through the Empire League president to ensure the names could be used. These choices are: River Pigs, Axemen, River Driver (another name for the men who rode the logs to market), Rowdy Bucks, Tupper Timber, River Otters and the Mighty Hemlocks.

Explains Mr. Skiff: “The team name that receives the most votes will be the name of the team coming to Tupper Lake next summer. This vote will be final. If you feel passionate about any one of these names, cast your vote and let your voice be heard!”

Trustee Ron LaScala, another member of the baseball committee, said he was not happy this week that Mr. Gonzalez has been asked to change his team's name.

“When has this community asked a private business to change its name? Never!” he stated.

He called it “offensive and unfair” to Mr. Gonzalez, who will be investing a lot of money in creating this new team for Tupper Lake, and said he has personally apologized to him several times in recent weeks.

The name controversy did, however, generate the kind of publicity that money can't buy.

Borrowing a term from social media, the story from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise went viral across the Associated Press wire service. It appeared in a number of national newspapers including USA Today and the Washington Post and was mentioned twice this week on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom radio show.

This is the short piece in USA Today: “New York Tupper Lake: Organizers of a new semi-pro baseball team are rooting around for a new nickname after some residents grunted at the proposed moniker “River Pigs.” The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports Tupper Lake Village Board Member David Maroun says the name of the Empire League will be changed. “River Pigs” was chosen to reflect the region's logging history, but some residents said it sounded demeaning.”

County paving help falling off?

Town officials here reacted to news reports that the Franklin County Highway Department will not do as much as it has in the past to help towns get their roads paved this year.

Reacting to recent news reports about the changing county highway department operation, Deputy Supervisor John Quinn told his colleagues this month that helping towns now with paving of roads is “now a low priority” for the county.

In the past the county highway department has brought its paving machine and a crew to help Tupper Lake and Harrietstown town crews tackle their early fall paving projects.

“It doesn't do much good (for the county) to tell us in late October that we're now yours to help, when the batch plants are closed and there's no asphalt,” asserted Mr. Quinn.

He said he was aware Harrietstown officials have expressed their dissatisfaction with the new county highway department plan.

Mr. Quinn said he has discussed the issue with Highway Superintendent Bill Dechene and Supervisor Patti Littlefield at length in recent weeks.

He said while he wasn't fully aware of the history of the county helping towns to pave their roads, he said he understands that many towns and the county purchased the paving equipment cooperatively years ago. It has been shared since.

“-And now the county is saying we may not have the time to serve all towns! We have our own needs to meet!”

He said it seems the county has encountered some scheduling and manpower problems and “it is making a county problem a town problem now!”

The councilman said the towns in southern Franklin County get “precious little help” from the county. “Our tax dollars go north, as a rule.”

“We need to ask our county legislator (Paul Maroun) to push that issue and free up the county paver to help us out!”

“We got a quote for paving (not including materials) of $5,500 per day. That's a budget killer!”

Supervisor Littlefield said she recently met with other town supervisors in Malone, as part of a process by which town supervisors meet with county officials and others periodically to talk about government efficiencies and how governments can work together to save taxpayers money.

“The topic of paving came up at the last meeting. The gist of it is...and we haven't officially been told...we're not getting the county paver this fall.”

She said the county's aim this year is for the county road crew to pave county roads which have been neglected in recent years while the equipment and crew has been sent to towns and villages to help them with their projects.

She added the crew has been assigned here in recent years, and to other towns. “This year, however, they are saying they want to pave county roads that have been let go, because the county paver has gone to towns to help.”

Complicating the paving work by the county crew is the fact, she said, that the state first takes product from the various batch plants around the North Country and the mix for the state is different.

“The batch plants cater to the state. So we can't get our asphalt each year until the state finishes getting theirs.”

The supervisor noted that sometimes that just leaves weeks at the end of each paving season for the towns and counties to get their paving jobs completed.

“So while I agree with John- the county needs to revamp the way it does things, but if the county is saying it's a one and done year thing,” something could be worked out for this one year.

If the county takes too long to do all its work, before it comes to help the towns, it is likely it will be too late to do any paving this fall as the batch plants close in late October, she told her board members.

The supervisor said several paving projects here were budgeted this year using state CHIPs money. “The money we use to purchase asphalt and lay it down each year comes from the CHIP!”

She said she wished John Klimm, who has been pushing the town to use those funds to fix his Upper Park St. sidewalk (see related story this week) had still been present that evening to hear that.

She said that his figure of over $300,000 the town has received in the past three years was correct. “And even if we used all of that and added more, that wouldn't be enough to pay for that new sidewalk!”

In answer to a question from Mr. Quinn she said some of the CHIPs money each year goes into the highway department budget for paving and paving materials and all of it is accounted for in the town books. “Every penny!” she stressed.

Again in response to Mr. Klimm's assertions earlier that night, she said the CHIPs money each year is used for many other things- roads, sidewalks, culverts each year in the work done by the town crew.

She said it was less than a year ago that her board learned it was responsible for caring for sidewalks along state highways here. “So it is unfair to accuse the town of not spending its money on a sidewalk that up until 12 months ago we did not know we might be responsible for!”

Mrs. Littlefield said the town is still in discussions with the state DOT about what's the best solution there: fixing the old sidewalk or removing it.

After talking to many of Mr. Klimm's neighbors the jury is still out on that.

“We are not going to jump into spending $300,000 on a new sidewalk until we know it's the right thing to do!”

“-And that may take a while because we know things in government take awhile. There's a process!”

On another paving issues discussed by town leaders on August 8, Councilman Mike Dechene wondered who was responsible for new striping on Stetson Road that the county crew paved last fall. He said traveling the road at night was dangerous without stripes.

Highway Superintendent Bill Dechene said the county crew was planning to do it this fall.

“The county highway superintendent told me they didn't apply the reflective, epoxy paint on last fall because it was too cold,” the supervisor said. Temporary paint was apparently used in it place but it wore off over the winter.

“The county superintendent told me he planned to do it this year,” she added. “He indicated to me he would do it when they came up to pave!”

“When you are driving there at night on a wet highway, without stripes, you don't know where you are driving,” Councilman Dechene stressed.

“The southern part of the county- paying most of the county taxes”- continues to get the poorest service from the county!

Six teams compete for tournament title

by Dan McClelland

Six teams turned up for the sixth annual Samantha Pickering volleyball tournament Saturday on the municipal park's triple courts. The weather was cool and overcast, perfect for the teams of three and four players.

One of the teams came from as far away as the Boston area. Alan Imlach's brother, James and his family were up visiting and put together a team for the tournament.

The event each year is organized by Samantha's mother Patti and her stepfather Alan and by many friends and family members. In the first five years over $14,000 was raised which provides a $500 scholarship to a college bound high school senior pursuing a career in athletics or education, as Samantha did.

Lindsay Maroun, the first scholarship winner, is now employed at the Tupper Lake Central School.

The family's goal is to do the event for ten years and raise about $20,000 to make the annual scholarships self-sustaining. The goal is clearly on track.

Familiar faces from past years were Rit Roberge, who did much of the tournament game arrangements, Gary Casagrain and Scott LaLonde, who hasn't been able to play for several years due to an illness but who has been involved every year. Scott coached Sam for many years she was in high school and college.

Every team plays each other once and the winners move up the division until a champion is crowned. It makes for a lot of play for participants.

Casagrain Studio, anchored by artist Gary, won the event this year and second place was Bookstore Plus. Team Al (for Imlach) took third. Other teams were Boston's J. Mike and TL Varsity.

This year featured a trio from the high school volleyball team who were Sierra LaVallee, London Tyo and Elaina Daniels.

The Lions food rig was on site and staffed by Samantha's grandparents, Trudy and LeRoy Pickering. All Lions sales amounting to over $300 were donated that day to Sam's scholarship.

Samantha Pickering was a star volleyball player in both high school and college at Potsdam, where she was captain of her team and its major force. A statue of Sam stands in the college's athletic department and her No. 4 number was retired after her untimely death about six years ago.

Uptown testing site still not producing samples that pass state standards

All village water customers in both the village and town received another notice this week from the Village of Tupper Lake that the local system still contains levels of hazardous chemicals above amounts permitted in state water standards.

The village routinely monitors its system for the presence of drinking water contaminants. Testing results from 2018 and 2019 show that the system exceeded the standard or maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA5s) based on collections at the Pine Grove Restaurant and the village office. The MCL for TTHM is 80 parts per billion and the MCL for HAA5 is 60 parts per billion.

In the second quarter of this year the village office location produced samples of 81.3 ppb of TTHMs and 73 ppb for HAA5s. The numbers continue to decrease, however, in the running average.

The village tests quarterly and averages it samples taken at each location for a running yearly average.

The good news this week is that the contaminants found at the 166 Main St. location are now below the maximum state limits and no violations exists. The reason for that is that all the water there now comes from the new wells beyond Pitchfork Pond.

The levels of the two believed to be possibly harmful elements is still above state standards at the village office testing site, but they are decreasing with each testing.

The reason for the bad results there is that some of the water in the uptown neighborhoods is still coming from the surface water source at Little Simond where the filtration plant is still in operation. Surface water sources contain organic matter which when combined with chlorine form TTHMs and HAA5s.

It is expected that the two chemicals will drop within the next several quarters as more and more well water is used in the system so the water samples coming from the village office meet state standards.

For years the village system has been in violation of state standards as all the water drawn came from surface water sources either at Tupper Lake or Little Simond. After new wells were opened beyond Pitchfork Pond last year, the Moody filtration plant was closed, eliminating the big lake as a water source. Now the local water system is a mix of well water and surface water from Little Simond. Well water requires less chlorine to disinfect it and hence produces fewer chemicals.

Proposed zoning law draft still in infancy, supervisor says

by Dan McClelland

Town leaders made it very clear Thursday that any adoption of the proposed and revised zoning ordinance is a long ways off and will be adopted by local boards only after extensive study and review.

Attending that night's monthly town meeting were about a dozen citizens, most of whom were troubled by the zoning proposal released in May.

Supervisor Patti Littlefield welcomed the people, telling them that while most meetings permit members of the public to make comments to the board for up to five minutes, the public input time that evening would be limited to about two minutes a person, given the numbers in attendance.

She asked the group's permission to be the first person to speak in that night's public comment session.

“I have a good idea of why you are all here. Regarding the zoning update plan presented at a public meeting in May and again in July, it is a joint village and town project.” She said Town Councilman John Quinn, who served on the 13-member volunteer public advisory committee (PAC) which worked with the consultants to formulate the new zoning law proposal, and Attorney Kirk Gagnier would detail some of the changes that evening after she was done.

She said the first meeting drew a good crowd as did the second one last month, organized to give summer residents a chance to hear about the proposal and the work done by the drafters.

“I understand there's a lot of people shook up about the campsite business,” she said of the time restrictions in the new plan for occupying recreational trailers in the town each summer and fall.

“This is the very, very, very beginning of reviewing” the current proposal. “This is in no way going to become effective in the near future. We have a long way to go before that happens!”

She said she welcomes the community “getting involved” in the process by reading the 140-page document and comparing it to the existing law.

“Thank you all for coming. I hope that everyone who has something to say formally will do so respectfully. We're not here to point fingers or make trouble for anyone! We're here to be intelligent-speaking adults” talking about what we feel about the new code draft. “Remember, it's a draft!”

“This board as well as the village board have not even been presented formally with this draft to review it. We will do this soon.”

She said she recently penned a letter to Mayor Paul Maroun, to the PAC members and to the two code enforcement officers “to sit down soon as a group and review all the parts of the draft, so we all have a better understanding of it. No one understands all of this thing cover to cover, unless you have lived with it in past months.”

She said most people here don't know the draft document or the original law well at this point in the discussion process.

“Both boards will review it intensely before any action is taken.” Before it is ever adopted, however, it will come before the public in one or more public hearings “so the public will have many opportunities to make comments on the next version.”

She called the draft document “the very first draft.”

She asked those in the room to cite their concerns, noting that the entire code wouldn't be dissected that night piece by piece. “That's the purpose of the public hearing(s).”

She held up a new red folder where she said the town board would keep all the written comments of people here for its later review. She presented her business card carrying her e-mail address for people to e-mail the town with their questions and concerns. E-mails should also be sent to Mayor Maroun, she advised.

“So when it come time for review by both boards, and possibly another committee, we will have written information we can rely on,” as opposed to verbal comments. “When things are in writing, we can refer back to them. Put your comments in writing...we want to review them all!”

Councilman John Quinn said the town and village zoning and planning boards, plus the code officers, have for years “expressed deficiency with a lot of the existing land use code. It's out of date, it's years old, it shouldn't be a static document, but it is!”

He said they wanted a code that was more “dynamic” and could be easily updated regularly “to bring it into the 21st century.

“Hearing this we, the town board, discussed with Melissa McManus, who works for the village as a consultant, about getting grant funding to hire professional land use/zoning experts to take a look at our code, make recommendations, work with a local committee (the PAC).”

He said the committee, of which he was a member, went “line by line” through the consultants' proposals. There was a kick-off meeting last year with good local press coverage. That was followed by another public information meeting in May and another in July.

“There were many thoughtful comments” at both the recent meetings.

“The PAC met again to discuss the comments that had been made. We tweaked it further. The PAC is local citizen volunteers, who included people on the planning board, local code enforcement officers, school district employees, a local attorney and a few citizens at large.”

The goal of the PAC members, he said, was to take “a common sense” look at the work of the consultant.

“We went through the earlier drafts and made comments” to the consultants.

“It was very informal...no one was a professional (land use expert) who served on the PAC. If we were to hold these volunteer organization to have agendas and minutes of their meetings, you just kill volunteerism here!”

“It's hard enough to get people to come in and take time out of their busy days and read this stuff and work with it.”

The PAC, he said, was not a public body with any decision-making authority. There was also no requirement for a quorum. “Whoever showed up, that was the group that reviewed what we had going on that meeting.”

“If you read the state's open meetings law, there is no requirement for advisory bodies to have minutes (of the meetings). Our minutes were the work product...the draft document which is available on our web site” or from the local code officers.

After the meeting in July, he said, the work of the PAC was essentially finished. “It's product is done...it no longer needs to meet, although there may be merit to reconvene that group or a subset of it to take a look at further changes.”

“It is my understanding that we have a draft code now and we are accepting comments on it or the adoption of it, how long that may be. It will go to the planning board for its review.” Both the town and village attorneys will review it. “Ultimately the planning board will make a recommendation to both boards.” He added before it could local law, it would require both boards to approve it after public hearings.

“So that's how we got from frustration on the part of our planning board and our code officers to something that makes a little more sense and is more modern, not 30 or 40 years old,” he concluded.

When it was Attorney Kirk Gagnier's time to address the group, he said “the biggest thing is don't panic; there's still a long way to go, in terms of this whole process!”

“It's not in the hands of the two boards yet, and it may not be this year!”

The reason there is no hurry in approving the new proposal is that zoning already exists here, the attorney told them.

“The town was fortunate enough to get a grant to look at its code...to hire someone professionally to do that and not have to pay for that work!”

He said these types of consultants work for all sorts of communities- both big and small- across the state. “They look at all the issues, they listen to local people on the advisory board and they come up with a list of recommendations that is a start!”

“That's where we are right now! We are early in the process and there are still a number of things to look at!”

He said the supervisor's request for written public comments “is a good way to go, because it gets to the people” who serve on the town and village boards. Verbal comments often get lost in the mix, he added.

The comments may address things that the consultants or the PAC members never considered, he speculated.

He said those people “can only think of so much. That's one of the things about zoning...you can't create a code or a law that contemplates everything.”

“Having been at some of those meetings, and feeling the spirit there, it's not about hurting businesses or residents or trying to take things away. It's about trying to come up with a land use code that better reflects the new realities today, versus 40 years ago.”

He said in any zoning code there are “pieces that are going to affect people in different ways. Some pieces will be misunderstood.”

Parts of the law will be misinterpreted in different ways and when those things are pointed out they can be fixed, he said of the process ahead.

“Don't panic, because I can tell you it's going to take a long time.”

He said it took Lake Placid five years to update its land use code. “It can be a really long process.”

Mr. Gagnier said the Town of Santa Clara is currently overhauling its land use code, clarifying some things. “The reason officials there are doing this is because some landowners pointed out some things in the code there” that no longer work in that township.

The updating process, he said, is all about local governments and the people working collaboratively to get all the information in any new code so everyone can review it.

“Zoning is not going to go away. It's here and it's here to stay.

“The aim is to refine it so it helps people in the community. That's really the goal!”

He said by the time the process gets to the two boards for a vote, a lot of local people will have had a lot of input and there will have been many changes.

“This isn't about the town or the village trying to ram something down (your throats). It was an opportunity to re-tool something that needed a lot of help!” the town attorney concluded.

Village leaders commit to River Pigs' arrival

by Dan McClelland

Village leaders yesterday morning made a commitment to spend as much as $37,000 on capital improvements to the municipal park ball field to accommodate the arrival of Tupper Lake's new Empire League semi-pro team next summer. As a follow-up to that motion the local officials went on record that from now on only baseball will be played there.

Baseball fans in the community have been buzzing for over a week since it was reported that Empire League President Eddie Gonzalez wants to expand his upstate league to include a team from Tupper Lake, the River Pigs.

Village board members have been courting the official this past month, after Saranac Lake Mayor Clyde Rabideau was coaxed by Trustee David “Haji” Maroun to get an Empire League team for Tupper. The Saranac Lake mayor since last year secured for his community its new Surge team Mr. Rabideau set up a meeting between Mr. Gonzalez and a fired-up village delegation at the Hotel Saranac, where this whole venture began to take shape.

That meeting was followed by two others at the local diamond to give the league president a view of the local facilities and he was impressed by what he found here. The big lights, recently overhauled by the village, will give him the opportunity to schedule evening games which he said he liked.

Working with the board to bring a team to this community is a committee chaired by Trustee Maroun and with members who include Rick and Jay Skiff, Royce Cole, Jed Dukett and Trustee Ron LaScala. Members Rick Skiff, Fire Chief Royce Cole and Mr. Dukett attended Monday's board session.

After a 45-minute long briefing of the improvements to the ball field that will be needed to bring the team here by Trustee Maroun and Rick Skiff that morning, Ron LaScala called for a commitment from the board.

He offered two motions. The first was for the board to develop a new policy for all groups using the municipal park going forward. “From each organization we'll need a site plan and the boundaries of the park it will use” before this board should give its approval.

“It'll tell us exactly what footprint of the park they intend to use!”

He called for that policy to be drafted by the end of next week for board review.

He said the village has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the municipal park through its recent waterfront revitalization grants and “it needs to protect its assets.”

“There needs to be strong rules” to guide events and activities there from now on, he continued.

He said too if the board is “going to commit” to hosting a new semi-pro baseball team here and spend taxpayers' money to that end, “the only thing that will be going on inside the ball field will be baseball.”

That became the meat of the second motion.

Mayor Paul Maroun hoped a new policy could be drafted in time for next Wednesday's village board meeting.

Asked by Jim Lanthier about the fate of events like the Woodsmen's Days and Rock the Arc which have traditionally used the ball field area, it was explained they would be moved to the outer and larger areas on the west side of the park. Mr. Lanthier, who attends most village board meetings, also made a pitch for the return of the horse pull to the Sunday of Woodsmen's Days.

He said when he took photos of the event during the Sundays when the horse pulls were held, the grandstand was packed. In recent years, since their departure, there has been no one sitting there.

“This board wants to work with every group” to help them use the park better, Mayor Maroun told him.

“We want more events in our park, not fewer!” echoed Ron LaScala.

He and the mayor both said the big events now in the ball field can be moved over to the west side of the site, where the annual Masonic Lodge flea market is always held.

They said between the village, town and school district all events here in the park can be served. Trustee LaScala suggested help could come in the form of bleachers, new lights, etc. in the western portion.

He thinks the events and their organizers will be better served by that help and by consolidating their footprint in that section of the park.

Concern has been expressed in the past week by officers of the Woodsmen's Association about the relocation of their big event.

“They are a private organization, and if they decide to pull out that's their decision. But we're not looking to get rid of anyone...to force anyone out...we're looking for more events for the park,” said Trustee LaScala.

Fire Chief Royce Cole suggested convening a meeting between the organizers of the events in the park and the new baseball committee. He suggested joint events could be staged there with a big event on one end, a baseball game in the ball park, a Little League game in its new field and music at the bandshell.

“I'm 100 percent in favor of all of this,” he told the board. “-And if we all work together we can make it happen!”

Speaking of his committee members feelings, he said “we have no desire to push anyone out!”

The new baseball committee, directed by Trustee Maroun, will assist the team to make it successful here- everything from promoting the 26 to 28 home games each summer to fundraising to making repairs to the grounds and its buildings.

Trustee LaScala said he and Mr. Maroun committed last year to bringing more events to the municipal park and the new Empire League's arrival is one way.

He said for eight to ten weeks next summer there will be activity there almost every day. There could be as many as four Empire League games a week during its season which begins mid-June and ends in August.

He estimated it might take five years to bring the facility and local interest for the baseball play to its full potential, but the end result will be worth it.

With the ball field's development, he said, he hopes will be the arrival of food and drink concession there, including beer sales.

He predicted the new league, with its minimal $5 per adult admission charge and free for children, will develop the park “into something as American as it can be!”

Mr. LaScala noted that during their meeting at the Hotel Saranac when this entire venture began to gel, he met a father of one of the players on The Surge.

He said he told us many families will come here on their vacations to see their sons play and stay for a few days.

Trustee Haji Maroun, who attends all the Surge games in the afternoons with his son, Carson, said the games “attract a ton of people” even though they are held at 1p.m.

He said he recently ran into Frank Camelo, originally of Tupper Lake, who attends many of the games at the Petrova field, and he mentioned he was a bat boy when the Yankees had an affiliate team in Tupper Lake in the 1940s. “Frank told me the attendance at the local games during those years when the semi-pro team was here was amazing!”

The field and stadium developed here as part of the Civilian Conservation Corp projects of the 1930s were somewhat modeled after Yankee stadium, it was noted yesterday morning.

Trustee Clint Hollingsworth asked his colleagues what they thought the overall economic impact of the new baseball team would have on the community, compared with the village's investment in the ball field this year and in the years ahead.

Trustee Maroun said the players will live here and spend their small salaries here. The players receive about $200 week, but the principle purpose of playing in the league is giving them exposure to major league scouts, he explained. He noted six players from the Empire League have already been called up so far this summer.

He added families of players will also visit here to see the 18 to 25 year olds play.

Next week, we'll look at the punch list of expenditures Trustee Maroun and his committee pitched to the full board yesterday.

Jim & E Tuesday at bandshell

Tupper Arts very successful Summer Sunset Series every Tuesday evening this summer continues on August 6 with a performance by Tupper Lake's Jim and E, who appear regularly at local venues. Jim Boucher also regularly hosts open mike nights at P-2's Irish Pub.

The free performance on the Sunset Stage of the Lions bandshell in Flanders' Park will begin at 7p.m. In the event of rain, the show will be moved to Tupper Arts' headquarters on Park Street.

The summer concert series has been underwritten for the most part by the Village of Tupper Lake. Donations are also most welcome and go to further the work of the local arts organization.

Every week day next week too at Tupper Arts at 106 Park Street is a busy time for local and visiting kids. On tap is the Little Loggers Open Mike Camp.

The camp will lead to a performance at the bandshell that Friday at the bandshell from 10:30a.m. to noon when the emerging talent will be showcased.

For information visit Tupperarts.com

Public gets second look at zoning update process

by Dan McClelland

A repeat version of the information session in May on the proposed revised zoning ordinance and land use plan this past Thursday morning at the Tupper Lake town hall generated a number of questions from some of the 20 or so residents who attended.

The event, organized by local code enforcement officials Paul O'Leary and Pete Edwards, was intended to give summer residents a chance to peruse the 145-page document and ask their questions.

The new proposal resulted from a more than year long study by code officials here, a group of local citizens and a downstate consulting firm, Randall and West.

Stuart Amell, who said that he and his wife Laurie own property in both the town and village, asked about the public advisory committee (PAC) that helped guide the rewrite of the 1990-vintage zoning plan.

Paul O'Leary said there were 13 members, including himself and Mr. Edwards.

Asked by the retired superintendent of schools from Syracuse if they were appointed by the town and village boards, Mr. O'Leary said they were “selected.”

“There was never a resolution appointing them as a public body by the town and village boards” to represent the town, the village and the community of Tupper Lake?” Mr. Amell asked and he was told he was correct.

“If they are not a public body, were there agendas and minutes of their meetings, and if so are they available for the public to review?” continued the River Road lot owner.

Mr. O'Leary said there were neither agendas published nor minutes kept.

“So how do we know what the PAC discussed?” Mr. Amell pressed. “How do we know about how those people felt” in their work producing the draft document?

He said he would have preferred to see how those members felt about specific changes proposed in the draft ordinance. “I think that's important!”

Mr. O'Leary admitted he didn't have an answer for him.

“So you mentioned no agendas and no minutes. So there's no way any of us in this room can go back and see what was discussed?” he continued to press Mr. O'Leary, who is also town assessor.

Mr. Amell also asked about the attendance of the committee members this past year and Mr. O'Leary called it “sporadic.”

Asked to expand on his term, Mr. O'Leary said there were some committee members who attended every meeting and there were some who could not attend them all.

“Were you satisfied with the attendance?” Mr. Amell asked, and Mr. O'Leary said he was, given that it was a committee of volunteers.

He said he was warned by the consultants that they would not get 100% attendance by the volunteers at every meeting. “They were all volunteers, after all!”

Mr. Amell said he has served on many committees during his career in education and in the communities where he has lived, “and when I volunteer to serve on a committee, I do my best to get there.”

The seasonal resident asked if there have been any meeting by the PAC since the first public information session on May 16.

Mr. O'Leary said a meeting was called but only two members attended in addition to he and Mr. Edwards: town councilman John Quinn and planning board chairman Shawn Stuart.

Mr. Amell asked if there had been any decisions made that meeting and was told there wasn't.

He asked about proposals made and Mr. O'Leary said there was one addressing the adjusting the proposed village center “to accommodate some properties on Oak Street. He said there was also talk about “adjusting some zoning boundaries to accommodate Paul Mitchell's operation off Main Street.”

Mr. Amell then asked: “Anything about camper trailers or recreational vehicles?”

Mr. O'Leary said the two members thought the wording should be left “as is” in the draft advanced.

Joel Soucy asked him to explain.

Mr. O'Leary said it was not the purpose of that morning's session to “go through every article” in the draft ordinance.

He then proceeded to take the audience of about 30 people through the steps that were followed in creating the new draft plan.

Of the steps taken so far, he said, they are currently at step three which at some point soon the PAC will “hand over” the draft document to the town and village boards for their consideration.

“The boards will review it and set public meeting” or meetings.

The process ahead also includes the completion of a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) by law, he explained.

“-And at some point it may be reviewed and accepted!”

Representatives from both boards have said publicly in past months that the upcoming review of the new document will be both thorough and lengthy.

Mr. O'Leary said the start of the work began over a year ago when the consultants took at look at many community planning documents produced in past years like the community's Smart Growth and revitalization plans, as well as others, produced over time here.

“A land use code protects private property owners plus advances public interest,” he said of the purpose of any existing or new law. “It manages development expectations and results in a community vision of building businesses, residences and appropriate development,” including an adherence to the laws of the Adirondack Park Agency and the state housing codes.

Prior to starting the study too the contractors surveyed the community and the condition of its buildings, giving weight to historic areas, Mr. O'Leary told the crowd.

Some of the specific historic buildings were listed in his presentation.

He said specific desires in the changing of local zoning regulations were spelled out to the consultants by the PAC members in a series of meetings this past year.

There were three drafts prepared by the consultants in the course of their work that the PAC members reviewed, he told the audience.

One of his slides showed how zoning can influence the appearance of a typical chain store in a community. It used Dollar General as an example and showed how the use of reasonable zoning laws can take a garish appearance and produce one with tasteful architectural and site designs, for an overall better appearance.

He also showed a slide where the placement of buildings would be in the lots of the various zoning categories, with set-backs, widths and such clearly detailed. “It shows lot owners and builders exactly what they can do on their properties!”

He said it helps people prepare for their site plan reviews when they come before the planning board for permission.

He said subdivision regulations haven't been changed much in the new draft law.

Mr. O'Leary said the “relief” from some of these rules will continue to be found at the zoning board of appeals which is empowered to grant variances from zoning regulations.

One of the changes in the proposal was conforming lot sizes and building set backs in historical areas of the community “to match the historical character” of the neighborhood.

He gave as one example the Park St. business district where there are building set backs in the current law which don't exist, as most buildings abut the sidewalk. Without the changes, if a building was torn down and a new one was built to replace it, it would have to be set back and would look out of place. “So we changed the laws to allow a new building to be aligned with the existing ones.”

Also removed from the existing law were some “nuisance commercial uses” in residential neighborhoods.

“Architectural overlays were added for the uptown and downtown business districts to prevent demolition and insensitive changes.”

He also said the new plan added more graphics for building placements on lots and for sign regulations.

Mr. O'Leary said there were few changes to the community's overall zoning map, which shows which uses are permitted and where by zone, ie: residential, commercial, industrial, etc.

He noted that the existing code possesses some “very archaic parking parameters and we adjusted those.”

Future adjustments to the local zoning law will be able to be made “much easier” in the proposal advanced, he told the interested taxpayers. The law will also be available in electronic form from now on.

He touched on one hot button topic in the proposed law, an issue very important to Mr. Amell, who maintains a recreational trailer on his River Road lot where buildings are not permited.

“The current law use code,” according to Mr. O'Leary, allows that tents and trailers cannot occupy a site in a campground for more than 120 days a year. “That's it,” regarding those.

The new code allows the same thing in campgrounds but adds a 14-day limit without a permit outside a campground. Thirty-day and additional 90-day permits will be available from the town and village clerks. Also added is that they must have water and waste water systems on site, he explained.

The sign section of the code has been “totally revamped” with some large, tall neon ones outlawed.

The only use change in the proposed law is for heavy industrial ones near or next to residential neighborhoods, he stated.

Mr. O'Leary said the intent of the morning's session was to give seasonal residents an opportunity to review and discuss any of the proposed changes. Several of those people were attendance.

Stuart Amell asked how the proposed changes for recreational vehicles on local lots effect residents who store their units at their residences.

Mr. O'Leary said that so far neither the town or village attorneys have dissected the proposed document. “The two boards aren't going to act until their respective attorneys review it.”

He said the views of the two attorneys is going to weigh heavily on how to “best approach” this portion of the proposed code.

“I can see how there could be some real confusion here,” Mr. Amell told him.

“I ride around town and see many campers beside houses, which I'm fine with.” He said many are hooked up to electricity and water and people are staying in them.” Most times guests stay there when visiting.

He said he wondered how it affects people in his situation who keep recreational vehicles on their private lots on River Road and other areas” where buildings can't be built.

He said he hoped those different situations were kept clear and separate in any new code adopted.

What constitutes a travel trailer or recreational vehicle and a campground are defined in the draft, Mr. O'Leary told one summer resident.

The digital version of the proposal can be obtained by e-mailing him or Mr. Edwards, he said.

In response to another question from Joel Soucy about the 120- day limit for recreational vehicles, the town official said that was a stipulation for a campground setting in the existing code.

Mr. O'Leary said the code does not address the storage of an unoccupied recreational vehicle on private property.

“That may be something that needs to be clarified in the future,” he felt. “That's where the consultation with the two attorney may come into play.”

Mr. Amell said that the issuance of yearly permit for recreational trailers was a more reasonable approach and would eliminate a lot of time and paperwork for the town and village staff members if the 30-day and 90-day permits became law.

“There's a lot of campers in this area.”

Mr. O'Leary said there are growing number of recreational vehicles in this town and any final law should help accommodate those owners.

River Road resident Larry Reandeau said he believes the recreational trailer law change could make Tupper Lake into “a gated community.”

He said years ago he was looking to buy a house in a gated community and when he learned you couldn't park a recreational vehicle on your lot, he didn't buy the house.

“Tupper Lake is not a gated community. I have a permit to park my trailer on my lot. It's called my taxes!”

He proposed that provision in the proposal be scrapped. “I don't see a lot of trailers beside houses in the community...I don't see the mess!

Mr. O'Leary told Mr. Reandeau to address his concerns with town and village officials who will ultimately accept, change or reject this proposal.

“I'm listening,” noted Councilman John Quinn.

Trustee Clint Hollingsworth, who was also in attendance and who regretted that he was unable to serve on the PAC, given his business and personal time constraints, said it will be up to both boards to thoroughly dissect this plan before any decisions are made. “We are going to be moving very slow on this” after public hearings and after thorough study.

The planning board on its own cannot adopt this into law, he told the audience.

Peter Edwards said in all the PAC discussions there was no mention of preventing private property owners from storing their recreational vehicles on their properties.

He said that was a big, unfounded rumor going through town that week.

“So when you're done with your camper for the season, park it on your private lot.”

Mr. Reandeau and Mr. Hollingsworth both said they felt preventing recreational vehicles from being stored on people lots was implied in the wording of that article of the proposed code.

“It was not the case, not ever the case,” Mr. O'Leary said echoing Mr. Edwards' comments.

Mr. Quinn promised that clarification of that issue will be contained in any forthcoming legal review before the final drafts are examined by the two boards.

A resident asked if family or friends will be permitted to stay in a recreational vehicle next to his house during a visit here and Mr. O'Leary said they could. If the stay was longer than 14 days, however, the homeowner would have to secure a 30- day or 90-day extension.

“-And there may not even be a fee for those permits,” Mr. Edwards speculated.

Mr. O'Leary said there is no wording in the draft plan that calls for a fee for those extensions.

Mr. Amell asked if written comments have been submitted to the PAC or to the code enforcement officers since the May 16 meeting. Mr. O'Leary and Mr. Edwards said they have not received any.

He wondered about any discussion by the PAC of grandfathering existing people who currently have recreational vehicles from any changes in a new ordinance.

Mr. O'Leary said he thought some grandfathering of issues had been discussed at one point in the meetings.

Mr. Amell said he learned from a town official that if a person is grandfathered in from a new law “we're all going to be very happy.” However, he said, there is a punishment.

The punishment, he said, was campers could never be upgraded and if the property was sold the new owner could never place another recreational vehicle there.

Mr. O'Leary said grandfathering was discussed, but only discussed, with no action taken to include it in the final version.

Mr. Amell said if it does become law, his lot on River Road loses all its value, “because if I sell it or hand it over to my kids” the new owners can never upgrade the campers.

“Or if in ten years it's rotten and full of mold, I have to get rid of it but never be able to place another camper there.”

“Is that what the discussion was? Why would you even discuss something like that?” Mr. Amell pressed Mr. O'Leary, who said all the discussion amounted to was about the grandfathering question. That's what committee (members) and meetings do!”

Mr. O'Leary said all it amounted to was “brainstorming.”

“So if a tree falls on my camper, I can't get another one?” Mr. Amell asked him.

“It was just a discussion,” the code officer assured him.

“This is what concerns me, Paul. I didn't hear any of that on May 16. I went there with an open mind and I was hoping it was going to be fair for all of us,” Mr. Amell continued. Since the, however, he has heard many troubling things from elected leaders here.

“Discussing something and making it law are two separate things,” Councilman Quinn told Mr. Amell.

“I understand that,” Mr. Amell responded, adding that to even discuss something that could result in the devaluation of his property really concerns him as a taxpayer. He said the mere discussion of such a provision “really disappoints” him.

Larry Reandeau strongly suggested to the planners that a single line be removed from the start of article No. 3. The line is: “in each zone, all uses are prohibited, unless specifically permitted.”

“What you are doing is writing a law that stipulates” that all future uses- things we may not even know about- are prohibited.

“When our founders wrote the Constitution of the United States, they didn't envision air planes and electricity and other things, including the new technologies, but they made a document to protect the people of this nation forever.”

“But you're about to write a zoning law that prohibits all uses unless it's in the document...you don't even know what things may happen in the future and what someone may want to do with their house” with new inventions. “That's got to come out of there!”

Pete Edwards said the line is contained in the current zoning law.

He said it was intended to prevent someone from putting a use in a zoning area it doesn't belong.

Mr. Reandeau said the line is subject to large interpretation and could be easily twisted by any attorney. “It needs to come out!”

Any questions or concerns should be addressed to the town and village boards “because they are the people who will ultimately strike things out or add other provisions,” according to Mr. O'Leary. “The PAC is done at this point. It is handing the proposal over to the two boards.”