Follow Up on the News
The CCC was formed based on receiving a state level grant of a half million dollars set aside for local collaborative projects as part of former Governor Eliot Spitzer's Agreement in Principal to move the proposed Belleayre Resort project forward. The funds were to pass through CCCD, who would handle administration responsibilities; but then the promised funding failed to materialize as state finances quickly fell into shambles following the Wall Street collapse.
Eventually, the Catskill Watershed Corporation was asked to fund the CCC, and that agency's Board of Directors contributed $50,000 of start up funds to take the place of that state money that never arrived.
On July 22, the supervisors and mayors of the member municipalities (the Towns of Hurley, Olive, Shandaken, Middletown and Andes, and the Villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville) were asked to consider entering into an intermunicipal agreement that would call for each to contribute funds to keep the CCC going. Part of the reasoning, Manning has previously explained, is that such an effort would help the Scenic Byway application by proving the towns applying for it were willing to share services and responsibilities... a key component of such designations.
This week, Olive town supervisor Bert Leifeld said the plan received a chilly reception.
"The idea is that all the towns would cooperate and contribute a stipend," Leifeld said Tuesday. "There's a lot of questions here. Lets face it. The towns are going to be competing for money for projects. So, is everybody happy with the idea of this agreement? No."
He added that the timing is poor, given that towns are already financially strapped... and many had recently turned down similar shared services contracts, pushed by a state program, from Ulster County.
Shandaken Supervisor Robert Stanley had a similar reaction.
Noting that his town has just been hit with the added expense of having to defend itself against a lawsuit brought last week by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, over assessments on its Pine Hill water plant property, Stanley said he recalls two years ago when the town first considered joined the CCC.
"We agreed to get involved because it wasn't going to cost us anything," he said.
Stanley said he would review the proposal, but added, "I don't think it's going to happen."
Similar sentiments came from Martin Donnelly, the Supervisor of the Town of Andes.
Since forming in 2008 then the CCC has been meeting regularly. The CCC is a group of representatives from seven municipalities along the NYS Route 28 Corridor and is an "intermunicipal coalition formed to protect and promote the assets of the corridor and advance projects for the economic benefit of the Central Catskills Region."
In 2008, each municipality adopted a resolution and designated two members each to the Collaborative to begin a regional dialogue.
Fleischmanns representative John Duda, the Chairman of the CCC, notes that last Thursday's meeting marks the beginning of discussions on how to proceed, and there are other options.
"It's not like we are going to town boards next month asking them for money," he said.
In fact, that may never happen. According to Duda, there are two other options under investigation, one of which is to create a nonprofit entity, and the other is to have the CCC exist under the umbrella of another organization such as the Catskill Center. All three are being explored, he said, and all have pros and cons.
As for the much-touted plans, and municipal assessments of cultural, historical and scenic treasures each town's representatives have been culling in recent months, it seems such things will have to wait, for now, before being publicly disseminated.
Manning was unavailable for comment for this article, being away on his summer vacation.
Less than a week later. on July 26, School Board Trustee Donna Flayhan resigned with one year left on her three-year term. School board president Laurie Osmond will be recommending that the board call for a replacement process and appoint a new trustee sometime in September. Details will follow at the next board meeting on August 3.
Flayhan, a communications and journalism professor at SUNY New Paltz, said in a phone conversation that her family is moving so their commute to work and school will be shorter. Her husband works for the Kingston School district and the family's two kids will attend Kingston schools. She explained that the move was an accumulation of "quality of life, daily life and education." Her kids previously attended Woodstock Elementary and she said they received a great education.
Flayhan explained that the move is not specifically because of Onteora, but timing wise it was good since Bailey Middle School begins at grade six, making all the kids including her daughter new to the school.
However, Flayhan warned that families were leaving the Onteora district or placing their children in private schools. She believes that it partly had to with parents being uncomfortable with their kids attending Middle School in the High School.
"Obviously, something is amiss, as we all know," Flayhan wrote in an email statement, "But I feel that Onteora can really turn around under the Board of Education leadership and their work through shared decision making to hire a new Superintendent, and their work with the wealth of great teachers, staff, students, and parents to make the schools thrive."
School board members must live within the district they are elected to represent.
Osmond said at Tuesday's board meeting that trustees plan to meet on August 12 with Martin Ruglis, BOCES Superintendent, for the purpose of "defining the parameters" on the Superintendent search. BOCES will be used as the search service, offered free of charge except for newspaper ad space.
Osmond then introduced Gregory.
"We are thrilled that she is going to be with us," she said. "She has 34 years of experience, 20 of which were as a permanent superintendent at three different schools and the other 14 years at schools almost too numerous to count."
This includes neighboring Saugerties Central School district, where Gregory was acting superintendent for one year between 2000 and 2001. She retired in 1997 from Bath Central School district in the Finger Lakes area of New York, where she was Superintendent for eleven years. Following her retirement, she has been working to fill in as a temporary employee in other school districts. She resides in Bath and is originally from Binghamton, New York.
Early in her career, Gregory moved around during her tenure as an English teacher, including stints in Hawaii and Iowa. Osmond said she was found through a recommendation from the district's lawyer, John Donahue. Overall four people were contacted through various recommendations. Osmond said Gregory had the most experience out of the four.
Gregory is a proponent of small and rural schools, serving on various state and national committees throughout her career.
"I am pleased to have the opportunity to help in any way that I can," Gregory said. "Whatever the board's interest is, we can get together and we will work on it."
And the first order of board interest was the search for a new superintendent.
Board trustees tossed around ideas on creating a shared decision making committee that would be made up of different stake holder groups including teachers, administrators, parents and students. Concerns were expressed that this may not be the right path to take, noting that too many people may be involved with too many hours spent in committee.
"If I may suggest, you may want to have two parallels going," Gregory suggested. "The board operating in its role and the various committees are in their role and you are constantly reaching over and getting the information from the committees."
She said the committee structure generally consists of 12 to 15 representatives from different stakeholder groups.
"When Marty (Ruglis) comes in, he'll have an organized process that you can pick and choose, a smorgasbord of kinds of things that you'd like to put together," Gregory added. "But basically, what the BOCES superintendents try to do is get it organized so that representative groups - either the leader or designee - are part of the process."
Gregory added that it was important that input come from ALL stake holder groups, but ultimately the board chooses a superintendent based upon how well that person interacts with its employees.
"We really welcome input from the outside and what people think so they're advisory tools," she said. "But the reality is don't be offended when the board hires a candidate that thinks it will be the best fit for the district, because they're the ones that will have to work with these people all the time."
The recently-departed Dr. Leslie Ford was hired with much protest from the teaching and non-teaching unions.
During the past two Onteora superintendent searches, the school board of that time used an employment search service for $18,000.
Ford submitted a letter of resignation July 9, 2010.
A Freedom of Information request (FOIL) outlined twelve pages of details in relation to the financial and legal agreement between the Onteora school district Board of Education and Dr. Ford. The agreement states that a sum of $75,893.37 will be paid effectively upon her resignation as Superintendent of the district. Of that amount, $59,393.37 will be in the form of a lump sum and $16,500 will go into an IRC Tax Sheltered Annuity. Ford will receive an additional $6,668.40 in ten unused vacation days and $1,207.50 will go toward paying 50 percent on her term life policy, disability, dental and optical benefits. Her total immediate financial package equals $83,769.27. This sum will be paid out of the salary line in the budget.
Additionally, Ford will receive full family health insurance coverage until the end of her initial contract on June 30, 2011 or upon obtaining other employment. Ford's yearly health insurance totals $40,023 according to the 2010/2011 proposed budget report.
The reason for Ford's early departure is explained in the agreement as "irreconcilable differences," but no specifics were given. Within the agreement, School Board President Laurie Osmond acknowledged Ford's resignation and "wishes her well in her future endeavors."
Ford relinquishes all rights to bring lawsuits against the school district unless the contract is breeched. The board of education and Ford agree not to discuss details with the public or make any derogatory statements against each other.
In June, the board chose not to renew Ford's contract that had one year left and a salary of $160.040. A previous school board hired Ford in February 2007.
"EAB is very difficult to eradicate," said Michael Courtney of the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Plan. Although the Shandaken-based agency's main focus is addressing the stream-related needs of the Ashokan watershed, it also participates in the Catskill Region Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP), which is strategizing how to deal with the EAB threat.
Although it may be just a matter of time until we lose our ash trees, the goal at this point is to slow down the spread of EAB. "It takes a long time for the population to build up," explained Courtney immediately following a CRISP conference call, "but the insects can fly a long way. And once it takes hold, trees fall apart quickly. We're trying to slow it down so we'll have time to plan ahead."
Especially in urban and suburban areas, officials need time to plan strategies for removal of trees, which weaken and fall simultaneously in the hundreds or thousands, with the potential for causing injuries. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), "New York has more than 900 million ash trees, representing about seven percent of all trees in the state, and all are at risk."
Shandaken's ash trees serve as an important source of firewood, since they do not need extensive drying and will even burn when green. Ash has long been a favored wood for tool handles and baseball bats, such as the products of the bat factory that operated at the bottom of Fox Hollow Road until about a decade ago. Many owners of woodstoves used to visit the factory regularly and drive away with a trunkful of scrap wood to supplement their firewood. Homeowners tend treasure their ashes, which are graceful shade trees.
Another insect threat that has not reached us yet is the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), which is somewhat easier to contain but has an appetite for all hardwoods and could decimate our stately maple and oak forests. Unlike the forest tent caterpillar, a destructive native species that distressed us a few years ago when it culled trees from our forests as part of its natural cycle, these invasive pests have no natural predators locally and can destroy vast quantities of trees.
Now that EAB has been found locally, the recommendation is not to move firewood more than two miles. (The law limits transport to 50 miles, and the exception is commercially available wood that has been treated by heating in a kiln to destroy potential infestations.) The DEC is participating in monitoring efforts that focus largely on campgrounds and industrial receiving centers in the Hudson Valley, two areas that could be responsible for importation of insects. The creatures could hitch a ride with campers who illegally bring in untreated firewood or with shippers who transport shipping crates from Asia. "We're checking trees around those areas to see if anything shows up," said Courtney, who will be attending a training to learn the protocol for monitoring.
But he says it's more likely that a local person, rather than a researcher, will find an infestation first. That's why residents are encouraged to learn what ash trees and EAB look like, and to check their trees frequently for excessive tree canopy dieback, yellowing and browning of leaves, and the D-shaped exit holes in the bark. Leaves sprouting directly from a trunk are a sign of stress and may point to infestation, although they may be caused by other stresses as well.
White ash, the local woodland species, has deeply furrowed bark whose ridges form diamond shapes. Each leaf has multiple, oval, sharply pointed leaflets. Twigs are thick and opposite, with pairs of leaves/twigs meeting on opposite sides of the branch. For more details on ash identification, see http://www.emeraldashborer.info/files/E2942.pdf.
EAB is a metallic green insect, smaller than a penny. The DEC website states, "Adults are roughly 3/8 to 5/8 inch long with metallic green wing covers and a coppery red or purple abdomen. They may be present from late May through early September but are most common in June and July. Most trees die within 2 to 4 years of becoming infested." For photos and information, see http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html.
ALB is larger, around an inch long, black with white spots and having long, spotted antennae. See http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html.
If you discover either of these insects, try to trap one and bring it to the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management office on Route 28, west of Phoenicia, or to the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Kingston. Call the Ashokan office at 688-3047 for more information.
The theater has furnished a creative outlet for innumerable local people aching to burst out of their shell. I was one of those people, snagging the role of a Russian hoodlum in the 2001 production of "Fiddler on the Roof", and going on to serve on the board of the theater, perform in other plays, and even direct a few shows. My daughter, Sylvia Gorelick, who went from Tevye's youngest child in "Fiddler" to the part of Anne Frank and beyond, is among the many children and teens who have developed discipline and self-confidence on the STS stage.
The director of that "Fiddler" was current Shandaken town supervisor Rob Stanley, while president of the STS board of director nowadays is Linda Burkhardt, longtime Olive town council member.
Audiences from far afield support town businesses with their purchases, and community bonds have been strengthened by both the collective audience experience and the teamwork of putting on shows. In the last few years, a monthly classic film series has been added to the roster of musicals, drama, comedies, and original work presented several times a year.
Our proximity to New York City has attracted many former professionals to STS, especially those weary of the rat race, who contribute their formidable skills while doing the kind of theater they enjoy in a (relatively) relaxed atmosphere. Now, for the first time, as the Festival of the Voice brings world-class opera performers to Phoenicia, STS is mounting a truly professional production, with local resident Ricarda O'Conner directing the musical revue "Closer Than Ever" from August 14 to 21.
STS artistic director Amy Wallace is one of those escapees from the Manhattan theater world and the only cast member in the four-person show who is not a member of Actors' Equity. As a board member, she discovered that more and bigger grants are available to a theater that's putting on a professional production. The actors' union has a Special Appearances contract, which allows shows with up to three Equity actors to appear in a non-Equity theater at rock-bottom pay rates.
A $5600 grant from the Dutchess County Arts Council will enable the theater to use the entire ticket revenue for its "Raise the Roof" drive to fund replacement of the theater's aging roof.
O'Conner describes "Closer Than Ever", by Richard Maltby, Jr., and David Shire, as a play performed entirely in song. "Because we're doing it as part of the Festival, we chose a singer's show, although everyone has to be a superb actor as well," explained O'Conner, who has directed the show once before. "It's from the point of view of someone who's lived for a while-someone on their second marriage, when parents are ill, when you start having your own children, how everything you've planned in life is going along-or maybe not."
She auditioned actors both upstate and in Manhattan. Because the dragging economy has forced many regional theaters to cut their budgets, a large pool of talented actors was available. O'Conner had already cast Wallace, whose singing voice she describes as "phenomenal". She called back 25 actors for the other three roles.
"There are wonderful solos, duets, and choral pieces," she said, "so the blend of voices is important. The harmonies are intricate. At callbacks we taught them two of the group numbers to see who picked it up fastest, but most important was listening to how the voices blended."
Joining Wallace onstage will be Alex Agard, Austin Ku, and Janna Cardia. "The four of them sounded amazing together," said O'Conner. "They had an ensemble feeling immediately." For musical director, she chose Eric Thomas Johnson, an award-winning young composer and pianist, "a consummate musician with great intuition and full of joy," said O'Conner. Local singer Chuck Sokolowski, who performed in the recent STS production of "Godspell", will join the cast on one number.
"They're all so nice," said Wallace, "If you have to do a terrifyingly short rehearsal period, they're the ones you want to do it with." Actors will arrive at the one week of rehearsal already knowing the songs inside out. "I once put 'My Fair Lady' up in eleven days with a cast of thirty," said O'Conner, "so I know it can be done."
As director and choreographer, O'Conner worked professionally off-Broadway in New York and in American regional theater for Eastman Opera Theatre, Candlewood Playhouse, New American Theatre, and other venues. "I moved to New York from California with one suitcase at the age of 18," she recalled. "Pretty soon I was dancing on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with Tommy Tune. I wanted a ballet career, but I didn't have the right body. But I could sing."
She loved working in musical theater, but when she was in her mid-forties, the work dried up. She transitioned into writing and teaching, married, and began to spend time in Phoenicia, where she has been a yoga instructor and energy healer for the past three years. She is delighted to be back in the director's chair.
Wallace has been a whirlwind of energy at STS since 2008, bringing her skills as actress, singer, director, choreographer, and organizer to the theater. Most recently she directed the spring musical "Godspell", filling in as performer at the final show. She majored in theater at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, where she enjoyed the high-quality productions of plays she loved. "Then I did a little professional work," she said, "and I realized the actor's life is not for me. I don't like traveling or living in the city, doing random productions of 'Oliver!'. I love living in Phoenicia."
O'Conner and Wallace are still fundraising to help pay the actors, and people they know have been generous. When you see the legend "Alice Ottavi presents" at the top of the show's poster, you'll know that it's a tribute to O'Conner's mother-in-law, who gave $2000 to the production.
O'Conner noted, "When I put the check in Amy's hands, she burst into tears."
"Closer Than Ever" will be presented at the STS Playhouse, 10 Church Street in Phoenicia, on August 17, 18, 19, 20 at 8:00 pm and August 21 at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Call 845-688-2279 for reservations (or to donate to the production or the new roof!) The performance on August 14 at 2:30 pm is part of the Festival of the Voice, and tickets for that show only may be purchased through phoeniciavoicefest.com. For further information and directions, see www.stsplayhouse.com.
At the July 22 corporate meeting, five people were elected to the STS board of directors: Marcy Thorn, Maria Todaro, Michael Mills, Geneva Benton, and Ann Davies. Linda Burkhardt was re-elected president of the board, with Mills serving as vice president. Dave Appleby will continue as treasurer and Nancy Patterson as corresponding secretary. Thorn will serve as recording secretary.
Dear Supervisor Stanley,
The Town of Shandaken has been considering the issue of a wastewater project for the hamlet of Phoenicia since 1997. During the intervening thirteen years, over $1.6 million of New Infrastructure Program (NIP) funds has been invested in the various evaluation and design requirements, including a bid, for a WWTP project. As you know, the last step prior to construction - establishment of a sewer district - was defeated in a public referendum in 2007 by a vote of 156 to 123.
Following defeat of the referendum in 2007, the City agreed to maintain NIP funding for the Phoenicia NIP project and allow the Town leaders and Phoenicia residents time to reconsider its options with respect to a wastewater project. The City then processed several time extensions to allow the Town, government additional time to explore the feasibility of a Vegetated Sand Bed (VSB) wastewater system. When it was determined that a VSB wastewater system was not feasible, the Town requested additional time to pursue Requests for Proposals for an MBR WWTP and the City agreed in July 2009 to allow the Town to restart the design phase and engage an engineering firm . for this purpose. In September 2009, the Town indicated that it was interested in the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) managing the Phoenicia NIP project because of CWC' s successes in other communities. Following meetings with the Town and CWC, the City supported the Town's proposal to have CWC manage the project. The Shandaken Town Board and CWC have agreed to work together and move forward with the Phoenicia NIP project The CWC Board of Directors approved entering into an agreement with the Town on July 6, 2010.
The purpose of this letter is to spell out specific milestones and timeframes that will be required of the Town Board of Shandaken (Town) for advancing the Phoenicia NIP project from this point forward which are consistent with the CWC-Shandaken agreement and include additional milestones required by DEP. These required timeframes are as follows:
No later than October 12, 2010 the Town must execute an exclusive contract with ewe to advise the Town and manage the project consistent with the Agreement approved by the ewe Board of Directors;
No later than 12 months after execution of Shandaken/CWC agreement, CWC will complete its review of wastewater treatment options for Phoenicia and present its recommendation to the Town;
No later than 60 days after DEP Approval of the ewe recommendation - the Town must pass a resolution to move the project forward. If Town passes a resolution, the pre-construction phase referenced in the CWC agreement commences;
No later than 6 months after Town resolution to proceed with the preconstruction phase, the Town must establish the requisite Sewer District;
No later than 12 months after Town resolution to proceed with the preconstruction phase, the design shall be complete and Town must put the project out to bid;
No later than 18 months after Town resolution to proceed with preconstruction phase, Town awards bids;
No later than 2 years after the Town awards bids, construction must be complete.
The New Infrastructure Program was developed during negotiations leading to the 1997 Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and was seen by all parties as a major benefit to West-of-Hudson communities, It remains a voluntary program. The Town of Shandaken has expended over $1.6 million of City funding to date on consultants to study and design' a wastewater facility for Phoenicia. Through a series of time extensions, the City has supported the Town's endeavors to see a wastewater project to fruition.
However, the NIP is not an ongoing, open-ended commitment by the City to fund a wastewater project for Phoenicia. Absent the Town meeting the timeframes listed above, the City will initiate termination or default proceedings pursuant to the Town's agreement with EFC under which the City has third-party beneficiary rights for such action and the remaining block grant funds will no longer be available to the Town for a wastewater treatment project for Phoenicia.
The Department continues to believe that a wastewater project for Phoenicia is in the best interests of residents, businesses. and the environment. We hope that the community will avail itself of this last opportunity for a wastewater project under the NIP program.
Very truly yours,
Jeffrey D. Graf, Chief,
Watershed Lands
& Community Planning
New York City Department of
Environmental Protection
The issue of the CWC Contract, reported in our last edition, will likely come up in tandem with the subject of this letter at the town board's next meeting, on Monday, August 2. Should no decision be made on these matters then, two more meetings will take place before the city's October 23 contract deadline. We'll keep you informed how this long-pending story progresses from here on in.