Follow Up on the News
Joan Munster was appointed as Chair of the town’s planning board with no explanation. Current Chair John Horn, who made an unsuccessful run for tax assessor in November, has apparently stepped down but will remain on the board as a voting member.
Keith Johnson, the town’s new Highway Superintendent, was sworn in by Town Justice Tom Crucet along with new town Council members Robert Stanley and Peter DiSclafani. Supervisor Robert Cross Jr., who was re-elected in November, was also sworn in.
It was DiSclafani, the board’s lone Democrat, that raised most of the questions and motions to table items on the agenda. Stanley had concerns too, and although a member of the board’s 4-1 Republican majority, the political newcomer has made it clear that he is not prepared to run with the pack all the time.
This was apparent during the vote on a resolution to appoint Joanne Kalb to the planning board to replace Glenn Miller, who resigned last month. Stanley voted against the action after a confusing moment about procedure. DiSclafani asked to table the motion to allow time to discuss it. Although DiSclafani was looking for a delay on the vote until next month, Cross began discussing the issue immediately after the resolution was read. The role call vote was quickly begun, and DiSclafani again asked that it be tabled. But Dennis Frano, a former Republican Councilman, shouted from the audience that a tabling motion could not be entertained because the voting on the resolution to appoint Kalb had already begun. Though no one seemed to know for sure, the board followed Frano’s lead and agreed that it was too late to table.
With no explanation, Stanley voted against the appointment. He later told reporters he did so over the issue of process. Stanley believes the position should have been advertised and other candidates interviewed.
Kalb is vocal member of the town’s Republican Party that made an unsuccessful run for town board at the GOP’s caucus last summer. She later was responsible for publishing a series of attack ads against the Democrats during the general election.
It should be noted that Frano was the only person allowed by Cross to speak during the meeting. At another juncture Phoenicia resident Joanne Rowly asked if she could say something and was quickly told by Cross “no.” This is an indication that the Supervisor plans to continue his double standard policy of allowing supporters to speak at meetings but no one else.
As for the issue of town Historian, the decision was successfully tabled after Councilwoman Jane Todd followed DiSclafani’s lead to hold off. The matter was tabled after current historian Maureen Nagy made an appeal to remain in the position.
Nagy, who was appointed last year after predecessor Charlie Zimmerman resigned, listed a host of accomplishments which included obtaining grants, installing kiosks filled with historical information about the community, being instrumental in the preparations for last year’s highly successful Bicentennial celebration and a video documentary on the town. She added that she now holds the position of secretary with the prestigious Ulster County Historical Society.
But despite these credentials, Cross offered the name of past historian Nancy Smith as Nagy’s replacement, something he had trouble explaining.
From the sound of his remarks, though, it appears Cross asked Smith to take over. He said she was “willing” to give it a try, but noted that she was quite busy.
DiSclafani suggested having Nagy and Smith serve as Co-Historians, given Smith’s hesitancy and Nagy’s zeal. Stanley agreed.
The Board also held off on appointing long time Justice Clerk Wendy Helm until discussing the matter with both Town Justices. They also appointed Chad Story, a member of the Ulster County Sherrif’s Department, as Assistant Dog Warden/Special Prosecuter. The position, which carries a salary of $2200 a year, was created to prosecute vicious dog cases in court.
“We had three last year,” Cross said.
On To A Tragic Lawsuit
According to O’Connor, who won a seat on the Onteora school board last spring based on her mission “to ensure this doesn’t happen to any other kids in this school district, or any other families like ours,” she and her husband braved the elements to attend a meeting between their lawyer and attorneys for the school district they are currently suing for $6.5 million.
The O’Connor family, represented by Steven Milligram of Newburgh-based Drake, Sommers, Loeb, Tarshis, Catania & Liberth, alleges that their 5-year old son was killed by an OCS bus driver whose medical condition was hidden by a former transportation supervisor.
Kevin O’Connor, a member of the high school football team, as well as local Babe Ruth baseball, was struck and killed by a 1990 Chevrolet station wagon owned by the school district and driven by district employee Paul Bresciani, 62 of West Shokan, on June 18, 2002, while working outside his parents’ business, Sheldon Hill Forestry Supplies on Route 28 in Shokan.
Bresciani claimed that he blacked out due to a recurring problem caused by dizziness brought on by an irregular heart rhythm, then veered off the road and struck the teenager. The O’Connor lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court a few months after the accident, alleges the district knew or had notice of the “dangerous (medical) condition ... for a sufficient length of time prior to the accident” and that former district Transportation Superintendent Michael Grehl falsified Bresciani’s certification.
A grand jury called in 2005 ruled that evidence in the O’Connor case did not support criminal charges. In an October 12, 2005 ruling, Judge Vincent Bradley of the NY Supreme Court weighed a motion by the defendants, Onteora School District et al, to have the entire O’Connor complaint dismissed on the basis that the death was the result of a singular “accident,” and that if it wasn’t dismissed, that their claims for damages and punitive be dismissed, against the plaintiff’s motion and cross-motion for “summary judgment” regarding liability. He denied all motions, finding, in his six page ruling, that Bresciani had a history of black outs based on his diabetes, tied to a continuing sweet tooth, and termed the O’Connor boy’s death, “a horribly tragic incident.”
The idea of punitive damages was tossed by Bradley based on his judgment that, no matter the facts of the case, Bresciani’s actions did not in any way indicate “reckless or wanton negligence.”
Both the O’Connors and the Onteora defendants, represented by Michael Catalinotto, Jr. of the Saugerties-based firm Maynard, O’Connor, Smith & Catalinotto, set the January 3 meeting in hopes of avoiding a jury trial set to begin January 9 in Judge Bradley’s court in Kingston.
Cindy O’Connor said on Tuesday that although she was not at liberty to discuss details of that morning’s meeting, all parties were now moving to trial.
“The school’s conceded full liability in the case,” she noted. “They said that everything in our lawsuit is true – everything we’ve been arguing for the past three years. They basically said that yes, they killed Kevin.”
Asked whether she would have to sign off on the suit, or any decisions regarding settlements or the upcoming trial, in her role as an elected trustee tied to the defendents, O’Connor said current Onteora Board President Dave Patterson has been scrupulous at keeping her away from all discussions of such matters.
“I don’t really know about that,” O’Connor said. “Dave calls me to say when they’ll be discussing the case so I can stay away… and then we go on to discuss our normal board business.”
O’Connor said her big issue in the case, and in running for school board last spring, has been to ensure procedures are followed so tragedies like that which took her Kevin’s life would never re-occur.
She cried Tuesday after returning home with her husband from the arduous drive to her equally arduous meeting.
“It’s been a long haul,” she said, noting that the first court session scheduled for next Monday, January 9, will likely be taken up with jury selection. She added that according to her attorney, the whole trial would likely last between two and three weeks.
“The facts of the Freeman article were correct,” said Neu, “but not the headline, which said Ashokan has been sold. It’s created a lot of panic, but nothing is going to change in the near future. Schools and weekend and summer groups have been calling asking how soon things are going to change. In fact, the camp would take ownership around this time next year, and it may not happen at all.” Circle of Life has agreed that Ashokan’s existing programs will continue to operate, and all current staff will be retained, but Neu said there is no guarantee how long that situation would continue.
Neu, who has worked for AFC for 24 years, would prefer to see the facility remain in the hands of SUNY-New Paltz. “SUNY has the reputation for being one of the best universities in New York, and we have the reputation for being the number one outdoor education facility in New York. It’s a good match. They should be proud of what we’re doing and proud of our affiliation. I’m enthused about the mission of Circle of Life, but there are a lot of variables. If they fail to get a viable business going, the property could be up for sale again. They’re making promises, but there are no guarantees. There’s security for the property and the employees in being affiliated with SUNY, and for those reasons, I wish the relationship would continue.”
Dr. Alicia McAuliffe-Fogarty is a child health psychologist who has had diabetes since the age of ten and founded Circle of Life when she was eighteen. The organization’s website notes that there are virtually no facilities for children with diabetes that address both their complex medical needs and the psychological issues involved in living with strict medical requirements that often exclude children from experiences such as summer camp. The not-for-profit organization has been offering a program integrating medical and social services for children with diabetes since 1996.
The website states, “Currently, the camp rents a facility for two weeks to host two camp sessions for 50 campers (ages 8-15) and 10 counselors-in-training (ages 16-17) each session. With a year-round permanent site, the Circle of Life Camp would offer eight week-long sessions of camp over the summer, hosting 60 campers and 10 counselors-in-training each session, offering our services to over 550 children each summer. The camp would also expand its programming and offer four winter weekends and two week-long vacation retreats for children and their families throughout the year.”
AFC is owned and managed by Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS), which operates such facilities as the campus bookstore and student cafeteria at SUNY-New Paltz. According to a memo to students and staff by CAS director Steve Deutsch, Circle of Life made an offer of more than the appraised value of AFC, and the CAS board voted 6-0 in favor of selling. “We got a fantastic offer,” Deutsch said by phone, “both in terms of a match with the goals of SUNY, Ashokan, and Circle of Life, and a good financial offer.”
Deutsch’s memo notes, “The facilities at Ashokan, which include an administration building and a number of bunkhouses, are outdated and sorely in need of renovation – the cost of which is estimated to be between $1 and $2 million. Other camps that we compete with for similar outdoor educational programming have more modern
facilities, which can make it difficult to attract business.”
Neu said programs for SUNY students account for about five percent of the facility’s income. First priority and special pricing are given to the twenty or so student groups that hold programs at AFC, such as the student senate retreat, leadership training for dorm leaders, and a five-day “Art and Nature” program held this fall. “It’s not used heavily” by SUNY, Neu acknowledged, although he feels there is potential for greater use, and he hopes to develop more programs for the university students, although he worries “it may be too little, too late.”
Deutsch said there are two facilities close to the New Paltz campus that have expressed interest in offering outdoor experiences to SUNY students. Brook Farm is a four-acre teaching farm a mile away, and nearby Mohonk Mountain House has an extensive outdoor education program.
Throughout most of its forty-year history, AFC has had an amicable relationship with the SUNY administration. “We’ve always been a little sideline thing, we made money and were not a burden and were available for their use,” said Neu. However, the current president of the university, Steve Poskanser, came on board just after 9/11, when business at AFC dropped precipitously for about two years. Since 2003, schools and other groups have resumed their visits, and Neu said the campus has completely revived to pre-9/11 levels, but the two-year financial loss made the new administration doubtful.
“They questioned whether we were serving the needs and mission of the main campus,” said Neu. “But they might be missing that we serve a much larger community. There is a lot of good will generated by the school programs, the retreat business, the summer music and dance programs. The university’s core mission is education, and that’s what we’re about. We’re seeing an alarming disconnect of kids from nature. That’s one of the reasons it’s hard to attract SUNY students to make the 45-minute drive to Ashokan.”
Neu feels that AFC’s role in fostering a connection with nature and history is beneficial for the SUNY students and for school groups that attend regularly. Local elementary and high schools send classes to the campus for day programs, while school groups from as far away as Long Island visit for three to five days at a time, supervised by AFC staff, who teach colonial crafts, forest and pond ecology, orienteering, Native American lore, cooperative games, living history, and other programs. The staff positions provide jobs for outdoors-oriented young people just out of college. At least two former AFC counselors are now teaching in the Onteora school district.
Groups that hold retreats at the center range from “blacksmiths to Girl Scouts,” said Neu. AFC’s working blacksmith forge provides training for professionals and non-professionals in the field. There are programs for Native American groups, yoga and religious retreats, and four to six Girl or Boy Scout weekends per year. Each summer, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason hold three weeks of music and dance programs, with up to 170 people per week attending. Wayfinder, an outgrowth of Adventure Game Theater, has begun holding summer sessions at AFC. Programs for teachers occur several times a year, with weekends focused on curriculum and skills for teaching outdoor education.
With a new marketing manager, Neu hopes to expand the campus offerings still further. This fall’s Harvest Festival was a big success, he said, with high attendance from the community, and a Winter Weekend is planned for early February. “I’m also hoping we can shore up our relationship with the university. It may not be too late. Through the years, there’s been other talk of the campus being sold, but it’s never come to fruition. Now that the news is public, there may be enough dissent to change the direction this is currently heading.”
Neu’s biggest fear is that if Circle of Life is not successful in running the facility as a business, they will end up having to sell the property to a buyer that would not maintain the current programs or mission. “There are deed restrictions and conservation easements that make it more difficult and less attractive to anyone hoping to develop the land. But it could happen, and it would be a tragedy for our future generations to lose access to this Catskill gem called Ashokan.”
Stanley’s family moved here when he was eight from Freeport, Long Island. An Onteora and New Paltz grad who studied playwriting and English literature, The 36 year-old father of two, just elected to the town board, said that in preparation for his first meeting as a board member he’d been reading Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.”
“It’s amazing when you look back at this stuff from 200 years later. The Declaration of Independence still holds. The Constitution still holds. As society progresses each generation finds what they think are flaws but that doesn’t change anything and you don’t change the document. It lives, it works… “Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” That’s Emerson. That’s what I had running through my head tonight when I was sitting there.
“There are people” said Stanley “ that come to town board meetings – on both sides of most questions - and they’ve been given misinformation, rumor, or heard accusations, and they do not know the facts. The town board as a public entity can only get so much information to you. You have to dig for yourself sometimes.”
An actor by training in recent years and long involved with STS, “I love theatre,” Stanley said. “I love working with a bunch of people and trying to get them to work toward one goal. I love watching the troupe grow to be a family, supporting one another, helping one another. .It’s that camaraderie that comes from working through things together. I ’m hoping that’s what I can bring to the town board. “
When I was campaigning, what people wanted to know about was the issues of the town, and some of them are different depending on where people live. In Phoenicia the wastewater treatment plant and its costs are a big concern to a lot of people. In Pine Hill it’s getting good, clean water. But I think generally people don’t want to see too much change. They don’t want to see things change so drastically that we can’t go back. One of the things that really opened my eyes was stereotyping. You don’t want to put a label on anybody but when it comes to politics it’s OK to say if somebody’s a Republican they’re this, if somebody’s a Democrat they’re that. And it’s not always the case. There were a lot of Democrats who were willing to support John McCain when he tried to run for President against George Bush. I supported him. I thought he had good ideas.”
“My perception of what happened during our town election is that people were really taking a look at the candidates and weighing the options and listening to what they said. And there are tough choices. You’re looking at a spectrum of development versus environmental awareness or security and we need to keep a balance. Because if we go too far one way or the other we’re going to hurt ourselves in the end.”
Asked about the town’s Comp Plan which he helped draft, and characterizations that it’s heavy weighted to favor the town’s tourism industry, “We have to face the fact,” he said, “that tourism is a huge boost to our economy, no ifs, ands, or buts. If we don’t have tubing and fishing and hiking and biking during the summer, Phoenicia’s a ghost town. Look at Pine Hill. In the middle of summer you can walk through town and never see a soul. Now you can’t even drive through town. The cars are parked on both sides, there’s no parking spaces, the restaurants are packed. This is what happens during the winter. Belleayre brings that business in. We are a tourist destination, this is a state park.
“If we didn’t have a state park,” he said, “who knows what kind of development would be going on here. Regionally, down in New Paltz, southern Ulster County, it’s booming. It’s development going crazy. They’re subdividing lots and selling them off all over the place and there’s no regulation. The reason the Belleayre Resort is such a big issue is that we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. We don’t have much more developable land. And people are concerned that we’re limited in our space. But I think part of our problem is we stay too localized. That we need to look at ourselves as being not just Shandaken or Ulster County. We need to say we’re in the Catskill Park with all these other areas, and get it together so we have programs to promote each other and our region as a whole. We all need to think more regionally, and we need to have an informed, involved public. “
“Emerson,” said Stanley, said that “society moves in a wave, the wave may pass but the water remains.” No matter what, Shandaken will be here. Shandakenites will be here. Old families, long-term residents, we will still be here. Living, working, raising our kids, doing whatever we need to do. No matter what happens, whether the resort goes through or not. That’s the point that a lot of people miss. Yes, there are things that are going to change. If this sewer treatment plant goes in it’s going to change, dramatically change, the way Phoenicia works and runs. And it could open up some very positive opportunities. But the cost factors are real ones and I don’t think they should be our problem. It’s the City that’s under court order to protect the quality of its water, and they’re the ones who should be paying to help maintain that, not us.
Asked what’s important to him right now, Stanley didn’t hesitate for a second. “RIGHT now? …Skiing,” he said. “Being up on the hill at Belleayre. I’ve been working there since ’87 and I just love it. Yesterday, with the little bit of snow we had, I got out deep into the woods with a couple friends...I love the exhilaration of coming down that hill, ripping, powder flying, and you just hear a song or the music in your head. There’s nothing better in the world.”