Greene County’s new administrator, Shaun S. Groden, will be starting his new job at least two weeks earlier than originally anticipated, today's Daily Freeman reports. The 53 year old government official, who will be coiming to Catskill from a similar position in Michigan, was originally to begin his three-year term on Jan. 17. At its monthly meeting Wednesday, when they also passed a budget for the coming year, the county Legislature unanimously adopted a resolution moving up Groden’s start date. The resolution noted that Groden, who will be paid $132,000 per year, indicated he was able to begin his term earlier. He comes to Greene County after having served as county administrator and controller in St. Clair County, Mich. He will replace interim administrator Dan Frank, former owner and manager of Windham Mountain.



Groden holds a master’s degree in public administration from SUNY Brockport and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Before becoming county administrator in St. Clair County, Groden was the owner of HSHI Inc., a privately held hospitality corporation in Rochester. His resume also lists work in economic development.

Greene County’s current interim administrator, Dan Frank, said he will be available to assist Groden as much or as little as needed during the transition. He said he plans to leave the county “in good shape.”

Frank has served as interim administrator since January 2008, when Douglas Brewer retired.

In other business Wednesday, the Legislature unanimously adopted a resolution reappointing county Highway Superintendent Gary R. Harvey of Palenville to a four-year term, ending Dec. 31, 2014. Harvey, who will be paid an annual salary of $75,706, has been highway superintendent for more than a decade.

Additionally, the Legislature voted unanimously to appoint Patricia McAneny of Greenville as county Emergency Medical Services coordinator, succeeding Dan King. McAneny was appointed to a one-year term and will receive an annual salary of $6,180.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The symbolism of Kwanzaa..."][/caption]The Hudson Opera House held a preview celebration of Kwanzaa Saturday afternoon, the holiday which takes place over the seven days from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Operation Unite Director Elena Mosley, who puts together the preview celebration each year, told the gathering that Kwanzaa was created 34 years ago, Kwanzaa, which means “first fruits” in Swahili, according to a story in today's Register Star.

The Kwanzaa table, Mosley said, contains seven symbols:

* The mat, or mkeke, represents the foundation. “A good foundation leads to a strong world,” Mosley said. “Are you teaching your children the ABCs and the 123s before they enter school, or are you putting it on the school district?”
* The candleholder, or kinara, hand-carved of wood, she said, “gives us the opportunity to start our civilization, to look at our population, respect motherhood and populate the world.”
* The candles, or mishima, are red, black and green, the colors of the African-American flag. Red represents struggle; black represents the race; and green stands for Mother Earth. Each day of Kwanzaa, another candle is lit, representing one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
* The cup, or kikombe cha umoja, representing unity.
* The mizaya, or fruits and vegetables, are similar to what would be depicted in a Thanksgiving tableau; the most important food symbol is the muhindi, or ear of corn, which represents the children.
* The wrapped gifts on the table, or zawadi, are meant to remind one of ancestors and family. “You can give one gift each day of Kwanzaa, or you can wait until the last day,” Mosley said. She suggested children could make unity wreaths, books or photo albums to help the family keep its ancestors in mind.



This was followed by the candle-lighting ceremony, in which mature community members lit the seven candles and younger people raised up placards representing each of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja, or unity; Kujichagulia, or self-determination; Ujima, or collective work and responsibility; Ujamaa, or cooperative economics — “it’s all about putting money in your community,” Mosley said. “Are you remembering the local businesses in your community?”; Nia, or purpose; Kuumba, or creativity — “leaving your community better than how you found it”; and Imani, or faith — “faith in ourselves, our families and our communities.”

Hudson Area Library Director Corey Flemming called the library “one of the most important educational institutions ... When school is closed, the library is open. Parents, read to your children. I’ve noticed children just come to use the computers.” He threatened to “kick them off and introduce them to books,” and repeated his plea to parents to read to their children.

Operation Unite President Greg Mosley said the Unity Cup presented a “time to give thanks and remembrance ... Take a moment to think about someone who has had an influence on your life, who has made a difference in your life.”

He asked anyone who wanted to, to take a “symbolic sip” of the empty goblet, then pour a symbolic libation to “someone in your life.”

Janice Haynes honored her mother, Dorothy Cobbins; Christi Sisk honored Greg and Elena Mosley as people who had made a difference in her life; Ifetiyo Cobbins honored her mother, Janice Haynes; and others honored their mothers or grandmothers.

Then Mosley suggested others who were more shy remind themselves to “stop for a moment and give thanks to someone who meant something to you. Also, teach your children. If you don’t tell your children what your grandfather did, about their heritage, their history, it will disappear; you will have none. Do that one time in the course of the year.”

Susan Saltman then spoke about the photographs by herself and Carol Gans that are currently on display in the Opera House.

“Hudson has a sister city, Pallisa, Uganda,” Saltman said. “Elena [Mosley], Carol Gans and I went over there and took the photographs you see. The animals were from Kenya. The people live much more poorly than we do here.” She said money is being raised to buy mosquito netting for medical tents, and urged people to buy the craft items for sale.

Meanwhile, music and dance were woven throughout the program, whether it was the Beethoven and Chopin-with-improvisations piano pieces of Vladimir Pleshakov student Oswaldo Rosete, or the Bach piano piece of Sisk student Olivia Williams, the African dancing of Moirelle Braithwaithe, or the infectious improvisations of the Kuumba Dance and Drum Troupe.

Following the program, all were treated to a sumptuous feast of chicken, green beans, macaroni and cheese and pumpkin pie provided by Hazel Murray, and Kwanzaa presents were given to all the children.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="ColumbiaPage reports on a chimney fire on Route 66 in Ghent Saturday. Photo by Matt Busa for ColumbiaPage."][/caption]

John Mason in the Register-Star reports that Copake firefighters put out three burning piles of construction and demolition material at Salvatore Cascino’s Copake Valley Farm on Route 22 Saturday afternoon, after being called to the scene by a state Department of Environmental Conservation officer who was allegedly investigating illegally controlled burns. On Thursday, Cascino was found not guilty of a charge that he dumped more than 70 cubic yards of solid waste and petroleum at an unpermitted facility in Clermont.

From Radio Ink:

The Senate on Saturday passed the Local Community Radio Act. That followed the passage of the bill in the House on Friday, and the bill will now go to President Obama for his signature, opening the way for potentially thousands more low-power FM stations. The [National Association of Broadcasters] NAB, which had been opposing the bill over interference and other concerns, wrote to the House sponsors of the bill, Reps. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Lee Terry (R-NE) on Friday, offering support for a revised version of the bill that addressed the organization's concerns, and supporting passage in the Senate as well. The Prometheus Radio Project, which held a protest earlier this week outside NAB headquarters urging the organization to drop its opposition, was delighted by the bill's passage, though it said the amendments "will require some further work at the FCC." The group's Pete Tridish said, "A town without a community radio station is like a town without a library. Many a small town dreamer -- starting with a few friends and bake sale cash -- has successfully launched a low-power station, and built these tiny channels into vibrant town institutions that spotlight school board elections, breathe life into the local music scene, allow people to communicate in their native languages, and give youth an outlet to speak." The FCC created the low-power FM service in 2000, and there are several hundred LPFMs now on the air, all noncommercial.

The Saloon at East Durham, at 2212 Route 145, is not open yet (a Public Notice in Wednesday's Daily Mail said they are applying for a liquor license), but it already has a YouTube video:


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Stone Castle Inn in Cairo. Photo from their Facebook page."][/caption]
Just down the street, but in Cairo, at 194 Route 145, the Stone Castle Inn (formerly the closed-for-years Stone Tower Restaurant) is open noon to 2 a.m. every day, with a Facebook page and not much of a website.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="285" caption="Blackthorne Resort construction, from their website."][/caption]The Blackthorne Resort, at 348 Sunside Road in East Durham, got devasted by a fire last summer, but they have begun rebuilding, as seen in this photo on their website.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Kaz warehouses. Photo from The Gossips of Rivertown."][/caption]Gossips of Rivertown's Carole Osterink has researched what is happening to the old Kaz warehouses near the train station in Hudson, given the company's recent sale and other matters. A conversation with Mayor's Aide Carmine Pierro, she notes, yielded the information that Hudson Development Corporation has been the new owner of the warehouses since last week. Her story also uncovers much about how the Amtrak parking lot has changed since parking fees were instituted a year ago, with a growing realization that much of the space had been used for auto-storage. The Kaz, Inc. factory on Route 9 in Greenport, as well as its warehouses, have been for sale for the past two years, according to the Times Union. The industry once employed over 300.

A year ago, when it became known that the City, through HDC, might acquire these buildings, Mayor Richard Scalera said the idea was to demolish them in order to expand the long-term parking lot at the train station--for Amtrak passengers as well as people attending events at riverfront park. The plans are different now. When parking fees were introduced at the long-term lot, 30 percent of the cars that had been parked there disappeared. It seems that many people were using the lot to store vehicles. At its current size, the lot is more than adequate for the 140 to 150 cars that are parked there every day while their owners go someplace on the train, so, according to Pierro, the City is now hoping that some business will want to lease or buy the warehouses for a purpose that would create jobs. Those who live in proximity to the warehouses hope that purpose does not also involve the return of truck traffic to Cross Street and idling trucks at the loading bays.

Massachusetts newspapers, including the Berkshire Eagle, ran stories yesterday and today about how their State Police and other Mass. law enforcement agencies will now join a controversial program intended to help federal authorities detect illegal immigrants, with state Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan saying Massachusetts will sign an agreement to formally join Secure Communities, a federal program that screens all people who are arrested and fingerprinted to determine who is an illegal immigrant. Those here illegally will be reported to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will decide whether to detain and deport them. State officials are saying they agreed to sign up because the Obama administration has demanded that the system expand nationwide by 2013. Boston, which already runs the program, was a pilot for the system. However, state officials complained that the US government has sent them mixed signals on the system. The move marks a shift for the Patrick administration, which had adamantly opposed having the State Police help enforce immigration law and overturned former governor Mitt Romney’s pact with the federal government to deputize some state troopers to enforce immigration law.

Gov. David Paterson signed New York state onto the program in May, a move that is being protested and petitioned throughout the state, as is also happening in neighboring New Jersey, asnd is expected in Massachusetts.



The Massachusetts State Police will participate in a federal program that automatically checks the immigration status of those who are arrested, the state's top state public safety official announced Friday.

In a statement, Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan said the state will formally join a program called Secure Communities after months of deliberating by state officials.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement program allows arrestees' fingerprint information to be checked against FBI criminal history records and biometrics-based immigration records kept by the Department of Homeland Security. But the program has drawn fire from some Massachusetts-based immigrant advocacy groups who say it discourages legal and illegal immigrants from cooperating with police.

Heffernan said state officials concluded that they have to participate.

"It has become clear now that this program is going to be mandatory for all communities in the near future," Heffernan said in a statement. "With that knowledge we will sign the (agreement) with ICE."

Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, a Somerville-based immigrant advocacy group, condemned Friday's announcement and said the program is really aimed at targeting immigrants, not fighting violent crime.

"It is sad and it is very lamentable that in this state, that is considered one of the most progressive in the country, that the Patrick administration would sign onto something as odious as the ironically named Secure Communities program," Montes said.

The decision was also denounced by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and the ACLU of Massachusetts over concerns that ICE would keep data even in a wrongful arrest.

"Gov. Patrick has previously shown great sensitivity to the concerns expressed by the state's immigrant and refugee communities," said Eva Millona, executive director of the coalition, noting she was disappointed by the governor's reversal.

But the move was hailed by Attorney General Martha Coakley, who said she supported the decision.

"It is a positive step for public safety to ensure that we are properly identifying people who already have been arrested and sharing that information with federal authorities for appropriate action," Coakley said.

The Associated Press has a piece, published this morning in the Times Union, that takes a look at how typical taxpayers will fare in 2011 with the tax laws, some of it extensions and other parts new, signed into law by President Obama this week. All show significant savings but, as yet, none have started taking on what the actual changes are year to year, and whether there will be actual savings compared to last year. For that we'll probably just have to get a bit closer to April 15, 2011...


___

Taxpayer: A single person with no children, making $50,000 a year in wages. The taxpayer rents an apartment and pays $3,500 in college expenses.

Tax bill without the law: $9,255.

Tax bill with the law: $5,975.

Savings: $3,280.

Why: Income taxes would be lower because of lower tax rates and a more generous tax credit that helps students pay for college. Social Security taxes would be cut by nearly a third.

___

Taxpayers: A married couple with two young children and combined wages of $100,000. The couple also made $2,000 in qualified dividends and paid $7,400 in child care expenses.

Tax bill without the law: $18,576.

Tax bill with the law: $10,320.

Savings: $8,256.

Why: Income taxes would be lower because of the lower rates, a $1,000-per-child tax credit and a $1,200 tax credit for child care expenses. Dividend income would be tax-free at their income level. Wealthier investors would pay a top tax rate of 15 percent on dividends.

The couple would be spared from paying the alternative minimum tax and would save $2,000 because of lower Social Security payroll taxes.

___

Taxpayers: A married couple with a child in high school and another in college, with combined wages of $170,000. The couple also made $4,000 in qualified dividends and $5,000 in capital gains. They paid $16,000 in college expenses and had a total of $35,900 in itemized deductions from state and local income taxes, property taxes, mortgage interest and charitable contributions.

Tax bill without the law: $42,513.

Tax bill with the law: $31,331.

Savings: $11,182.

Why: Income taxes would be lower because of the lower rates and more generous itemized deductions for people with higher incomes.

Dividends and capital gains would be taxed at 15 percent, instead of higher rates that would have taken effect without the new law. At their income level, the couple wouldn't qualify for the child tax credit and would get only $125 from the education tax credit. However, they would save more than $3,600 because they would be largely spared from the AMT.

___

Source: The Tax Institute at H&R Block.

Note: Tax bills include federal income tax and Social Security payroll taxes.

It's become a regular news story in the counties to our south: a local home or business is broken into and their water pipes stolen. Not the sort of thing one wants to come home to. It's all about the copper, and prices the stuff is getting on the resale market down in the city.

Now, it's happening up here. Last Sunday, according to the Register Star, a Long Island man was arrested by the State Police after allegedly being caught in the act of stealing copper pipe from a Kinderhook residence he broke into, and from whence he is said to have cut several lengths of copper pipe from the basement, causing several hundred dollars worth of damage to the home’s heating system and also causing extensive water damage. According to State Police, a neighbor across the street noticed a vehicle at the house and knew no one was supposed to be there.



Robert J. Hammell, 23, allegedly broke into a Kinderhook home and cut several lengths of copper pipe from the basement, causing several hundred dollars worth of damage to the home’s heating system and also causing water damage.

No one was home at the time.

According to State Police Sr. Inv. Gary Mazzacano, a neighbor across the street noticed a vehicle at the house and knew no one was supposed to be there.

He said they were waiting outside for the police to arrive and saw Hammell coming out. They detained the suspect until authorities arrived, he said.

State Police from the Kinderhook station and the State Police in Livingston Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested Hammell and charged him with third-degree burglary, a class D felony, possession of burglar’s tools and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Arraigned in Kinderhook Town Court, Hammell was remanded to the Columbia County Jail pending further court action.

According to Mazzacano, “when the price of copper goes up, we get more copper thieves.”

Even with the worldwide economic downturn, copper prices have been increasing in the last six months and the theft of the metal has been escalating nationally as well.

Opinions of a public letter signed by the county’s Republican, Independence and Conservative party chairmen calling for the removal of Hillsdale supervisor and county budget officer Art Baer from all board responsibilities, and Baer's equally public response to the matter, were mixed among the members of the county Board of Supervisors interviewed in a Register Star story this morning in which two of the newspaper's reporters contacted each member of the Board of Supervisors to gauge their reactions to both the letter submitted by Conservative Party Chair Matthew Torrey, Republican Party Chair Greg Fingar and Independence Party Chair John Miller — calling Baer “autocratic and secretive” in his management, pointing out Baer’s “direct involvement in a series of failed policies and poor decisions,” among other charges — as well as Baer’s response to the letter, which was published in Thursday’s edition of the paper (and on this blog yesterday). which asserts that the “self-serving” party chairmen responsible for the letter desire a government run by “the good old boys.”

Some supervisors felt the letter was inappropriate and the matters discussed therein should have been dealt with more discreetly. The few defending the party chairmen were muted in their responses, basically saying that all issues should be placed under consideration. The prevailing view was that something seemed to be amiss within the Columbia County GOP.



“I think it should have been handled more privately instead of airing dirty laundry in public,” said Hudson Fifth Ward Supervisor Bart Delaney. “I never think that’s a good idea for anything, and it should be handled in the caucus environment. Obviously it wasn’t, and that’s too bad ... It was just the wrong way to do it.”

Ancram Supervisor Art Bassin echoed Delaney’s sentiments.

“The thing that struck me about the letter was ... I guess I really didn’t understand why they would write a letter like that,” said Bassin. “Clearly the three party chairs are frustrated with Baer, but writing a letter like this doesn’t seem like a constructive way to air their concerns.”

Bassin suggested that the party chairs aren’t happy with the Board of Supervisors “openness” and “candor.”

“What (Board of Supervisors Chairman Roy Brown) is doing is pretty much reaching out to everybody who wants to participate, the way Art did — Roy is communicating virtually everything by e-mail. There’s kind of a virtual caucus,” said Bassin. “Bottom line, I think on one level it’s a new style of politics Baer and now Brown are now bringing to the party ... the ability to discuss and argue and see things change. I think the party chairs don’t like that. I think they’re still operating with the theory that the supervisors do what the party chairs tell them to do.”

Bassin added, “I don’t think Art’s done anything except represent points of view — some of which he has got other supervisors to support, and some which he has not ... I don’t think there’s anything malicious or sinister about anything he’s done. Art had no power to do this on his own. He had to have support from the rest of the supervisors.”

Along the same lines, Hudson Third Ward Supervisor Bill Hallenbeck asserted that the accusations of Baer being secretive were unfounded due to the nature of the weighted vote system of the board.

“Certainly through conversations with all supervisors, including Art, I come to a consensus about whether I’m voting one way or the other,” said Hallenbeck, noting that he has consistently acted in a bi-partisan manner from a “constituent standpoint.”

“Art and I have disagreed on things and we’ve agreed on things, but that’s part of government,” said Hallenbeck. “I voted against a lot of things he probably didn’t want me to vote against ... Any decisions made are concluded at the time of the full board ... and everybody gets a vote on that, which I think eliminates any concern about somebody being secretive.”

Hudson Fourth Ward Supervisor Bill Hughes expressed similar feelings on the issue of every vote being a cooperative process, and by no means the action of a single person.

“People have to understand that we, as elected officials, are elected on the local level — (Baer) represents Hillsdale. He’s elected by those people to represent them. I usually try to reflect, and I’m sure he does as well, those (views) of his constituents,” said Hughes. “You have a group — they go in the office, they make these decisions, then they go and present it to us as the governmental body. He was effectively able to get a majority of supervisors to follow behind him. So, now, who is to take the blame for that?”

He added, “If I disagree with these guys, I vote no ... You can’t hold one person accountable for all these decisions.”

Other supervisors were also quick to rush to Baer’s defense, saying they have a fine working relationship with him and expressed their wishes to honor the voters who put him in office.

“I think it’s my job to respect the voters of Hillsdale who put Mr. Baer into office,” said Hudson First Ward Supervisor John Musall. “It’s also my job to work with all the supervisors in the most efficient and inclusive way I can. Therefore, I can’t really participate in the crucifixion of Art Baer.”

He added, “I’ve always had a good working relationship with Supervisor Baer and I will continue to work with him as long as I can.”

Clermont Supervisor Ray Staats called the party chairs’ letter “inappropriate” and didn’t understand why it targeted one individual.

“I think it singles out one person, the budget officer ... It’s a board vote, so everything that gets voted on has board approval,” said Staats. “I’m not happy with it ... I don’t know if there’s a side to be taken. I would need to have some more details on why they feel so strongly against Art Baer ... I’ve worked with Art for the past three years and from what I can tell, he has been doing — on the financial side — a fairly good job and I’m happy with that.”

Staats called Baer’s letter “a good response.”

“He laid out quite a bit of detail in his letter. It certainly sounds like he knows exactly what he’s printing.”

Greenport Supervisor Ed Nabozny said from a “big picture” point of view, the chairmen’s letter “appears to be an internal squabble in the Republican party,” but did not comment further on the matter.

Kinderhook Supervisor Pat Grattan expressed that he felt it was important to address the concerns outlined in the party chairmen’s letter.

“I think it’s important that all the supervisors listen to everybody’s comments about the current issues, including those of the party leaders, and I don’t think we can take any of them lightly — we can’t dismiss them,” said Grattan. “We should also be able to listen to the public and what they have to say about these issues.”

Livingston Supervisor Kevin McDonald, Taghkanic Supervisor and Republican Majority Leader Betty Young and Hudson Second Ward Supervisor the Rev. Ed Cross declined to comment on the contents of the chairmen’s letter. The remaining supervisors could not be reached for comment.

Kyle Wind in The Daily Freeman reports Woodstock-based singer and drummer for The Band Levon Helm was released from a New York City hospital Thursday night and returned to his Woodstock home, according to his manager Barbara O’Brien. “He’ll be at this Saturday’s Ramble, but he’ll be pacing himself accordingly,” O’Brien told the Freeman, referring to the Saturday night performances Helm gives at his home. “Steve Jordan, legendary drummer and great friend of Levon’s, will join us. We’ll set up two drum kits, and they’ll play side by side, often, throughout the night." The 70-year-old musician missed last Saturday’s Midnight Ramble because of the cold that forced him to the hospital.

The New Lebanon Central School District published a Public Notice requesting bids for surplus items such as baseball helmets, catcher masks, catcher helmets, an overhead projector, etc. Detailed information covering specifications and bid forms are available at the office of the District Clerk at the District Office, 14665 Route 22, New Lebanon, NY 12125 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Items may be seen by appointment. Please contact Krista Giangrossi at 518-794-9016 ext. 2001 to schedule an appointment. Sealed bids must be received by the District Office, New Lebanon Central School District, 14665 State Route 22, New Lebanon, NY 12125, marked “Surplus Items Bid” no later than December 29, 2010 at 2 p.m., at which time the bids will be opened.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="190" caption="Former Stewart's in Philmont. Photo from Philmont Beautification."][/caption]John Mason in the Register-Star reports a co-op grocery store and cafe will move into the space in downtown Philmont where Stewart’s just left. A community open house with a power-point presentation will explain what a co-op is and how this one on Main St. in Philmont will work, will be held at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 2 at 116 Main St., led by Philmont Beautification Executive Director Sally Baker, who is spearheading the effort. “The store will be owned by the people and run by the people,” Baker told the Register-Star. While this will be a small store, Hannaford plans new stores in New Lebanon and Livingston, and another large supermarket is in the planning stages in Cairo.

On a voice vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Local Community Radio Act of 2010, a bill that will create a few thousand new non-commercial low-power radio stations. The latest version of the bill must now be approved by the Senate before Congress adjourns, and signed by President Barack Obama. A National Public Radio story earlier in the week said an anonymous Senator, possibly with campaign contributions from the National Association of Broadcasters, was "holding" the bill there.

Lafarge DEC Presentation December 2010
Above, the Lafarge cement plant is sharing their presentation from the Dec. 8 DEC hearing on their "Ravena Plant Modernization Project." The Lafarge website also includes a post from the DEC presentation at that hearing.
DEC Lafarge Ravena Presentations: SEQR, UPA and Air Permit

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo from Dougtone's Flickr."][/caption]The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer (no website) reports the Town of Rensselaerville now recycles cardboard and paper through GreenFiber, netting the town $20 a ton where it once cost them $52 a ton to dispose.... Andrea Macko also reports in the Pioneer that the Town will not request from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the $373,000 extra it cost to fix the Pearson Road culvert, even though Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners recommended in an audit that they ask for the funds. "According to Conners, the Pearson Road culvert project was funded by FEMA to the tune of $21,130.31. However, this cost the Town an additional $373,676 to complete," Macko wrote, quoting the audit. "We didn't follow FEMA guidelines," Supervisor Marie Dermody said, according to Macko.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Kaz is selling their property and losing their tax break. Photo by Tom Roe."][/caption]Carole Osterink in The Gossips of Rivertown reports what happened at this morning's meetings of the Columbia County Capital Resource Corporation and the Columbia County IDA, both at their Route 9 office in Hudson. The CRC meeting began in executive session, and then they announced they would take no action today on the purchase of the old Walmart building and said further discussion was required. The CRC may purchase the building for the county to move in much of its services in the enormous space. After that, the Columbia County IDA approved the termination of the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) on the Kaz building on Route 9, in Greenport. "Kaz -- not the building but the business -- has been sold to a company called Helen of Troy, which makes hair dryers and other kinds of salon and spa appliances. The building in Greenport is not part of the sale. Kaz will keep it and continue to try to sell it. In the meantime, the PILOT on the building will terminate at the end of 2010, and the building will go on the tax rolls at full assessment at the beginning of the new year," Osterink reports.

From WNYT:

The federal government tells General Electric to dig deeper, take better samples and cap less of the Hudson River bottom when it starts the second phase of PCB cleanup in the waterway next year. The Environmental Protection Agency says Friday the company must cap a maximum of 11 percent of the total project area, not counting rocky or other hard-to-reach areas. That compares with 22 percent allowed in the first phase completed last year. Environmentalists worried that EPA would allow up to 24 percent to be capped, in which PCBs are left in the river and covered over. The EPA also says GE must take better samples to determine the extent of pollution. The agency found poor sampling meant dredgers didn't go deep enough the first time around.

"This is not going to be negotiated. There is no more opportunity to compromise," Judith Enck, an EPA regional administrator, said in a conference call with reporters....

"The statement about GE asking for a delay is flatly false," said Mark Behan, a GE spokesman. "As for her (Enck) combative rhetoric, it's unfortunate. We've had a constructive relationship with EPA during technical meetings this fall and we anticipate we'll continue with phase two of dredging if it reflects our understanding with EPA, if it's based on sound science and it can be achieved in the challenging conditions of the upper Hudson."

Art Baer, the Columbia County Budget Officer and Hillsdale Supervisor who was singled out by party chiefs for the county's GOP, Conservatives and Independence Party in a major public snit of late, has responded to those asking for his removal in a very public letter printed in local newspapers this week, including the Register Star. In it, he lambastes political officers for trying all they can to move the public world of government, an elected entity.

In responding to published letters criticizing my role as chairman of the county Board of Supervisors and its budget officer, I feel responsible to the citizens of Hillsdale, the Supervisors who have elected me to the position I hold, and to all county citizens whom I serve.

In these letters, I have been widely criticized for policies in my role as chairman of the board and most recently as budget officer. At first, I thought to respond by refuting each allegation point by point as being uninformed about how county government decisions are made, or as outright lies. This might have been instructive and thorough, but tedious to any but the most avid follower of county activities and governance.

One significant measure of performance for the county is the year to year change in the tax levy. Adjusting for inflation and uncontrollable costs such as pension fund contributions, the County has reduced expenditures (i.e. lowered operating costs) by almost $7.0 million over the past three years, which otherwise would have been in the tax bills. That’s real cash, not accounting entries and is a record attempted by the majority of counties in the state, but not achieved.

In fact, political party chairmen Fingar, Miller, and Torrey’s letters fail to identify the real problem they have with my leadership. It’s not about real performance, but rather about power and control of tax payer money, micromanagement of the Board of Supervisors, and more specifically, how it benefits a few who previously had, and now want to enjoy again, the benefits of “inside baseball.” I have stood, and do stand, in their way.

The list of abuses by the inside few in prior years is a long one and includes: six figure non-productive construction advisory contracts on the 325 Columbia Street County building; an attempted quick “flip” of land for a new County Commerce Park property at twice the price paid for it; undermining and bidding on property which the County wanted to build a campus including 1 City Centre; failing to detect major accounting errors at the Department of Social Services for over ten years, which severely affected our balance sheet and potential credit rating; Messrs Miller and Torrey trying to get me to agree to exorbitant wage demands by one of our unions because they had supporters in the bargaining unit; accusing me of trying to get tax concessions for Kohl’s when the spiritual leader of the Columbia County Republican Party (John Faso) was being paid as a lobbyist by the developer to secure those very concessions; and trying to coerce the current Chairman of the Board to either secure my resignation or fire me without cause, or else. The “or else” was explained as a future target placed on Brown’s back with a promise to try to stop any new legislation next year by the Board of Supervisors; and further threatening no political support for any incumbent who doesn’t vote Pat Grattan in as deputy chairman and county budget officer for 2011. I could go on, but perhaps an investigative reporter from this paper will see this as a series of reports rather than a one day bashing of Art Baer. I would personally welcome this examination.

The real issue is not whether I remain or don’t remain budget officer. It is about an attempt by a few self-serving individuals wrapped in a political blanket to control a government entity and thereby the selected distribution of taxpayer money. The old saying, subsequently disproved, is what’s good for General Motors is good for America. Applied here, it’s “what’s good for the good old boys is good for Columbia County.” This is wrong at every level and, regardless of my position next year, I will do everything in my power and encourage my supervisor colleagues and concerned county citizens to send a clear message that politics running government is bad policy, and politics mixed with greed is intolerable.

Art Baer
Columbia County Budget Officer
Hillsdale Town Supervisor