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Volume 15, No. 23
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, March 23, 2023
Second Lawsuit Filed Regarding Averill Road
Opposition Builds to Governor Hochul’s Part N Amendment
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
STAFF REPORT
COOPERSTOWN fter submitting a “Partial Observer” commentary to “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta” last week regarding concerns about work being done on the Templeton Foundation’s Averill Road property, environmental lawyer Douglas H. Zamelis has filed a second lawsuit against the Village of Cooperstown Board of Trustees, the Village of Cooperstown zoning enforcement officer and Templeton Foundation itself. On January 18, Zamelis had filed a petition in the Madison County Supreme Court on behalf of clients Michael Swatling and Carolyn O’Brien, in which they alleged that the Cooperstown Board of Trustees applied an incorrect standard when analyzing the proposed Bassett Hospital housing project’s environmental impact in light of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. Upon review and realizing that these allegations had merit, attorneys for all parties agreed that the suit should be discontinued but with the full right of Templeton to reapply. Zamelis contends now that the Averill Road housing project is already under construction without a special permit from the village or proper stormwater management controls. “We assert the project also requires coverage under NYSDEC’s General SPDES Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activities because it’s physically altering much more than 1 acre, but Templeton takes the position that its work is not subject to the state stormwater permit and no stormwater controls have been implemented which are visible from the public right-of-way,” Zamelis Continued on page 7
OTSEGO COUNTY n the days following the March 1 Otsego County Board of Representatives’ unanimous vote to send a letter of opposition to Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed amendment to the state’s Real Property Tax Law 575-b, known as Part N, town boards across the county have begun to act in similar fashion. Following the county board’s vote, Cooperstownbased environmental organization Otsego 2000 mailed a model resolution to all 24 Otsego County town supervisors, asking them to consider joining the opposition. The response has been swift, and supportive. As of press time, six towns have adopted the resolution, with several more set to act at their monthly meetings. “We are only aware of the actions of those towns who participate in the County Association of Town Supervisors meetings,” noted Dan Sullivan, Town of Richfield supervisor. “Several other boards may have passed the resolution without our knowledge.” One step town boards should take, according to Keith Schue—an engineer from Cherry Valley who is active in the opposition to Part N—is to mail copies of the resolution to their Assembly and State Senate representatives, as well as to the governor’s office. Opposition to Part N, which essentially removes assessment authority for large-scale renewable energy projects from local control and gives it to the state, has spread beyond Otsego County as well. Herkimer County is considering a resolution of opposition and, on March 17, the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved its own resolution of opposition to Part N. Further downstate, opposition to the governor’s budget largely takes on the Housing Compact, which is another attempt to thwart local control. “From Article 10 to Cuomo’s 94-c to the Housing Compact to Part N, the pattern of attack on home rule is clear,” said Schue. “The time to act is now.” One downstate supervisor put it this way: Do we want local control, or Hochul control?
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INSIDE ► S UNy oneonta creates regional innovation council, page 2 ► WORK OF Local jewelry designer APPEARS ON the red carpet, page 3 ► eva coo ‘rouNdhouse coup’ worldwide distribution, page 3 ► cooperstown zba commended for zoning decisions, page 4 ► understanding a president’s decision making process, is it accurate, complete? page 7 Follow Breaking News On
AllOTSEGO.com
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Photo by Lori Paparteys
@baileythehikingpup ONEONTA—According to owner Lori Paparteys, among this little guy’s hiking accomplishments are several Adirondack High and Catskill 3500 peaks, the Lake Placid 9er, two rounds (spring and winter) of the Tupper Lake Triad (ultras), the Fulton Chain Trifecta (ultra), the Adirondack Quest, and five ultra rounds of the Otsego Octet. Lori says 3-year-old Bailey is certainly one-of-a-kind for a little 7.6 pound pup! Every week, we’ll select at least one photograph to be highlighted in the newspapers, and a gallery of people’s pets is now available for viewing on the AllOtsego.com website at https://www.allotsego.com/furever-friends-and-purrfect-pals/
Women Helping Women Reach for the Stars
Mission Driven Sisterhood Celebrates 60 Years in Otsego County By JOEL J. PLUE ONEONTA he local chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization has been a strong force behind the mission of women helping women achieve academic success in Otsego County since 1963. Cindy Korb, president of the Oneonta-based PEO chapter, is proud of the many accomplishments and awards made possible to deserving women of not just Otsego County but the entire state. “The New York State PEO has a needs-based fund known as the Janet H. Griswold Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship awards female residents of New York State. Recipients receive no less than $750.00. Last
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Photo by Cindy Korb
PEO New York State Convention, Binghamton: “Time of Remembrance.”
year, we were able to utilize these funds to aid three young ladies of Otsego County,” Korb said. The Oneonta chapter has access to
federal and state scholarship funds, but also has its own scholarship. “We have our own local award called the Helen Zimmerman PEO
Chapter Award. Through these funds, we recently awarded a $500.00 grant to a young lady who is now attending the Oneonta BOCES LPN program,” she explained. Korb assists with many PEO fundraising activities and events, and also oversees the local chapter’s charitable efforts to help members of the community. “Our primary goal is education of women, but we also like to do local charitable work,” Korb continued. “We have supported the Angel Network of Cooperstown for the past three years. Last year, we bought personal hygiene items for the homeless in our community. We gave the items to Catholic Charities to give out to those in need.” Korb has been an active member Continued on page 11
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD