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‘OUR’ OUTLAW RULES •F

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COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND

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Volume 206, No. 38

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Cooperstown’s Newspaper

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Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, September 19, 2014

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Falk: ‘Parking Crisis’ Impacts All Decisions THE NEW NORTH POLE, NY

Planning Process May Develop Some Options By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN

The Freeman’s Journal

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Joseph West, 3, of Hartwick emerges from exploring rows of corn at The Farmers’ Museum Harvest Fest Sunday, Sept. 14. Mom Joelle snaps his photo. Delightful weather brought out an almost record crowd.

Village Board Plans Hearing On Hotel Plan COOPERSTOWN

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f developers of a new four-story downtown hotel can answer questions raised by the village Planning Board and ZBA, the Village Board plans to schedule a first, and optional, public hearing on the novel project when it meets Sept. 29. Partners Perry Ferrara and Tom Langan proposed the hotel, which includes a swimming pool on the roof, at the former TJ’s site. Most of the questions have to do with parking. CLEAN ENERGY: A panel of experts on applying solar energy to existing structures is planned at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the Carriage House, Southside Oneonta, sponsored by Citizen Voices. Public welcome. NEXT STEP: West Lake Road camp owners are meeting at 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at Pierstown Grange to discuss what to do now that state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, has asked the DOT to step back.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal

At the Chamber of Commerce kiosk, the Jolly Elf signs a copy of his just-published “Santa’s Second Home” for Charlotte Marietta, 4.

Cooperstown Santa’s 2nd Home, Saint Nick Reveals In New Book By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN

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or years now, you’ve seen Santa Claus around town all year long, perhaps manning the information kiosk in Pioneer Park, volunteering at The Farmers’ Museum, or at one community event or another.

es, Village Trustee Cindy Falk, who chairs the Streets Committee, did utter the words “parking crisis” at a Village Board meeting. “Literally, anything we try to do as village government or a private entity within the village, parking always comes up – and not in a positive way,” she said in a followThe Freeman’s Journal up interview the other Trustee Falk: day. Parking is crisis Whether the issue is indeed. the proposed hospital zone (she has chaired the committee developing the concept), or the new four-story hotel proposed on the TJ’s site, most of the discussion and objections will be about parking. Please See PARKING, A7

TREES GO, NEW ONES DUE

Kids noticed it, too, and it raised questions in their young minds, and that troubled Santa. “They know it’s me,” he said in an interview the other day. The result, years in the making, is “Santa’s Second Home,” a tell-all book that reveals a never-before-told secret: Cooperstown has replaced the North Pole as the place where the Jolly Old Elf spends most of his time. Please See SANTA, A7

For Now, County Is ‘2nd Point Of Contact’ By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN

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or the time being, anyhow, the County of Otsego doesn’t intend to participate in the “single point of contact” economic-development strategy. The county Planning Department has been renamed the Planning & Economic Devel-

Stuligross

opment Department, and will continue handling the small-business programs that the former county Economic Development Office did under Carolyn Lewis, who resigned last August. The county IDA (Industrial Development Agency) “is doing the big grants,” said county Rep. Kay Stuligross, DOneonta, who had been interim chair of the Intergovernmental Affairs CommitPlease See EC-DEV, A6

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The Freeman’s Journal

Central Paving crew – Scott Capes, in tree, and Kristen Kuehnle – began removing trees on the south side of Main Street Monday, Sept. 15. For more about the replacement trees, to be installed beginning in late October, see

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THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD