The Key to the Future . . .

According to the O-D headline, “rivers, trails key to area’s future.” Oneida County is seeking to make better use of waterways in the Mohawk River corridor. Undoubtedly, the headline is a lot of hyperbole.

But Oneida County Chief Planner, Ms. Breiten, makes a good point:

“This whole thing started because there is currently a lot of public-held property within the corridor, along the river and the canal, and it just seemed logical to try to link these publicly owned lands,” Breiten said.

That’s what we like to see — LOGIC in our government’s workings. And linking existing publicly owned lands along the river and canal seems to be one way of making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

As readers of this blog know from some of my photos, there is a lot of beauty along the river and canal. I regularly bike from Utica to Oriskany and have gone from Oriskany to Rome. The bikeway is a great asset that people are just starting to become aware of and use.

A greatly under utilized (non-utilized is more accurate) area is the eastern end in Utica at the canal entrance to Utica Harbor. The lock looks non-functional. Maybe it can be fixed? The harbor proper holds potential for waterfront development and boat useage. Down valley villages have done a marvelous job with their harbors. Utica, the largest city on the canal between Syracuse and Schenectady, logically should have the largest harbor development. There is a lot of public land just ready to be used. And there should be money available to clean up a lot of the contaminated old riverfront sites.

A disappointment on the western end is the trail ending on a heavily traveled highway just short of Rome proper. It is just begging for a pedestrian/bike-friendly connection into downtown and the fort, with some clear signage.

Another disappointment is the lack of a connection from the canal trail to the Oriskany Battlefield and Monument. It would seem to be a natural destination.

Of course (and I hate to say it but it seems to be true) the O-D is pushing a New Hartford agenda again by wanting trails in the Sauquoit Creek Basin. While that would be nice, NH has already gotten a lot of County largess . . . and it can well afford to implement its own trail system. While the 840 trail is “OK,” it does not have the scenic or historic potential to attract a regional clientèle like the Mohawk River trail system does (which will eventually stretch from Albany to Buffalo). It would be wasteful to spend county money on far flung projects that would attract limited interest.

Lets focus on the Erie Canal – Mohawk River areas first — Utica, Rome, and Oriskany — and make better use of the public lands we find there.

Mohawk Valley: Help Thyself . . .

There was an interesting editorial by a Mr. Livadas in this past Sunday’s (12/2) O-D entitled “It’s time for the Mohawk Valley to help itself.” [I would link to it, but it has not been posted online yet.] He really got my attention and had me nodding in agreement (in spite of the mixed metaphors) when he described “the ship of state,” as a now grayed “yellow brick road” passing eastward through places from Lackawanna to Amsterdam, “once stable, industrious cities and towns, now laying comatose,” that ends in a “flourishing Emerald City” (i.e., Albany). He had me cheering when he said:

“Space prohibits citing the litany of ill-advised decisions leading to the current disheartening state of affairs. But one thing is certain: the birthplace of many of our problems is on the steps of the state Capitol in Albany.”

He then called on the leaders and people from Rome, Utica, Herkimer, and the various townships to “[p]ush aside all city vs. city competing “priorities” and establish one priority – the revitalization of the Mohawk Valley . . . ” to “join together in an unprecedented spirit of cooperation and good will to . . . ”

“form a study commission to undertake a thorough analysis of the issues confronting our region.“

That’s where he lost me! He had just articulated a lot of the problems that NYS has created for upstate, but now we need a study commission? To tell us what? The things that we already know?

“Commission members would be composed of local state officials such as state Sen. Joseph Griffo, who has formed a committee of business leaders to review the area’s needs, together with the presidents of the Utica, Rome, Herkimer and other Chambers of Commerce. Mayors, supervisors, the county executive , economic development officials, civic leaders and area college presidents are to be included.”

He really lost me there. He would put in charge the very same officials and “influential” community leaders who have presided over our decline. Their impotence has spanned decades.

The end product of this committee would be a “Revitalization Master Plan” for the Mohawk Valley. But this is just “pie-in-the-sky” philosophizing. While Mr. Livadas would have each municipality put aside its own interests for the benefit of the whole, it simply does not work that way when are talking about local development. As I pointed out in my “Reconnect” post, as long as our municipal boundaries separate people into groupings that will unevenly share costs and benefits, attempts to force “cooperation” will end in “competition,” and efforts will be lost in “friction” among the elements. Only when the people reorganize themselves into new municipalities which encompass people with common interests and lets them all share in both the costs and benefits of their decision-making will that friction be overcome.

But even if the Mohawk Valley could be remade into one city to eliminate our regional “frictions,” it would not remedy the major woes that stretch in common across Upstate from Schenectady westward — the woes so well articulated by Mr. Lividas. We would still have Albany-imposed millstones around our neck such as the Thruway and its Tolls, utility rates that are out of proportion with our incomes, state taxes and fees that are out of proportion with our incomes, government programs and regulations that make sense from a Downstate — but not an Upstate — perspective. The fact that Upstate legislators do not demand removal of these millstones bespeaks of their being beholden to Downstate interests for their survival.

The only thing we could hope for is for a new boundary to be drawn around Upstate that allows us the opportunity for some self-determination — to make our own policies in certain areas. The current political leadership on both sides would never go for this. If the public had the right of initiative, referendum and recall, however, there may be a chance for a reorganization — because, on a person to person level, people are not that different. They have many hopes and aspirations in common. Downstaters would understand and appreciate the benefits of self-determination as much as Upstaters would.

Speaking Out Against the Toll Hike

The Observer-Dispatch has challenged readers to speak out against the proposed Thruway toll hikes.

Pressure works. Governor Spitzer just postponed a bus and subway fare hike in New York City in response to the Daily News’ “Halt the Hike” campaign. Ahh . . . the power of the press . . .

Senator Valesky has met the O-D’s challenge by proposing a law that would require legislative approvals of all toll hikes.

But Mr. Valesky is part of a minority party in the Senate.

Where are Sen. Griffo and Mrs. Destito on this issue? They are members of the controlling parties in their respective houses.

Does their silence mean they have been bought and paid for by their party leadership … which benefits from the Thruway Authority patronage mill? When will we hear from them?

Rising Tolls – Upstate Legislators Mum

That should have been the headline for this story, but it wasn’t. For some reason, our Albany representatives always seem to get a pass on this issue. Tolls go up, but nary a word. The same is true for Upstate County Executives and Mayors whose bully pulpits are eerily silent. Maybe it’s because the Thruway Authority is such a hotbed of patronage for their friends?

Tax traffic on Main Street? Yep: The Thruway is Upstate’s Mainstreet — and Tax it New York State does. But Not for the L. I. Expressway. Not for the Southern Tier Expressway. Not for the Northern, Southern, Sagtikos, Meadowbrook, or Taconic State Parkways. Or I-81. Or even I-84 (which is partially supported by Thruway Tolls).

They talk about wanting to help the Upstate economy? — Nah! Don’t believe it!

Merging City and Town . . .

Finally, someone is getting the message! From Capital 9 News, an Amsterdam alderman — and mayoral candidate — is proposing a merger of the City of Amsterdam with the Town of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Alderman (R) Anthony “Babe” Pallotta said, “We work together, we play together, we shop together and we should be all one entity.”

Are the city and towns of Amsterdam really ready to become one?

Pallotta says yes and now’s the time for the two to merge.

“The town is expanding and growing and the city is withering on the vine. I say by combining both entities together we can grow together,” he said.

“We work together, we play together, we shop together . . . ” One can say the same thing about Utica and New Hartford/Whitestown/etc. In both places, neither city nor suburbs can make significant decisions without affecting each other. In both places boundaries and attitudes divide and disconnect a population of shared interests from effectively controlling its destiny. The result in both places has been urban sprawl — no real growth — with regional populations dropping.

It will be interesting to see if in Amsterdam the concept moves beyond mere election season talk. The town supervisor seems reticent, perhaps feeling threatened. But Mr. DiMezza might make a good mayor some day!

The City and Town of Amsterdam have a lot going for them in this regard compared with Utica and environs. There are fewer jurisdictions to deal with. Water and sewer are still part of city government rather than separate agencies. City and Town share the same name. They share the Greater Amsterdam School District. Merger of the City and Town seems like a “natural.”

Merger can reconnect a people with the interests they share in common. Instead of city and suburb wasting energy competing with each other, the energy can be used to propel both forward.

= = = =
Update 10/16:
Amsterdam water and sewer figure prominently in relationships between city and suburb, and are now playing into the “merger” talk: See “Amsterdam’s water issues back on tap.”

Lawsuits in the Making?

Capital News 9 reports “Canal closing early leaves businesses high and dry.” It seems that canal marinas are taking a hit because boaters are in a rush trying to get out of the canal before it closes.

“This time of year most of your boats are headed back south because they got to get out of the system,” said Bernie Brandow, St.Johnsville Marina Owner.

This year they have to get out even earlier. An end of season rush could mean big business for Brandow and other marinas along the Mohawk. Except for one thing, boaters aren’t stopping.

“They’re trying to make up time so they’re not stopping at night for dockage or fuel. That’s basically the hold up here,” said Brandow. . . .

The problem is every time that lock opens one point five millions gallons of water flushes down stream and needs to be replaced with water upstream at the Hinckley reservoir. That’s where water is at its lowest level since 1915 when the reservoir was created.

Hmm . . . If the Mohawk Valley Water Authority was complying with its old agreement with the state, it would be contributing from its Gray Reservoir the equivalent of its entire draw from Hinckley for drinking water — about 21 million gallons per day (MGD) based on the Water Authority’s 2002 engineering report. Divide by 1.5 MGD for each lock closing and you get an extra 14 lock closings per day that would be possible if MVWA obeyed its agreement — TIMES the 18 locks between Herkimer and the Hudson. THAT’S 252 fewer lock closings a day that can be attributed by math to MVWA’s non-compliance. Sound’s like a lot of inconvenience to boaters, disruption to shippers, and lost business for marinas to me!

Shhh …. Someone might get the idea that MVWA should pay! There go the rates!

(See, kids, math can be fun.)

How about some more math? The flow out of the dam is now 120 CFS and the authority is not contributing the 30 CFS it is supposed to do. Would a flow of 150CFS be enough to keep the creek open for fishing? That is more lost business for some people.

Somehow the pictures of boats lining up, empty marinas, and no fishing signs are more compelling visuals than the one Mr. Becher uses with the fish tank and shot glass to show how “insignificant” the MVWA’s actions are.

This will be interesting . . .

Gannett sells 4 dailies to GateHouse — Including the Utica O-D!

Too Many Cookies, and a Message from a Reader

Too many cookies woke this blogger up in the middle of the night … and a message from a reader kept him up.

Off Topic but since you linked to justice denied 13501 and he has made some rather serious charges against many folks and now has seemingly ended his short lived career as a blogger I’d like your opinion as an enabler/linker as to his/her intent and or authenticity.

Sincerely, Jim

“Enabler” . . . Yeah, that got my attention!

The blogger community is pretty welcoming. It is common practice to link to new bloggers on the scene and give them a “boost.” It is also a way to increase one’s own readership because usually they will link back . . .”Sitemeter” data verifies increases in readership the more links that are exchanged. Technorati ranks a blog based on the number of links to it from other blogs. But “enabling?” If a linked blogger is going to engage in something questionable, enabling that behavior was never intended. But isn’t that the result?

I don’t know JusticeDenied’s intent or “authenticity.” JD provided some good links to what appear to be reliable internet sites for some of his/her points . . . sites that may prove useful for data mining at a later date. It was also interesting reading, for awhile. After getting Jim’s message, I reviewed the last couple of days’ posts. They seem to have shifted from elected and public officials (who need to be held to close scrutiny) to private individuals (who have a right to be left alone). Posts seem to be more titillation than substance (the secret codes and whatnot). Facts that may have been presented seem to have been thrown like pasta against the wall, in hopes that something would stick. Instead of data + logic = conclusion, there is a tone of rumor. And now, the unexplained “departure.” I want to be fair to JD, and maybe if I knew more of what he/she knows, I would feel differently. But right now I am confused as to what the blog is about, think name-calling is unjustified, and I don’t want to enable that.

Tilting at Windmills

According to today’s news, Oneida County’s Board of Legislators has given tax breaks to the benignly-named Citizens Airtricity Energy for the Munnsville windmill electric power project.

“Brewer said the county did not become part of the project for the money, but rather to show it would like to be involved in other energy conservation and revenue sharing projects in the future.”

Thank you, very much, Legislator Brewer. You’ve just provided more justification for NYRI to construct its power line project.

This subject was blogged about back in December ’06 when Herkimer County was considering PILOTing windmills, so I won’t repeat all my points here. See Public Impacts, Private Profits, and Piloting Nuisances. Suffice it to say that …

Our Board of Legislators cannot see the forest for the trees.

Other Peoples’ Blogs

Some interesting reading is to be had in other regional blogs.

Dan at Upstream is looking at the very Profitable (for some CEOs etc) world of Non-Profits.
There is a comparison between Planned Parenthood and Crisis Pregnancy Center, as well as a listing of salaries for two down valley not-for profit public radio stations.

Justice Denied 13501 is looking at multiple source documents and coming to some interesting conclusions regarding who is pulling all the strings in the Greater Utica Puppet Show. His/Her opinion:

“There seems to be a continuum of players, all in strategic places, who hold the ability to make decisions that make possible transactions, which suffice in reaching to some degree, satisfaction in reaching their goals….gluttonous monetary gain.”

Interesting!

New Hartford Online is going to great lengths to examine each and every Bond Proposal that will be before the New Hartford voters on Thursday (12 noon-8PM). Anything you ever wanted to know (and more) about these proposals is right there.

Citizen Journalism Lives.