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Thanks to Gardner and county for acting on Marotta dumpsite
CAROL DUCHESNE Pattersonville

   The people of Pattersonville owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Schenectady County Legislature, and especially to county attorneys Christopher Gardner and Donald DeAngelus, for their conscientious pursuit of the clean-up of a safety and health hazard in Pattersonville.
   The Marotta property on Route 5S has long been a source of complaints As secretary to the Board of Fire Commissioners of Fire District #4, I filed a written complaint on that group’s behalf with the town of Rotterdam in May 1990 concerning a badly deteriorated house. More complaints from the commissioners, followed in 1991, when the debris from the house was spread over the property and rusted construction equipment began to appear. Over the years more complaints, both written and verbal, were filed. In each instance, the town notified the property owner of violations, but little further action was taken until recently.
   In January 2006, more vehicles, tires, barrels, etc., were brought to the property. According to an article in the Gazette on June 1, Mr. [Michael] Marotta “. ..denied the site was an illegal junk yard.” I am not sure what else to call a property that was littered with tires in piles on the ground and in truck bodies, barrels with unknown contents, truck parts, debris and vehicles, some of which were rusted and had broken windows. In addition, Mr. Marotta pleaded guilty to running an illegal junk yard in Rotterdam Town Court in April. The county health department confirmed the area was being used as a junk yard in July 2006, and ordered a cleanup by December (Jan. 26 Gazette). For the last year and a half, the property owner has ignored every deadline that has been set for cleanup.
   It should be noted that Pattersonville is served by a small volunteer fire department, staffed by residents who have dedicated many hours of their own time to rigorous training to be able to provide protection to their neighbors. They receive no compensation of any kind for their dedication to keeping us safe. Putting a high-risk property such as a junk yard so close to several homes in Pattersonville, is unfair to them. We are all thankful that Chris Gardner has been successful in removing this safety hazard from our area.  

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New concerns at old farm
Large mixed-use project proposed on banks of Mohawk across from historic Mabee site  
  
By JENNIFER PATTERSON, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, June 21, 2007

ROTTERDAM -- Historians and preservationists are concerned that a proposed 63-acre waterfront development planned for across the Mohawk River from the Mabee Farm will ruin the old-time charm and serenity of the historic site.
  
"We don't want it (the development) to wreck a historic view shed," former historical society president Kim Mabee said. "We want to protect our bucolic setting here at the farm, which has been the same for more than 300 years."

Members of the Schenectady County Historical Society and local preservation groups are concerned that the proposed development, which, if approved, would be built directly across the river from the farm, will negatively affect the site.

Delmar resident Ray Marshall wants to build 491 condominiums and town houses on land located about one mile east of the Route 103 connector to Rotterdam Junction. The property was once home to the Gay Valley Airport site in Glenville. Marshall could not be reached for comment.

The development would include a 2,300-square-foot marina, a 45,000-square-foot technology park, a 12,000-square-foot restaurant, a 2,500-square-foot clubhouse, hotel and banquet hall.

The Mabee Farm is the oldest standing home in the Mohawk Valley, bordering the banks of the Mohawk River on Route 5S. The farm is run by the Schenectady County Historical Society as an educational center for the community.

The site holds Colonial events, re-enactments, workshops, tours and educational programs reflecting the historical significance of the early farmstead. Members of the Historical Society are worried that such events won't be as effective if plans for the development are approved.

"This development is of major concern for the Mabee Farm and the residents of Schenectady County," said Neil Turner, president of Citizens Advocating Responsible Development, or CARD, a grass-roots opposition group in Glenville.

"The acreage that is proposed to be developed is on a flood plain, which serves as a surge reservoir, reducing the impact of sudden high flow levels. This is just one of numerous negative issues that are immediately apparent."

Marshall, who owns several apartment buildings in the Arbor Hill section of Albany, bought much of the land for the proposed site along Route 5 last year. Marshall has hired an architecture firm, Synthesis LLP of Schenectady, but his proposed Glencove Harbor development is still in the preliminary stages and faces a long list of hurdles, including approval from the town of Glenville, before plans can move forward. Jennifer Patterson can be reached at 454-5340 or by e-mail at jpatterson@timesunion.com.

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Delmar resident Ray Marshall wants to build 491 condominiums and town houses on land located about one mile east of the Route 103 connector to Rotterdam Junction. The property was once home to the Gay Valley Airport site in Glenville. Marshall could not be reached for comment.

The development would include a 2,300-square-foot marina, a 45,000-square-foot technology park, a 12,000-square-foot restaurant, a 2,500-square-foot clubhouse, hotel and banquet hall.

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ROTTERDAM
Heat sparks watering restrictions
Town reserves dangerously low; system upgrades cited
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

   Rotterdam officials temporarily tightened summer watering restrictions Wednesday, after low-water level alarms were touched off twice this week.
   Residents will be prohibited from watering lawns during the evening hours with the Rotterdam Police strictly enforcing the ban, according to a release from the town. The augmented restrictions will continue until Sunday, when the ordinary schedule will resume.
   Supervisor Steve Tommasone said the town pumped more than 8.7 million gallons of water Monday and nearly 5.5 million on Tuesday. The result has been a depletion of the total 5 million gallon stored water in the town’s six storage tanks.
   “The pumps we have are working nonstop the last few days,” he said. “If we can have residents not water in the evenings just for a dew days, it can allow us to get the tanks back up to normal levels.”
   Tommasone said the restrictions are to ensure the town has enough capacity in the event of an emergency. He said the normal pattern for watering is likely to return after the heat wave breaks this weekend.
   “We have to be careful from a [fire district] perspective,” he said. “These levels are getting very low.”
   Water Plant Supervisor Clark Collins said the town uses about 3.5 million gallons on average. But as soon as the heat cranks up this usage often increases by 5 million gallons.
   “That extra 5 million gallons we’re pumping is basically for outdoor use,” he said.
   To control this extra usage, town rules only allows watering from 7 to 9 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. between May and September. But with the increased restrictions this week, only even-numbered house numbers will be permitted to water in the morning today and Saturday, with odd numbered houses allowed to water in the morning Friday and Sunday.
   Were residents to abide by the ordinary restrictions, Collins said there probably wouldn’t be a problem with the storage supply. But often times, he said the summer watering hours are ignored.
   “You can hear the sprinklers running [after the hours],” he said.
LARGER ISSUE
   Tommasone said the recent shortage isn’t uncommon for the time of year, but that it shows the need for Rotterdam to upgrade its water infrastructure in certain areas. For instance, Rotterdam Junction’s water supply isn’t connected to the rest of the town’s system, so that any pump failure there could cause significant troubles during an emergency or peak usage time.
   “If that tank goes down, there’s no way to get water to the Junction,” he said.
   The town is planning to replace Rotterdam Junction’s decades-old tank off Leggerio Lane before the end of the year. Cost estimates to replace the 200.000-gallon tank are between $1.4 million and $2.1 million, which would be raised through bonding and paid for by the 577 users in water districts 3 and 4, according to figures presented by the town in February.
   In addition to connecting Rotterdam Junction, Tommasone said the town has preliminary approval to reconnect a similar hookup that once existed with the city of Schenectady. He said such a hookup could deliver water to the town in the event of rupture or failure somewhere in Rotterdam’s system.
   “We cannot push these upgrade off to future years,” he said. “Our water system is something that is imperative to upgrade.”  

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MABEE FARM FESTIVAL
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Mabee Farm Historic Site will host a free two-day music festival as part of the regional celebration of Canal Fest 2007 on July 14 and 15.
   Folk balladeer Rich Bala will perform at 11 a.m. followed by Red Molly at 12:30 p.m.
   The bluegrass band The Riverview Ramblers will play at 2 p.m., followed by Sara Milonovich and Greg Anderson at 3:30. Sunday’s lineup will include Mooncat, Kevin & Katie McKrell, The Ramblin’ Jug Stompers and Bill Staines at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30, respectively.
   Music workshops will be offered by the performers.
   There will also be a hay ride, an exhibit on Recreation on the Mohawk River, artisans, and the building of the 1614 boat the Onrust.

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New engineer for water tank plan
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   Rotterdam Town Board members approved a $14,100 contract with Barton & Loguidice Wednesday to complete a design for a proposed 520,000-gallon water tank in Rotterdam Junction. The study will investigate placing the new structure near either the town’s well head on Main Street or on land off Pattersonville-Rynex Corners Road.
   Lamont Engineering already conducted a preliminary cost and time
ROTTERDAM
analysis for the project. But after receiving these results, town offi - cials decided to expand the scope of the study.
   “We’re changing the focus a bit, but the goal is the same,” explained Supervisor Steven Tommasone.
   Once the study is completed, the company will send mailers out to the 577 users in water districts 3 and 4, who will ultimately pay for the tank through bonding. Estimates to replace the aging tank were originally placed between $1.4 million and $2.1 million.
   Board member Robert Godlewski was the sole vote against hiring a new company. He questioned the logic of changing engineering companies now.
   But Tommasone said expanding the scope was necessary to move the project forward promptly.
O’CLAIRS HONORED
   In other business, the town board presented Rotterdam’s fi rst Outstanding Citizen Award to the O’Clair family for waging a campaign to pass Timothy’s Law. Signed into law last year, the legislation requires insurance companies to cover mental disorders as they cover other medical disorders.
   Accepting the award was Tom O’Clair, whose 12-year-old son Timothy committed suicide after being diagnosed with a mental illness his family’s medical insurance would not cover. He thanked the board members, as well as the town for standing behind the family’s plight to get the law passed.
   “It truly felt like we had the whole town behind us,” he said.

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Board member Robert Godlewski was the sole vote against hiring a new company. He questioned the logic of changing engineering companies now.

Quoted from bumblethru

It's just that he is always so incredibly negative and depressing and placing a damper on anything pro-active, that it is sometimes quite difficult to know when he may have a point. I usually just don't listen to him. He'll be gone in a few months anyways.

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ROTTERDAM
American Indian group staging major fundraiser
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com.

   Keepers of the Circle will hold a major fundraiser Saturday and Sunday at its Route 5S site in Rotterdam Junction.
   Keepers, a nonprofit organization formed in 1991 in Albany to promote American Indian culture, is hoping to raise enough money through the event to keep afloat as it continues to build membership and expand its programs.
   Keepers has held numerous small events to raise money. The weekend fundraiser, however, is its first major event since a new board of directors assumed leadership this year, said adviser Tim Christian.
   The event will feature drumming, dancing, singing, storytelling, flute music and native foods. Vendors have been invited, and the Keepers will offer tours.
   The Mohegan Tribe and Nation is sponsoring the event, Christian said, helping to defray costs.
   “We are doing the best we can,” Christian said. “It’s like climbing a hill. We won’t stop ’til we get to the top and plant our flag.”
   The new board revamped Keepers, which had been riven by infighting for years, and quickly mended relations with the Schenectady County Historical Society, owner of the neighboring Mabee Farm, and with the county.
   The county purchased the 29-acre parcel on Route 5S for $171,000 in 2000 but gave Keepers control over it. Keepers was supposed to develop and offer programs to promote American Indian culture and the historical aspects of the Mohawk River. None of this occurred due to infighting within the group.
   Earlier this year, the county agreed to give Keepers 2.6 acres and the Bradt farmhouse in Rotterdam Junction and to sell the remaining 27 acres to the historical society for $180,000.
   The closing has yet to occur, but historical society President Edwin Reilly Jr. expects that to happen in August.
   Christian said Keepers of the Circle only needs a small piece of property to fulfill its mission.
   “We want to be a Native American multicultural center. We want to teach all cultures here, and we want to learn all cultures here,” he said.
   Since February, Keepers has repainted and insulated the Bradt House, restocked the museum with American Indian artifacts and curios and provided local school children with several educational programs. Keepers also received permission from the Albany Food Pantry to begin providing emergency food at the site.
   “We will do outreach from Rotterdam Junction to Route 30,” Christian said. The food pantry will distribute food two days a week, he said.
   Keepers will assume full financial responsibility for the Bradt House and property from the county once the land transfer is completed. The county pays annual utility costs, totaling about $9,000.
   Keepers is a registered nonprofi t organization with the state and accepts donations, Christian said. Membership is open to anyone; dues are $25 annually.
   Keepers applied for a county tourism grant this year but was turned down. Grant Director Wendy Hosking Glasser said Keepers’ application failed to score well because the organization had to show that it had existing community support in terms of membership, subscribers and attendance, that it was working in collaboration with other organizations and that it was generating additional private or other funds.
   She said Keepers can apply for another grant in the next funding cycle.
   Reilly said the historical society is standing by its pledge to provide financial and in-kind support to Keepers during its first year of operation. The society purchased 40 tickets for the July 21-22 event and promises more assistance once the land transfer is completed.
   The society needs the additional land for its proposed George E. Franchere Educational Center. The center will straddle the 9-acre Mabee Farm parcel and the soon-to-be acquired Keepers property.
   “We have to complete our design and bring it to the Rotterdam Planning Board. We have our zoning permits,” Reilly said.
   “Next spring is when you will see a structure rising there. We are still raising money to finish the project.”
   He said the society has collected three-fourths of the estimated $2 million cost of the center.  

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ROTTERDAM JUNCTION
Keepers of Circle celebrate ‘peace, harmony, balance’
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

   When Tim Christian saw eagles flying overhead at the Bradt farmhouse this weekend, he knew peace had at last come to the Keepers of the Circle.
   The advisor and mediator of the Keepers gazed across the recently acquired property as sunshine bathed a procession of American Indian dancers and artists gathered there this weekend. The essence of burning cedar wafted on a cool breeze, as a lone drummer pounded on a drum Sunday.
   “It shows peace in the valley,” he said during the Keepers’ fi rst major fundraiser since the group reorganized. “Peace, harmony and balance.”
   The nonprofit organization was formed in 1991 to promote American Indian culture, but had fallen into turmoil in recent years. The group revamped its leadership and then orchestrated a deal with Schenectady County and the Historical Society in which they obtained the historic farm house and 2.6 acres of land.
   Previously, they had maintained control over a 29-acre countyowned parcel off land along Route 5S. Under the deal, the county sold about 27 acres of this land to the historical society, giving the remaining parcel and house to the Keepers.
   Christian said the group is now renovating the home, which will serve as a museum and learning center for American Indian culture. He said events such as the gathering this weekend will help fund such endeavors.
   “It’s a good outreach program for the community,” he said.
   As a measure of good faith, the Schenectady County Historical Society donated $200 to the Keepers. Christian said the historical society has also indicated a willingness to help the Keepers during their fi rst year owning the property.
   Christian said the group hopes to raise about $40,000 a year to offer programs on the property. By next fall, he said the group plans to contact area school districts to gauge interest in their educational programs.
   The group is also seeking placement on a national list of pow wows. Christian said such a designation could bring droves of people to the property.
   “This could be three or four times this size,” he said of the event’s modest turnout.
   Stephen Shepard, also known as Grandfather Eagle Bear, said the weekend event shows the keepers have mended their group after years of neglect. He said the group is now showing dedication to its true purpose: keeping American Indian heritage and tradition alive among the youth.
   “We’re here to help the children,” he said.
   Attending the event this weekend was Moigu Standing Bear, chief of the Mohegan Tribe and Nation, which sponsored the gathering. Standing Bear lauded the Keepers for re-energizing their group.
   “This organization like any organization has had its ups and downs,” he said, “Right now, they’re here to make this organization as strong as it possibly can be.”
   Bryant Miller, a longtime member of the group, said he’s watched the Keepers rise from tumult before. Donning a Mohawk Indian headdress, he said the Keepers’ fi rst large gathering was another sign that peace had finally reached the group. “Today is a day of peace,” he said.

PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Members of Girl Scout Troop 277 of Cohoes learn how to keep the beat on a drum made from a tortoise shell with Zelda Hotaling, of Castleton, who was teaching the scouts how to make rattles and dance sticks during the Native American Indian Festival at Keepers of the Circle in Rotterdam Junction on Sunday.

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EARLY TECHNOLOGY
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Mabee Farm Historical Site, 1080 Main St., will present “Early Technologies Day” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.
   The event will explain fire starting, leather tanning, quillwork, powder horn engraving, tinsmithing, blacksmithing, and more. There will be a hands-on flint knapping workshop and atlatl throwing with Barry Keegan. Representatives of The Van Epps Hartley Chapter of the New York State Archaeology Association will help identify native artifacts.

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OUTBOARD MOTOR SWAP
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Mabee Farm Historic Site, 1080 Main St., will host an antique outboard motor swap meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18. Participants are invited to buy, sell or trade motors and parts. There will also be a display of antique motors. The event is sponsored by the Mohawk Hudson Chapter of the Antique Outboard Motor Club, Inc

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HISTORIC CRAFTS
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Mabee Farm Historic Site, Route 5S, will offer a workshop on making gourd birdhouses from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday .
   Instructor Pam Bucci will show participants how to decorate a dried bottle gourd using woodburning techniques, paints and stains. The fee for this program is $35.  

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CAR SHOW
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Schenectady East Rotary will present “Patriot’s Day” antique and classic car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Mabee Farm Historic Site on route 5S. Along with the classics and antiques, there will be muscle cars, trucks and motorcycles. Judging for pre-1987 cars will begin at 1 p.m., with trophies awarded at 3 p.m. There will also be music, food and games. Admission is free.

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HISTORY FAIR
   ROTTERDAM JUNCTION — The Mabee Farm Historic Site, Route 5S, will present a history fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
   Participants will meet “Joseph Yates,” the governor of New York in 1822, and “Samuel Meredith,” treasurer of the U.S. under George Washington. Other guest speakers will include historians Lion Miles, Emily Tarbell, Ona Curran and Al Sterling. Don Rittner, Schenectady County historian, will be available to videotape and record the memories of seniors in Schenectady County.

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ROTTERDAM
Kiwanis Park grant will improve toilets and other amenities
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   Ask Joe Nicolella what part of Rotterdam’s Kiwanis Park is most in need of improvement and it doesn’t take him long to find an answer.
   Like many visitors to the rolling green space along the Mohawk River, the Schenectady resident and member of Northern New York Paddlers canoe club has taken issue with the small cinder block and concrete outhouse near the entrance to the park.
   “Boy, they’re disgusting,” he said Monday from the park. “No one can use them.”
   Calling the facilities fetid is mild. With its stench and uncleanliness, the outhouse seems drastically out of place in the scenic grove of the town’s only waterfront park
   But with a $40,000 state grant secured, town officials are planning improvements, the foremost to include flush toilets. The town also anticipates renovating the park boat launch, paving the parking area, installing a drinking water source and improving the existing dock.
   “It’s one of the first amenities you see coming in from [Thruway] Exit 26 into Rotterdam Junction,” Supervisor Steve Tommasone said of the park. “It’s important that we have a showpiece there.”
   Originally constructed by the Rotterdam Kiwanis Club during the 1980s, the park off Route 5S rests on land owned by both the town and the state Canal Corporation. The park is heavily used by both boaters SCHENECTADY — An overon the Mohawk and people using the nearby bike-hike trail.
   Town officials first received the matching grant for the improvements from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation in July 2005. However, vague land records on the site prevented the town from moving forward with any improvements.
   “The records from when the state took over the land were so convoluted that certain title companies were uncomfortable with it,” said Gerard Parisi, the town’s attorney. With these issues now resolved, Tommasone said work is expected to begin early next month and carry on through the winter.
   Rotterdam’s highway department will complete most of the work, using town materials and equipment whenever possible. Tommasone said the labor and materials will represent Rotterdam’s share of the grant.
   Tommasone also envisions other improvements to the park that aren’t likely to be covered under the grant. For instance, there probably isn’t enough grant money to replace a trailer now used as a dock.
   “The $40,000 will go a long way for us, but we are probably going to request some additional funding [from the town],” he said.
   For area residents using the park Monday, word of the impending improvements was welcome news. Both Nicolella and fellow paddler Ray Smith lauded the idea of sprucing up the park they frequent almost every week.
   “It’s a small park, but it gets a lot of use,” Smith said.

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Rotterdam receives 40K park grant

Written by: Jessica Harding, Schenectady County Reporter
email: hardingj@spotlightnews.com

Rotterdam has received a $40,000 grant from the state office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for improvements to Kiwanis Park in the western part of town.

The project will start this fall and include renovation of the boat launch, paving of the lawer parking area, dock improvements, upgraded restroom facilities, potable water, better signage and a handicap fishing area.

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   MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Lower Rotterdam Junction resident Dan Dedrick says the smoke from idling trains hangs over the bike/hike trails, infiltrates his neighborhood and at times makes it unpleasant to be outdoors. At the nearby train yard, trains sometimes sit for days with engines running.
ROTTERDAM JUNCTION
Residents sound off over idling engines
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   On some days, Dan Dedrick can see a haze hovering above the waters of East and West ponds near the old Erie Canal towpath.
   The two man-made pools are surrounded by 78 acres of lush vegetation and provide an ideal spot for outdoor recreation during the summer months. With its abundance of good fishing and hiking trails, the town-owned property has long been viewed as a good place to establish a park on the west edge of Rotterdam.
   That is, unless it happens to be a weekend. On Friday afternoons, railroad workers typically park the freight trains on Pan Am Railways tracks adjacent to the ponds, lock up the engines, then leave with them still idling.
   Noxious fumes from the diesel exhaust quickly fill the earthen bowl, often rendering the spot inhospitable for hours and even days on end. On some days, the emissions are so dense they create a thin blue haze over the water’s surface of the water
   “It’s like a haze,” Dedrick said, surveying the two ponds as a pair of engines idled nearby. “It’s just like a fog settling in here.”
   The fumes also envelope the nearby bike/hike trail and waft into a residential area bordering the property, where Dedrick lives. He said a cluster of engines idled through the Labor Day weekend this year, inundating his Gardinier Street neighborhood with fumes that forced him to keep his windows closed.
   “When the wind is blowing right, those fumes will keep you in your house,” he said.
   Locomotive idling is common among freight railroad operations, as engineers must sometimes wait for hours to have cars switched or for another train to clear a section of tracks. While there are some practical purposes for the idling, it is also frequently done out of habit, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
   During winter, diesel engines are almost always left running because they can be difficult to start in cold weather, and certain engines can sustain damage when started in the extreme cold. In other instances, the engines are left running to maintain critical functions such as air pressure for brakes and battery charge.
   In Rotterdam Junction, residential complaints about idling trains are nothing new. In 2003, Dedrick and a group of more than two dozen neighbors successfully petitioned the town to enact an ordinance prohibiting locomotive idling at the western terminus for the former Guilford Rail System.
   Under the local law, train companies are subject to a $1,000 fi ne or up to a year in jail, if an engine is left idling for more than a half hour between March and December. Since the law was enacted in 2003, Rotterdam Police have handed out tickets to Guilford locomotive engineers on several occasions, Lt. Michael Brown confirmed.
LOCAL VS. FEDERAL LAW
   But the summonses make little difference when they are preempted by federal law, explained Pat Saccocio, the town’s attorney. The cases that have gone before the town court have all been adjourned in the contemplation of dismissal because the freight rail industry is regulated by interstate commerce law.
   “There would be a serious constitutional challenge to [Rotterdam’s] statute,” he said. “You could imagine what would occur if a railroad had to deal with a local law in every municipality they crossed through.”
   During the last case he litigated about a year ago, Saccocio requested the Massachusetts-based company — now known as Pan Am Railways — limit the amount of time spent idling in Rotterdam out of courtesy to the town. In response, company officials only reiterated their concerns with shutting down the locomotives and the significant protocol they must follow each time.
   “There are some problems the town government just can’t solve,” Saccocio said. “In my opinion, this is one of them.”
   David Fink, president of Pan Am, failed to return numerous calls placed over a three-week period. Attempts to solicit any comment from the company’s headquarters in Billerica, Mass., were unsuccessful.
   While communities around the Capital Region have enacted similarly unenforceable ordinances, some have had a greater degree of success in getting rail companies to remedy offensive idling. In Stillwater, town officials devised a train idling ordinance in 2001, after voicing safety concerns over both the unattended locomotives and the diesel fumes they spewed into a track side neighborhood of nearly 500 residents.
   About a year later, Saratoga County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a pair of Guilford railroad workers as they waited in the idling locomotive parked in Stillwater. The arrests were the first from such laws, which were also enacted in Ballston Spa and Clifton Park.
   Company officials challenged the constitutionality of the charge, which was later dismissed. Guilford lawyers agreed to move the idling trains away from the areas where they were posing a nuisance.
   Since that time, Stillwater hasn’t experienced a problem with the company, Supervisor Greg Connors said. Pan Am provided him with a contact he could report a problem train to have them promptly moved elsewhere.
   Although the local law remains in place, Connors said there has been no need to enforce it since the initial citations five years ago. He said the last call to Pan Am came about six months ago and the company complied without incident.
   “The railroad is really conscientious about it,” he said. “They move the trains right away.”
   The Rotterdam Junction were exacerbated around the same time the idling problems in Stillwater were resolved. Dedrick said the fumes weren’t a problem when he first moved into his home about 12 years ago.
   But for the past five years or so, Dedrick said, the problem has gotten worse. He said waterfowl no longer frequent East and West ponds, something he blames on the declining air quality around them.
   “We aren’t worried about them moving the trains or blowing their horns,” he said. “We’re worried about them idling.”
FINDING SOLUTIONS
   Rotterdam Supervisor Steve Tommasone said the idling will become increasingly problematic as the town seeks to establish a passive-use park around the ponds. Once a plan for the park is developed, he said the town will try to convince Pan Am to find a different place to park their idling engines.
   Tommasone said finding a suitable location could be difficult given the proximity of Rotterdam’s residential neighborhood to the tracks. Ultimately, he said, it may fall to state and federal officials to find a long-term solution.
   “The biggest roadblock to successfully resolving this issue is the federal government,” he said. “We have to change the laws at the federal level.”
   In an effort to curb air pollution resulting from diesel locomotives, the EPA has in place a number of requirements to regulate emissions. This year, the agency proposed new regulations aimed at reducing “particulate matter emissions” from these engines by 90 percent and nitrogen oxides emissions by 80 percent over the next seven years.
   The regulations also tighten emission standards for existing locomotives when they are remanufactured, according to the EPA. Other provisions include measures to reduce unnecessary locomotive idling, such as voluntary agreements by the major railroads to cut emissions levels beyond the ones mandated by the law.
   However, such standards may take a while to affect the locomotive fleets from smaller rail companies such as Pan Am, said Ray Warner, a regional chief for the EPA’s air branch. These companies often rely on older locomotives that emit far more toxic fumes than newer or rebuilt models.
   “There are pollution issues surrounding these railroads because they don’t have the deep pockets of larger railroads,” he said.
   Warner said there are relatively inexpensive solutions the EPA has proposed. For instance, he said the engines can be outfitted with heating filaments powered with electricity, or small diesel-powered generators that can keep the engines warm during cold weather.
   These devices run between $5,000 and $20,000, an expense the EPA estimates the railroads would recoup in fuel-cost savings after three years. In certain cases, Warner said, the EPA can even work to secure grants to fund the equipment purchase.
   “There are potential fixes, but it depends on whether Pan Am is interested in pursuing those fixes,” he said.

MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Smoke billows from an idling train parked near East and West ponds and the old Erie Canal tow path.

Rotterdam Junction resident Dan Dedrick is battling against the trains idling near his home. Despite efforts to get the railroads to stop idling the engines, which casts a haze over the neighborhood, it is still a problem.
MARC SCHULTZ/ GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER

Quoted Text

Put stop to idling trains

   All the local (or even state) laws in the world can’t do much to stop a train from idling for hours or days on end when its owner feels like letting it idle. That’s because interstate trains are governed by interstate commerce law. Still, the situation described in Sunday’s Gazette story, in which people living near the tracks in Rotterdam Junction are prisoners in their own homes when the wind is blowing right, must somehow be addressed. It’s more than a smelly inconvenience, it’s a health threat.
   Diesel exhaust contributes to atmospheric smog, aggravates asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and is classified as a “likely carcinogen” by the Environmental Protection Agency. So there’s no excuse for allowing a train (or any other vehicle) that’s not actually in use, to sit more than a few minutes with its engine running. And running. And running.
   Even if there were no people living in the immediate vicinity whose quality of life and health would be jeopardized by breathing the high concentrations of toxic fumes generated by such a vehicle, it’s inexcusable.
   While the EPA is finally getting around to regulating the emissions — new rules were proposed this year — they give the locomotive owners too long — seven years — to comply. The technology that would enable the engines to be turned off and on without problems is available now, and costs only $5,000 to $20,000 per engine. The fuel savings would allow costs to be recovered in just three years.
   While there has been some voluntary cooperation on this issue between the rail lines and local governments, this is obviously an issue that the federal government needs to address. Local politicians who have had little success seeking relief on their own should ask their congressional representatives for help. And the EPA should speed up the compliance schedule for its new regs.  

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Still, the situation described in Sunday’s Gazette story, in which people living near the tracks in Rotterdam Junction are prisoners in their own homes when the wind is blowing right, must somehow be addressed. It’s more than a smelly inconvenience, it’s a health threat.

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ROTTERDAM
Study looks at Junction water tank options
Expandable design most affordable
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   Building an expandable water tank at the town wellheads in Rotterdam Junction would be the most affordable option in the short run, but would annually cost roughly $2,000 to operate, a private engineering study found.
   The expandable ground-level tank design advocated by the town would require “jockey pumps” for evening low-flow conditions and “fire pumps” for periods of excessive usage to reach the necessary high water elevation, the Barton & Loguidice study determined. Such an option would also require an emergency generator to keep water flowing in the event of a power failure.
   Although the ground-level tank would cost about $39,200 to maintain over a 30-year period, the study found it to be the cheapest alternative to construct at $1.37 million. Constructing a raised tank on the town-owned land off Main Street in Rotterdam Junction would cost about $290,000 less but couldn’t be expanded in the future.
   Other options include constructing a tank on private land off Iroquois Street or on town-owned land off Rynex Corners Road. Both options were estimated to be significantly more costly.
   Supervisor Steve Tommasone said the town is reviewing the results of the study and will soon schedule a new informational meeting with the 577 users in water districts 3 and 4, who will ultimately pay for the tank through bonding. He said a firm decision needs to be reached in the next couple of months to ensure the tank is in place by fall 2008.
   “I’m very confident that what we do there will be a long-term benefit,” he said. “We will not be put into a position that we’ll need to buy a new tank later on.”
   Rotterdam Junction’s decadesold tank off Leggerio Lane is partially buried in the ground and shows nearly 10-foot cracks in its cement cover. Because of the tank’s location near the train tracks, public works officials have found it difficult to maintain.
   The aging tank is also about 60,000 gallons short of the volume needed to support the area’s daily usage. Town officials fear a failure of the existing tank or pumps could present a dangerous situation for residents.
   “There’s a problem here,” Tommasone said of the old water tank. “It needs to be resolved, and it needs to be resolved quickly.”
   The study estimates Rotterdam Junction will need a water tank with about 310,000 gallons of storage to meet projected usage levels within 50 years. Added with the amount of water needed for fire fighting purposes, the study advised the town to build a tank with at least 500,000 gallons of capacity.

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ROTTERDAM
Workshop to gather land-use ideas
Study to focus on Exit 26 area; Bike crossing safety one issue to be discussed
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   Howard Halstead would like to see some changes at the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail’s intersection with Route 5S.
   Often, he said, vehicles are blind to the bike and foot traffic crossing the busy road to access the northwest arm of the trail. Add in the slight bend to the road near a marked crosswalk and the result can be fatal.
   “If I stand in the crosswalk going east to west, cars going east to west won’t see me until it’s way too late,” he explained. “And they’re not going to stop.”
   For Halstead, a member of the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, this problem became a reality last year when friend and fellow cyclist Alan Fairbanks of Burnt Hills was struck and killed while riding into the crosswalk. Halstead and several other members of the group plan to attend a workshop at the Rotterdam Junction firehouse on Wednesday to offer ideas for a land-use and traffi c study the town is conducting near Thruway Exit 26. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
   Town and state officials are hoping to use the workshop to build development guidelines and generate improvement ideas for an area running between the Interstate 890 interchange and the SI Group plant off Route 5S. Town Planner Peter Comenzo said the trail crossing will be among topics up for discussion.
   “It’s to address land use and also the transportation issues,” he said.
   The study is funded by a $25,000 grant through the Capital District Transportation Committee and is similar to one conducted earlier this year near Thruway Exit 25. Comenzo said it’s important the town develop a strategy for traffic and land use in these locations because they represent areas of the town feeling the most significant development pressures.
   “The big thing, obviously, with the interchange areas in Rotterdam is that those areas are being eyed by developers, and we want to make sure we’ve got the appropriate tools in place,” he said.
   There are about three miles of road between Lower Rotterdam Junction and the Exit 26 interchange. This stretch borders the former Bonded Concrete property, where the town is planning a passive park, and includes Kiwanis Park and a public boat launch, which is slated for more than $40,000 worth of improvements.
   Comenzo said the land included in the study is now zoned for residential, industrial and commercial uses. He said a waterline was extended to these areas in 2004 and the undeveloped land could soon face significant building pressures.
   Comenzo said the workshop will enable project planners to get a sense of the issues facing this area. He expects a second forum this winter to discuss the study’s results before incorporating them into an update of the town’s comprehensive plan by the spring.
   “We’re just gathering data at this point,” he said.  

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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Notice of Complete Application

Date: 11/27/2007

Applicant:  NYS DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
50 WOLF RD
ALBANYM NY 12232
Facility: STATE RTE 7 & 2 BRIDGE OVER I-87
STATE RTE 7 AND I-87 (EXITS 5&6)
LATHAM, NY

Application ID: 4-0126-00657/00001

Permits(s) Applied for:

1-     Article 24 Freshwater Wetlands
2-     1 – Section 401 – Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification

Project is located:  in COLONIE in ALBANY COUNTY

Project Description:
The Department of Transportation proposes to replace the bridge which carries State Routes 7 and 2 over interstate I-87.  Additional work will involve modifying and extending acceleration/deceleration lanes between Exits 5 and 6, and reconstruction of Route 7 between Erin Drive and Wade Road.  The project will involve permanent impacts to 3.4 acres of wetlands and temporary impacts to 1.1 acres of wetlands.  As compensatory mitigation for the wetland impacts associated with this project the DOT proposes to create 3.5 acres of mixed forested and shrub wetland in a field on the south side of the Mohawk River, just west of the ramp connecting NYS Thruway Exit 26 and State Route 5-S in the Town of Rotterdam.  The mitigation work will be authorized under a separate permit application (DEC number 4-4228-00263/000001).

Availability of Application Documents:
Filed application documents, and Department draft permits, where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at the address of the contact person.  To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommended that an appointment be made with the contact person.

State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination:
Project is an Unlisted Action and will not have a significant impact on the environment.  A Negative Declaration is on file.  A coordinated review was not performed.

SEQR Lead Agency:
None Designated
State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA) Determination:
A cultural resources survey has been completed.  The report of the survey is on file.  No archaeological sites or historic structures were identified at the project location.  No further review in accordance with SHPA is required.

Availability For Public Comment Person

Comments on this project must be submitted in writing to the NYSDEC Contact Person no later than 12/21/2007 or 16 days after the publication date of this notice, whichever is later.

NYSDEC Contact person:

ANGELO A. MARCUCCIO
1130 N. WESTCOTT RD
SCHENECTADY, NY 12306.
(518) 357-2069

TU – 1 t (59893)

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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Notice of Complete Application

Date: 11/27/2007

Applicant:  NYS DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
50 WOLF RD
ALBANYM NY 12232
Facility: STATE RTE 7 & 2 BRIDGE OVER I-87
STATE RTE 7 AND I-87 (EXITS 5&6)
LATHAM, NY

Application ID: 4-0126-00657/00001

Permits(s) Applied for:

1-     Article 24 Freshwater Wetlands
2-     1 – Section 401 – Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification

Project is located:  in COLONIE in ALBANY COUNTY

Project Description:
The Department of Transportation proposes to replace the bridge which carries State Routes 7 and 2 over interstate I-87.  Additional work will involve modifying and extending acceleration/deceleration lanes between Exits 5 and 6, and reconstruction of Route 7 between Erin Drive and Wade Road.  The project will involve permanent impacts to 3.4 acres of wetlands and temporary impacts to 1.1 acres of wetlands.  As compensatory mitigation for the wetland impacts associated with this project the DOT proposes to create 3.5 acres of mixed forested and shrub wetland in a field on the south side of the Mohawk River, just west of the ramp connecting NYS Thruway Exit 26 and State Route 5-S in the Town of Rotterdam.  The mitigation work will be authorized under a separate permit application (DEC number 4-4228-00263/000001).

Availability of Application Documents:
Filed application documents, and Department draft permits, where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at the address of the contact person.  To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommended that an appointment be made with the contact person.

State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination:
Project is an Unlisted Action and will not have a significant impact on the environment.  A Negative Declaration is on file.  A coordinated review was not performed.

SEQR Lead Agency:
None Designated
State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA) Determination:
A cultural resources survey has been completed.  The report of the survey is on file.  No archaeological sites or historic structures were identified at the project location.  No further review in accordance with SHPA is required.

Availability For Public Comment Person

Comments on this project must be submitted in writing to the NYSDEC Contact Person no later than 12/21/2007 or 16 days after the publication date of this notice, whichever is later.

NYSDEC Contact person:

ANGELO A. MARCUCCIO
1130 N. WESTCOTT RD
SCHENECTADY, NY 12306.
( 518 ) 357-2069

TU – 1 t (59893)

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Mr. Tommasone,

I understand that you have a meeting regarding the Exit 26 area study as well as the bike safety study with the path which crosses Route 5S in the Rotterdam Junction area tonight.  

Since I am not going to be able to attend tonight, I was wondering if you would be able to give feedback on this.  Also, I was wondering if there was any further information also on the water tank issue for that part of town.

Also, I don't know that you were aware, but I was wondering what impact the recent application with the NYSDEC may have on any outcome of the study.  

I put a copy of this application on-line at the following link:
http://www.rotterdamny.info//m-1182044519/.

Please also find attached a copy of the text of this application attached.

Thanks for your input on all of these issues and I look forward to Rotterdam remaining and continuing to grow as "A Nice Place to Live."

Cordially,

Kevin T. March
163 Princetown Road
Rotterdam, NY 12306

cc: Stephen Tommasone
Robert Godlewski
John Mertz
Diane Marco
Joseph Signore
http://www.RotterdamNY.Info//m-1182044519/

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ROTTERDAM
Residents share concerns at Thruway Exit 26 workshop
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Traffic speeds on Route 5S, the future water needs of Rotterdam Junction and a dangerous crossing on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail topped the list of concerns during the town’s first workshop for the Thruway Exit 26 land-use and transportation study,
    Town and state officials are hoping to use comments from the workshop to form development guidelines and generate improvement ideas for an area from the Interstate 890 interchange to the SI Group plant off Route 5S. Town Planner Peter Comenzo said comments from the meeting will be incorporated into the study, which will then be used to update the town’s comprehensive plan.
    Comenzo said a water main extended to the study area in 2004 created the potential for development. But because the comprehensive plan hasn’t been updated since 2001, some of the potential projects may not be consistent with the zoning laws.
    “What we do here is really going to shape the future,” he told a crowd of about three dozen people gathered at the Rotterdam Junction firehouse Wednesday evening.
    Project engineers estimate that roughly 355 acres in the study area could be developed. This land could accommodate up to 165 homes or 1.75 million square feet of industrial space, said Jim Donovan, a senior landscape architect working on the project. “As you can see, there is some potential for growth in this area.”
    The study also determined Route 5S has the capacity to handle nearly twice the traffic now traveling it daily. However, Donovan said a “full build-out” of the developable land would result in difficult conditions on the road.
    “At some point, you’re going to need to think about how to handle all the extra traffic,” he said.
    Recent traffic studies determined more than half the vehicles passing through the area are traveling faster than 40 mph. More than a quarter of the traffic was traveling faster than 55 mph.
    Some residents said the fast rate of traffic around a curve on Route 5S, coupled with poor sign visibility near its intersection with the bikehike trail, endangers pedestrians and cyclists. Fred Thompson, a member of the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, suggested moving signs farther away from the crossing and incorporating motion sensor lighting.
    “There is not enough awareness of what is going on at that crossing,” said Thompson, whose longtime friend, Alan Fairbanks, was struck in the intersection last year and later died. “I know it’s an expensive fix, but a life is a life.”
    Others suggested the planners should tie in the area’s potential for development with the capacity of the new water tank proposed for Rotterdam Junction. Town offi cials are working with the 577 water users in the area to replace the badly deteriorating tank off Leggerio Lane.
    “Why should we pay for an alternative we don’t need,” asked resident Gene Szymanski. “We need to figure out what the area needs.”
    The study is funded by a $25,000 grant through the Capital District Transportation Committee and is similar to one conducted earlier this year near Thruway Exit 25. Comenzo said a second forum will be conducted this winter to discuss the study’s results.     

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the Town Board can be aggressive with plans in the Spring.

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Mr. Comenzo,

I was just reviewing the file which is on-line on the towns website regarding the above study that had been done and realize that you had the public work session just over one month ago.  I was wondering what, if any input was given by the residents during this study, as I was unable to attend.  Also, I was wondering what is the next thing that is going to occur with the development of this land throughout Rotterdam Junction.

Also, if you could please advise what, if any, effect the recent application by the NYSDEC for the land in this area would have.  I assume that the area to be conserved is kept out of any of the planning in this area?  A copy of said application can be found on RotterdamNY.Info at the following link: http://www.rotterdamny.info//m-1182044519/.  

I look forward to hearing what ideas you have for the upcoming development of this land.  

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Kevin T. March
163 Princetown Road
Rotterdam, NY 12306

cc: http://www.rotterdamny.info//m-1182044519/

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Hi Kevin:

I’m having the consultant compile our handwritten notes from the meeting and will forward you a copy of them hopefully by the end of the week.  I have always found meetings in Rotterdam Junction to be extremely well attended and we received some great feedback at the meeting.

The technical advisory group for this study which consists of planners from the Capital District Transportation Committee, Capital District Transportation Authority, Schenectady County Economic Development and Planning, NYS Department of Transportation, NYS Canal Corporation and I are meeting to discuss what information we gathered from the public next week on January 16th.  We had hoped to meet in late December but the holiday’s complicated things.    

The consultant (Wilbur Smith and Associates which also prepared the Exit 25A/Burdeck Street Plan) will be looking to the technical committee for guidance and will present Draft Land Use Plan(s) for feedback.  Additionally, we will be looking to schedule another public meeting in Rotterdam Junction to present these plan(s).  It will most likely be the last week in January.  Please keep in mind that this study is limited to the area from SI Group to the Interchange as our grant monies (25K) are fairly limited.

The plan is to wrap up this study as well as the Hamburg Street linkage study in February/March.  The town will then have 3 complete “sub-area” plans (Exit 25/Hamburg, Exit 25A/Burdeck, and Exit 26/Route-5s) for the areas of town that have the greatest potential for development.  The administration felt that these areas are critical to the update to our Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Regulations and has been very supportive of this effort.  CDTC has provided Rotterdam grant monies for all of these studies.  I would expect this spring you will see lots of activity by the Town Board with several public meetings throughout the town to get these recommendations fine-tuned and then implemented.

I’m not aware of any NYSDEC conservation activities in the area; however, NYSDOT is proposing a mitigation area for wetlands in the vicinity of the exit ramp for Route 5s along the bike trail.  This area has no potential for development and the NYSDOT representative has assured me that once completed, it will be attractive.  I believe they are also planning on installing a few benches for bird watching.  If you go to the next meeting, it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask about the mitigation area as it always helps to reinforce the public’s vision of what “attractive” is as it may differ from the definition of a DOT engineer.

Public involvement in the process is the key to completing this effort and the “studies” are the easy part.  Implementation is the key and this administration has assured me that it is a top priority.

Call me anytime, if you have additional questions.

Peter

Peter Comenzo - Senior Planner
Town of Rotterdam
1100 Sunrise Boulevard
Rotterdam, NY  12306
518-355-7660 (phone)
518-355-2725 (fax)

e-mail:  pcomenzo@rotterdamny.org

town website:  http://www.rotterdamny.org

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Town moves
ahead on water
tank project
    ROTTERDAM — Town officials approved another study to advance the project to build a new water tank in Rotterdam Junction.
    Board members OK’d a $5,700 contract with Barton & Loguidice last week to provide a base mapping, topography and boundary survey for the new tank. The study is the latest development in the town’s push to replace a decadesold tank off Leggerio Lane.
    Supervisor Steve Tommasone indicated the study is the next step in moving the project forward. He said the town is in final negotiations with a property owner to secure an ideal location for the tank.
    “It’s really just the next step and the tasks associated with siting the new tank,” he said Tuesday of the new study. “We’re not just spending more money.”
    Tommasone said the tank is estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. He anticipates the project will start sometime during the spring.
    In November, the engineering firm returned a study that determined an expandable ground-level tank built at the wellheads in Rot terdam Junction would be the best alternative and cost $1.37 million. However, due to a number of environmental circumstances, building a tank by the wellheads would require an investment of roughly $39,200 to maintain over a 30-year period.

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ROTTERDAM
Signs along river trail will educate about native plants
Rotary Club, artists offer help with project
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

    Patrick Clear has a habit of picking up a few stragglers every time he teaches his Mohawk River Program in the spring.
    As part of his four-day class exploring the habitat along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, the executive director of the Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady sets up dozens of temporary signs along a one-mile stretch between Lock 8 and historic Lock 23 on the original Erie Canal. Each sign displays a picture and gives his fourth-grade students a brief description of the various plant species growing on the riverbanks, but also has the effect of luring a few curious hikers down the path.
    “I usually have a small group of people that follows along and read them when I put them up,” he said.
    Last year, Clear’s signs drew the attention of former county legislator Mike Iacobucci, who noticed the signs while on a walk with friends. After reading a few with great interest, Iacobucci was struck with an idea: Why not create tasteful signs that could be posted on the trail year round?
    “It’s very educational not only for children but for adults also,” he said. “A lot of these plants you’re not aware they are just growing wild.”
    Iacobucci and Clear are now leading an initiative to post 31 permanent signs marking species that are often unknown and undetected by people using the trail. Each of the 8-by-10-inch signs will feature a picture of the species drawn by local artists and a brief description of its place along the Mohawk.
    So far, Iacobucci said the effort has received support from the Sunshine Rotary Club, which will help raise roughly $3,200 needed. He said the signs will be made of “vandal-proof” material and mounted in areas of the trail near where the plants grow.
    “So not only can you look at the sign, but you can have an opportunity to look at the plant itself,” he said.
    Clear said artists Pauline Bono of Clifton Park, Pat Goodale of Saratoga Springs and Union College junior Reed Olsen volunteered to create color renditions from photographs.
    Clear said about 25 of the signs will identify plants native to the riverside, including bloodroot, a perennial flowering plant that is protected in New York; staghorn sumac, a deciduous shrub that produces berries with a tart lemon-like flavor, and stinging nettle, a nutrient-rich plant with a variety of applications in herbal medicine.
    Other signs will show some of the invasive species now causing problems for native plants. Clear said these include garlic mustard, wild honeysuckle and purging buckthorn.
    Once the signs are complete, Clear said the town of Rotterdam has agreed to help mount them along the trail. He said similar signs are placed along a small trail leading down to the river near the Rexford Bridge.
    “Only this is a much longer stretch in an area that gets much much more use,” he said.
    Once the signs are in place this spring, Iacobucci is planning an outreach effort to local schools and youth groups so they are aware of the resource. He hopes the sign will raise awareness of the Mohawk ecosystem among both youth and adults.
    “This will actually bring people to see what the canal has to offer,” he said.

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Workshop set
tonight on use
of Exit 26 land
    ROTTERDAM — Officials from the town and Capital District Transportation Committee will host their second Exit 26 land-use and transportation workshop tonight.
    The workshop will again be hosted at the Rotterdam Junction Fire Department on Main Street, starting at 7 p.m. The committee is developing guidelines to help enhance the multimodal potential of the area.
    The scope of this study includes the area bordered by the Mohawk River to the east; the state Thruway to the west; Mabie Lane to the north and undeveloped land just south of the Exit 26 interchange ramps. Located within the study area is a portion of Route 5S, the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail and the Kiwanis Park.
    Consultants will present proposed changes and collect comments from residents and interested parties. These comments will be used to make any necessary changes and then ultimately finalize the proposed changes for inclusion in the study area plan.

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Owner of Pattersonville property cited again
Thursday, March 6, 2008
By Justin Mason (Contact)
Gazette Reporter


Photographer: Meredith Kaiser
A truck and several trailers sit Wednesday on property along Route 5S in Pattersonville owned by Michael Marotta of Rotterdam Junction. marotta was recently cited by the town of Rotterdam for allegedly violating its ordinance regarding outdoor storage and junk on properties.

PATTERSONVILLE — Michael Marotta is facing new legal troubles regarding the condition of his property on Route 5S.
Town Attorney Patrick Saccocio said Marotta was cited under Rotterdam’s ordinance governing the outside storage of junk and vehicle. The violation carries a maximum fine of up to $250 and up to 15 days in prison.
Saccosio said the town documented a number of noncompliant items on the vacant land, including trailers, unregistered vehicles and mechanical parts. He said the violation didn’t include any offense against county Intermunicipal Watershed Board regulations.
In January, Marotta pleaded no guilty to the offense and is scheduled to reappear in April, town court officials indicated. Andrew Healey, Marotta’s attorney of record, could not reached today.
For nearly two years, the town and the county have wrangled with Marotta over the use and condition of his vacant property, located near the intersection of routes 5S and 160. Both the county Health Department and Intermunicipal Watershed Board filed charges against Marotta, saying the old machinery and vehicles stored on it could pose a threat to a sensitive recharge area of the Great Flats Aquifer.
Schenectady County officials are moving ahead with a lawsuit against Marotta, intended to allow them to lease out a portion of his land to recoup roughly $15,000 in fees incurred from a cleanup of the property in May. The county is also in the midst of foreclosing on three properties owned by Marotta adjacent to his blighted land.
“We’re going forward with our actions,” County Attorney Chris Gardner said Thursday.

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ROTTERDAM
Landowner cited over junk on property
County cleaned parcel last summer; neighbors upset
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

Michael Marotta is facing new legal troubles regarding the condition of his property off Route 5S in Pattersonville.
    Town Attorney Patrick Saccocio said the landowner was cited under Rotterdam’s ordinance governing the outside storage of junk and vehicles. The violation carries a maximum fine of up to $250 and up to 15 days in prison.
    Saccocio said the town documented a number of noncompliant items on the vacant land, including trailers, unregistered vehicles and mechanical parts. He said the violation didn’t include any offense against the county Intermunicipal Watershed Board regulations.
    In January, Marotta pleaded not guilty to the offense and is scheduled to reappear in April, town court officials indicated. Andrew Healey, Marotta’s attorney of record, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
    For more than two years, the town and the county have wrangled with Marotta over the use and condition of his vacant property, located near the Route 160 intersection with Route 5S. Both the county Health Department and watershed board filed charges against Marotta, citing that the old machinery and vehicles stored on it could pose a threat to a sensitive recharge area of the Great Flats Aquifer.
    County officials funded a $15,000 cleanup of the property last summer and have since filed a lawsuit against Marotta to recoup the cost under a seldom-used provision of public health law. If successful, the county would assume control of Marotta’s land and then lease it to a third party until they could recover their money.
    County Attorney Chris Gardner said the case should be resolved or go to trial later this month. He said the county is also intending to seize three of Marotta’s other properties near the blighted land for unpaid taxes.
    “We’re going forward with our actions,” he said Thursday.
    Gardner said the county Legislature will consider a resolution Tuesday in support of a state law strengthening penalties for violations that threaten water supplies. Shawn Schultz, a neighbor of the property and a member of Friends of the Aquifer, said the steady procession of junk moving onto Marotta’s land hasn’t stopped. She said Marotta brings the trailers in late at night and then leaves them for months at a time.
    “These are not things coming in and out,” she said. “These are things that have been there for months and months.”
    Since the fall, Schultz and members of her organization have logged the steady movement of trailers onto the property and submitted the lists to the town. She said at least eight trailers are now on the property.
    “He just brought one in three days a go,” she said. “It’s just mind boggling.”

Quoted from bumblethru

Isn't it just amazing how the powers to be will go for the jugglar of a private citizen when it comes to protecting the aquifer, and yet just ride down Campbell Road and look at all of the past and present developments APPROVED by the past and present powers to be. AMAZING!!

Quoted Text

Both the county Health Department and watershed board filed charges against Marotta, citing that the old machinery and vehicles stored on it could pose a threat to a sensitive recharge area of the Great Flats Aquifer.

Quoted Text

Gardner said the county Legislature will consider a resolution Tuesday in support of a state law strengthening penalties for violations that threaten water supplies. Shawn Schultz, a neighbor of the property and a member of Friends of the Aquifer, said the steady procession of junk moving onto Marotta’s land hasn’t stopped. She said Marotta brings the trailers in late at night and then leaves them for months at a time.
    “These are not things coming in and out,” she said. “These are things that have been there for months and months.”
    Since the fall, Schultz and members of her organization have logged the steady movement of trailers onto the property and submitted the lists to the town. She said at least eight trailers are now on the property.
    “He just brought one in three days a go,” she said. “It’s just mind boggling.”

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM JUNCTION
Onrust volunteers hammer away on ship
Replica will eventually be floating museum
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    After nearly 18 months of backbreaking labor to re-create the first European ship built in New York, it’s hard for Schenectady County’s volunteer boat-building crew to remember what they did before the Onrust came along.
    “We used to be retired,” said Jerry Bobar, a former General Electric employee who has been working on the Dutch yacht for three days a week in rain, sleet, snow and now mud.
    They have about a year of work left on their epic project, but all of the major challenges are behind them. As they cut deck planking for the finishing touches on Tuesday, they said they can’t quite believe it’s nearly over.
    “They’re already saying, ‘What will we do when it’s done?’ ” said project organizer Greta Wagle. “I said, ‘Well, I can think of another project …’ ”
    The Onrust will become a fl oating museum and a showcase in the state’s quadricentennial festivities, which will commemorate Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage to America.
    Onrust will memorialize an event that took place five years later, when a desperate crew of Dutch traders built a ship after theirs burned off the Manhattan shore.
    To add to the challenge, the shipbuilding novices in Schenectady are trying to replicate the Dutch ship using authentic 17th century shipbuilding techniques, which they believe has never been done before.
    The idea seemed like a pipe dream when it was first proposed two years ago. Organizers for the nonprofi t New Netherland Routes struggled to raise money at first and then hit delays as they searched for oak trees to build the 50-foot-long sailing craft.
    They were allowed to use modern tools to cut down the trees and mill the boards. Then the adventure started.
    None of the volunteers had ever before even wanted to build a boat, much less learn to warp boat ribs over a fire pit or hammer the planks into place with wooden nails. They joked that Wagle had to trick them into volunteering for such a task.
    “Little did I know it was going to be so much work,” said George Bowdish. “It was supposed to be a hobby.”
    Now his Princetown house is home to every volunteer who can carry a board. Men warm up around the kitchen table between stints at the portable sawmill. His dog carries around scraps of lumber and begs visitors to toss the boards for a game of fetch.
    His front yard hosts a pile of 50-foot-long logs, destined to become the Onrust’s rudder and lee-boards. Behind his house, the ground has been trampled to a sea of mud around a stack of freshly cut lumber. In short, the Onrust has enveloped his entire life.
    And he can’t get enough of it.
    On Tuesday, he gathered up his crew at 9 a.m. and headed out into the cold to carefully mill Onrustsized boards. After lunch, they all went right back outside to continue the job. There were no complaints about sore muscles, poor weather or the tedious repetition of the sawing. Instead, they said they were lucky to have such an experience.
    “It’s something we’ll never get to do again,” Bobar said. “It’s one of a kind. I don’t think anyone will ever build anything like it.”
    Volunteer Dan Grzybowski added that it will give the entire crew bragging rights for the rest of their lives.
    “There aren’t many people in this country who can say they built a wooden ship,” he said.
    The group has to harvest just two or three more trees and raise only another $80,000 to finish the $400,000 project, Wagle said.
    “We’ve passed the major challenges,” she said. “We’re nicely on time — we might even be a little bit ahead because of the core team. They worked all winter. They didn’t want to quit.”
    Much of the work has taken place in backyards around the state, where New Netherland Routes purchased oak trees from anyone they could find. Money also went into contracting for the expensive, custom-made sail and other equipment, including the mandatory engine.
    The ship is taking form at the Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction, under a Dutch pole barn built specifically to shelter the Onrust.

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Historian Don Rittner stands below decks in the Onrust at the Mabee Farm on Tuesday. After nearly 18 months of labor to re-create the fi rst European ship built in New York, volunteers still have about a year of work left on the project.
Bringing history to life

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ROTTERDAM
History center plan unveiled
$2M site near Mabee Farm would be for education
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Fitting Schenectady County's history into a 17th century farmhouse isn't easy these days.
    Already, many of the county's artifacts are packed in barns around the historic Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction. The small farm house off Route 5S is barely large enough to fit the offices the Schenectady County Historical Society now maintains there, much less the programs the organization runs from spring until the fall.
gazette.com  "Right now,
    our gift shop is on the front porch," said Ed Reilly Jr., the society's president.
    But all this could change with the long-awaited proposal of the George E. Franchere Educational Center. Members of the Rotterdam Planning Commission got a fi rst glimpse Tuesday of the 13,000-square-foot building the historical society aims to build on 27 acres acquired from Schenectady County in February.
    The proposed $2 million facility would serve as a visitor center for the historical society and allow the organization to operate programs year-round. In addition to a 120-seat lecture hall, the center would include space for a kitchen, gift shop, exhibits and the historical society offices now on the second floor of the Mabee home.
    Historical society member and architect Keith Cramer said the new building would include two stories in addition to a basement that would also be utilized for space. He said the design would blend with the architecture of other historic buildings on the property.
    "It will look like a farmhouse with a modern addition," he said.
    The center would also allow the organization to move all of its operations out of the Mabee home, which is recognized as the oldest house in the Mohawk Valley. About half of the new building would be used to house an ever-expanding collection of artifacts.
    "One of our greatest needs right now is space," said Merritt Glennon, the historical society's vice president and chairman of the Mabee Farm Committee.
    Parking would be included in front of the new building and utilize the entrance leading to the Mabee home. In addition, a bus circle and second entrance would be added to the lot, while the existing driveway to farmhouse would be closed off to vehicle traffic, according to the plans.
YEARS OF HOPES
    For more than a decade, historical society members have advocated building an education and visitor center on the property, but were unable to fi nd space on the 9-acre Mabee farm. Last year, Schenectady County officials agreed to sell the organization 27 acres adjacent to the farm and formerly used by the Keepers of the Circle, a Native American heritage group.
    Any project to build on the land will face a number of approvals due to the property's location within Zone III of the aquifer recharge area. Planning commission members also questioned whether archaeological studies had been conducted at the site of the new building.
    Documents have shown the Mabee farm had a slave population up until 1827. Historical society members have previously searched for an unmarked slave burial ground, but have never located a plot.
    Planning commission member Richard Karp also questioned whether Rotterdam Junction's water districts could sustain the new building. Plans are in the works for a new water tank for the two districts, which are now about 60,000 gallons short of the volume needed to support the area's daily use.
    "We've had a lot of problems with water and this will just exacerbate them," he said.
    But overall, commission members seemed receptive to the project, which also includes environmentally friendly elements, such as solar powering and geothermal heating. Chairman Lawrence DiLallo said the new building would be a benefi t for both the town and county.
    "It's a very exciting project," he said.

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ROTTERDAM
Replacement of deteriorating water tank to be discussed
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazett