Another Public Hearing On The New Lebanon Sidewalks Project

by Thaddeus Flint
The first public hearing on the New Lebanon Sidewalks Project, held at the Town Hall back in March, was so popular not everyone could get in. Some had wondered if it should really be considered a Public Hearing if only a tiny portion of the public could get in.
While the design firm behind the project, Creighton Manning of Albany, insisted that the requirements for a hearing had been met, New Lebanon Town Supervisor Mike Benson decided to hold a second hearing Monday night, May 13. This one was held in the high school gymnasium, which accommodated everyone, and nobody had to stand out by the bathrooms or in the parking lot like last time.
[private]This second hearing also was to be a bit different in that when residents asked questions there would be answers.
“The rules were somewhat restrictive,” admitted Benson of the first hearing. “This is a little bit more informal.”
Being more informal allowed the Board and Creighton Manning to answer questions this time – well at least to reply to questions. There is a lot of information on the project, but specific answers to specific questions were a bit more elusive.
According to Don Adams, the Project Manager from Creighton Manning, the sidewalks would run 1½ miles on the north side of Routes 20 and 22 from Lover’s Lane to the high school. There are four options, with the cheapest being to do nothing and the most expensive costing around $1.55 million. Funding is expected to come largely from the Federal Government which would cover 80% of costs. The remaining 20% was described as being “local,” with Columbia County possibly contributing 15% of that 20% and the rest being left for the Town of New Lebanon to pay for.
As with many public projects, it turns out nobody really knows the exact cost yet. NYSDOT funding is “uncertain,” admitted Adams, although he expects they will contribute something seeing as how it is their road and it will need repairing anyway. The DOT also doesn’t agree with the figures Creighton Manning has put together. Instead of $1.55 million, they are leaning closer to $3 million, which would then double the current estimates for resident responsibility.
Getting a feel for how residents as a whole view the project is difficult. There were decent numbers in attendance both for and against the project, although those against were a bit more vocal. It’s possible people against projects are also more prone to attending public hearings. Perhaps they talk louder too. How the Chatham Courier came to the conclusion though that “Most NL residents don’t want sidewalks,” as their headline proclaimed after the March hearing, is curious. At most there were around 80 people at that hearing. For a Town with a population that hovers around 2,000 that would give only a sampling of about 4% of residents if everyone provided their opinion, which certainly was not the case.
Some want better numbers, and for them there is no better way than holding a referendum.
“If the Town Board really listened to its constituent,” said resident Kevin Smith, “they would put it to a referendum.” This sentiment was echoed by many others in the room.
Will there be a referendum? “We haven’t made that determination yet,” said Benson.
Councilman Matt Larabee, however, had a made a determination. He welcomed a referendum. “Whatever they want, I will go along with,” he said he said of the residents.
Some then wanted to know how to go about forcing a referendum. “It’s in the Town Law,” pointed out Councilman Bruce Baldwin.
Some wanted more detail than that. Baldwin wasn’t going to look it up for them. “It’s so simple it’s ridiculous. Consult the Town Law,” he advised. “If the community wants a referendum they need to present it.”
“This is a democracy!” someone voiced. Actually American government is organized as a republic. If it were truly a democracy there would be a referendum on everything. “It would get down to [Town Clerk Colleen Teal] wanting to buy pencils and somebody will say ‘let’s have a referendum!’” said resident and former Councilman Monty Wasch. “Our referendums happen every two years; we elect these people,” he said.
This was why the Board was sitting there listening to the residents for the second time. “We are here as a Town Board to understand what our constituents want,” said Benson.
One thing most residents wanted was to save the middle turning lane. One plan would eliminate it in the hopes of “traffic calming,” which is the calm that happens as traffic backs up to Pittsfield because someone going south wants to get a lottery ticket at Stewart’s on a Friday night during ski season. Whether for or against the sidewalks, the public seemed most united when it came to saving the turning lane.
According to Phyllis Hulbert of the Lebanon Valley Protective Association, “Since that center lane went in our accidents there have almost gone to zero.”
Safety, in fact, was one of the key reasons for the plan in the first place. Former School Board Member Michael Brutsch recalls that the Town wanted the school’s support of the original project because it was to go from the high school to Shatford Park. Now it goes the other way. Resident Ruth Frambach questioned the wisdom of a sidewalk to the business district from the high school. “Put it only up to the park,” she said, “instead of downtown to the OTB.”
Joan Phelps, who runs the Theater Barn, would prefer that it go further west. Instead of kids walking to the OTB you could have OTB patrons walking to the theater. “New Lebanon is more than one mile long,” said Phelps.
Resident Tistrya Hamilton said that “making a nice walkable downtown will not be achieved by these plans.” For one, they currently lack any way of getting across the street safely. Crosswalks was another feature most people seemed to want.
Would there be crosswalks? Adams couldn’t give an answer. That would be up to DOT. Even if crosswalks were to be added, there would be no southern sidewalk to cross to and no crossing button to stop traffic whilst crossing.
Another question that keeps getting asked is who is going to be responsible for the maintenance of the sidewalks. The Town would have to decide on that, explained Adams. Since that hasn’t been decided some residents can’t decide if they want to support the project or not. It’s possible the Town would take care of them. It’s also possible that the responsibility would remain with the landowners who no longer owned the land. “If they no longer own it they shouldn’t have to maintain it,” was resident Patricia Burnell’s opinion, and it seemed to be a popular one. Both Tony Murad and Wasch, who are members of the Lebanon Valley Business Association and who both support the sidewalks, said that they would propose that the LVBA take on the responsibility of sidewalk upkeep.
Possibly the most sensitive issue is that of eminent domain. If the sidewalks go in and the center lane is saved, private property will be needed. While Adams maintains that market value will be offered not everyone necessarily wants such an offer in the first place. Residents could decline the offer, but then it would be up to a State Judge. Declining the Judge’s finding is possible for those with the money to fund such legal endeavours, and it could go finally to an appeals process.
In the meantime Ed Godfroy suggested that Creighton Manning mark out the exact boundaries of the sidewalks so residents could see exactly how it would impact their homes and businesses. Godfroy also noted that many of the big trees along the way might be impacted.
Adams said, “We think that’s a great idea,” but it would have to wait until after a meeting with DOT this Friday. It might also have to wait until after the Town Board makes a decision to pursue the project further. The Board believed there was a lengthy period of time before any decisions needed to be made. This turns out not to be true, and an emergency meeting has been scheduled for May 21 at 7 pm in the Town Hall.[/private]