To the Editor:

After reading the Oct. 6 article titled “North Country Seeking $26.6 Million” I came away with more questions than answers concerning the redevelopment of Snell and Congdon Halls on Clarkson University. Why was this funding approved for Omni Development (the contractor), when Clarkson is the owner of the property?

Why is the North Country Regional Council accepting an application from a company that is based out of Albany, which should be covered under the Capital Region Economic Development Council?

Was Clarkson not allowed to file this grant itself? (Due to the President also being the Chairman of the Northern Economic Development Council, which promotes this project).

Omni Development is already the “chosen” company for this project; if this project relies heavily on taxpayer funding, shouldn’t there be a sealed bid for choosing the developer?

Since this construction is funded with taxpayer money, will the labor be paid a NY State rate? Why wasn’t the public given an answer about where the estimated 165 jobs were coming from? How many of those jobs are temporary construction workers (sending their wages back to Albany)? The Omni Company has already secured $1.185 million for this project last year.

Why can they reapply for $2.8 million more in funding this year, before they have even started the first phase of construction?

If they truly secured this funding- why are they leasing from Clarkson? Another occupant- The North Country Children’s Museum, also received 1.2 million dollars in capital improvement funding- will this go expressly into Snell Hall remodeling?

How much does the Museum pay to rent out space in the Snell property- or is it gratis?

On March 8 Omni COO Duncan Barrett stated he would be speaking to the village about a payment in lieu of taxes, but July 7 of this year, an Editor’s note stated the company will be paying taxes on the property while it leases it from Clarkson.

Which scenario is true, and have they hired the County IDA to push for this collaboration to be sales and mortgage tax exempt?

It seems every rule associated with government expenditures of taxpayer funds is thrown out the window concerning economic development money, or perhaps this is exclusive to the North Country.

I hope a reporter can get answers to these questions before Omni or Clarkson ask officials to have their tax burden waived.

Peggy Brusso,

Potsdam