To the Editor:

My first area of concern when I initially got involved in running for a seat on the village board Nov. 3 was transparency on the board. There were issues that I would not have been aware of had I not been present at meetings. I am speaking mostly about the power dam oversight.

Taxpayer money is invested in this infrastructure and it has been poorly organized over the past few years. I do believe the board has recently been taking proper steps to improve and optimize the efficiency of the situation.

My concern is the fact that we have ended up in this situation and now have to dig ourselves out. It is obvious there were steps that could have been taken along the way that could have put our village in a much better financial situation where we would be reaping the benefits of efficiently producing hydropower.

When an idea to invest taxpayer money is proposed to the board, the board members should be educated on the idea to make a proper decision. Conduct a study to collect necessary information and data to show economic impact of the proposed idea prior to decision. I have heard a lot of great ideas from people around the community. I would work to quantify these ideas and show how we can make them work - or why they would not work. I have not been exposed to the extent of data available or not available.

We are at a point where the village and town may be proposed great opportunities. How will we know if these opportunities should or should not be taken without the proper information? I want to have direction in mind for the village; know who we are and where we are headed.

At the last board meeting, a code official, Greg Thompson, spoke of the influx of construction taking place this winter. He said, the amount of building projects is unusual for this time of year but we will certainly take it with a smile.

The area is experiencing a small amount of growth with larger growth on the cusp. What direction is best for this community? Shall we focus on being a small college town or do we want to invite development and growth? It's a tough question to answer without the proper information at hand.

I am an advocate for bringing development to the area but what's worse is having abandoned and broken down buildings littering the village.

The village of Potsdam residents endure some of the highest taxes in the country. When I look at a map of the village, I see seventy percent of the land area as nontaxable. The remaining thirty percent is left to fund the village budget. I support the local institutions, however, I am curious the extent of their contributions versus what could otherwise be collected monetarily to fund the local budget. Generating rental revenue on a nontaxable property should be highly scrutinized and there is far too much of it going on around our village.

I want to see the board put more effort into ideas to attract commerce in the downtown area. The stretch of Market Street between Elm and Main is a low traffic area and is proudly utilized for the summer block party and the colleges’ first weekend events.

I would like to see something more permanent done to this stretch that would give a facelift and attract people. My initial thought is to reduce this portion to two lanes and create a twenty-foot median that would consist of picnic tables, a clock, and trees.

This creates a public area near a park and next to shops in a low traffic area for residents to relax and potentially find their way into a store or restaurant.

I am a young man with drive, vision, and passion to improve a place that I call home.

Nick Sheehan

Democratic Candidate for Potsdam Village Trustee