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Three years later: What’s the plan?

Posted 10/16/14

To the Editor: In October of 2011, the citizens advocacy group, YESeleven, addressed a public forum hosted by the North Country Regional Economic Council, (NCREDC). The theme of the statement made by …

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Three years later: What’s the plan?

Posted

To the Editor:

In October of 2011, the citizens advocacy group, YESeleven, addressed a public forum hosted by the North Country Regional Economic Council, (NCREDC). The theme of the statement made by YESeleven was that we were falling behind in the upkeep of our village, town and county highway and bridge infrastructure maintenance.

The group further made the point that our water, sewer and electric grid infrastructure and internet development was either failing or inadequate across the county. YESeleven quoted statistics from highway and infrastructure studies that we found on the NCREDC’s own website.

At that time, SLC Legislature chairwoman, Sallie Brothers, was the chairperson of the NCREDC’s Transportation Subcommittee. A number of pro “I-98” legislators, bureaucrats and partisan supporters, including current legislature chairperson, Jonathan Putney,were in attendance and heard these statistical facts reported.

Apparently, they heard but did not listen. I say that because they all seemed so surprised when those same numbers that YESeleven reported 3 years ago surfaced a few months ago when the county highway superintendent reported that it would require 28 million dollars over the next 10 years to address our failing highways and bridges.

So, here we are, 3 years later. What’s the plan? We can’t solve this problem with county property tax increases or the recent 25% increase in the county sales tax rate. The Indian Gaming Compact money won’t do it, either. That leaves two choices; do nothing or spend some bi-partisan political energy to engage Albany and Washington for financial help.

Here’s another idea; shelve the fanatical partisan obsession with the unjustifiable devotion to“I-98”. The many billions of dollars are not there to even start it, and it offers no solutions in any near, mid or long term, for our pressing infrastructure needs.

Businesses are not going to make decisions based on what may or may not be here 20 or 30 years hence. The advertising, promotion and lobbying for this issue has bled more political energy and public money from our more immediate needs than most of us can imagine.

It has rendered one of our main political parties dysfunctional by making the issue a required partisan loyalty test. Stop being, “I-98 Truthers”!

John Danis

Rensselaer Falls