Town website problems caused by previous administration
Joe Roberti Jr. asked questions in his letter last week regarding the town’s website.
His questions regarding the money spent, the contract process, and the lack of progress on the website need to be addressed to the previous administration (Kelly Myers) and previous head of the Economic Development Committee (Steve Guerin). The inability to respond to Mr. Roberti’s FOIL request was because the previous administration did not follow the Town’s Procurement Policy.
The current administration did look at the website shell developed by Creative Digital Design. When it was designed, there were no procedures or policies put in place by the previous administration to provide information to the website. No discussion every occurred with the village about creating a new website (both the town and village use the current site www.saugerties.ny.us). No discussion ever happened with the person who currently manages the town and village website about moving information or merging the websites. The current website manager provides his services to the town and village for free.
To actually use the website shell created by Creative Digital Design more money would need to be spent, procedures and processes would need to be developed to populate the website with information, including moving information from the current website and a person would need to be paid to update and maintain the website.
Individual departments, like Tourism and Economic Development, are looking to develop websites for specific audiences, separate from the official town and village website. These websites would provide links to the official site. Local talent would be used. And, yes, they did look at the Creative Digital Design (CDD) website shell and the amount of money required by CDD to proceed was prohibitive.
While the current website may not be to Mr. Roberti’s liking, it is managed by a local volunteer resident and costs the town and village almost nothing. The information on it is transparent and available for all citizens to see and use.
So, yes, Kelly Myers and Steve Guerin did waste the taxpayer’s money to the tune of $6,500. They did not hire a local contractor for the job. And, yes, the current town supervisor and Town Board follow procurement policy when awarding contracts.
Beth Murphy
Chair, Saugerties Economic Development Committee
Natural gas vans rightfully vetoed
Kudos to County Executive Mike Hein for vetoing Ulster County Legislature Resolution 314A. This resolution called for the allocation of $25,000 for a pilot program to retrofit five transport vans from the Sheriff’s Office to run on liquid petroleum gas (liquid propane). This poorly thought-out plan was seen as a step towards the utilization of alternative fuels for county vehicles and the development of a Green Fleet Policy. The resolution was not supported by the Legislature’s Environmental Committee, and was opposed by a dozen environmental groups. As one speaker said, this was a “Trojan Horse” that simply perpetuated the use of fossil fuels derived from fracking rather than seeking true alternatives.
The environmental agenda put forth from the office of the County Executive Mike Hein is a policy that will begin the process of converting county vehicles. The proposal includes 12 new plug-in electric car charging stations, with all newly purchased sedans being hybrid plug-in electric vehicles. In addition the entire UCAT bus fleet will be converted to a biodiesel fuel mix. Creating a total conversion to green vehicles is a long term project that requires a step-wise, cost effective approach that considers all options.
Thanks again to the county executive and his staff for pointing us in the right direction.
Mike Harkavy
Saugerties
Pilgrim Pipeline needs to come clean
In a letter to the editor of this paper, George Bochis, vice president of development for Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings LLC, recently tried to dismiss the concerns of New Yorkers who are questioning the need for a new oil pipeline. Bochis failed to provide sources of information to back up his claims. This has been a systematic pattern in Pilgrim’s printed statements and in their presentations to the public. The facts show a picture of a project that deserves serious concern and action on the part of citizens and officials to block the plan.
Bochis cites the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the long lines at gas station pumps as a reason to consider the project. It is a fact that there was a supply shortage of petroleum products in the days following Sandy. However, the lines at the pump were not caused by the barges Bochis claims a pipeline would replace. Bayway Refinery was shut down due to flooding. The Colonial pipeline that runs from NJ to the Gulf of Mexico lost power and had to be shut down after the storm. A Fortune magazine article that made these points noted, “Pipelines . . . just aren’t that great in an emergency.” The gas shortage was further exacerbated by stations with no power to work their pumps and the inability to get tankers to all locations due to roads blocked by downed trees and power lines.
Now, let’s examine another George Bochis opinion, that a pipeline is “an efficient, modern and safe fuel delivery system that will provide the region with a safer and more environmentally sound alternative” to river barges. Nobody can dispute that pipelines are a more efficient way to transport fuel when efficiency is defined by cost. However, Bochis’s claims about safety and environmental soundness deserve deeper examination.
A Feb. 2012 report by the Congressional Research Service showed that pipelines spilled more barrels of oil per billion-ton-miles than barges and rail combined. Karen Gentile of the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said at an informational presentation in Montville on Feb. 18 that “pipeline incidents are low in frequency, but they do happen and consequences are severe.” Even if pipeline spills are deemed a low frequency event, the large volume of oil spilled per event means that pipelines are hardly an environmentally sound alternative. The fact that preliminary maps show the pipeline sited mere feet from schools, playgrounds, and backyards makes the risk of a spill unacceptable.
The claim about creating 50 jobs is also suspect. Even to an amateur labor economist like myself, that number seems questionable when you consider that the US State Department estimated that the 875mi Keystone XL pipeline will only create 35 permanent jobs. General manager of the Port of Albany Rich Hendrick would not doubt dispute the number. In a June 2014 article that appeared in the Albany Business Review, Hendrick stated that Pilgrim Pipeline could cause a net job loss for the New York State Capital Region because reduced barge traffic could result in “less work and fewer jobs” for workers at the Port. Hendrick further said, “It takes about seven workers to secure a barge to a dock and unload it. The number is similar for unloading by rail. A pipeline would require one or two workers to control the valves and transportation of oil to a holding tank.” Using that same logic, Pilgrim Pipeline’s construction could mean the loss of maritime jobs on the NJ side of the border as well. If you “create” jobs in one place, but lose them in another, is there a substantial net benefit?
Back in October, George Bochis claimed at a town hall meeting in Kinnelon, NJ that his “pipeline wouldn’t spill.” In his editorial letter, Bochis also touts the pipeline industry improvements of the 21st century as compared to Eisenhower-era pipelines. This sentiment is another example of a partial truth. Yes, pipeline technology has improved drastically, and yes the risk of spill on newer pipelines is lower than “Eisenhower-era” pipelines. However, that same Congressional Research Service study referenced earlier also shows that in the time from 1990–today, technology has helped to produce the safest trains cars and barges in history. George Bochis should concede that no pipeline, even his, is perfect. Even with the best technology, and the strongest steel, and the best mitigation practices, nobody could ever guarantee 100 percent that a pipeline is risk free from spills.
The bottom line is that it really is time that we, the public, got some facts from Pilgrim. We deserve to see an official preliminary route map and alternative routes. We deserve to know how many permanent jobs will truly be created on both sides of the New Jersey/New York border. We deserve to know what safety measures are in place for remediation in the event of a spill. If the public is really to be swayed by “factual merit,” the burden of proof should be whether or not we absolutely have to build a permanent piece of infrastructure to transport crude from the Bakken shale, a temporary energy source. We have a scalable infrastructure in place today, and by most accounts it will be sufficient for our needs over the next couple of decades.
We need to shift our focus to how to best transition to the post fossil fuel-era 20-40 years down the road. If we really want to create good American jobs, we should take the lead from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and focus on training the next generation with the skills they need to get jobs in the green economy. Fossil fuels may not be going away any time soon, but that doesn’t mean we should sell our souls for temporary construction jobs. I for one would rather be hopeful. I say we should reach for the stars. As a member of the millennial generation, I strongly urge our leaders to help us build a bridge to the future, not a pipeline to our past.
Brendan L. Keating
Chair, Executive Committee of Chatham Citizens Opposing the Oil Pipeline, New Jersey
Rail-trail compromise
As a young child growing up along the old Ulster and Delaware Rail Line, I remember fondly seeing and hearing the trains rumble along the tracks. As a result, I have followed this trail/rail debate with great interest.
Through the years (since day one), I have seen various attempts made to work in partnership with the Catskill Mountain Railroad with regards to either shared use, segmented use, or trail inclusion of any kind. At each turn, the CMRR has basically refused and so therefore nothing has happened. I have watched now for 25-plus years the progressive deterioration of the corridor in many places.
While I am a strong supporter of the county trail initiative, I am not blind to the recent seasonal successes of the holiday train rides. The compromise proposed by the county executive, to allow the railroad to stay on the tracks out to Hurley, is a good one, yet once again the CMRR refuses any compromise. I find this position unfortunate and at the same time typical of the CMRR’s stewardship of this publicly owned county right of way.
I applaud Executive Hein’s forward thinking and progressive plan with regards to the current condition and use of the county-owned corridor. The creation of a rail-trail network connecting the reservoir to the Walkway Over the Hudson will have long lasting economic benefits, both in terms of tourism dollars, as well as quality of life and health benefits for all the residents of Ulster County and beyond.
Kingston has always been one of the gateway’s to the Catskill Forest Preserve. This trail initiative will give the city a direct link to the Catskills, and as such deserves our full support.
Timothy L. Quilty
Lake Katrine
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