The Kingston Common Council took a big step toward creating more oversight regarding the city’s water, most of which comes from Cooper Lake in Woodstock. It voted to move forward with a Kingston charter change that would give the council and the mayor a say over the sale of water. This translates into control for the people of the city, and from a distance, Woodstockers, who took offense to the sale of water coming from its environs. We’d urge the mayor to sign on (he’s said he would) and send it to city voters in November, whom we’d also urge to vote yes.
Parenthetically, we’d note that Food Safety News (among others) reports that “Niagara Bottling LLC has recalled all spring water products produced at its two Pennsylvania facilities between June 10-18, 2015, after being informed that the water source was potentially compromised by E. coli bacteria…Stores recalling the bottled water products include Wegmans, ShopRite, 7-Eleven, Acme and others.”
We’re sad to see Wonderworks go. The playground was a fine community project and a lot of fun has been had on the grounds.
And its odd to see that what was once charming has now become an insurance liability. But things change, and so has our awareness of environmental hazards and compliance with disability requirements. What’s there has apparently been plain worn out.
This has not been a hasty decision. It’s been talked about for quite a while, though its emergence into general awareness has been slow. But the committee and PTA have all been thorough in deliberations and it’s probably time to let them finish the job they started. Time to let it go.
According to town councilman Ken Panza, the town board has now passed three resolutions calling on Central Hudson to make sure citizens can opt out of having so called smart meters on their houses. One was sent to the PSC and posted on its bulletin board. Obviously it was not the one that citizens wrote themselves and submitted to the board, though that one was among those approved by the board.
Somehow, this has engendered a fury toward the town board, regardless of the fact that the resolution posted to the PSC site says exactly what the citizens who advanced the unposted resolution want: that citizens should have the right to have an analog meter remain or be obtained for use on their homes without any extra charge. That’s the crux of the matter. That’s what it says on the Public Service Commission site describing Woodstock’s position. That’s what we all want, the right to make a choice, whether you agree that the meters are hazardous to your health or not. The town board has promised to send for posting the citizen’s resolution, too.
If there is still lobbying to be done, it should be done with the Public Service Commission, the state government, the utility, all in the service of making sure citizens have the options that Woodstock would like them to have.
Join the family! 
