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ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron

Saturday,ÊJ anuaryÊ21,Ê2017

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www.SunCommunityNews.com

In STATE | pg. 3

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Property tax blame game

Gov. Cuomo, counties square off over tax levys

In opinion | pg. 6

Proposed state budget

Bold proposals lauded; mandate relief needed

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In LAKE GEORGE | pg. 4

Seeing the light

Village approves outdoor concert light show

‘Gateway to the Adirondacks’ proposal sparks investment By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

NORTH HUDSON — Phones are already ringing in Essex County over private businesses hitching their wagon to the Gateway to the Adirondacks, the proposed $32 million project to transform the former Frontier

Town theme park into a recreational hub. Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Randy Preston spent 20 minutes on the phone Friday morning with someone who he described as a “credible” potential investor. “They’re interested in whatever property the state doesn’t take,” said Preston, who declined to identify the individual, citing the

early stages of the talks. “But it’s real,” he said. BIG DEAL Officials in Essex County have described the plans to develop the 85-acre site, which has sat unused for nearly two decades, as a game changer. The state, working with the state Depart-

CuomoÊ rollsÊ outÊ big-ticketÊ environmentalÊ proposals Gov’s green visions score high marks from local environmental groups By Pete DeMola

pete@suncommunitynews.com

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is thinking green. A series of aggressive proposals rolled out last week during his state of the state addresses offer big ticket approaches to position New York as a national leader in environmentally-friendly policies. Those include $2 billion in clean water infrastructure funding, investments in offshore windmills and electric vehicle charging stations and a goal to significantly reduce carbon emissions over the next decade. CLEAN WATER Drinking water systems across the state need to be upgraded, said the gov-

ernor, due to standard aging paired with increased state and federal safeguards. The governor’s three-pronged approach would fund new “state of the art” drinking water treatment systems, replace failing water infrastructure and protect drinking water at its source. “I want to make sure we have state of the art water filtration,” Cuomo said at Farmingdale State College on Long Island last week. “We’re protecting our water source. These are our children who are drinking it. I don’t want to find out in 10 years that our water had a chemical that was causing some disease. We have to have the best water system in the country, period.” The proposal came the same week the state Senate released a report revealing the discovery of “potentially dangerous contaminants” in the water supply in Newburgh, Orange County, and as the village of Hoosick Falls weighs a legal settlement with a private company over carcinogenic chemicals in their drinking water.

“We’ll have our local communities work together to come up with a joint plan so water districts cooperate and this state will fund,” Cuomo said. Adirondack communities are facing $100 million in infrastructure needs, according to an Adirondack Council-penned report analyzing the region’s inventory. The environmental group called the governor’s initiative a “huge game changer,” noting local governments can’t bankroll the improvements without state financing. “These communities want to pay their fair share, but they cannot do it alone,” Adirondack Council Executive Director Willie Janeway said. The disrepair also jeopardizes the state’s efforts to develop tourism infrastructure and accommodations, said Janeway, who tied the funding increase directly to lobbying efforts by advocates and local government officials last November. >> Story CUOMO | pg. 11

ment of Environmental Conservation and Open Space Institute, has said they will invest up to $32 million in the partnership. Initial plans, announced Wednesday in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive project proposals, call for a visitors center, entertainment complex, museum space and retail space. >> GATEWAY | pg. 10

DEDICATION — Nick Cutro Sr. — who died Nov. 3 at the age of 80 — was not only an All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football running back at Shippensburg University, but he was also a National Football League scout and coach, including a tenure with the New York Jets leading up to their 1969 Superbowl championship. Cutro is to be honored at this year’s Lake George Winter Carnival Gala dinner-dance, set for Friday Jan. 27 at Wild West Ranch in Lake George. For more on the Winter Carnival, see page 2.


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