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December 26, 2009
A Denton Publication
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Winter walk
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Savings
the VIC trails at Paul Smiths are open for the season.
LaVigne will take over as Essex County DPW superintendent.
Read the fine print, because it could be your best friend.
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Adirondack Council pushes for fewer, taller cell towers By Jonathan Alexander denpubs@denpubs.com RAY BROOK — The regional green group the Adirondack Council is lobbying the Adirondack Park Agency to require more widespread co-location of cell carrier arrays on projects inside of the Blue Line. In a letter to APA Environmental Program Specialist George “Skip” Outcalt, council Legislative Director Scott Lorey compelled the agency to require cell carriers to share a tower instead of building separate towers on the same parcel. “Companies should be encouraged or mandated to seek co-location when a nearby tower is available,” Lorey writes. “This can be accomplished by re-examining the ‘towers policy’ and fixing some of the obvious flaws that are apparent now that the policy has been practically applied for over seven years.” According to APA spokesman Keith McKeever, since 2008, the APA has approved around 15 new-build cell tower projects in the wake of the deaths of several snowbound motorists on I-87. In contrast, 25 co-locations have been permitted by the agency in the same time period. The agency is currently considering a TMobile project in the town of Inlet that would allow a tower to be constructed a stone’s throw away from an already-constructed Verizon Tower. The APA recently approved a cell project in North Hudson that will allow two towers on the same parcel near the Northway. “One suggestion that the Council has made before, is to require that the applicant show its attempts to co-locate on existing structures within a reasonable distance of its site and explain in detail why no option other than a new tower is feasible,” Lorey said. “It appears that telecommunications companies, for the most part, are not sharing space on each others’ towers, as was expected.” Last fall, regional executives from the four major cell phone carriers told agency commissioners that sharing space doesn’t make good business sense as they are, after all, competing entities. They also argued that the use of varying cellular technologies requires differing tower citing. The APA typically strives to keep the elevation of cell towers as low as possible to limit the impact on the park’s aesthetic character. But for the council, taller towers are more desirable than several at the same location. “Even a slightly taller tower will have less environmental impact, that having to construct a second tower,” Lorey said. “Depending on locations, a second tower may require additional tree cutting, road building and utilities to be installed.” APA staff and cell carrier executives have said that in order for co-location to be effective, towers would have to be significantly taller to accommodate multiple cellular arrays. According to cell carrier officials, the average cost of construction of out-park towers is $57,000, while in the park the cost nearly doubles to $104,000.
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Saranac Lake gears up for First Night By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com SARANAC LAKE — New Year ’s Eve brings a good deal of holiday hubbub to the village as the fourth annual First Night Saranac Lake gives area residents a chance to be well entertained on the last night of the year. Susan Patterson was one of a close-knit group of friends that started First Night in Saranac Lake to ring in 2006. Four years later, she’s delighted the event has caught on. “First Night is becoming a cornerstone of Saranac Lake,” said Patterson. “People are really looking forward to it and they know what it is.” Saranac Lake’s First Night is one of 75 licensed events throughout the country. Patterson said she was inspired to bring First Night to Saranac Lake after attending the one in Burlington, Vt. “I thought Saranac Lake would be a good place to have one and not have to drive to Burlington,” she said. “Over the last three years, we’ve had between 1,300 and 1,500 people come.” This year ’s event features a schedule packed with a wide variety of performers, both new and returning. Grammy Awardwinning bluegrass duo The Gibson Brothers, who performed at the original First Night in Saranac Lake, headline the evening. “We do try to focus on local musicians and artists,” said Patterson, noting how Mango Jam, a zydeco band from Burlington, will kick off the evening at the Harrietstown Town Hall. There are also plenty of other venues, all indoors, where First Night-goers can celebrate the dawning of a new year. Saranac Lake Free Library will host kid-friendly acts by singer/storyteller Speedy Arnold and ventriloquist Sylvia Fletcher.
The River Rat Project, an annual favorite at First Night Saranac Lake, performs on the steel drums at last year’s event. First Night 2010 will feature a wide variety of artists and performers, both musical and otherwise.
See FIRST NIGHT, page 8
Photos courtesy of First Night Saranac Lake
Douglas, Politi to lead Essex supervisors By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com ELIZABETHTOWN — Two supervisors’ bids for leadership positions on the Essex County Board of Supervisors will apparently become reality as their competitors have decided to drop out of the race. The term of current board chairwoman Cathy Moses expires Jan. 1, and the board will convene to elect a new leader at the annual organizational meeting on Jan. 4. Essex Supervisor Ron Jackson, currently the vice chairman, would have been next in line for the position, but failed to win re-election for 2010. Two names had emerged as likely candidates for the new board chair: Moriah Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava, a Republican, and Democratic Jay Supervisor Randy Douglas. As of Jan. 1, Republicans will hold a 10 to five edge over Democrats on the 18-member board.
Randy Douglas
Roby Politi
But Scozzafava withdrew his name from consideration Dec. 8 after failing to gain the support of most of his fellow Republicans. Westport Supervisor Dan Connell was running for vice chair along with Scozzafava. Much of Scozzafava’s support was reportedly from board Democrats. “I knew that I would probably be a long shot when I decided to
seek the seat,” Scozzafava said Dec. 7. “I am not good at biting my tongue, so it may be best if I wasn’t seated in that chair.” In 2002, Scozzafava unsuccessfully challenged Teresa Sayward for the 113th District state Assembly seat, but did however manage to pull the support of several prominent county Republicans. Chair of the county finance committee, Scozzafava has pub-
licly butted heads with Republican County Manager Dan Palmer. He also fervently supported District Attorney Julie Garcia in her failed re-election bid against GOP nominee Kristy Sprague, a divisive issue among Republicans. According to Republican St. Armand Supervisor Joyce Morency, the vast majority of GOP support has been behind Douglas. “I think it somewhat boils down to the recent election and Tom’s support of Garcia,” Morency said. In his run for chair of the board, Douglas teamed up with Republican North Elba Supervisor Roby Politi, who was elected in 2007 after running as an independent. Politi is the candidate for vice chair. “It’s crucial that party lines work together to reach goals that will benefit Essex County constituents,” said Douglas. Douglas said he and Politi waited until after the count of
See SUPERS, page 8