One member of the land conservation committee in the town of Ballston blasted the town council for its inaction and resigned, along with two other committee members, Tuesday night, July 3, at the council’s regular business meeting.
Reading from a pagelong prepared statement, Scott Miller accused the board of doing little when it came to protecting what have been identified as the special places of Ballston.
`Despite the extraordinary effort on the part of the committee members and many other volunteers, the town council has failed to act in any substantive fashion to preserve Ballston’s special places,` Miller said. `No significant or comprehensive protection of open space and agriculture can be achieved without reducing the property town tax burden on large owners, or enabling them to realize equity on their property without subdivision. The council has had more than adequate time to enact at least a few substantive policies, but has refused to do so, or even to have a meaningful public discussion of these proposals.`
The letter of resignation was signed by committee members Miller, Bob Cawley and Robin Larkin. The fourth committee member, Gary Bynon, did not sign the letter.
Miller credited the board for action on several `minor` proposals, such as putting up right-to-farm law signs, initiating funds for a farmers market, and buying 5 acres of wetlands for an addition to a nature preserve. However, he remained highly critical of the speed in which the council worked to update the 15-year-old town comprehensive plan, and in responding to the conservation committee’s ideas and proposals since their formation in 2004.
Town Supervisor Ray Callanan said he was stunned by Miller’s statements Tuesday night, and hadn’t received any word from the Ballston residents on the committee prior to the meeting.
`This is the first I’ve heard of it; there was no warning about this, and it came out of nowhere,` said Callanan. `It’s disappointing there wasn’t any discussion with the board and this had to come to a public gathering.`
Callanan said the council has been following an orderly process for rewriting the comprehensive plan before enacting recommendations for land conservation.
`We’ve reviewed the comprehensive plan, and we’re still working on the stormwater management plan,` said Callanan. `We need to follow the proper steps. If we didn’t intend to go ahead with the LCC, we would have disbanded it long ago.`
Callanan said the board would most likely set up another committee once the other steps in the process are completed.
Master plan committee member Rick Kinley spoke from the audience Tuesday night in praise of the conservation committee’s work.
`The members entered into this with very positive feelings and a lot of goodwill, and I find these resignations very unfortunate,` said Kinley. `I appreciate all their work, and I hope the town council will re-think their position on this. This is extremely disappointing to say the least.`
Councilwoman Mary Beth Hynes said the town has been working to stir up public interest and find ways to make the investment into preserving valuable open space land.
`With a $5 million budget, Ballston is at a disadvantage in comparison with larger communities with big surpluses like Clifton Park when it comes to open space preservation,` said Hynes. `Our residents do support preserving open space, but the challenge is to figure out how we can pay for it. Grant money is scarce and involves a match by the municipality in most cases.`
Hynes acknowledged the difficult task the conservation committee faced.
`I think the committee did an admirable job in identifying a number of tools to preserve open space,` said Hynes. `Not all of them might be workable for our town, and all have pros and cons associated with them. Executing a plan is always the hard part. Instead of vast, sweeping changes, I see this process as more incremental and grass roots.`
Hynes urged town residents to become involved in the campaign to save open space.
`We would like to partner with any town residents in conservation efforts,` said Hynes. `There are many possible options to investigate.“