Editor’s Note: The following is a recap of news in the towns of New Scotland and Guilderland from the last six months of 2008. A recap of the first half of 2008 appeared in last week, Dec. 26.
July
The Guilderland Board of Education met on July 1 and saw hundreds of supporters rally for high school teachers Ann Marie McManus and Matt Nelligan.
After the district conducted what has been called a culture climate inquiry, they decided to move the teachers to Farnsworth Middle School for allegedly creating a negative environment in the high school. McManus still teaches at the middle school, and Nelligan has taken a position in the state Senate.
The First National Bank in Scotia was held up at 3:32 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9, according to reports from the Guilderland Police Department.
According to the report, a woman entered the bank and demanded money. The teller complied, and witnesses said the suspect left the bank and took refuge behind a nearby Walgreen’s store.
The Guilderland Police Department investigated another bank robbery in the area, the second in 10 days.
Pioneer Savings Bank, located at 1873 Western Ave., was held up at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
On Wednesday, July 23, the public discussed a draft of a law that would turn the Town of New Scotland’s share of the Vista Technology Park development into a mixed economic development district.
Development of the tech park could not begin until New Scotland changed the zoning regulations on the piece of land, which is currently zoned residential/agricultural.
The law eventually passed.
Guilderland High School Principal Michael Paolino was placed on paid administrative leave effective Monday, July 28.
Communications Specialist for the District Amy Zurlo said he will remain on leave indefinitely and said she was not able to comment on the `personnel matter` further.
School officials could not confirm the reason for the action.
Local media outlets reported that Guilderland teachers have corroborated stories involving Paolino using racist and homophobic language, although these allegations have not been specifically tied to the administrative leave.
August
The Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals gave a massage therapy team permission to operate a home-based business at a Wednesday, Aug 6, meeting, despite vocal dissent from neighbors at a previous meeting.
Debbieanne Vigneri and Ruth Brown, now residents of 125 Birchwood Drive, are licensed massage therapists, and applied for special permission to give massages at their home.
At a Wednesday, July 2, Zoning Board meeting, Brown and Vigneri faced opposition from neighbors over their request to operate the business out of their home. Many residents spoke out against the increased traffic the business would generate.
The Altamont Fair finished up Sunday, Aug. 17, following a week filled with educational exhibits, calf-birthing demonstrations and musical performances.
Operations Manager Marie McMillen said attendance was down a little from the previous year, citing bad weather, flooding and a slumping economy as possible reasons.
The Guilderland Town Board approved a motion at its Tuesday, Aug. 19, meeting to join the Albany County Storm Water Coalition.
The coalition is a group of 11 local municipalities that provide information, research and coordination for the participating entities.
Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion said joining the coalition is a proactive measure and will save the town of Guilderland money in the long run.
He said the town spends nearly $100,000 to comply with federal and state regulation to manage storm water and produce a report on progress.
Membership in the coalition is $14,582 per year, and will assist with the compliance of the regulations.
As New Scotland town officials consider an extension of the moratorium on commercial development, representatives from Syracuse-based Sphere Development LLC tell Spotlight Newspapers that they need an estimated 137,000-square-foot Target retail outlet to develop the 179-acre plot, formerly the Bender melon farm along Route 85A.
Former Guilderland High School social studies teacher Ann Marie McManus said she was still trying to find a way to teach at the high school in the fall.
She said she is apprehensive about the transition, which came about as the result of a culture climate inquiry conducted earlier in the year at the high school, but would do her best to change the lives of her students.
September
The Avila Retirement Home announced it is adding 44 units to its 152 existing units and has set a target date for completion of the project for the beginning of 2010.
The retirement home, located on the Washington Avenue Extension west of Crossgates Mall, offers independent living for senior citizens, and is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Teacher Matt Nelligan, who was the center of a controversy during the summer involving a `culture climate inquiry,` handed in his letter of resignation on Friday, Sept. 5, according to school officials.
Guilderland Town Board member Mark Grimm said he wants to change the town’s code regarding home businesses after he applies, and receives, his own permit to run a customary home occupation.
Councilman Mark Grimm will appear before the planning board on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to request a permit to operate his communications consulting business, Mark Grimm Communications, out of his home.
Grimm said he is applying for the permit even though he doesn’t believe he needs one. Grimm eventually received the permit.
After embattled teacher Matt Nelligan handed in his letter of resignation, supporters continued to rally around him.
Elijah Sharma, founder of United for McManus and Nelligan, a group formed in support of Nelligan and colleague Ann Marie McManus, said the students were saddened by the news of Nelligan’s resignation. Sharma and his group are planning to protest the school board’s budget in light of the board’s treatment of the two teachers.
The Guilderland Board of Education accepted high school principal Michael Paolino’s resignation at a Tuesday, Sept. 16, meeting.
The board also appointed Brian McCann as acting principal. He has served as assistant principal for 17 years, according to a district statement. He will serve as acting principal until the end of the 2008-2009 school year.
A member of New Scotland’s Commercial Zoning Advisory Committee has been asked to resign due to a prior relationship with a potential buyer of the Bender Melon Farm, a key piece of property in ongoing discussions regarding zoning laws in the town.
According to a written statement from New Scotlanders for Sound Economic Development, Liz Kormos was asked to step down because of a potential conflict of interest.
As the Town of Guilderland prepared its final budget, one board member was asked to back away from discussions.
In a letter to Warren Redlich dated Tuesday, Sept. 30, Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion suggests the councilman should step aside from the budget process due to a conflict of interest regarding his practice of law in the town’s court.
October
Amidst accusations of conflicts of interest and alleged reports of misinformation, New Scotlander’s debated, and finally received, a six-month extension on the commercial zone moratorium.
The Town of New Scotland set a date to hear arguments regarding a potential violation of the town ethics code by a member of the Commercial Zone Advisory Committee.
The town held a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to discuss ethics questions surrounding Commercial Zone Advisory Committee member Liz Kormos.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and tribute to one of the original citizen members of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission was held at its Discovery Center Tuesday, Oct. 21.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation held the dedication event to honor the late Margaret M. Stewart and unveil the recent expansions to the preserve.
November
Some of Guilderland’s most talented young musicians had a chance to perform at a statewide festival later this month, according to information provided by the school district.
There were 21 Guilderland High School students selected to perform in the Area All-State Music Festival on Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Saratoga Springs High School. They were selected based on a solo evaluation held in the spring, the release states.
The Guilderland Town Board adopted a budget at its Thursday, Nov. 6, meeting, which lasted more than seven hours.
Board members adopted a $30,604,448 spending plan that passed in a 4-to-1 vote. Councilman Mark Grimm was the lone dissenter.
The town will see a 4.68 percent increase on the town tax levy, and it raised the tax rate from 25 cents per $1,000 to 26 cents per $1,000.
The New Scotland Town Board unanimously passed a resolution to not take any further action against Commercial Zone Advisory Committee member Liz Kormos after meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12. At the same meeting, the board voted unanimously to extend a building moratorium that has been in place since May.
Kormos had been at the heart of a potential conflict of interest concerns raised by committee chairwoman Roz Robinson, but the board decided to drop the issue after much debate. Robinson raised questions about the nature of the relationship between Kormos and a potential buyer of the Bender melon farm property.
Sen. Neil D. Breslin, D-Delmar, successfully defended his seat against challenger Charlie Voelker, a first-time candidate, in the 46th Senate District.
On Election Day, Breslin said he had three things on his mind: First, was winning his election; second, was Barack Obama’s victory in the White House; and third, was waking up in the morning to a state Senate controlled by Democrats.
Longtime incumbent Jack McEneny will keep his seat in the 104th Assembly District for at least one more term, and said his win comes at a special time in American politics, with President-elect Barack Obama taking the White House.
McEneny, D-Albany, defeated Republican challenger Terry O’Neill for the 104th Assembly District seat.
Three members of the New Scotland Commercial Zone Advisory Committee resigned as of Friday, Nov. 21, according to town Supervisor Tom Dolin.
Dolin said Roz Robinson, the committee chair, Cynthia Elliott and John Biscone handed in letters of resignation from the committee amid controversy with Liz Kormos and a potential conflict of interest with a potential bidder for a key property in the commercial zone.
Guilderland police are investigating an armed robbery that took place at 11 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30, when a Zales Jewelry employee was making a night deposit at a Western Avenue bank.
According to the police report, the employee, who works at the Crossgates Mall jewelry store, said he was attempting to make the deposit at the Citizens Bank at 1516 Western Ave. when he was approached by a man holding a gun.
December
Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings said he is hoping for a `win-win` situation as local officials sparred over the implications of expanding the Rapp Road Landfill at a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
The city’s plan includes expanding the landfill, and in exchange for infringing on a portion of Pine Bush Preserve land, it will restore other parts of the preserve.
Elected officials, environmental advocates and the public met at the Polish Community Center at the Washington Avenue extension to discuss the possibility of expanding the landfill eastward into the Pine Bush Preserve in Guilderland. The landfill has already expanded several times, the last time in February 1999.
The Youmans Road railroad crossing, the location of a collision between an SUV and two locomotives, will be closed within a year, according to New Scotland Town Supervisor Tom Dolin.
Dolin met with Department of Transportation officials on Friday, Dec. 5, to discuss how to proceed funding a solution to the crossing, which doesn’t have gates or flashers.
No one was seriously injured in the crash.
The New Scotland Town Board asked town attorney Mike Mackey to draft a six-month extension to the existing moratorium on commercial zone development at its Wednesday, Nov. 10, meeting.
At that same meeting, founder of the advocacy group New Scotlanders for Sound Economic Development, Daniel Mackay, announced he will run for a seat on the town’s Planning Board, and encouraged others in support of change to do the same.
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