New Scotland Town Board and supervisor hopefuls went point for point about the town’s most contentious issues, including retail development, ethics and taxes at a debate on Thursday, Oct. 22.
The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and The Spotlight and was held at Clayton A. Bouton High School in Voorheesville.
Town Supervisor Tom Dolin, a Democrat running for his second term in office, squared off against challenger Mike Fields, a Republican, who comes from a background of management and public safety.
Incumbent Town Board member Doug LaGrange, running on the Republican, Democrat, Independent and Conservative lines, answered questions along with three other candidates, Roz Robinson, Tim Stanton and Daniel Mackay. Mackay, a Democrat, is running with LaGrange and Dolin on a non-partisan slate. Robinson, with the Republican and Conservative line and Stanton with the New Scotland First Party line, are also running as a team. There are two seats open.
LaGrange’s opening statement focuses on his eight years as a town representative, four on the planning board and four on the town board, and Mackay’s statement focuses on his background in planning, development and preservation.
Stanton spoke about the importance of choice and debate in town, and his pro-business stance. Robinson too spoke about the importance of giving voters a choice, and took time to note that she has never received money from Sphere Development, which recently broke a contract with the owners of the Bender Melon Farm.
A size cap on retail buildings and shopping centers in the commercial zone was at the heart of the debate, as the candidates supported arguments for why there should, or should not be, a 50,000 square foot size cap.
The 50,000 square foot number has become a sacred number, Robinson said. `Good planning is more than just a size cap.`
She, along with Stanton, indicated they would support a larger cap, possibly 85,000 square feet for commercial buildings, as a compromise.
LaGrange, Dolin and Mackay, running as a team, all indicated they favored a 50,000 square foot size cap. Dolin noted that the law should include a `grandfather clause` or exclude existing businesses in town, and be careful not to hurt existing local businesses, such as Long Lumber.
LaGrange said the numbers are not arbitrary but backed by the studies and committees. He said a lot of hard work went into coming up with that number.
`The law we started with was not a perfect law,` LaGrange said.
LaGrange also indicated that planning board is limited by a size cap, but the town board could still grant a developer exceptions for larger projects under the town’s Planned Unit Development law.
`It’s not a hard and fast cap on development,` he said.
Even with a PUD Stanton said 50,000 is too small.
`It’s far too restrictive,` he said. `A PUD is more red tape and more hoops you have to jump through.`
Fields said he does not support big-box, but a 50,000 square foot size cap is equivalent to `crucifying our own businesses.`
Mackay warned of the back-end costs of making development too big, such as increased Albany County sheriffs and traffic. He also criticized the notion of a compromise of 85,000 square feet, as 50,000 square feet is already up from the 30,000 square feet previously discussed, and a far shot from those who want to preserve the land as open space.
Later in the evening the candidates were prompted to discuss the role that the planning board should have in projects. The candidates agreed that the scope of the planning board is limited and the town board can `ultimately kill any project,` but Dolin proposed decreasing the size and limiting the number of years one can sit as chair in order to increase diversity among townspeople.
LaGrange, a planning board member for four years said it has more influence than some might perceive.
`The planning board tends to have a lot of their own ability to make unilateral decisions,` but said they are a `tremendous resource.
Stanton touted the good work of the planning board when the Clarksville Stewarts was being planned, as developers said it was the most difficult out of the 285 shops to ever get past a board.
Mackay said the planning board process should be more open, and said there has not been an open selection since 2005. Mackay offered his resume for the board in December, but was not offered a position.
The candidates were also asked to discuss how development can bring in a greater tax base, and how property rights must be balanced by proper planning.
Fields pushed for something to happen in the commercial district to alleviate possible increases in school taxes.
Dolin said the school tax is so overwhelmingly more than the town tax, it is hard for the town to mitigate raises in school taxes. He said he cut $140,000 in spending from this year’s proposed budget, and does not imagine being able to do much more.
`I don’t realistically see us trimming more that the in the future,` Dolin said. `It’s not realistic to make up for [school tax raises].`
Mackay said preventing the commercial zone from shrinking, and having partial residential rezones are an important part of growing the tax base and can alleviate the burden.
With the threat of taxes looming, and financial constraints always an issue, the candidates were asked to discuss how important it is to balance property rights with zoning regulations.
`This country was build on property rights,` Stanton said. He did call for some regulation, but said it is pivotal to not penalize people who have been `good stewards,’ and kept New Scotland looking rural. Robinson took a similar stance, stating property rights precede even the zoning code. She said the commercial district is only 2 percent of the town, and needs to be taken advantage of.
Mackay agreed that the town `owes debt` to those who have preserved the character of New Scotland and agreed the commercial zone is the proper place for building a tax base. He said though, rewriting the zoning laws does not necessarily mean property right will be infringed upon.
LaGrange said it is a misnomer for those who claim the town is threatening to `change the game in the middle,` and rezoning does not have to be unfair.
`The rules have been in the Comprehensive Plan,` he said.
He called on old history lessons noting that land is not the only property one has, and other property, like cars are frequently regulated by things like the speed limit all the time.
`In fact, in most places, its 50, a good number,` he quipped.
As the town board is considering a new ethics law, its one on the books is invalid under the general municipal code, candidates were asked questions about how the town could better handle matters of conflict of interest.
`It’s very important that it’s designed for us, but has worked elsewhere too,` LaGrange said.
New Scotland is using Guilerland’s law as a template for its own.
`It’s more of a shame we have to have an ethics committee,` Stanton said.
Mackay said the `big-bos issue is a distraction, and sometimes people get tangled between the service, business and property issues in town, and a good law needs to be in place to address it.
He cited a town board member who is married to the planning board attorney as one example of a potential conflict.
`I think I came into this election quite conflict free,` Mackay said.
Robinson said the best combatant is transparency.
`Disclosure is of the utmost importance,` she said.
Dolin said a law is likely to be put in place by the end of the year, noting that the biggest problem with the law was that the committee was comprised of the town board, all of whom are elected officials. He supports a law with only a few elected officials, as per the general municipal code.
Fields biggest problem, he said, was that town attorney Mike Mackey is the Democratic Committee chairman.
`Unfortunately, our town has that,` he said. `A lot of town’s don’t allow that.`
The members were also asked to discuss any contact they had with the owners of the Bender Melon Farm of Sphere. Stanton and Mackay said they had never spoken with any representatives. Robison said she has participated in closings with Maura Mottolese, a laywer representing Bender and has met Sphere representatives at a meeting in the spring. She also spoke to them when they apologized for any confusion that arose from an article that appeared in the Altamont Enterprise that indicated Sphere was endorsing Robinson.
LaGrange said he had contact with them in the last six months and had casual conversation with them when they first began discussing developing property in New Scotland. He also had contact with the Bender owners more than three years ago, he said, after prompting from former Supervisor Ed Clark about suggestions for a hamlet type plan for them.
`I have no idea what these people look like,` Fields said. He said conversations Dolin had with Sphere prompted `panic` in the town.
Dolin countered that is `unfair and untrue,` and said the meeting was facilitated with other town representatives and it was to hear what Sphere was considering,
`And you’re right, I did panic,` Dolin said after that meeting with Sphere.
They had discussed a development 10 times the size of Stuyvesant Plaza in Guilderland.
Dolin said they never met in private.
The candidates also discussed water and sewer, its relationship with neighboring municipalities and local business.
Feilds pushed for honesty and openness with Bethlehem and Guilderland.
Dolin noted several discussions about water and sewer, municipal law, and trash hauling he has had with other supervisors.
“