More than 100 Colonie town residents packed into the Radisson Motel Tuesday, Oct. 27, to hear political candidates answer to the issues most important to them — the voters.
Candidates were given the chance to answer questions from the audience at the forum, which was sponsored by the Albany County League of Women Voters, Spotlight News, the Capital Area Council of Churches and the Colonie Chamber of Commerce.
Six town board candidates and two supervisor candidates presented within a two-hour format. One hour was dedicated to the board members, leaving candidates to respond with concise, one-minute answers. The second hour was left exclusively for Democratic incumbent Paula Mahan and Republican challenger Christine Benedict.
In all, candidates are vying for three seats on the board, as well as that of town supervisor.
Tuesday’s debate comes just a week before Election Day, and falls immediately upon the heels of headlines surrounding traffic woes and a $500,000 fine levied upon the town for exceeding waste limits on at the Colonie Landfill.
A DEC report dated Sept. 18 stated Capital Region Landfills, a subsidiary of Waste Connections, took in too much alternate daily cover (ADC). ADC consists of material to cover solid waste to alleviate litter and odor, such as “petroleum contaminated soils, municipal incinerator ash and auto shredder fluff,” according to the DEC.
Under Capital Region Landfill’s permit with the Town of Colonie, the company can take in no more than 255,840 tons of solid waste per year, or 820 tons per month. The permit did not state a limit on ADC amounts.
The DEC report states the company took in 254,238 tons of solid waste in 2014, in addition to 214,521 tons of ADC — or 688 tons per day — equaling out to 84 percent of the weight in solid waste taken in.
Benedict expressed concerns over a private, out-of-town organization managing the landfill. She shared her concerns over the town’s air, water and soil quality down the road. She was later critical about the contract between the town and Waste Connections, citing the town lost a potential revenue stream.
Mahan said Colonie has received approximately $38 million in the four years since the town negotiated a contact with the Texas-based waste management firm. The money had offset all of the $29.3 million deficit faced by the town when Mahan first took office. The town supervisor said the landfill is still a viable resource with an estimated lifespan of another 25 to 45 years.
Mahan said she was proud of the town’s situation, having pulled Colonie away out from bankruptcy to possessing a $3 million fund surplus, and expressed pride in the town’s public services. But, her opponent said she felt she was living in the past.
“My opponent keeps going back to 2008,” said Benedict. “Last I checked, it is 2015.”
Republican board candidate Jennifer Whalen used her three-minute opening statement to list her concerns over the above issues, including her worries over recent violent crime. “Colonie has been a nice place to live,” she said. “We could wake up one day to find it eroded.”
Democratic candidate, and current planning board member, Timothy Lane said he did not agree with the “doom and gloom” rhetoric shared by other challengers. He said Colonie residents, “have anything you want within 15 minutes.” And, if one was to travel outside the Albany suburb, one would find, “you don’t see the kind of economic activity that you see in our town.”
Last week, the Colonie Police Department hired 10 new officers, bringing the total number of officers to 109. The hiring class was the largest in eight years due in part to several retirements within the department this year, including that of Colonie Police Chief Steven Heider. Incumbents cited accolades received for safest community of its size, and award-winning fire departments and emergency response teams as a testament for residents choosing to live in Colonie.
Republican Brian Manion and Christopher Carey, EMS and police veterans respectively, said each department is understaffed. Carey, a former detective, said he has witnessed low morale among police officers. Benedict would later follow his concerns by saying 109 officers to protect 87,000 people is, “not enough to keep crime at bay.”
Concerns over crime and perceived population growth speaks to another hot topic — development.
Town board candidates were asked to address the law requiring town residents within 500 feet of a proposed development receive notification. Opponents have expressed the distance is inadequate. Benedict later said she’d see to having the limit doubled to 1,000 feet.
Not everyone agreed on the limit. Democratic incumbent Paul Rosano recalled a 250-foot radius that was on the book when he took office four years ago. Notification is sent by mail, and developers of projects pertaining to more sensitive issues are required to contact residents door-to-door.
Nonetheless, Republican challengers broached issues over the town’s infrastructure. Manion described them as “deplorable,” and others found it difficult to understand the current conditions if the town has a budgetary surplus. Benedict said the issue could be addressed by utilizing a Generic Environmental Impact Statement review, similar to one used to address traffic around Albany International Airport.
Mahan responded by explaining the town is in the midst of several, multi-year plans to improve upon the waterlines and the paving of the roads.
Democratic incumbent town board member William Carl seemed to encapsulate the sentiments of his peers with his closing statement. “My family moved here because of the school systems,” he said, sharing that his children have since moved on to college and careers. He cited the current administration’s financial success when pleading to voters. “We brought this town back, so let’s keep it that way.”
