Waddington Votes To Sell Leishman
By Molly Gushea
Despite emphatic pleas from from members of the Waddington Redevelopment Association
(WRA), the Waddington Town Board unanimously passed a resolution last night to sell
Leishman Point lands for residential use.
And several times during the course of the evening, Waddington Town Supervisor William
Dalton banged his gavel to maintain order in a packed municipal building.
WRA members argued the town board should give them more time to explore other possible
uses for Leishman Point. Town board members argued that after months of debate, studies
and even a community-wide poll sponsored by the town board to see what the majority of
residents wanted, it was time to take action to move on from community discussion and make
a move to begin selling the land to get it back on the tax rolls.
WRA representative Mark Scott delivered a power point presentation listing possible uses
for the land, include a detailed drawing done by Bob Ritter. The drawing included 1/2 acre
lotsfor housing, a Dutch wind mill, an amphitheater, a community center, a campground, an
enclosed swimming pool, a pavilion, and a beach.
"This is just to show what could be done, that these things could fit and be
compatible," Scott stressed.
Community members in attendance voiced concern about the risk that would be involved in
developing such businesses. Also, the revenues that could be generated from an RV park
were debated at length. Some citizens said that the numbers that Scott provided looked
"soft," and they wanted hard numbers to know whether it would even be feasible.
This led to a feasibility debate as some citizens thought a feasibility study
should have been done first.
"You have to start with broad strokes and then refine," stated John Turner,
adding that a feasibility study has to come after the community has had a chance to voice
opinions.
Scott's presentation also stated problems the association has with the town board's survey
that was conducted to figure out whether the residential housing proposal from the board
has community support. Scott names problems such as the wording of the survey and
that there were no other options presented.
"It was a push poll, it was designed to get a specific answer," Mickey Miller
stated, "I was very disappointed when I got the call, I felt there was only one
answer you could give."
"It was a simple yes or no question, despite the wording," said Roger Sharlow,
disagreeing with Miller.
Some community members also stated that they didn't receive a survey phone call at all.
Additionally, a citizen pointed out that the lady who delivered the survey to him over the
phone stated that the survey was incorrectly prepared.
Yet still others felt the survey was cut and dry, with the basic gist of the questions
being, do you or don't you support residential development of Leishman Point.
Of 750 people who answered their phone, 205 declined to participate, leaving 545 answering
questions. Of 545 respondents, 285 supported the proposal, equaling 52.3%, 162 voters said
they did not support the proposal, a percentage of 29.7, and 98 were undecided.
Dalton ended the hour long debate, after several comments from board member Shirley
Robinson, stating the conversations were taking too long. "We've pretty much
beat this horse to death," stated Dalton, after banging his gavel to maitain silence
to proceed with the board meeting.
After a motion is passed to sell lands, opponents can collect signatures on a petition to
be filed before the town board to force the issue onto a town-wide referendum, according
to Town Attourney Natasha Hill.
Originally published 07/15/2003
Ogdensburg Journal
Used with permission