Town Wins on Leishman Point
BY KRESTIA DeGEORGE
In a tightly contested referendum, the town's proposal to develop Leishman Point as a
residential subdivision passed by just 25 votes.
With all votes tallied, Larry Sears, acting as Deputy Supervisor announced the results to
a small crowd waiting in the rain outside Waddington's municipal building shortly after 9
p.m.: 364 'no' votes, 389 'yes' votes. The town was split between district one, the
village, and district two, the remainder of the town. In the village, 'no' votes
outnumbered 'yes' votes 234 to 202, while in the rest of the township 187 voters approved
the resolution to just 130 who voted against it.
Both town officials and Waddington Redevelopment Association (WRA) members said that they
were pleased with the high turnout. A total of 753 residents went to the polls in a town
with 1486 registered voters. Sears said of the high number of voters "I'm pleased
with the turnout. I work for the voters, and do whatever they want."
Meanwhile James Thew, WRA president and candidate for Waddington Village Mayor, said
"Just the fact that a lot of people turned out is good." Among members of the
opposition groups, even before the outcome was clear, the fact that the resolution went to
a referendum was seen as a victory of sorts. Among the crowd waiting for results was Jon
Tenbusch, a member of the group Friends of Leishman Point, who said the right of citizens
to express their opinion directly was the most important outcome. "That's what's
important, regardless of the results. That's the victory"
After the results were released, Thew expressed similar feelings, saying that the
referendum was "a moral victory," and added "We've raised awareness... this
can't be taken negatively." Thew cited that raised awareness as a reason for the
higher amount of 'no' votes in the village, saying he thinks there's a lot more awareness
in the village. "People are more cognizant of the issues."
Mark Scott, a member of the WRA, and Independent candidate for Town Supervisor, echoed
Thew's feelings about the vote. He said "While we're disappointed, it's a moral
victory for everyone who wanted to have a say on Leishman Point." Scott said that he
hopes the closeness of the vote will prompt the town to realize the growing support for a
formal approach to planning land use in the town's future that incorporates more citizens.
He explained that he believes the town needs a community planning process, and
professional help from outside the town. "This needs to be initiated by the town.
They need to invite people from outside their power structure," he said. According to
Scott, "That's the only way we'll come up with something everyone can be happy
with."
While this will be important when it comes to developing the Whitehouse Bay area, Scott
also hopes it can happen even for the residential development at Leishman Point, since, as
he pointed out, the resolution is very unspecific about how the development will take
place. He hopes that a formal committee, like the Joint Recreational Committee, will
eventually be formed to do this. If the WRA and town can work side by side he said,
"we could get a lot done."
Members of the town council are also hopeful that with the referendum behind the town that
the feuding groups can work together in a more positive manner. Supervisor William Dalton
said of the potential of the different sides to get along in a post-referendum Waddington
"I would hope so." He added that he hopes to continue to work with all the
town's residents saying "Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you
can't get along with them." Still, he's happy that the vote went the town's way.
"I'm glad it's done and I'm glad it turned out the way it did. It think it's what's
best," he said. When asked when work would begin out at the point, Dalton said
probably not until next spring, since the engineers had been put on hold pending the
referendum's outcome. Although there is a possibility that some road work might commence
before snow flies, the next steps will be mainly paperwork, he said.
Councilman Sears added that the town won't know much about the time frame of the
development until they hold their next meeting. He too hopes that the divide between
supporters and opponents of the resolution can be bridged in the months to come.
"Hopefully we'll get them (WRA) involved in the 450 acres at the dam," he said.
Sears also noted that as a councilman he works for the town's opponents too: "We
represent them as well as everyone else in the town," he said.
The tight vote on Leishman Point, which many have considered the most important issue
facing the town, is also likely to signal tight races in village and town elections next
month. Thew summed up the feelings of many of those involved saying "We'll see what
happens in November."
Originally published 10/15/2003
Ogdensburg Journal
Used with permission