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General News: NYMA Development Plans Still Secret
November 03, 2010
On Saturday, David Fields, the president of the board at New York Military Academy, gave a state of the academy address to alumni and others who gathered on campus for homecoming weekend. As Fields described the efforts to restore financial health to the institution that nearly closed earlier this year, he referred to a plan to generate cash by selling a portion of the campus.
Those plans to develop homes on the property have not yet been formally presented to the town of Cornwall, which would have to approve any permits. In October, the town imposed a six-month moratorium on new building permits, which would have to be waived if NYMA applied for a permit before then.
Town leaders instead are discussing two draft proposals for development of NYMA in closed-door executive sessions. Last month, more than a dozen residents asked to see the draft plans and were told more discussion was needed before the plans would be released. No members of the public asked about the documents at the town work session this week.
Supervisor Says Town Seeks Partial Purchase and Easement
However, in a recent interview town supervisor Kevin Quigley shed some light on the negotiations, saying that as part of the development deal, the town is seeking to purchase part of the property and easements to be able to use athletic fields and to rights to Faculty Road, the main road through the campus.
“We would give them certain rights to development and we would get rights,” Quigley said. “The big thing is to protect so we don’t get uncontrolled growth.”
Councilman Clark Wants Plans Made Public
Town councilman Randy Clark says that he is not happy with the way discussions are going on behind closed doors and he’d like to see NYMA make a formal proposal to the council and to share the details publicly. He doesn’t think it is up to the town to give feedback on draft proposals.
Clark resigned in September as the town liaison with the NYMA board of trustees, saying he felt that he was being left out of discussions about a development plan. Since July, Clark has urged the town to make a purchase offer. At this week’s council meeting, his motion to hire an appraiser to assess the value of individual lots at NYMA was approved, with councilman Al Mazzocca agreeing that the town couldn’t make an offer until it knows what sections of the property are worth. Earlier this year, an appraiser put an $8 million price tag on the entire 121-acre property.
All of this discussion comes as the Cornwall Central School District is presenting a proposal to build extensive athletic facilities at its middle school that is less than a quarter of a mile away from NYMA. A public meeting about those plans will be held on Wednesday evening, November 3
Comments:
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I agree w/Mr. Clark, and I too am not happy with the fact that these talks are not being made public. How are we supposed to trust what is going on, if those involved are so blatant about trying to hide the truth from us? It all seems very fishy to me. Why the heck do we need "more homes" in Cornwall? What developer in their right-mind would propose building new homes on that property in this economic climate? There are plenty of homes for sale in the area, which are not selling. UGH! And yes, isn't it interesting that we are potentially going to spend millions of dollars on another athletic facility at the middle school, when there are multiple acres available on the NYMA property which could be used for sporting events etc? This is CRAZY. Something has to be done. We need to protect our quaint little town. It's charm is the very reason most of us live here, correct? Well, that charm will be gone very soon, replaced by unnecessary over-development. More people need to show up at these meetings and not be afraid to speak up! The handful of us who have been at this since May cannot do it alone : )
posted by Rose Tamberino on 11/03/10 at 12:58 PM
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We need to be able to find out what exactly is happening at these executive (hiding) sessions. Along with the voting records of the members involved so that at election time we are armed with the information necessary to make a responsibly thought out Vote. In other words we need to remove the curtain of doubt that a hidden executive session offers to those that otherwise will tell us "I did't vote for that" come election time. As elected officials they owe us(the electorate) at least this. The only reason for not doing this could very well be that the office holders have already SOLD US OUT or are planning to do so very soon. Identifying and removing them from office before it is too late might be our only recourse now
posted by Don Malone on 11/04/10 at 1:31 AM
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Mr. Malone I can't agree with you more! Just like what happened this past Tuesday nationally, we need to remove those on the town council, (along with thier current legal council), who do not represent the greater good of the town and do not negotiate on our behalf openly.
posted by Gerry Wagner on 11/04/10 at 9:24 AM
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Mr. Cumming, great ideas, however USMA prep and a Storm King School partnering have already been proposed (this past spring before NYMA announced it would not reopen this fall) but were rejected.
posted by Rose Tamberino on 11/04/10 at 9:34 AM
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I can only stress that what is going on is bigger than just NYMA....the entire town is at risk, especially the upper portions on Main St. and by the hospital and with everything having to do with water resources. If there is a concern about unethical behavior by the board, file a complaint with the ethics committee...unfortunately, however, and as I understand it, the very same board members are responsible for reviewing the merits of the complaint. The citizens need to take action on their own. They can petition the state to form a coterminous village, which would offer the best protection. I urge you to look at preserveramapo.com to see what has happened in Rockland with overdevelopment with the insight that this is exactly what the town is now up against. Please do not mico-focus on NYMA...it is just a small part of a much larger issue.
posted by Rachael Skigen on 11/04/10 at 9:44 AM
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Cornwall the New Frontier for particular development?
Are you concerned? I am! Show up at the next Town Board Meeting and let your voice be heard during the open public comment period. This is an outrage that the plans are a secret. Obviously they are concerned that the public will not be happy.
posted by j h on 11/04/10 at 8:39 PM
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