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Letters to the Editor: Mayor Speaks on DPW Report, Trustee Actions
April 27, 2010
To the Editor:
On February 18, 2010, the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson received a late day email from Robert Smith of the New York State Department of State advising us “to remove any vital records which are kept in the building and relocate employees” from the DPW garage on Shore Road. On the order of building inspector/code enforcement officer Bruce Yancewicz and with the assistance of David Halvorsen and Robert June, we moved our employees and equipment.
This was and continues to be a great inconvenience to all of us. However, dealing with a major snowstorm one week later demonstrated our ability to weather this inconvenience without the garage which has just begun to be evaluated.
I would like to thank Mr. Yancewicz and Mr. Smith for sharing their knowledge and understanding of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention Code and for their decisive and unyielding action to protect our employees.
Their action confirmed the concerns raised by residents about the building and the site itself. Early maps indicate that the Hudson River extended into Shore Road and this river bottom was used as a municipal dump. It is a designated flood plain affected by the tidal action of the Hudson River and the accompanying winds. Futhermore, many questions remain about the involvement of the LDC in its construction, its real cost, and what we might expect in the future.
This has been no simple matter and has consumed my time and energy for weeks. We have a building for which we paid close to a million dollars and is unsafe for our employees to occupy. It is a critical village asset that cannot be used as it stands and we have only begun to investigate what we have, how we might repair it, and when or if we might move back in. We have little documentation on its design, inspection, and ownership. We are spending tax dollars on temporary facilities and engineering reports we did not budget for. The final cost of all this work will undoubtedly be enormous.
And despite all that is happening with this process, three members of the village board are trying to strip me of legal counsel and our building inspector and in their place install the town attorney who also represented the builder of the DPW garage. The first order of business as proposed by newly-elected trustee Kane is for new counsel to negotiate an inter-municipal agreement with the town for building and code inspection. Not only is this a conflict of interest but it is a deliberate attempt to cover up the mistakes of the past and return to the way business was done here for twenty-six years.
The three trustees have effectively brought the business of the village to a grinding halt. They have tried to fire village counsel and have reduced the hours of the building inspector to five minutes a week. At a public board meeting, trustees Edsall and Vatter ruthlessly tried to fore Mr. Yancewicz to give the DPW garage a temporary certificate of occupancy. To his credit and for the safety of our employees, he endured the humiliation and stood by his decision. The report which has jsut been released will justify his order to vacate.
When I ran for mayor three years ago, I was sick of the way village business was being conducted and foisted on village residents. And now we have the town’s engineer Mark Edsall, the town’s attorney, and the town’s building inspector/code compliance officer waiting in the wings to manage and manipulate the affairs of the village. And let’s not forget the influence of the Storm King Engine 2 on the last election, whose president rents form the builder of the DPW garage.
Today I am releasing the structural evaluation and code compliance review of the Shore Road facility by Tectonic Engineering and Surveying Consultants P.C. I believe it to be an honest and unbiased overview of the structure prepared by a qualified structural engineer.
This report is only the beginning of the research we need to do before we can begin the remedial action that might allow us to occupy the building. Many other technical, legal and financial questions need to be answered by competent professionals who are free of conflict. We need to know all of our legal actions so that we might recoup whatever we can to correct the building. And I need the full support of residents and a board that is intent on doing what’s right for the taxpayers of our village.
And the board can start with a public apology to Mr. Yancewicz and thank him for his concern for the health and safety of all of us.
Thank you.
Joseph J. Gross
Mayor
Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson
Comments:
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You have our support.
posted by J Buescher on 04/27/10 at 6:56 PM
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I would like to thank Joe Gross for acting on the behalf of the community he represents. Mark Edsall, James Kane and Doug Vatter should try this for a change.
Mark Edsall, James Kane and Doug Vatter are not fooling anyone. You are clearly attempting to cover up the Moulton and Prodder follies. Once the audit of the entire process of the DPW building is available I am sure crimainal charges will be filed.
posted by Jonathan Dunaief on 04/28/10 at 9:48 AM
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I had a past Trustee tell me here on this forum that we have 5 votes on the board so as no one person can become so strong and it's a serie of checks and balances. I agree.
I would like to thank Mr Edsall, Mr Vatter, and Mr Kane for keeping the public in mind first and foremost. That it why we have elections. Keep up the good job.
posted by P W on 05/08/10 at 6:49 PM
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I do not appreciate anyone
disparaging Mr. Howard Protter on this board by calling him Prodder.
Perhaps the Editor can give a warning to individuals then a ban from commenting when they do this, just a suggestion.
posted by P W on 05/08/10 at 6:54 PM
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Better yet to show there is no bias the offensive post should be removed. Thank You in advance.
posted by P W on 05/08/10 at 8:49 PM
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