New Town Board turns attention to paying for sewer plant
Published 10:17 pm, Sunday, January 24, 2016
Tina Tierney, left, takes signs from Jennifer Jenkins, right, as opponents of the East Greenbush casino site wait in line for the beginning of the New York Gaming Facility Location Board's meeting Wednesday Dec. 17, 2014, in Albany, NY. Tierney is now on the East Greenbush town board, and recently voted to rescind the town's support for a casino. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
East Greenbush
Even though the state Gaming Commission locating board said no to a proposed Thompson Hill Road casino more than a year ago, members of a new town administration want to make sure everyone knows all bets are off.
At a recent meeting of the new East Greenbush Town Board, members unanimously voted to rescind an 18-month-old resolution that endorsed a gaming facility in town.
Last month, the state awarded the Capital Region's gaming license to Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady.
"You had your day," Democratic Supervisor Jack Conway said in reference to the town's casino supporters, who wanted the $300 million Capital View Casino and Resort.
"The majority of people in the town opposed the casino. If you don't believe it, look at the people sitting up here," Conway said.
Conway, a retired Skidmore College assistant professor of anthropology, and town board runningmates Tom Grant, of the Working Families party, and Tina Tierney, of the Independence party, were swept into office last year by nearly 2-to-1 margins.
Despite former Republican Supervisor Keith Langley and his administration's June 12, 2014, resolution and support for the casino, which was proposed by Saratoga Casino and Gaming and its partner, Churchill Downs Inc., the movement opposing such a facility gained loud momentum. Calling itself Save East Greenbush, the group dotted the landscape with lawn signs and protestors made their presence felt at Gaming Commission hearings in December 2014.
The East Greenbush First candidates, who met through the Save East Greenbush campaign, also used other town concerns as part of their platform, including disorganized financial records, low bond ratings and a lack of transparency.
At the time of the controversial June 2014 resolution, Langley and other town board members saw the casino as a much-needed revenue generator estimated to bring in $5.7 million a year. Capital View also needed the resolution for its license application to be competed later that month.
But despite the state awarding the casino license to Schenectady this past December, Conway said Rivers Casino operators don't have the document in hand yet — and the new administration wants to ensure that everyone knows a casino will not be welcomed in the suburban Rensselaer County town.
The rescind vote at last Wednesday's town board meeting was greeted with some cheers and applause by many of the more than 80 residents in attendance.
"In general they didn't know each other," Grant said about the anti-casino movement. "They became a community within a community."
"We want the sign to go up — not here, not for at least the next four years," said Conway, referencing how long his term is in office.
The make-up of the town's current administration is also an unusual one. The supervisor and each board member all represent different political parties. Other town board members Deb DiMartino, a Republican, and Mary Ann Matters, a Conservative, were not up for re-election and remain on the board.
The vote rescinding support for a casino may be the town board's easiest action. Last week, Conway also issued a supervisor's report to residents advising them of "a significant increase in the sewer rates" to pay for the new sewer plant on Columbia Turnpike. "This is news nobody wants to hear but it's unavoidable," the supervisor wrote.
The Town Board meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday to consider change orders for the sewer plant and to issue bond anticipation notes to begin borrowing to pay for the $14.5 million plant.
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