APA Press Release (original) (raw)

For Immediate Release: September 19, 2001

Contact:
Victoria Hristovski | keith.mckeever@apa.ny.gov
Director Public Information | Adirondack Park Agency | Press Office | (518) 891-4050

September Agency Meeting News

RAY BROOK - The Adirondack Park Agency opened its meeting on September 13th with a moment of silence for the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks last week.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of the victims in these shocking attacks on our nation," said APA Chairman Richard Lefebvre. "The magnitude of these attacks secures a place in our nation’s history books, and the unimaginable loss of human life places a void in the hearts of all Americans. This day will not soon be forgotten, but it is our hope to heal as a nation and to re-build for the future of this great state and this great country." After the moment of silence on Thursday, Agency business continued.

Several Certificates of Appreciation were given by the Agency to various members of the community and staff for their hard work and dedication. Justin Taylor, Superintendent of Corrections at Camp Gabriels, received a certificate for the inmate work-study program at the Agency. Corrections Officer Peter Martin also received a Certificate for supervising the work-study program at the Agency on a daily basis. Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Dick Wild received a Certificate of Appreciation upon his announcement of retirement for his years of service both to the DEC and his work with the Agency. Certificates of Appreciation were also given to two APA staff members, Sunita Halasz and John Barge for their work on the Agency’s CD Mapping Project; a compilation of information about the Park on one comprehensive CD which is now available through the Agency’s Website at: www.northnet.org/adirondackparkagency/

Robert Traver, a long-time volunteer for the Agency who gave so much of his time that he was referred to as "Assistant Director of Economic Services," was also honored on Thursday. Mr. Traver was recognized in fond memory by staff who worked with him here at the Agency, and condolences were passed along to his family and friends. Mr. Traver passed away at the end of August.

Both new items discussed under the Regulatory Programs Committee on Thursday were approved by the full board on Friday. One application for a shoreline setback variance for a single family dwelling on Lincoln Pond in Elizabethtown, Essex County, in an area classified as Resource Management, was approved with conditions recommended by staff. The second application was for the construction of a wireless communication antennae to an existing municipal water tank in Rural Use area in the Town of Queensbury, Warren County was also approved.

During the Local Government Services Committee on Thursday, at 1:30 p.m., Town of Essex officials made an informal presentation of the Essex planning program to Committee members. Suzanne Perley, of the Essex Town Board, and Ted Cornell, Chairman of the Essex Planning Board, discussed the history of planning and the new comprehensive plan for the Town of Essex. Also discussed during the Local Government Services Committee on Thursday was the Agency’s outreach efforts in the towns of Inlet and Chesterfield. The Committee also approved the amendments to the Town of Bolton Local Land Use program, and the full Agency approved the amendments on Friday.

Agency Planning Director, John Banta, gave an informational presentation on current development with respect to light pollution during the Park Policy and Planning Committee. During his presentation, Mr. Banta discussed some of the environmental issues concerning light pollution, and some of the ongoing legislative initiatives in different states, and the current status of the issue in New York. Mr. Banta also compiled a list of Web sites for the Committee members information.

During the Park Ecology Committee meeting on Thursday, Agency commissioners and staff (public was invited) went to an "in-the-field" presentation and discussion at a location chosen by staff at Scarface trail in Ray Brook. This presentation took a look at the process and substance of project review beginning with an inquiry to the jurisdictional office and finishing with at look at site conditions such as slopes, wetlands, soil conditions, driveway access, etc. in the field.

On Friday, the Agency meeting was conducted at the Paul Smith’s Visitors Interpretive Center. There, the Ecology/Interpretive Committee met and discussed the scope of some of the VIC’s programs. Committee members and VIC staff also discussed results of a survey of visitors to the centers.

At 10 a.m. on Friday, Chairman Lefebvre and Paul Smith’s College President George Miller officially opened the Boreal Life Trail at the Paul Smith’s VIC. This newest addition is a 1.1-mile interpretive trail that winds through mixed second-growth and mature conifer forests, a coniferous wetland and a peatland. Once the trail passes Barnum Pond’s southeast shore, it turns southwest to a 1,600-foot boardwalk, where tamarack and black spruce trees emerge from the cotton grass. It was designed to teach Adirondack Park visitors and residents about the plants and animals of the boreal forest.

At noon on Friday, the Agency observed three minutes of silence to those who perished in Tuesday’s (September 11) attacks.

The next Agency meeting will be held on October 11th and 12th at the Agency’s headquarters in Ray Brook.