The Springwater Preservation Committee

Springwater Preservation Committee

More Quality Government

Deceit, Deception and the Absurd continue to characterize the Springwater government under Supervisor Walker and Deputy Supervisor Perkins.

The latest fiasco was the Board meeting of December 5th. At the November 21st Board meeting, Mr. Walker announced he would schedule a public hearing on the proposed Local Law regarding wind farms (WECS) for December 12th, and that an Environmental Assessment Form (EA) would be prepared as required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). There were numerous requests from residents, with obvious support from everyone else, to delay the hearing until after the holidays as the matter was too important to a large number of residents, and it would be nice to enjoy the season without having to deal with such a divisive issue. In spite of the fact that there was no urgency, since the matter has been pending since last summer, Mr. Walker insisted on plowing ahead with the backing of Ms. Perkins and Mr. Gnau. However, I’m sure there was no intent to discourage attendance by scheduling it during the holidays. I then asked Mr. Walker if the proposed EA would be available in the Town Clerk’s office for public review. He said YES. When I asked at the December 5th meeting if the EA had been available in the Clerk’s office as promised he admitted it was never available, because he had just "received" the forms that day. Other Board members said they just received their copies before the meeting and hadn’t even had time to read the material. Mr. Walker stated that the EA did not require a public hearing and thus, he did not have to make the material available. It is true that a public hearing is not required, but the State law also says "The Lead Agency will make every reasonable effort to involve... the public in the SEQR process."

In this case not only was no effort made, but even the possibility of any public involvement was made impossible. Welcome to the Walker style of leadership. (Should I not feel deceived?) Mr. Walker, as noted above, said he had "received" the forms. It was never established who he received them from. However, the EA have a line to be signed by whoever prepared them if it was other than Mr. Walker. This line was not signed. Thus, it can only be concluded that Mr. Walker "received" them from himself. (But one could certainly not interpret that as deceptive). There was no necessity that this issue be acted on at this meeting either, but again, with the support his two unflinching supporters, he got it approved.

When the meeting ended, I asked to see the EA. On page 2 there are 10 questions, the last of which is "Is there or is there likely to be controversy related to potential environmental impacts?" A YES or NO box is to be checked. I was absolutely shocked when I saw the NO box was checked. Unbelievable! Now I know why Supervisor Walker did not want anyone to see the EA until after it was approved. Mr. Walker had the gall to say he didn’t think there was any controversy regarding the proposed law. Absurd! What planet do you suppose Mr. Walker has been living on lately?

Bob Radell

P.S. Publicus, where were you when I needed you?

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