| News That Matters Good Wednesday Morning, To a round of sustained applause which caught one county legislator off guard for its sustained length and volume, the Putnam County Legislature voted unanimously last evening to endorse the use of $325,000 in Croton watershed protection monies as part of a matching grant to purchase the development rights on the Ryder Farm on Starr Ridge Road in the Town of Southeast. Putnam County joins a public/private partnership composed of the Town of Southeast, the Open Space Institute and the Putnam County Land Trust in a concerted effort to preserve this 129 acre farm, which has been in the same family since 1795, through a competitive matching grant with the NY State Department of Agriculture. A successful project will assist the Towns of Southeast and North Salem in their multi-million dollar effort to reduce pollutant loading in Peach Lake as they gear up for a long overdue sewering and stormwater abatement program and will offer permanent view shed protection for the several communities on Peach Lake itself. The property tax structure remains the same, (the property does not come off the tax rolls,) while providing a continuing source of locally grown, chemical free produce. There are currently two Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs working at the farms today and a self-serve farm stand on Starr Ridge Road is open 7 days a week during harvest season. Deputy County Executive John Tully assured us yesterday that County Executive Bob Bondi would sign the resolution today or, at the latest, tomorrow. Legislator Vinny Tamagna (Philipstown) was the organizer and star of this show and thanks should first be directed in his direction. I can assure you that he has worked tirelessly on this for the past several weeks and will continue to see this through to its hopeful, successful, outcome. A hearty Mazel Tov! goes to Eileen Goren for her technical expertise on writing the grant application and steering us in the right direction and to Betsy Ryder for her dedication over the past few months. And we cannot forget the general community that came out last night and to the Physical Services Committee meeting last week to show their support. Special mention also goes to Paul Elconin from the Open Space Institute for his long standing commitment. Thanks also go to Teddy Eisenman, the NY State coordinator at the Highlands Coalition, who labored through a three-day weekend on this. The Highlands Coalition represents scores of land use and smart growth organizations spanning four states and acts as a central point for information and action on land preservation and related issues from Pennsylvania through to Connecticut's Litchfield Hills. What's Next: Now that this part has been accomplished, and matching funds are in place, and since watershed protection monies are being tapped, the 41 signatories of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Croton basin will be notified by mail, each receiving a copy of the resolution. According to the rules of the MOA, any of the 41 signatories may object to watershed monies being used for this purpose but must do so within a 15 day period that begins this morning. However, in all the years the MOA has been in effect, and through the hundreds of projects proposed, only one objection has ever been brought to the MOA's Executive Committee. With the breadth and depth of support for this project and it's positive environmental impacts, anyone who would raise such an objection would probably engender sustained outrage from the community at large. This project is competing for about $2.4 million of an available $6 million of State Ag grant monies for the Hudson Valley and the competition will be keen. Keep your fingers crossed! And for today at least, that's the News That Matters. JmG |
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Wednesday, September 3, 2008
News That Matters - September 3, 2008 - A Landmark Event for Putnam County, NY
