Cold Spring trustees vote 3-2 for request

The Cold Spring Village Board on Wednesday (Dec. 11) voted 3-2 to ask state parks to extend to 120 days the public comment period for the recently released draft environmental impact statement for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail. 

The state released the report on Dec. 4 and set a Feb. 2 deadline for comments.

Mayor Kathleen Foley and Trustees Tweeps Phillips Woods and Laura Bozzi voted in favor and Trustees Eliza Starbuck and Aaron Freimark against. 

At the mayor’s request, Ted Fink, the principal of Greenplan, a land-use planning consulting firm, submitted a proposal to assist the village with its analysis of the report for $8,500. Foley said it might make sense to invite Nelsonville and Philipstown to share the cost. 

HHFT representatives will attend the Dec. 18 board meeting to answer questions about the trail’s impact.  There will be no public comment and the village suggested that, because of limited seating, residents attend via Zoom.

At the Philipstown Town Board meeting on Dec. 5, Supervisor John Van Tassel said he plans to request an extension because the report’s release just before Christmas does not allow town officials enough time to review the document.

Van Tassel also said he would be one of the signatories on a letter to Putnam Executive Kevin Byrne asking that the county’s Bureau of Emergency Services and Office of Emergency Management undertake a “deep, detailed review” of the trail’s emergency action plan. “I don’t feel it’s fair that the local emergency services be tasked with this work,” he said.

State Sen. Rob Rolison, whose district includes Beacon and Philipstown, sent a letter on Wednesday (Dec. 11) to state parks requesting that the deadline be extended by 30 days, to March 4. The Putnam County Legislature, in a letter dated Dec. 13, asked for the same.

Leonard Sparks contributed reporting.

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Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Michael Turton has been a reporter with The Current since its founding, after working in the same capacity at the Putnam County News & Recorder. Turton spent 20 years as community relations supervisor for the Essex Region Conservation Authority in Ontario before his move in 1998 to Philipstown, where he handled similar duties at Glynwood Farm and The Hastings Center. The Cold Spring resident holds degrees in environmental studies from the University of Waterloo, in education from the University of Windsor and in communication arts from St. Clair College.

2 replies on “Local Officials Ask for New Fjord Trail Deadline”

  1. I’m grateful for this reporting as it highlights and condenses all the endeavors by our local officials and beyond to give the public their due say. I’m grateful to our officials because they have our backs in this David vs. Goliath situation we find ourselves in.

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  2. Thank you to all the local officials that have asked questions about this project on behalf of their constituents. Moving out the deadline for comment on such a massive project is the right thing to do. Even those that are big promonents of this new attraction should welcome the opportunity for people to weigh in and provide feedback. Why the rush?

    Also, while great to see a diverse array of village, town, county executive and state senate representatives asking questions, I’m perplexed by the continued silence of our state assembly and county legislature representatives on this matter. It would be nice to see them join the bipartisan chorus of elected that are speaking out on this timeline and the many, many unanswered questions.

    Perhaps their re-election campaigns were occupying their time in recent months, but it is now over a month since election day. Please speak up and back our supervisor and mayors!

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