In the last days of September, there is not much happening meetingwise.
- On Tuesday, September 28, the board of Hudson Development Corporation meets at noon. Agenda items of interest include "Disposition of Montgomery Street Property" and "Strategic Plan for the Future of HDC." The meeting will take place on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting.
- On Thursday, September 30, two Common Council ad hoc committees hold their meetings: Properties at 5:30 p.m. and Solar Farm at 6:15 p.m. Both meetings will take place on Zoom, but the links to the meetings have not yet been published.
Again, regarding the planning for solar arrays, the 2104 formal Agreement between the city and county pledged to work "with" the Columbia Land Conservancy and others "to complete preliminary assessment of the feasibility, desirability and practicability of implementing the Concept Master Plan [for the North Bay landfill and trail system] or a variation thereof."
ReplyDeleteAs it happens, the expensive site design which grew out of the Concept Master Plan employs the same riverside land that's now being pushed by President DePietro, et al, as a site for a solar array. (That any combination of uses for the site has yet to be discussed by all involved parties is out of sequence with the 2014 Agreement.)
People always have new ideas and even "environmentalist" frauds get their say. But their convenient effort to treat the conservancy's interests as an add-on instead of inviting the organization as full planning partner (recall "with") is the kind of railroading many of us already associate with DPW Commissioner Bujanow, who is a resident of Kinderhook.
In a related development, The Columbia Land Conservancy just announced a three-part webinar series to delve into local planning and zoning for community solar projects:
"The first webinar [beginning 10/27] will cover the main components of 'community solar' projects, what kinds of sites are likely to be practical for solar projects, and explore possible benefits and concerns. All webinars are free to attend."
So even if city officials fail to live up to their formal commitments, the conservancy is doing its level best to supply our politicians' customary deficiencies.