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They’ll Take Your Land & Not Pay Their Taxes

This may seem like a strange headline but here is a press release we received from the Lake George Property Owner’s Group, where they call the proposed stream corridor regulations being considered by the Lake George Park Commission a confiscation of private property. Many of their arguments are valid and worthy of discussion.

Additionally, here are two links from the Adirondack Journal and the Times of Ti to stories about the Governor’s proposal to alter the payment of real estate taxes on state forest preserve land.

These stories may combine to make a funny headline but they should be taken very seriously. If they both come to pass in their present form, they will cause property taxes to explode.

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Land by the Numbers

This little graphic is pretty interesting. It shows the amount of land preserved over the last 38 years in the Adirondacks. The total forest preserve has grown by 348,575 acres and the total conservation easement lands have grown by 580,443 acres. That’s an increase of almost a million acres of land over the last 38 years. That’s almost twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. Now that’s growth. Let’s just hope the state of NY keeps paying its property taxes.


1970
Adirondack Forest Preserve

2008
Adirondack Forest Preserve

2,404,536 acres

2,753,111 acres

1970
Adirondack Conservation Easement Lands

2008
Adirondack Conservation Easement Lands

0 acres

580,443 acres

* Source – Adirondack Life Magazine January 2009

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Where Are They Now?

Richard and Edie Cerosky have lived on Bluff Head Road for many years. Their sons, Scott and Bruce along with their daughter, Lyn, were always big water-skiers and for many years they had a water skiing course in front of their house. The Cerosky’s were always very kind in letting novice water skiers use their course and helping them with advice.

It seems that after 9/11, Bruce Cerosky was looking to return to a simpler way of life and he and his family relocated to Bolton Landing. Recently the Huletts Current had a chance to catch up with Bruce Cerosky and his wife, Kathy, to learn about their business endeavors in Bolton Landing.

For those familiar with Bolton Landing, the Cerosky’s own both the Sagamore Pub and the Fins & Claws Seafood Shop on Route 9N. Both of these are easy to get to by boat from Huletts in the summer. You would simply dock your boat at the public dock at Rogers Park, and walk up through the park, to Route 9N. (The public dock is just south of the bridge which leads to the Sagamore Resort and is next to the public beach in Bolton Landing.)

The Sagamore Pub is located at 4983 County Route 9N, at the entrance to the Sagamore resort, and Fins & Claws is located at 4933 County Route 9N. (County Route 9N is also known as Lake Shore Drive.) Both restaurants are within about 100 yards of each other. “We bought Fins & Claws in the summer of ’07 and we opened the Sagamore Pub on April 23, 2008,” Kathy Cerosky recalled. “We love Huletts and we would be very happy to have people come down.”

To give you a feel for both restaurants, we were given a tour by the Cerosky’s. The Sagamore Pub is decorated in classic Adirondack style and you’ll want to check out the magnificant winter picture of Lake George which hangs above the bar. Lake George history books are readily available in a fascinating book display. Fins & Claws is a great place for fresh seafood and is a nice summer getaway.

“Please tell people from Huletts that if they stop down, to tell us that they are from Huletts,” the Cerosky’s said. “Richard and Edie have had their house there for over 30 years and we consider it home also. Any person from Huletts is a friend of ours.”

So now you know where Bruce Cerosky is today and you learned it here on the Huletts Current. Stop in and say hello to the Cerosky’s and tell them you’re from Huletts. You’ll be glad you did.

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Bits of Everything

This Deal is Pure Garbage

Here is a good article from the Post Star about the Hudson Falls trash burn plant. All of our garbage from Huletts goes to the trash burn plant. It has always operated at a deficit and Washington County has always lost money on it. When it was constructed, it was believed Washington County would make money every year on its waste disposal. However, this never happened because the state allowed other landfills to remain open and accept trash. This has resulted in increased competition for garbage from other counties. The result is that the plant doesn’t get the amount of trash that it was expected to receive and thus loses money. So instead of making money, it has been a terrible deal for Washington County. The agreement is up in 2 years.

Bolton Landing Says No to Proposed Stream Rules

The Bolton Landing Town Board has just passed a resolution against the draft proposed stream corridor rules that the Lake George Park Commission is accepting comments on. It is expected that other municipalities around the lake will be opposing them also. Common sense exemptions are no where to be found in the proposed rules. Read more about Bolton Landing’s resolution in the Albany Times Union.

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Winter 2009

Many times we get the question; “What is Huletts like in the winter?” So I thought this picture would be appropriate. It’s cold, there’s a lot of snow and it gets dark with very little cloud cover. Oh what a difference a few months makes!

A Winter Day in Huletts
A Winter Day in Huletts

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Safe from an Icy Doom

neal_v
Neal Vandorsten pictured with his faithful dog, says he will never go on the frozen Lake again without having an ice axe with him. Neal shares his story about falling through the ice on one of the coldest nights of the winter.

Many readers of the Huletts Current know longtime Huletts resident and developer Neal Vandorsten. Neal emailed this story to us about an encounter with the lake he had a few weeks ago that he will never forget.

“Made an illconcieved plan to walk across the lake to an island with (son) Keating and visit some folks we know that live there … It is called Three Brothers Island and sits about a half mile from Bolton. Keating and I put our headlamps and gear on and took the dog and off we went. It was a beautiful night and the lake creaked a little, but seemed firm enough. We arrived at the island and had a nice visit with our friends. On our return we lost our tracks and took a different route.. Keating was ahead, the dog was way off, when suddenly I went thru the ice, into the freezing abyss.

The temp was minus 15 and I couldn’t get back out of the water. Every time I tried to climb onto the ice I was back in to the dark and frozen water. I screamed to Keating to stay away, as I didn’t want two of us to expire, but he came closer and closer. My large winter boots acted like anchors pulling me beneath the black waters, I struggled to get up, again and again. Finally, Keating risked all and made a mad dash toward me and pulled me out. We stayed on our bellies for a bit, then got up and ran off the weak ice toward land. We thought for sure we would both go back in but it was luck that put us on some thicker ice. The trip back to the mainland is a blur as I lost my senses for a bit and next I knew we were on terra firma, but I was thinking I was still in the lake. Keating ripped my top clothes off and put his jacket and gloves on me and I began to get reoriented.. We then walked back to the house. Our only salvation is providence. That was the case that night. Anyway, in the morning I went back to the beach to retrieve some of my clothing and looked out across the frozen lake and saw the big hole from the night before.. I was a little beat up on the face and knees from the ice, but the next day felt pretty good..”

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Winter Carnival Fun

We took Saturday off and went down to the Winter Carnival in Lake George Village. Here are some pictures.


The winter carnival continues on weekends until March 1st in Lake George Village.

Learn more about it here.

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Preview – Coming Soon

It’s been quiet this week, but we’re working on some stories and some new features which you’ll find interesting.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be adding some original historic videos, which we’re going to be calling our video time traveler series. We’re also exploring some connections that Huletts has to NCAA Basketball and Major League Baseball.

We’re going to start a feature in the weeks ahead about what some of our friends do in the winter when they leave Huletts and we’ve also got a couple of unique interviews in the pipeline. We’re going to start another feature called; “Where are They Now” which will focus on some friends who have not been in Huletts for awhile.

We’ll continue to bring you the local news, and our popular historic items but we’re also going to be expanding our topics and posts. Full speed ahead!

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Budget Deal Reached

Gov. David Paterson and Democratic legislative leaders have reached a deal to reduce the state’s budget for the current fiscal year. This $1.6B deal closed the deficit for the current fiscal year.

With this year’s budget finished, the Governor and state legislators will start on the 2009-2010 budget that begins with a roughly $13 billion difference between spending and projected revenue.

The proposal to cap the amount the state pays in real estate taxes on forest preserve land was not not being considered for this years budget but has been proposed by the Governor for next year’s budget.

“We will pretty much be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this budget deficit,” Gov. Paterson said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

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What a Black Swan Means to the Governor’s Tax Cap Proposal on State Land

In his 2007 best selling book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, explores an idea which is relevant to the current debate on whether NY state should pay their full share of taxes on their forest preserve land.

“The book explores one big idea: that history is dominated by rare, unpredictable and extreme events. The author calls these black swans, alluding to the fact that Europeans had seen only white swans until black swans were found in Australia. The Great Depression, the 1987 stock market collapse, and the current financial crisis are examples. Black swans don’t have to be negative. Biotech firms that stumble upon breakthrough cures are black swans.

The human mind, evolved to cope with everyday tasks, deals poorly with rare but consequential events. People assume that the future will be like the recent past but in fact, the most consequential events may not have recent precedents.”

For example: NY state attempting to change how it has paid taxes on its public forest preserve land since the 1880’s. If they stop paying their full share, property taxes will go through the roof. No one really understands the consequences of this because it has never been tried before. However, all readers of the Huletts Current; if this happens, you’ve seen the black swan here already. This will be devastating to the private property owners of the Adirondacks. Please contact your downstate, state representatives. Don’t let the Governor get away with this proposal.

*Book Synopsis – Forbes Magazine February 2, 2009

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Supervisor Banks Named to Committees

Town Supervisor, Robert Banks, was recently named to a number of committees at the county level. He was picked to serve on the Adirondack Community College, Health, Human Services, Public Safety, and Public Works committees.

Many important decisions are made at the committee level and we commend Supervisor Banks for these important assignments.