The minutes from the August 2015 Dresden Town Board meeting have been posted.
The September minutes will not be approved until October and so on.
July Dresden Town Board Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the July 2015 Dresden Town Board meeting have been posted.
The August minutes will not be approved until September and so on.
Dresden August Meeting Agenda
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Dresden Town Board will be held:
Monday, August 10, 2015 at the Huletts Fire House at 7:00 p.m.
Bits of Everything
China’s Richest Man Buys Adirondack Property
Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, has just purchased a 28,120-acre property in the Adirondacks.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/
Local Business: Fort Edward’s Little Theater on the Farm Prepares for 10th Year
Check out http://www.littletheater27.org/ for a list of their summer performances.
Bolton Landing Park Transformed
The Lake George Mirror describes a positive change in Bolton Landing.
Canal Picture Contest
The Champlain Canal as seen from Whitehall.
Submissions of pictures for the 10th annual Erie Canal Photo Contest will be accepted until August 28th. Winning entries will be featured in the 2016 Erie Canal calendar.
Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit photos in four different categories: On the Water, Along the Trail, Canal Communities, and Classic Canal.
Images must be from the National Heritage Corridor, which is comprised of the Cayuga-Seneca, Champlain (which runs through Whitehall), Erie and Oswego Canals.
Official rules can be found at: http://www.eriecanalway.org/get-involved_photo-contest.htm
County Finishing Route 6 Paving Work
Washington County Route 6 as it looks after being repaved.
Washington County has been paving the end of County Route 6 over the last few weeks. Presently, the project is getting close to completion. This is an example of some of the work that goes on during the “off-season,” so I snapped these two pictures this morning. I have been told that the County should be painting the road later next week. (Click images to see full-scale.)
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Washington County Business Showcase in Whitehall on Thursday
The Whitehall Athletic Club will host a Washington County Business Showcase on Thursday, June 11th.
The Washington County Local Development Corporation and Washington County Tourism will present the 2015 Washington County Business Showcase on June 11, 2015 at the Whitehall Athletic Club.
Please consider taking the time to come to this event as Washington County showcases the unique businesses and service providers in Washington County. You’ll better understand what a diverse, successful and thriving business climate we have here. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet business leaders, learn about growing sectors and identify ways we can collectively support the thriving business base in Washington County.
Dresden’s Sales Tax Revenue Explained
Late last month, the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted to change the allocation of sales tax revenue to towns in the county.
New York state allocates a portion of sales tax revenue collected in a county back to that county. Counties are free to allocate those funds to individual towns as they see fit.
Under Washington County’s previous policy, the county distributed $1 million dollars to the towns in the county using a formula based on assessed valuation and population.
Last month, the supervisors voted to allocate 7 percent of all total sales tax revenue to the towns. After 2016, the county is no longer guaranteeing $1 million to be split among the towns, just whatever 7 percent is. This could mean more total dollars to Dresden or less, depending on how much sales tax is raised.
In an effort to learn more about this issue, Dresden Supervisor George Gang, explained what the rational of this change was and how he voted.
After a study of other counties throughout the state it was found that Washington County was on the very low end of sales tax distributions to its towns. Some counties were distributing as much as 25 percent. The formula for distribution of the $1 million is based on two factors; 1) town population (50%) and 2) assessed value (50%). Dresden does well on the assessed value portion and poorly on the population portion.
Dresden currently receives approximately $34,000 per year in four installments. In the future distribution this will be 7 percent of the total of all sales tax receipts, using the above 50/50 formula, which means the $1 million is no longer guaranteed.
Receipts have been trending upwards in Washington County even though they have been trending down in the rest of the State. If we were to get the 7 percent distribution this year, Dresden would have received an extra $12,500. Of course, if county receipts go down, we could receive under the $34,000 that we are now guaranteed.
Three towns in Washington County currently pay approximately 25 percent of the total county taxes. (Putnam, Dresden and Fort Ann) This is mostly due to our assessed values. Supervisor Gang voted against the change in distribution because now that the county will be paying out a higher percentage of receipts to the towns, the county will have to find those lost monies from somewhere else. Supervisor Gang’s reasoning is that this will mean that the lost funds to the county will be “made up” from county taxpayers or from fund balances.
The three Towns noted above will end up paying for the largest part of that increase, thus subsidizing the other fourteen towns in the county who would make out very well. If Supervisor Gang had his druthers, he would love the formula to be based solely on assessed values, in which case Dresden would get back a fairer share of the taxes we pay into the county. However, this would never be approved by those other fourteen towns.
To conclude, it always benefits Dresden residents to shop in Washington County. Instead of buying groceries in Glens Falls or Vermont think about buying your groceries in Fort Edward or Kingsbury. (Or for that matter, anywhere in Washington County). Buying a new car? Make sure you get it in Washington County!
Rep. Stefanik Announces Winner of 2015 Congressional Art Competition
“The Beauty of a Cold Winter’s Day” by Keely O’Connor
Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) announced that Keely O’Connor of Carthage Central High School has won the 2015 Congressional Art Competition for New York’s 21st District for her piece, The Beauty of a Cold Winter’s Day.
“I am thrilled to announce that Keely’s piece will be displayed for a full year at the U.S. Capitol, proudly representing the talent of our North Country artists,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “The volume of amazing art that was submitted for this contest was overwhelming and I thank each and every student that participated. The North Country is a proud home to many gifted students and I look forward to continuing this competition next year.”
Keely’s art was one of four finalists selected by a committee from 59 total pieces of art submitted to Stefanik’s Glens Falls, Watertown and Plattsburgh district offices. In addition to having her work showcased at the Capitol, Keely will also have the opportunity to visit Washington for a reception in June. The other semi-finalists will have the opportunity to have their work showcased in Congresswoman Stefanik’s district offices for the next year. To view the semi-finalists, click here.
Dresden May Meeting Agenda
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Dresden Town Board will be held:
Monday, May 11, 2015 at the Dresden Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Washington County Business Showcase to be held in Whitehall: June 11th
The Washington County Local Development Corporation and Washington County Tourism will present the 2015 Washington County Business Showcase on June 11, 2015 at the Whitehall Athletic Club.
For businesses that would like to participate, here is the attached sponsorship/exhibitor registration form. To secure a sponsorship or exhibit table, simply return the attached form completed with payment…It’s that easy!
Please consider taking the time to come to this event as Washington County showcases the unique businesses and service providers in Washington County. You’ll better understand what a diverse, successful and thriving business climate we have here. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet business leaders, learn about growing sectors and identify ways we can collectively support the thriving business base in Washington County.
1915 – 2015 Hulett Hotel Fire Anniversary: Judge Erskine C. Rogers
Washington County Judge Eskine C. Rogers, as he would have appeared in his Judicial robes, circa the 1920’s.
2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Hulett Hotel fire, which I chronicled in my book, The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George. After the fire, there was a trial which I also detail in the book.
The Judge who presided over that trial was Washington County Judge Eskine C. Rogers. In my book, I shared two pictures of the judge, both of which were hard to come by. On page 82, I have a picture of the judge as a young man graduating from high school, which I obtained from the Old Fort House Museum/Fort Edward Historical Association. On page 137, I presented a picture from his obituary, which was reproduced from a newspaper microfilm printout. Neither picture was ideal, but they were the best I had when the book went to print.
Shortly after the final edits were done on the book, I was able to speak to Judge Roger’s grandson, an attorney in Florida. He had a picture of his grandfather on his mantel and snapped the above picture on his mobile phone (which you can see the reflection of in the lower left of the photo.) It was too late to include this picture in the book, but I share it here because it captures what the judge would have looked like as he presided over the trial.
Rogers was described as hardworking, earnest and of good judicial temperament. I think the picture above captures all of that and more. What I see is a determined man who looks eminently fair in his demeanor. In my opinion, he looks like an excellent judge. The ornate, carved, high-backed chair adds to the prestige of the photograph.
My conversation with his grandson gave me additional insights into who Judge Rogers was. While I document in the last chapter of the book how Judge Rogers continued his distinguished career after the trial ended, he died unexpectedly in 1940. His grandson told me his grandfather’s sudden death was an extreme blow to his family and one which was difficult for them to overcome. His grandson was happy to share the above photo. I share it here for history’s sake in light of the 100th anniversary of the Hulett Hotel fire.
(Click on the picture to see full-scale.)
Dresden April Meeting Agenda
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Dresden Town Board will be held:
Monday, April 13, 2015 at the Dresden Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Please note that both Al Nolette (County Treasurer) and Kevin Hayes (County Administrator) will talk about the State Tax Cap and Shared Services.
Congresswoman Stefanik Announces 2015 Congressional Art Competition
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) has announced the 2015 Congressional Art Competition for New York’s 21st district. The Congressional Art Competition is open to all high school students in the 21st District.
“The North Country is home to many gifted students and the Congressional Art Competition is a great opportunity for them to showcase their talents,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “The winner of this competition will have their artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year where it will be seen by visitors from around the world. I look forward to seeing what our students can create!”
Artwork entered in the contest must be original in execution, may be up to 28 inches by 28 inches, 4 inches in depth and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds. The artwork may be:
Paintings – including oil, acrylics and watercolor
Drawings – including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers
Collage (must be 2 dimensional)
Prints – including lithographs, silkscreen and block prints
Mixed Media – use of two or more mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor
Computer Generated Art
Photography
Art submissions along with a Congressional release form must be submitted to one of Congresswoman Stefanik’s district office locations no later than April 24, 2015. The Congressional release form can be found here and more information about the competitions rules and guidelines is posted here.