City, town should seek stability

The City of Plattsburgh and the Town of Plattsburgh have had a long history of not getting along as well as perhaps they should.

Hopefully better days are ahead, but it looks like there is much work to be done.

The latest squabble is over a 224-acre tract of land in the town off Rugar Street and Reeves Lane, just west of the city line.

The city owns the land and is eying it for annexation from the town.

The city is considering the property for a home to its Department of Public Works and possibly its Municipal Lighting Department.

Other portions of the land can be used for some type of mixed use development.

The city believes that annexing the property will give them a great opportunity for development given its very low electric rates through MLD.

It would also increase the city’s footprint by 7 percent, which is a bonus for the landlocked municipality.

The idea of the city annexing the property has been around for decades. Former Mayor Donald Kasprzak considering it when he served from 2007 to 2014.

Then-Town Supervisor Bernie Bassett, opposed the idea, saying that the parcel of land could be crucial to future developments in the town off the nearby Interstate 87.

The issue never went too far, but it did rile some tempers back then.

Now, the city is actually pursuing the annexation and the two sides are in a full-throated battle.

The city claims they invited the town to participate in the environmental review of the plan, while the town says no such invite was made.

A joint meeting of the two governing bodies will be coming up soon to discuss the future.

Hopefully that yields some results, but one has to be skeptical.

The city and town have fought before over different issues over the years.

And of course, there has long been talk of whether the city of about 20,000 people and the town of about 12,000 people, should merge.

It did appear that the relationship might be headed for smoother times when James Calnon was elected city mayor in 2013 and Michael Cashman won the town supervisor’s seat in 2015.

The two formed a partnership called Plattsburgh Spirit and pledged to work together to benefit the greater region.

But things have changed since Colin Read defeated Calnon in the 2016 election.

Read and Cashman have not seen eye to eye since the now famous “hot mic” incident of December of 2017.

Read and City Councilor Michael Kelly were caught on camera after a council meeting discussing a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the town involving the former Falcon Seaboard power plant among other issues.

The town did not like what it heard.

The city did not back down and pursued what it feels is its fair share of payments in the PILOT agreement, The case is still pending.

The future of the city’s annexation bid for the Rugar Street property is now in the balance as the process moves forward.

One big uncertainty, however, is if it will continue once Read leaves office at the end of this year.

Will either Chris Rosenquest or Scott Beebie, the two candidates for mayor, continue to pursue annexation? Or will a new mayor bring an end to the battle?

Cashman has already met with the candidates and reports a possible path of productivity ahead, regardless of who becomes mayor.

Let’s hope for the sake of both municipalities and the region, that the city-town relationship can be repaired and fostered into a detente.