From my end of town this conversation is funny.......BTW....the koolaid we all drink comes from under SI and GE.......ya'll over at Schalmont got screwed by GE's koolaid........and they won........

Where is the EPA??????

I also feel that an updated Comp Plan is essential before any further development is passed.

Comprehensive Plan:

1. who is in charge of it?
2. where does it come from?
3. who keeps it up?
4. who enforces it?
5. where is it kept?
6. how do we get a copy?
7. why is it not on the town website?

Quoted from senders

Comprehensive Plan:

1. who is in charge of it?
2. where does it come from?
3. who keeps it up?
4. who enforces it?
5. where is it kept?
6. how do we get a copy?
7. why is it not on the town website?

1.the town
2.the board/residents input
3.the town
4.the town
5.the town
6.ask for it
7.don't know

Quoted from AVON

Again, analysis right on the money.  Only problem the logic is based on the false premises of 1) The McLane project can go nowhere else.  2) That the McLane project not going forward is replaced by a residential neighborhood. And 3) That there is never going to be a viable business that might be more compatible with the area interested in going in there.  Like I said early on, wrong project at the wrong site.

McLane obviously made the decision on building on that piece of property because a) It's accessibility to the Thruway and I88.  b)  McLane wants to have ownership of its warehouse and truck shop, which they are unable to do in an industrial park. Where you lease your building and sub-contract your truck shop.  

You're correct when saying there may be a more viable business for Rotterdam. But the question is........ Who are these businesses,,,,,,,and where are their proposals? Is Rotterdam willing to pass on a 100+ year old established company, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway like McLanes?  

How long is Rotterdam willing to wait for that utopian business that is going to be accepted by 100% of the residents?

Good point Cicero, a good job in hand is better than a job in someones mind.

I personally believe that McLanes Distribution Center will come to pass. Even with it's flaws. I believe that Cicero is correct on his description of a well oiled business and Rotterdam or Princetown will not pass this opportunity up.

HOWEVER......being as controversial as it is, it is now time for ALL town residents to demand an updated comp plan to avoid further conflicting issues in the future. Rotterdam has rt7 and Hamburg St. development on the horizon. Not to mention all of the other developments such as Heldeburg Meadows and the Curry 'unique condos'.

We cannot continue to put residents through this. Nor is it fair to make new potential businesses jump through hoops and wait years to see if they will be 'allowed in'. There needs to be a solid plan for this town that needs to be followed.

Like I've said before...what happens in one part of Rotterdam, ultimately effects the entire town.

Zoning on that property (where McLanes wants to go) was rezoned only a few years ago.  Most (almost ALL) of the houses in that residental neighborhood were built prior to the rezoning.  It was rezoned light industrial to allow a business like Mclanes.  The re-zoning was petitioned and not wanted by the residents, but Rotterdam did it anyway.  McLanes with its noise, pollution and septic drainage of industrial waste into the ground (no sewars) does not belong in a residential neighborhood.  McLanes does not belong in an area where there are no sewers, not enough water or water pressure to fight a fire, roadways that are not equipped to handle the added traffic or where noise levels will infringe drastically on the quality of life.
It doesn't matter what arguements you make about jobs, business needing to be built in the area ...whatever...it does not outweigh basic environmental and saftey issues.  Oh,  and why not bring in a businees that will create new jobs????  This is just a relocation NOT a new business to the area.

Triple, a few years back when the people on the west end were fighting a Walmart super center, it was rumored that Walmart was approaching some homeowners with some land on Feuz Rd to build a distribution center. Rumor? Perhaps, but who knows for sure?

My point is that even though I understand that McLanes is in the forefront right now, everyone in that area should keep in mind that the entire area is surrounded by LAND!! Some of the only land left in Rotterdam. With a truck stop and I88 at it's door step. If it is McLanes today, what and where will it be tomorrow? And any of those home/land owners on Feuz Rd will sell for the right price. TO ANYBODY! And don't forget the gun club. Now that is real prime land.

If there is no updated comp plan to secure our future, then Rotterdam will continue on the path it has proceeded. The developers will always get what they want.

Quoted from tripleblessings

Zoning on that property (where McLanes wants to go) was rezoned only a few years ago.  Most (almost ALL) of the houses in that residental neighborhood were built prior to the rezoning.  It was rezoned light industrial to allow a business like Mclanes.  The re-zoning was petitioned and not wanted by the residents, but Rotterdam did it anyway.  McLanes with its noise, pollution and septic drainage of industrial waste into the ground (no sewars) does not belong in a residential neighborhood.  McLanes does not belong in an area where there are no sewers, not enough water or water pressure to fight a fire, roadways that are not equipped to handle the added traffic or where noise levels will infringe drastically on the quality of life.
It doesn't matter what arguements you make about jobs, business needing to be built in the area ...whatever...it does not outweigh basic environmental and saftey issues.  Oh,  and why not bring in a businees that will create new jobs????  This is just a relocation NOT a new business to the area.

Rotterdam ignored the petition?  Or was there not enough names on it to prevent the rezoning?  

I also find it hard to believe that there isn't enough water pressure to fight fires or roads to handle the traffic.  That would be pertinent information for the executives at McLanes to consider before investing millions of dollars building a warehouse in Rotterdam.  You should send them an e-mail letting them know that info.  That information alone might detour them from building in Rotterdam.

You're correct in saying this is a relocation.  Nobody can dispute that fact.  McLanes is relocating to ROTTERDAM from GUILDERLAND.  Or Albany county to Schenectady county.  The hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes they payed to Albany county and the town of Guilderland, will now be collected by Rotterdam and Schenectady county.  Another benefit is the employees that work there will likely spend money of things like gas, food, cigarettes, beer, and other grocery items in Rotterdam just because of convenience.

McLanes brings good paying jobs with good benefits.  I don't believe they are going to come into this town and destroy the quality of life for Rotterdam residents.  I believe they would be a responsible corporate neighbor, much like the Golub Corporation.

This water pressure issue was brought up at the Princetown meeting last week. But I would have to question the intent of the Princetown officials. Like I said before...Princetown knew about McLanes for about 2 years now. What have they been doing all of this time? Didn't they look into these issues before hand? Why were they not prepared?

It appears to me that Princetown has already made up it's mind and McLane is a done deal OR they are totally incompetent and let the McLane's proposal sit on someone's desk collecting dust for the past 2 years.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Owners ordered to fix septic system Sewage bubbled from ground at truck stop
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net

    State and county officials have ordered the owners of the Quickway truck stop on Route 7 to fi x a septic system problem that left partially treated sewage bubbling from the ground in February.
    The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the county Department of Health ordered Lane-Mirabito LLC, to fi x a failing leach field serving the 7-acre property west of the Interstate 88 interchange. County officials alerted the DEC after receiving complaint the truck stop’s failing septic system.
    County Environmental Health Director Andrew Suflita said facility operators were able to temporarily contain the problem by switching the discharge into two other leach fields at the truck stop, which houses a Friendly’s and Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants.
    “One of the beds was in failure,” he said. “But even with one bed out, the other two seem to be taking the effluent without discharging to the surface.”
    DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson said Lane-Mirabito was given 30 days to submit a plan to fix the failure. “They are taking some actions, but we are still waiting for something in writing,” he said.
    Suflita said the original plan for the septic system called for the property’s pumping system to alternate between the three beds, allowing the unused ones to clear out. He said the company hasn’t indicated why this system failed.
    Calls placed to Lane-Mirabito were not returned Tuesday.
    The town approved the project in November 1996, but construction was stalled for nearly three years after Eagle Crest, the original developer, ran into financial problems. At the time, the developer had to scale back design plans because of the cost to construct a large septic system.
    Georgson said the septic system is approved for a flow of 3,720 gallons per day. He was unsure of how long the failure had been occurring.
    Lori Bergami, a resident of Becker Drive, said the sewage problem had been ongoing for more than a year. She said the intersection near the truck stop frequently smelled.
    “Its been a problem for a while,” she said.
    Bergami fears the McLane Distribution Center, a large project proposed nearby off Fuez Road, could end up with similar septic issues. The facility could employ up to 175 workers and would need DEC approvals to discharge more than 1,000 gallons of effluent per day, a system comparable to the truck stop’s.
    “They’re putting in the same septic system and nobody makes sure those septic systems are maintained,” she said.

Wasn't it the residents who moved there,,,,after.....the gun club was there for how long??????----that complained that it was loud and dangerous???????

Quoted Text

Lori Bergami, a resident of Becker Drive, said the sewage problem had been ongoing for more than a year. She said the intersection near the truck stop frequently smelled.
    “Its been a problem for a while,” she said.

Good for you Lori for bringing this to the attention of all of us. Clearly there weren't many of us that did know.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Residents say Route 7 is due for an upgrade
DOT spokesman says studies show little need to change road
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Sandra Suits has no gripe with the industrial development along Route 7.
    But whenever the retired Schalmont teacher finds herself waiting for tractor-trailers to pass through the guard shack of Galesi Group’s Rotterdam Corporate Park, she wonders why the two-lane state road hasn’t grown along with the frenzied pace of development.
    “It impacts all of [Route 7] from Princetown all the way to the five corners [of Rotterdam],” she said. “It’s just mind-boggling the truck traffic that goes through,”
    Suits, a resident of the Antonia Hills development off Route 7, said the truck traffic has grown increasingly troublesome in the last three years, as large-scale distribution centers such as Railex, FedEx and Price Chopper’s freezer warehouse have opened. She said these trucks sometimes seek shortcuts down the smaller roads.
    “The traffic is getting out of control here, and the roads are the same roads,” she said.
    Truck traffic passing through the 2.5-mile stretch of Route 7 in Rotterdam — also known as Duanesburg Road — has become an increasing issue for residents. Complaints range from traffi c congestion near the corporate park entrance to motor vehicle accidents near the Interstate 88 interchange; others have complained of tractor-trailers parking along the road near the Quickway truck stop.
    Traffic issues were a main concern brought up last month during a public hearing by the Princetown Planning Board for the McLane Foodservice Inc. project proposed for a property opposite the I-88 ramp. Some residents said the 24-hour seven-day distribution center would make things worse on Route 7.
    While Route 7 is slated for some minor improvements, Department of Transportation spokesman Peter Van Keuren there are no plans to drastically change the roadway. He said the turning lane is to be extended along Becker Drive and the road shoulder is to be reduced and noparking signs will also be placed in the area.
    However, Van Keuren said studies have shown the portion of Route 7 near the corporate park and Golub’s offices isn’t in need of improvements. He said traffic in that area — about 14,000 vehicle trips per day — wouldn’t be improved by adding more traffic control devices.
    “Average delays were comparable to what would be expected at a traffic signal,” he said. “We didn’t think anything was appropriate at this time.”
    Van Keuren admitted the area has experienced a significant increase in both residential and commercial development over the past decade and that DOT would reinvestigate any complaints. But ultimately, he said, some of the issues may end up being the price the area will have to pay for economic development.
    “It’s kind of a Catch-22.”
    But Dave Buiko, Galesi’s chief operating officer, said the new companies locating in the corporate park haven’t increased truck traffic much more than in previous years. He said the park’s truck traffic is largely a factor of the business done by Distribution Unlimited, its largest tenant.
    Galesi also funded more than $500,000 worth of improvements near the entrance to the park last year, so that traffic can move more fluidly. Buiko said the guard shack was moved back and a third entrance was added; frequent visitors also carry passes that allow them to move in and out of the park without stopping.
    “Historically, we’ve had more traffic than this in the past,” he said.
    Deputy Chief William Manikas said the Rotterdam Police have witnessed an increase in traffi c congestion along Route 7. He said the main problem facing police are the truckers that sometimes park on the roadside.
    Manikas said police have responded to five accidents near the intersection over the past three months. He said some of them resulted from drivers turning onto Route 7 and having a poor line of sight because of the parked trucks.
    “Obviously, once its posted no-parking, we can remove the trucks,” he said. “But as long as they’re off the roadway its technically legal.”

PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Tractor-trailers turn into and out of the Price Chopper warehouse entrance off Route 7 in Rotterdam on Friday.