If the repair of the Upper James St Docks can not avoid the inevitable RED TAPE and IF the docks are not ready for the 2010 summer season.......This would be a disaster for the village of Alex Bay. Business's will close and may never re-open. Those are very accurate comments made by the Village Mayor T Robb. Senator Aubertine and Assemblywoman Russell met with Mayor Robb, Trustee Jarvis, and North Fourth Coast Engineers today at the docks. As I listened to the dialogue, it occurred to me that there is a ton of bureaucratic BS that our village is going to have overcome in order to make sure that the the Upper James St. Docks are open in plenty of time before the beginning of our tourist season. Everyone better hold their breaths and say their prayers [including me]....NO JOKE......we are in deep shit!
I did not have my trusty voice recorder with me today. And I did not take any notes. So I will not even try to tell you all that was discussed at this meeting. Not only that, there was a meeting with the Aubertine and Russell at the Village Offices after everyone met at the dock. I did not attend [nor was I invited], but I am anticipating a more detailed reporting in next weeks TI Sun.
47 comments:
The gross negligence of the Mayor to address the condition of the docks should be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Wasting the village's assets and time with unnecessary police equipment when he should have been concerned with the obvious ongoing decay of the docks. Now we have to trust that he'll somehow have an epiphany and save us from the mess which he ignored. Time is of the essence and if we wait for the bureaucratic bullshit to settle the tourist season will be on us. Is there some way to make temporary repairs to stabilize the docks until the proper funding can be obtained. It may be considered spending good money for bad but maybe it could give us time to plan this project properly. Whenever repairs are done hastily they almost always cost more and the quality of the work suffers. I think we need a businessman to take the Mayors place in order for some sanity to come to the Village. Let us set the priorities in order and look at the bottom line for a change.
Oh yea, it's the mayors fault. Smartin up or can't you. When I worked for the village 8 years ago we were aware of some dock structural problems and the village put money in a dock fund of some sort for future repairs. Roger was working on permits to do those repairs 3 or 4 years ago. And you want a businessman to run the village! What about the residents(majority) and woman??
No chauvinistic numbskulls is the priority.
WHY IS EVEREBODY SO PROUD OF THERE WORDS AND COMMENTS, BUT ASHAMED OF THERE NAMES???ANONYMONS MY ASS, PUT YOUR NAME ON IT!!!!YOURS TRULY,PAUL WIBBE AKA C.F.B. THANK YOU.
What are the options at this point? The repair cost is estimated at $150,000.00. Could a floating dock system be used as an alternative?
Kurt
How about a fund raiser and donations? If someone donates money perhaps they can have their name posted on a plaque of some sort on the new dock system....
Kurt
Quit pointing fingers and degrading people. Get to the point and start taking action. In essence - PUT UP or SHUT UP and let people do their jobs.
I knew this dock was as old as shit and I don't know why the all mighty officials didn't see this before. Every thing here in A-Bay in the last 30 years has been neglected and they turn their heads and think It will be alright Look at the buildings they tore down and never replaced.Look at those buildings down there now Dumps.I think the Bay better forget the tourist and find another way to make a living here. It has nothing to offer anyone. Is this the kind of place you would go to on your vacation? I don't think so. I know I wouldn't.
fund raisers thats a joke.there should be plenty of money at the town accesors office, with the tax hike that happened a few years ago over on wellesley island and all the other islands around and in the town of orleans. everyone went up 7.5% (no lie) we are now paying 3 times the amount of our old taxes. and dont say, "thats water front property for you" we heard that at our grievance meeting.so wheres all that money? certainly not going for school repairs,road repairs or building repairs by the looks of some of them on the main strip,
maybe it was a raise for some town employees.
lori, this is a village issue, not a town issue. their seperate entities.
Perhaps the village should devert the funding and efforts from the river walkway to the dock and reconsider the walkway another day?The dock just plays too much into the entire summer ie Pirates , Poker run etc.. Maybe a little common sense should prevail!!!
Anon, 6:13...Is this a village issue only?
How many islands are in the town of Alexandria?
Shouldn't the town be a partner in finding someplace for their island residents to tie up their boats?
Isn't it time to give them something for the taxes they pay?
The town government is ignoring the problem because of their perceived image of the village mayor as an arrogant, flippant ass. True or False? You be the judge.
I vote....true.
However, this is a regional issue and needs a lot of support by many levels of government.
Supervisor Millett, if you don't act a little more compassionate and a little less vengeful, you're not going to come out of this mess any better than the mayor....
I agree with CFB, sign your names to the posts.
JTICK
As a Canadian that spends most weekends in "The Bay" all summer long. I can only wonder if this is another atempt by the town council to keep boaters from spending Money in the town....
Last year it was the "NO RAFTING" policy to run people out of town and make it more of a pain in the a$$ to get into town and spend CASH.
Sounds like the council won't have to put anyone on the dock this year to make sure the boaters don't raft, Just don't bother having a dock.....
It will make things interesting at The A-BAY Poker run this year with no dock.
Hopefully the good residents of the town can elect a council that wil welcome boaters back to town before it is to late.
the mayor doesn't like the supervisor, the supervisor doesn't like the mayor, and most of the people don't think too highly of either one of them. it's an ideal situation. we're all screwed. and to anonymous 7:14 writing 'JTICK' is hardly signing your name
PDIDDY
Before anyone decides to jump all over Anon 7:53pm aka "as a Canadian" I know he/she means the Village not the town. Everyone keep in mind our cousins in Canada have different levels of local govts. than we do....
JTICK isn't that hard to figure out, if you just put your PDIDDY to work figuring it out.
JTICK
This read's like the minutes at a board meeting! Lot's of biccering and finger pointing, but no real suggestions. The whole village/town issue should be mute. This is a problem for our entire community and needs to be addressed.I don't have a buisnes downtown, nor do I even use that dock, but, "What effects downtown effects all of our local buisnesses. Until egos, and personal agendas are set aside and thing's are done for the greater good of the community as a whole, this town, village, and area will continue to decline.
I'm not from the A-bay area, but I can remember growing up in a small tourist town that also lives on the income generated by "out of towners" who visit throughout the summer, it's a HUGE ordeal! My mother and father always talked about how beautiful a place the bay was to vacation or visit. I've been there numerous times over the years and quite honestly, I don't visit there anymore because of the dilapidated facilities. It used to be a nice a beautiful place and as the "gateway to the 1000 islands" it has surely become a neglected area, either by ignorance or choice or both. I wish the local community at the bay all the luck they can get. Keep fighting!!! It may take awhile, but GET THE VILLAGE BACK!
We need to stop blaming the past or present boards for the dock. The bridge in Vermont had to be torn down,the Ogdensburg bridge may have to be closed,everywhere this sort of stuff is happening! The present board appears to be trying to find some funds to fix or patch it up.
Idiots!! You better get to work and hire Billy Bach or Pat Patch or Jeremy Kellogg and get er done.
Charlotte Kellogg Clark
Howell, Michigan
Maybe they can beg Don Cole for the funds.With all the Red Tape that NY and the Fed have it might be years before it's fixed.
Good Luck; looks like Clayton will get even more business this Summer.
I'm ashamed to be a village resident and taxpayer. We put up with behavior from our elected officals that make our village the laughingstock of the North Country. After the VB passed the motion to declare the docks a state of emergency you can plainly hear the Mayor say "It's been coming, it's not a surprise". If he had been doing his job then the dock replacement would have been funded and planned for. The docks could have been a source of income for the village and paid for themselves. Now we are going to have to settle for the same footprint to forgo permits. Instead of building a better village for our children we are going to settle for the same old crap and once again put it on the backs of the taxpayers.
Patty
I've been a summer resident for 45 of my past 49yrs here on earth and this dock issue is the same short sightedness/greediness as every other issue in the Bay. It looks like a run down tourest trap. I don't see the police anywhere as in past years. This summer a drunk college student staggering accross James St. pushed my 9yr old nephew down at dinner time. The hole air of the village is NOT family friendly at all. It is alcohal sales friendly. Decrepit buildings, decrepit streets, decrepit and dangerous sidewalks, why not a decrepit dock??? Van's doesn't look like it has seen a coat of paint in 40yrs! The smell of garbage and seaweed at the dock is disgusting! We for the most part take our business out of the high priced run down village and spend it elsewere over the past 5 to 10yrs. It is very obvious that the Village and Town just want to gouge the visiter and put NOTHING back into the tourist areas! Many of us from Western New York come to the Bay for summers and multiple weekends. Today, A-Bay is perceived as a $#!T hole! This truly breaks my heart!
Ralph from Western @ Alex Bay New York
I will be attending our Village Board meeting tomorrow night. I have some questions for the meeting [based on some of your comments]....
glad i sold my place and business in the bay. and the fact its in NY is a double whammy for anyone trying to make money there. i saw this coming along time ago. too many locals in the bay do not like the boaters and vacationers; so may this be a blessing to them. they will get what they have got coming to them. karma is a B.
Why would we care about the silly dock?
We have a snazzy new police station with $pendy doors, a shiny new police car with those money generating plate reader spy cams and we just NEED that new fangled finger print machine to catch all the criminals that visit the bay every summer. Not to mention that fat package of CASH the outgoing police chief got for his years of service! That silly dock for all those troublesome ca$h spending tourists isn't a priority!
Ralph, where have you been? You don't see the police anywhere, take the blinders off! There everywhere, on the roads and water. We sure don't need anymore police coverage, that is part of the problem, ask anyone. Nice personal dig about the 40 year coat of paint. For years now many small seasonal businesses have struggled to pay their property taxes(thanks to the dysfunctional State of New York) leaving no monies for capital improvements let alone maintenance. Maybe you should start boating and vacationing on the Hudson river, you'd like it better there!
J.C., Please be the voice of reason at the VB meeting. Even though the Mayor and some of the VB members may be anti boater and tourist it is a waste of a resource that most villages would kill for. Many village and town residents depend on the income generated from the tourist industry. Years ago while attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting one of the merchants expressed the concern that visitors were being treated poorly with parking tickets and no place to deposit their trash and a board member said "Who cares, we'll always have plenty of tourists". That's the present tone that the village is sending. We are blessed with Boldt Castle and the river in our backyard so why don't we take advantage of it. Maybe the Mayor will have to replace the tourist industry with some factories and manufacturing plants to fill in for the lost jobs caused from loosing our visitors.
Patty
Here's a idea,during the days that built this great Nation, business men and Govt leaders would be down there now, on the Ice, fixing the problem because they knew it was their business lifes blood.Lumber yards would send the lumber men would be there sawing, hammering and getting it done.One of the main problems now it that spirt is gone. Put the arguments aside get it fixed then argue after it's fixed.Good luck
haha sh!t hole said it before say it again.look as if this maybe a common thing when talking of the bay.it took a LOT!!longer then a day for that place to look like that.i say shame on you to anyone who lives there.its all your faults you have sat back and watched it happen for years.you need to step up and get involved as chris and jim have to have your voice heard.whether or not you are on the village or town board or not.i personally think you need not look any further than ron thompson for great improvements that have been done on his end of town.maybe someone shuold ask him to get involved with the village.
Anon: January 26, 2010 6:00am
Said "Ralph where have you been?" Well I've been having a pizza at Cavillarios or getting gas at Dave Rogers. about the only 2 places that you get what you pay for in the Bay. HAS VAN"S seen a paint job?!?!? No! The comment is not personal, it's the God's honest truth. What about the Thompson Homestead. Is it safe?! No coat of paint could help that structure! So blame me, Go ahead blame Albany, Blame George Bush. The blame lies with the resedents of Abay and the Merchants. Don't like the Trustees and Mayor, vote them out. Problem is if Clayton can do it in New York! If Sacketts can do it in NY. If Henderson can do it in NY. If Point Breeze can do it in NY. If Wilson can do it in NY. Then why can't the Bay? Because it is folks like you that can't stand the truth and just want to blame others!
You have no money to pay your bills because you have nothing to offer your customers and no reason for them to come back.
There is a sign that sayes, "No Open Container Law strictly enforced". The last several years folks wander James street with open plastic cups of beer. NO POLICE ACTION. Where is the police car/officer that sat on the corners on James and Church? No Where! NADA! Zip! I applaud the Mayor for upgrading your Police Department. How about letting folks look at the new car an equipment. Shoulden't your officers have the best tools to do there work. I guess they are the enemy too.
Finally, how about a signature for your post!
Ralph from Western & Abay NY
This is a truly serious problem...the dock is a major point of access for the Village. There were a few good suggestions in this discussion but a lot more 'mud slinging'. We need some good 'old fashioned' team work here! I enjoy a regular stroll down the dock to take in the views and chat with the tourists...most of them don't worry too much about the lack of paint on Van's. I do agree it's getting harder and harder to earn a living in this area but complaining about the challenge isn't going to get the dock fixed. Let's find the solution and move on with the renovations!
Th dock situation may have been sometime in the making. Don't blame just the present board as "ALL" in the past 20 years could have packed awat a little money for a rainy day. Now is the time to get together, as Mr. R. Willims stated, and get this dock rebuilt. Whether there IS electrical hook-ups or not, just get together and make it happen. Here is a major thought, How about all the contractors tha are interested in this job get together, combine forces and build this community a facility to be very proud of. Almost like a Special Edition Overhaulin/Community Rebuild???? A combined force of these SPECIAL builders could rebuild US a new dock/facility and make a plaque letting everyone know they did this for us. Stop the slamming and start the hammering, Thank You
The idea of the "special builders" was brought up earlier......the Amish do it and it is called barn raising....
....now that's a good idea, maybe we can get the marina owners, who use the dock all spring and fall, plus the fishing guides, who depend on the dock for their livlihood, to help too. All clever and creative people.
Or just move the good part back and live with a shorter dock this year. Actually the combined community builder idea is brilliant. It would send a positive message to the world.
How about this?
Mistakes were made and the pride of the "strong" dock lasted long enough. What I am worried about is the money for rebuilding the dock in one way or another. Do we have engineers working on the situation and finding ways to build a dock that could last long enough and that the maintenance is low-cost. This dock has been around for a long time. Back then, they may have not been aware that around this time, the dock would have broken down. We can't predict weather or incidents that may have inflicted the cracks in the dock area. This is great that we are all giving in feedback and figuring ways of our connections and getting ideas to help our community stay strong. What's important is that we are all in this together. We have businesses in town that are capable of providing experience in dock building and can give strong support in creating a more efficient dock. This could be an opportunity for many businesses in fact, to create a more friendly dock for rafters and boaters and who else comes in. I don't mind trying a way of fundraising for this. If anyone wants to do fundraisers for the dock, post it up here. Ideas of what kind of fundraisers and how to keep visitors coming in this summer if the dock is not completely rebuilt for this season.
You know that old saying about taking a Village/Community to raise a child? How about it takes a Village/Town/Community to raise a community? The responsibility does not lie in just one person.
no it lies in the entire board
As long as the village and town remain separate, failure is a guarantee! Combining is happening all over the country because it just makes sense. The dock issue proves the need for one municipality.
The village and town will remain seperate forever. It's all about IDENTITY, CONTROL and PERSONALITIES! Oh and don't forget local jobs.
It ain't gonna change on this watch!
JTICK
I spent many a summer in the islands during the 80's. What a great place to come of age. Now you can't move anywhere without some sort of law enforcement (State, Federal, County, Local) running up on you. The police state that A Bay has become has driven many people out. Now the Coasties won't be able to sit off the end of the town dock waiting for someone to pull away without turning on their navigation lights and busting them. I work with a retired Coasty that brags about how the area of the town dock is like shooting fish in a barrel. It seems like such a cash cow for them, maybe they will chip in to repair the dock. And by the way I am a retired charter boat captain that follows the letter of the maritime law and gets yanked every time I am in the islands and have never been cited for anything. Seems the bay may have more problems than just the town dock. Good luck, I won't be back.
Sorry to hear about the problem! Seems simple to me. Fix it! You don't need it replaced this season, if you can repair it. The village has resources and the leadership needs to step up and lead. There is no way you have to spend 150K to get another season out of this dock. You have plenty of smart people and resources to get this done.
There will plenty of time for finger pointing, after the dock is repaired!
Too late to fix! The Dock has already been gutted... The bill to replace is 250K......or more!
Sounds as if the same lack of maintenance and foresight has gone into this as has happened to most of the village and town in the 40+ yeers I have been here.Is D.C. running things? It's tough enough for the business to make a living on 10 weeks of tourists season. Without the dock A Bay will become just another withering and dieing upstate community.IT IS THE BAY!
I'm sure the liability should something happen to a "good-hearted" individual while rebuilding the dock would in the end cost the Bay more than rebuilding the dock...not to mention if someone were to be injured on that dock AFTER completion because of it not being completed by someone "certified." Let's leave the building to the experts at that task.
Sad to drive downtown in the winter and see a total of 5 cars on the street. I don't think the problem only lies with the Village Board. The downtown businesses and area as a whole needs an upgrade. Ronnie and Corrinne have the right idea and their end of town looks beautiful. Good Dog Charlie's always looks nice outside. Poor John's always looks nice. What about the rest of the businesses in the Bay taking pride in their businesses and spiffing up the place. Nothing is more depressing then going downtown during the summer and seeing the same things that were there last year.
Everyone keeps talking about the docks pulling in the business, which in part is very true, but other things can be done within the community to pull people in on a weekly basis, as in other tourist towns. What about Classic Car Night, Bike Night, Pet Friendly Night, Kid's Night...use your imagination. Most places have a different activity. It doesn't have to totally be based on the boaters? Have a boater's night maybe...give the boaters something new to do when they come to the Bay. We would be more than willing to help with some new activities...
Let's stop hounding people about why the dock wasn't fixed. The damage is done. Let's just fix it and move on, but while the dock is being repaired, lets work on rejuvenating the downtown as a whole. Lesson learned, put money aside for preventative maitenance.
Jean Side
Steve's Bark, Bath and Beyond
Judging from the grammar and spelling errors on this thread, maybe we should forget the dock and just throw the money back into the school system.
You guys have to stop being so pissed off at everyone and calm down. The Bay is a beautiful town in a great part of the world. So you screwed up your dock. Get over it and fix the problem.
Follow through on what you already started. Get all those overpromising politicians involved, from the locals to Schumer and Gillibrand. That dock will have a huge effect on the economy up here. Tell them so. And get positive folks. Get off your mayor's ass. He wasn't the only one who may have missed the problem. Even if that was the case, it won't do any good to throw trash at him or each other now. You have to pull together.
When I read most of these posts, I get the idea I'm witnessing a bar fight. Is that really what you want people to think Alex Bay is all about? Too many people already do.
Folks,
I don’t mean to interfere with your internal issues but, I due cross the river to visit Alex Bay by boat. The many comments I’ve read, the frustrations you are going through, leads me to believe that the dock has everyone rethinking the bigger picture of Alexandria Bay as a destination. You all love your town.
However, when people leave Alexandria Bay, do they recommend it as only a summer destination? Do you want your town known for cheesy t-shirts and shot glasses with pirates on it? Going forward, is this the shrinking cliental that you want to focus on?
Your comments I believe are saying the same think. It’s a dock. It can be repaired and it will be shortly. But it has highlighted how brittle your economy has become. Heaven forbid the time when the sewer or water pipes require repair.
As a friendly neighbour, may I suggest you look into how a much smaller town, under worse conditions, Westport on the Rideau Canal, developed their community business plan and how it has worked for them.
This little town is a cottagers and boater’s destination during the summer. However, it draws busloads of retired people even from the U.S. both in the summer and winter, to shop. It’s an amazing place with a TERRIBLE town dock, yet people do visit.
The key to their success is that they focused on the age group that has the money now and going forward. The baby boomers. They attract the near retirement and the retired age groups that have lots of money to spend. Not the 20 year olds or those wanting to be, looking for cheap beer.
The products they sell are up scale. They are a four-season destination in a frozen nowhere in the winter, employing local town people all year round. Few cottagers, no boaters this time of year.
You are sitting on a gold mine of possibilities if you and your leaders take on a proactive challenge, one step at a time, medium-term development plans with a focus on a target market.
The dock will be fixed and the summer will come and I look forward to visiting the friendliest town on the river...think positive.
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