Comments on: What is With the Trumansburg Free Press and Water District 5? http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/ Blog and discussion forum for residents of Trumansburg and Ulysses, New York Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:49:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Krys Cail http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/comment-page-1/#comment-4249 Krys Cail Sun, 25 Feb 2007 22:15:54 +0000 http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/#comment-4249 Better late than never.... I am very interested in the "public water in Ulysses" issue, ever since the late '80s, when I served on a "Water Committee" with then-Board-member Carolyn Duddleston, where we surveyed the town about drinking-water quantity and quality issues. I was also interested in it when I served on the Comprehensive Plan committee, and also when I was on the Town Planning Board. I became more technically knowledgeable about these kind of issues when I earned a masters degree in City and Regional Planning at Cornell (although I am still no expert, I hasten to add). The proposed water district 5 was poorly planned and amatuerishly designed, with insufficient public and Board member input, and rigged to try to include as many low-income households as possible, in order to qualify for cheaper funding from the State. Had it been approved, I had every intention of suing the town, and would doubtless have won my lawsuit, as I have been carefully keeping documentation on town activities around water for a number of years. If and when additional water services are planned in Ulysses, they should be planned and designed to be as fair as possible to all town residents, and to abide by state laws-- which will also have the advantage of making them defensible in court. Whether or not the incomes of the persons in the proposed district average to an "average household income" that makes the project eligible for NYS "hardship" funding should be something that is determined after the appropriate district is planned and designed-- not a driving parameter of the design of the district. Ulysses, you see, is not basically a poverty-stricken place, so, why should we try to qualify for that kind of aid? It is our STATE taxes we are talking about, too, you know... you would not want another town dishonestly taking advantage of a program like that in that way, I am sure. Better late than never…. I am very interested in the “public water in Ulysses” issue, ever since the late ’80s, when I served on a “Water Committee” with then-Board-member Carolyn Duddleston, where we surveyed the town about drinking-water quantity and quality issues. I was also interested in it when I served on the Comprehensive Plan committee, and also when I was on the Town Planning Board. I became more technically knowledgeable about these kind of issues when I earned a masters degree in City and Regional Planning at Cornell (although I am still no expert, I hasten to add). The proposed water district 5 was poorly planned and amatuerishly designed, with insufficient public and Board member input, and rigged to try to include as many low-income households as possible, in order to qualify for cheaper funding from the State. Had it been approved, I had every intention of suing the town, and would doubtless have won my lawsuit, as I have been carefully keeping documentation on town activities around water for a number of years.
If and when additional water services are planned in Ulysses, they should be planned and designed to be as fair as possible to all town residents, and to abide by state laws– which will also have the advantage of making them defensible in court. Whether or not the incomes of the persons in the proposed district average to an “average household income” that makes the project eligible for NYS “hardship” funding should be something that is determined after the appropriate district is planned and designed– not a driving parameter of the design of the district. Ulysses, you see, is not basically a poverty-stricken place, so, why should we try to qualify for that kind of aid? It is our STATE taxes we are talking about, too, you know… you would not want another town dishonestly taking advantage of a program like that in that way, I am sure.

]]> By: cliffiord yaw http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/comment-page-1/#comment-3482 cliffiord yaw Fri, 09 Feb 2007 19:41:32 +0000 http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/#comment-3482 living here for 62 years,i find this blog a slam at people trying to do there job. do you realy think don ellis will have less egotism and arrogance than doug austic? i reall don't think so. don has showed his colors on the sidewalk progect. living here for 62 years,i find this blog a slam at people trying to do there job. do you realy think don ellis will have less egotism and arrogance than doug austic? i reall don’t think so. don has showed his colors on the sidewalk progect.

]]> By: Jonathan Cook http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/comment-page-1/#comment-1397 Jonathan Cook Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:10:40 +0000 http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/#comment-1397 Stacey, editorials are for slanted writing, it's true, but the problem with the coverage from the Free Press is that their news articles have offered as much of a slant as their editorials. I'd like to know how you think it would be possible for Trumansburg and Ulysses to have meaningful elections without politics being involved. I'll give you a good example of what happens when politics are removed from elections. Last time around, Doug Austic got the endorsement for Supervisor from both the Republicans and the Democrats. The result was that the voters had no choice but to vote for Doug Austic or to vote for no one at all. Many people have found Doug Austic's tenure as Supervisor to be one marked by egotism and arrogance - quite the opposite of what you claim a politics-free Ulysses would deliver. Stacey, editorials are for slanted writing, it’s true, but the problem with the coverage from the Free Press is that their news articles have offered as much of a slant as their editorials.

I’d like to know how you think it would be possible for Trumansburg and Ulysses to have meaningful elections without politics being involved.

I’ll give you a good example of what happens when politics are removed from elections. Last time around, Doug Austic got the endorsement for Supervisor from both the Republicans and the Democrats. The result was that the voters had no choice but to vote for Doug Austic or to vote for no one at all.

Many people have found Doug Austic’s tenure as Supervisor to be one marked by egotism and arrogance – quite the opposite of what you claim a politics-free Ulysses would deliver.

]]> By: Stacey http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/comment-page-1/#comment-1396 Stacey Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:03:41 +0000 http://findingulysses.com/2006/11/05/free-press-water-5/#comment-1396 There are so many problems with this post about the water district I’m not sure where to start. I guess I should take a moment to define an editorial for you. You wrote, “Now, the editor writes a ridiculously slanted post mortem of Doug Austic’s vision for Water District 5…” That’s the thing about newspaper editors though; they’re supposed to write slanted things on the editorial page. Ever read the op-eds in the New York Times? They’re all slanted. That’s the point of an editorial. Second, what is this nonsense about, “A small town without politics is a small town without democracy?” Politics and politicians undermine democracy with their partisan, self-centered attitudes about even the most basic of human needs, like water. Ulysses board members have been playing politics simply because certain board members dislike each other while residents throughout the Town of Ulysses deal with deteriorating water quality and face rate increases. You ask, “What would Trumansburg and Ulysses be without politics?” Maybe it would be a town and a village with high quality water for all of its residents, not just a select few. And maybe, just maybe it could be a place where tasks are accomplished by the local officials who were elected to serve the people not their own egos. There are so many problems with this post about the water district I’m not sure where to start. I guess I should take a moment to define an editorial for you. You wrote, “Now, the editor writes a ridiculously slanted post mortem of Doug Austic’s vision for Water District 5…” That’s the thing about newspaper editors though; they’re supposed to write slanted things on the editorial page. Ever read the op-eds in the New York Times? They’re all slanted. That’s the point of an editorial.

Second, what is this nonsense about, “A small town without politics is a small town without democracy?” Politics and politicians undermine democracy with their partisan, self-centered attitudes about even the most basic of human needs, like water. Ulysses board members have been playing politics simply because certain board members dislike each other while residents throughout the Town of Ulysses deal with deteriorating water quality and face rate increases.

You ask, “What would Trumansburg and Ulysses be without politics?” Maybe it would be a town and a village with high quality water for all of its residents, not just a select few. And maybe, just maybe it could be a place where tasks are accomplished by the local officials who were elected to serve the people not their own egos.

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