To the Editor,
I am writing in response to a letter printed in your paper last week that included a major inaccuracy. I know this because I was on the Stephentown Town Board during the time the town was mining gravel from Mr. Cormier’s property. As I testified in Court, there was no attempt to deceive the Town Board, DEC or anyone else about where the gravel was coming from. Long before DEC was interested in the project we on the Town Board discussed in budget meetings that the gravel would be at a lower cost because it was being mined at Mr. Cormier’s and all members of the Town Board were present when that discussion occurred.
When DEC made charges of illegal mining we knew they were incorrect because we knew that our Code Enforcement Officer, Mr. Herrick, was correct when he cited the law on building and agricultural use and told us of the building permits granted to the site. There was never any question in my mind about where the gravel was coming from. Mr. Gardner spoke more than once in open meetings about the gravel coming from Mr. Cormier’s property.
Any charge that Mr. Gardner was trying to mislead the Town Board or DEC is false. I hope the matter here gets resolved in the near future with a reversal of the unjust verdict placed on Mr. Gardner who did nothing wrong and who has done a wonderful job of caring for Stephentown’s roads for many years.
Craig Chittenden
Stephentown