Letter To The Editor – Separate Treatment For Campground And Speedway

Dear Editor;
I have just read the article in your paper pertaining to the New Lebanon Town Board Meeting of 7-10-2012. A couple of points that I feel are important were not addressed in the article, and I would like to address them now. As a member of the Planning Board in New Lebanon, I have objected on several occasions to both that Board and the Town Board to the “lumping-together” of Howard Commander’s Campground Permit and the Speedway. The Campground and the Speedway operation are two entirely separate entities and must be treated as such when conditions are placed on either.
The Town Board for a long time has wanted certain conditions applied to the Speedway regarding safety issues, but many of those conditions are excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary. A 24 foot crosswalk will NOT prevent pedestrians from crossing where they please and is being requested as a part of the Campground Permit when it is actually germane only to the Speedway operation. The small amount of campers that will be staying at the site on summer weekends hardly requires a 24-foot crosswalk. Yet the Town would like to see such a large crosswalk for the Speedway and is attempting to lump it all together, which they cannot.
The first car/pedestrian accident at the Speedway site took place several weeks ago and due to the slow speed the car was traveling, it was a very minor incident. The only other accident of this type happened many years ago, and though it is blamed on the Speedway, the pedestrian that was struck and killed was in fact struck almost a full mile east of the Speedway property and was intoxicated. So I would like to go on the record as objecting to the linking of the Campground permit and the Speedway crossing safety issues. They are separate and must be kept separate.
Second, I would like to address what was missing from your article – the Privilege of the Floor portion of the meeting last Tuesday. Resident Kevin Smith firmly informed Supervisor Mike Benson that he has been “Out of Line” by bullying Town Hall employees. Smith distributed copies of the “Workplace Bullying Law” to the entire board, as this has become a serious issue and is affecting the productivity and emotional health of the employees who work under the iron thumb of Mike Benson. Smith went on to accuse Benson of having “No right as an elected official to request the resignation of another elected official.” Benson had requested the resignation of New Lebanon Town Clerk Colleen Teal a week earlier via email and gave no grounds other than it being “in the best interest of the Town.” Benson does not have the right, the grounds or the power to make such a request. Councilman Bruce Baldwin also admonished Benson at the meeting for his unilateral decisions and exclusion of the Board members in reaching those decisions.
Lastly, in reference to the dissolution of the local Ethics Board of which I am also a member, this motion was attempted in an effort to cover up the Conflict of Interest involved in the appointment of Ethics Board Member Christopher Steadman. You may remember that Steadman, a Republican, was the man who was assisted by Councilmen Clark and Baldwin in sneaking into a CLOSED Democratic caucus last fall in violation of NYS Election Law. Not only does this make Steadman a questionable candidate for an Ethics Board, but his appointment by the two councilmen who abetted his violation is open conflict.
Rather than take their lumps and admit their collusion, Clark made a motion to dissolve the Ethics Board and hide his part in the corrupt actions taken in appointing Steadman to the Ethics Board.
Sincerely,
Bob Smith
Shaker Road, New Lebanon