Concerned Citizens Committee Started In Petersburgh

A group of Petersburgh citizens met in the Town Hall meeting room on Monday May 23 to organize themselves to engage in advocacy concerning the PFOA problem in Petersburgh. A little over 20 people attended the meeting. [private]At the front of the room were Water Superintendent Ben Krahforst, Town Clerk Deidra Michaels, Bob Gorghan, and Emily Marpe.  All of these four had done research into various aspects of the PFOA problem and had information to share.
Town Board members Alan Webster and Denise Church both stopped by during the meeting, but neither could stay for the whole meeting.
Everyone present agreed that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and getting the PFOA problem in Petersburgh addressed rapidly and effectively will require the people to raise their voices. Deciding exactly what aspects of the problem they want to focus on and developing a strategy to put pressure on Taconic and New York State agencies was the general topic of discussion at the meeting. The view that the Town is not advocating effectively for its citizens, and that Taconic and the New York State agencies are not showing enough concern for the plight of the citizens whose water has been contaminated was widely shared among those who attended the meeting.
The group agreed to send their ideas for the group’s mission and strategy by e-mail to a central location, and have these ideas synthesized into a coherent program. The group hopes to be inclusive, and incorporate everyone’s concerns into their action plan. They will meet again next Tuesday May 31 at 7 pm at the Petersburgh Methodist Church on Head Of The Lane.[/private]