Lundford, “as most or all of you now know, we have recently had a school budget vote, which passed, along with the election of School Board members, the results of which have been posted in the newspaper.” He banged his gavel again as the noise began to increase, then pointed it at the crowd. “Last warning, folks.”
The attendees fell into a stony silence.
“On the ballot with the school budget vote, and the election of board members, were three initiatives. The first initiative, for the purchase of three new school buses, and the second, the annual funding package for the library, passed without incident, as you already know,” the town supervisor continued. “The third initiative, the proposal that the town of Obergrande once again consider the project that has been put forward since 1898 by the New York State Public Benefit Corporation, that Obergrande join other municipalities in the Adirondack Park and allow a dam to be built—at no expense to the town—”
An uproar ensued, both sides of the room shouting angrily at each other. Lundford banged his gavel sharply.
“For Pete’s sake, let me finish,” he growled. “I understand there are some strong feelings on both sides of this issue—”
“There is no issue!” a man from Lucy’s side of the room shouted at the town supervisor. “There was a vote . The measure failed overwhelmingly—as it does every time it gets put on the ballot. This discussion is over. ”
“Or at least it should be,” a woman at the back on the other side of the room added.
“No cost to the town?” another man yelled from the center of the seats. “You are talking about drowning East Obergrande, where, in case you’ve managed to forget, Lundford, most of us live and work and our children go to school.”
The voices around the room exploded again, and Bob Lundford banged the table.
“All right, stop it,” he said angrily. “If you won’t show some respect to your elected officials, at least show some to the military men here tonight. You are embarrassing yourselves and, frankly, our town with this behavior. These gentlemen have come, one from Saranac Lake, one all the way from Buffalo, to speak tonight. At least have the courtesy to hear them out.”
The shouting diminished to a smoldering grumble.
The older man in uniform stood up as the supervisor passed the microphone to him.
“Good evening, folks,” he said pleasantly. “I’m Colonel Michael Genovese, Army Corps of Engineers, from the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division of Water Management, Buffalo District. Thank you for having me here this evening.”
The noise of the room disappeared, replaced by a respectful, if guarded, silence.
Colonel Genovese picked up a remote control and pointed it at a projector that was aimed at the screen above and behind the Town Board’s table.
An image of a bulleted list of items appeared on the screen.
“Water Management is a world-class engineering organization that supports eight of the Corps’ ten Civil Works business lines—navigation, flood risk management, hydropower, recreation, storm damage response, emergency response, water supply, and environmental restoration,” Colonel Genovese continued, naming the items in the bulleted list. “We embrace seven operating principles, but I think number seven is the most important one.”
He clicked the remote control again.
A numbered list appeared, the last item highlighted in bold. Colonel Genovese read the seventh item aloud.
“ ‘Number 7: Respecting the views of individuals and groups interested in Corps activities, listening to them actively, and learning from their perspective in the search to find innovative win-win solutions to the Nation’s problems that also protect and enhance the environment.’ ”
A small amount of grumbling returned to the room.
“In other words, in spite of the reputation the Corps has gained, and occasionally earned, for having to make hard decisions about dams and
The attendees fell into a stony silence.
“On the ballot with the school budget vote, and the election of board members, were three initiatives. The first initiative, for the purchase of three new school buses, and the second, the annual funding package for the library, passed without incident, as you already know,” the town supervisor continued. “The third initiative, the proposal that the town of Obergrande once again consider the project that has been put forward since 1898 by the New York State Public Benefit Corporation, that Obergrande join other municipalities in the Adirondack Park and allow a dam to be built—at no expense to the town—”
An uproar ensued, both sides of the room shouting angrily at each other. Lundford banged his gavel sharply.
“For Pete’s sake, let me finish,” he growled. “I understand there are some strong feelings on both sides of this issue—”
“There is no issue!” a man from Lucy’s side of the room shouted at the town supervisor. “There was a vote . The measure failed overwhelmingly—as it does every time it gets put on the ballot. This discussion is over. ”
“Or at least it should be,” a woman at the back on the other side of the room added.
“No cost to the town?” another man yelled from the center of the seats. “You are talking about drowning East Obergrande, where, in case you’ve managed to forget, Lundford, most of us live and work and our children go to school.”
The voices around the room exploded again, and Bob Lundford banged the table.
“All right, stop it,” he said angrily. “If you won’t show some respect to your elected officials, at least show some to the military men here tonight. You are embarrassing yourselves and, frankly, our town with this behavior. These gentlemen have come, one from Saranac Lake, one all the way from Buffalo, to speak tonight. At least have the courtesy to hear them out.”
The shouting diminished to a smoldering grumble.
The older man in uniform stood up as the supervisor passed the microphone to him.
“Good evening, folks,” he said pleasantly. “I’m Colonel Michael Genovese, Army Corps of Engineers, from the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division of Water Management, Buffalo District. Thank you for having me here this evening.”
The noise of the room disappeared, replaced by a respectful, if guarded, silence.
Colonel Genovese picked up a remote control and pointed it at a projector that was aimed at the screen above and behind the Town Board’s table.
An image of a bulleted list of items appeared on the screen.
“Water Management is a world-class engineering organization that supports eight of the Corps’ ten Civil Works business lines—navigation, flood risk management, hydropower, recreation, storm damage response, emergency response, water supply, and environmental restoration,” Colonel Genovese continued, naming the items in the bulleted list. “We embrace seven operating principles, but I think number seven is the most important one.”
He clicked the remote control again.
A numbered list appeared, the last item highlighted in bold. Colonel Genovese read the seventh item aloud.
“ ‘Number 7: Respecting the views of individuals and groups interested in Corps activities, listening to them actively, and learning from their perspective in the search to find innovative win-win solutions to the Nation’s problems that also protect and enhance the environment.’ ”
A small amount of grumbling returned to the room.
“In other words, in spite of the reputation the Corps has gained, and occasionally earned, for having to make hard decisions about dams and
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