The meeting started slow and didn't pick up much speed after that. Very few people in attendance. After a bit Paul and Maureen Knapp, along with their Syracuse lawyer Mr. Leja came in and took seats. If I win the lottery I'm going to buy comfortable chairs for the audience.

The conversation got a bit lively when the burn barrels that Dawn Lewis talked about at the last meeting came up. It was obvious by their comments that some of the board members never read the information Dawn provided them. Apparently there is a law that the DEC 'can' enforce against burning plastics and other dangerous items in your back yard. The board provided the contact name for the DEC Forest Ranger to call if somebody is burning something illegal.

Thinking they had done their job the board wished to drop it but Dawn hangs on and promised to come back next month. Good for you Dawn. For several years I've watched this board do their darndest not to do any more than they have too... unless it is something they want... like Flying J.

Back to the meeting. After giving Dawn the run around it came time for Paul Knapp's lawyer to speak. He had a new map, and I use the term is the loosest of fashions. Taking a copy of the tax map he made the new 'map' using whiteout and with a pencil drew in the boundaries of the 82 acres. Better than the old one but at this rate it will be the next millennium before they have a real map. Leja did drop the claim that the land was bordered by Preble Road, probably because it wasn't but who could tell with the old map they had. No matter, they still need to get a real map before they can proceed. Leja made some reference to a survey but I think he wanted to do it after they rezoned. Ass backwards but the town board didn't object... figures. Leja provided a draft SEQR that he hoped the board would accept, which to my amazement they did not. They did discuss drafting an ordinance for the rezone and all through this it was plainly obvious they all knew about it and had talked about it before the meeting. Guess the New York Open Meeting Law is under Dawns documents in the pile. They did vote to be lead agency and then they voted to have Don Armstrong (town lawyer) draw up a draft ordinance for the rezone. As this was about Peter Knapp's brother's property and I expected Peter to abstain just like John Steger did when he had a conflict of interest. But Peter Knapp signed the permit for his brother's cellular tower so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. All five voted in favor for the draft law so I guess all five will vote for it next month. Then there will be a public hearing where the board will ignore people who speak against it and then they will pass it. Following that the lawyers will file Article 78 lawsuits and the whole thing will be in limbo for the rest of the year at least. However, I might be wrong.

By the way as you might have guessed I didn't speak so I have no funny comments from the board to report... next time.

Planning Board 5/17/1

Fran Casullo spoke at length about a letter he sent to Flying J's lawyer Amanda Shaw. He said he expected one of two things from them. Either a new site plan or a courtesy letter saying they were withdrawing their application. He got neither and was not pleased by it. I expect the next time he sees Amanda he will give her a real chewing out. (I'm laughing while I wrote that.) He advised the board not to vote on canceling the application but to just ignore it. He was afraid of some legal implications if the board actually voted. I don't know what he was afraid of, just being cautious I guess. Flying J would have to come back with a new site plan at a minimum and that would be like starting new. He made it clear he had no information about whether they were coming back or not he was just talking about this application that was just hanging there and the board needed to do something with it. So they kind of tabled it and will store it in a dusty place until... whenever.

The board adjourned and we went home.

So... What is happening with Flying J?

Flying J wants to be in this area but what does 'this area' entail? It is my best guess that they want to be somewhere on the west side of 81 between Syracuse and Cortland, perhaps further south. Preble looked like a good site when Shafer claimed they would get in here quickly. That didn't happen and now they have to look at other options. Shafer made a claim to a reporter that Flying J was looking at Peter Knapp's land and we are worried that Paul Knapp's land is being considered. That seems to be the only logical reason to rezone it. However If Flying J did either of those they would run into more of Preble's laws that do not allow a truck stop. I don't think the town board or the Knapp's understand that, even though it was the town board who wrote those laws just a few years ago. My best guess is that the town board and the Knapp's have asked Flying J to wait for the rezone before committing to somewhere else. Flying J probably said ok, after all what does it cost them to see if the Town Board can pull this off. In the interim Flying J would be looking at other sites in Cortland county and others. They will make their final decision based on factors we will never hear about. Anything is possible; remember they have 'deep pockets'.

Will this crap ever stop?

Not with the town leaders we have now.

In August we will have the Democrat and Republican caucuses. At that time the next Town Board will be determined and then voted on in November. Bet you thought the November vote was the real one. Nope, not in Preble. The caucus determines who the candidates will be. The old guard Preble Repubmocrats (That's a mixture of Republicans and Democrats that controls the town.) may try to do what they did two years ago. Back then, you may remember they nominated John Steger and Peter Knapp in BOTH the Democrat AND Republican caucus and guaranteed they would be the next supervisor and town board member. You never had a chance or a choice to vote for anyone else. I'll have a lot more on this subject in the coming months including two issues of the 'Preble Political Reform Committee'. A stinging expose' of their actions. Must reading. In the meantime, plan to vote in the caucus of your affiliation. Only if you are a registered Democrat or Republican. If you are independent or non-affiliated then in Preble... Your vote just doesn't count. Now that sucks doesn't it? Much more on this subject later but for now mark your calendars for the caucus. Here is a sobering fact. Two years ago only thirty people in the Republican caucus and even less in the Democrat caucus decided who the leaders were going to be! We could have avoided all this crap if just a few of you made it to the caucus. You didn't know it then... You know it now! This is important... it counts. Make it a point to be there.