Mayor Collins rebuffed

By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor

Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins suffered a rare Common Council defeat Tuesday when his plan to buy the TD Bank property across from City Park for $1.2-million fell short by an abstention.

Ward Two Councilman Bob Landry, Ward Three Councilwoman Diana Palmer and Ward Four Councilman Ben Lapham voted no.

But the decisive action was Ward One Councilman Ed Donahue’s decision to abstain.

Councilman-at-Large Jim Clark, Jr. and Ward Five Councilwoman Mary Gooden backed the mayor’s resolution.

If the vote had ended 3-3, Mayor Collins told The Chronicle after the meeting, he would have cast the tie-breaking vote.

City Attorney Karen Judd said the mayor has the power to do that. “Nothing in the City Charter prevents it.”

Ward One’s Mr. Donahue is usually a reliable support of Mayor Collins’s agenda.

The mayor said after the meeting “the people have spoken” and he won’t try to put the resolution through again.

Billy (un)did it to himself

By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor

Mayor Bill Collins suffered a defeat of his own making Tuesday night.

He actually made a pretty good case for why the City of Glens Falls should spend $1.2-million to buy the TD Bank property facing City Park. Of course he hadn’t made it to the public at all or recently to those Council members he’d rather not deal with.

At the meeting he was his usual impatient and arrogant self, barely tolerating questions that didn’t jibe with his view, especially if they’re from Diana Palmer of Ward 3 and Ben Lapham of Ward 4.

Yes, he lets each Council member say their piece.

But after that, when Diana had the temerity to ask for discussion, the mayor cut her off.

“You’ve said what you have to say,” he told her.

Ditto Ben. The mayor glowered, “You had a chance to discuss.”

But there was no discussion. Just solo statements.

And no respect shown by the mayor to those who challenge him though they’re elected officials, too — and conscientious in my view.

Mayor Collins runs the show, and he has it down pat. When he’s ready for the resolution’s approval, he looks to his right and nods to Ward 4’s Mary Gooden, who makes the motion. He looks to his left toward Councilman-at-Large Jim Clark, who seconds.

Generally he knows he has the votes of Mary, Jim and Ward 1’s Ed Donahue. That’s three of the six and that can be enough because the mayor can break a tie, which he told me after Tuesday’s meeting he would have done to seal the TD Bank property buy.

City Attorney Karen Judd, standing next to him, said he has the power to do that. I said that deep in my memory I thought there was a provision curtailing the mayor’s tie-breaking if it involves money being spent.

“It’s not in the charter,” Karen said.

Ward 2’s Bob Landry does his own thinking but is a team player. He’s typically part of the majority.

Tuesday night suddenly stunned because the Council didn’t line up as usual on the TD Bank proposition.

On the night’s other two hot resolutions — increasing the city’s obligation from $11.37-million to $14.93-million for the South Street DRI project and signing the lease committing the City and its Local Development Corporation to pay rent and defray costs of operating the planned facility in the “incubator” building, the mayor’s 4-2 majority held. Diana and Ben voted no. Bob and Mary said “the train has left the station,” that it’s too late to stop it. Plus, like the mayor and Council majority they think the city is getting a great deal on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, a $49-million project with the City defraying only 7% of the cost.

(Personally I fear more these 2 resolutions that were approved than I did the TD Bank one that failed.)

On the TD Bank vote, the majority fell apart. And quickly.

Jim Clark votes first and cast his customary yes.

But Ward 1’s Ed Donahue votes next. We couldn’t really hear him but the bottom line was he abstained.

Next was Ward 2’s Bob Landry. He voted no.

The outcome was sealed.

Ward 3’s Diana Palmer and Ward 4’s Ben Lapham voted no. Ward 5’s Mary Gooden voted yes.

Three no. Two yes. One abstain. There was no tie for Mayor Collins to break.

Why this was a defeat of the mayor’s own making is that Diana had asked for very specific assurances that the mayor largely agreed to — but late and only orally. Nothing in writing, on which she rightly insisted.

Had Bill actually worked collegially with Ben and Diana, I think they might have voted with him. But Bill works collegially only with people wholly on his side.

It’s a shortcoming one hopes he’ll grow out of.

Many years ago, then-Mayor Ed Bartholomew told me that “Glens Falls is a strong mayor form of government,” that the mayor can pretty much do whatever he (or eventually she) wants if you have a Council majority. Ed flexed that. So does Bill, but on this particular night the majority dissolved.

The drama was heightened by presence in the chamber of several major players, most notably Ed Moore, owner of the Queensbury Hotel, founder of the Civic Center Coalition that saved pro hockey in Glens Falls and the Cool Insuring Arena itself. Their success won substantial Warren County funding, and has turned hockey here into a hot ticket again.

The mayor said he was vying with another unnamed bidder for the TD Bank property. It quickly came out that it was Ed Moore. The mayor said he was told there were four bidders in all.

TD Bank initially wanted $1-million for the property, a bargain. The mayor jumped at it. Ed Moore raised the ante, offering $1.2-million, it emerged Tuesday night. TD gave the city the chance to match. It did. Deal done.

Now the Council undid it. Ed Moore addressed the mayor and Council afterward, pledging to work with the city and the library, who want to keep the 80 total parking spaces their employees have had at TD’s lot.

If Ed Moore ends up the buyer, probably a happy ending all around. Will that be how it turns out?

Mayor: Buy TD Bank property for $1.2-million; protect City & Library parking; sell to developer

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

Mayor Bill Collins asked the Common Council at its Sept. 24 meeting to approve spending $1.2-million to buy the former TD Banknorth property next to the Queensbury Hotel and across Maple Street from City Park and Crandall Public Library.

The purpose, said the resolution, is “to address the parking needs of the city and further economic development.”

The property runs from Maple Street to Washington Street.

Some council members said the agenda item that only became public Friday came as a sudden surprise. (See separate story.)

The Mayor said, “I literally found out Monday or Tuesday we got the contract, so we put it on the Council agenda.”

As for lack of any public discussion, Mayor Collins said, “I can’t make an announcement that we’re thinking of purchasing a property and then have the property triple in value.”

The mayor said, “Every Council member…they all understood what I was doing and asking their permission to do. So it’s funny that they would say that “(they were surprised).”

Crandall Library’s interest

Mayor Collins says, Crandall Library Director “Kathy Naftaly approached me well over a year ago,” regarding the TD Bank parking lot.

He said both the library and the City have easements for 40 employees each to park there, and he said Mrs. Naftaly suggested,
“Hey, we’re really interested in purchasing these spots with you, Mayor.”

Mrs. Naftaly tells The Chronicle any details of the library’s possible involvement are yet to be completed.

She did confirm, “The library has a long-term verbal agreement with the property owner for 40 spaces” at the site.

She said, “The (Crandall) Board supports the library being involved in the project. We appreciate the City has included us in this discussion.”

Mayor Collins says that in July he, Mrs. Naftaly and City Attorney Karen Judd met with TD Bank, about a year after the first of several requests.

“I opened up The Chronicle and read that the TD Bank lots were for sale,” he said. “That was Thursday, July 18. On Tuesday, July 23, after the Common Council meeting, I called an executive session.”

He says he told the Council members, “I want your consent to to use up to $1.3 million of fund balance to buy this.

“We know that the library will purchase back 40 spots from us…and we know that it’s a very developable and attractive piece of land, and that we will put this back on the tax rolls as soon as we can. I said it was important to go ahead and place a bid and secure this so that we are not at the mercy of somebody else.”

He said, “What we needed to do is secure the lots as quickly as we can, so that we could then choose some development that would be appropriate for the neighborhood. That’s a beautiful piece of land. We wanted to make sure that we got it and quickly, that we didn’t get in a bidding war.

“We also know that we didn’t want the whole lot. What we’ll do is put out an RFQ, Request for Qualifications, right away, for developers who might have an idea to develop the front lots.”

He said TD Bank only wanted to sell the full property, which includes six lots and is assessed at $1.1 million. He said he put in an initial bid of $1 million, but that aware of a rival bid, he made a second bid of $1.2 million that was accepted.

As for paying for it, the mayor said, “We have $7.8 million in unencumbered fund balance. We’ll take the $1.2 million out of the fund balance to to pay for this lot.

“We will make our money back on this property. We know that it is a very developable piece of property. We don’t want to be in the development business. We’ll turn this back over to private development. This will not be a burden on the taxpayers.” The mayor says of the property’s future, “It depends on what the developers want, but the RFQ [Request for Qualifications] will include that we need the 80 spaces” for library and City use.

“If you knocked down that small TD building and took all that out, you’ve probably got 200 parking spaces. That’s not the object. We aren’t trying to create a parking lot. We don’t want to.”

Rather, Mayor Collins, said, “There might be a developer out there who sees really nice apartments or commercial space and apartments for the front of this lot, and a parking garage in the back.”

He said, “You could also have a transportation hub, that we know we have a need for, maybe a set of bathrooms and ticket place for Greyhound and Trailways.” Greyhouse is currently parking on Washington Street at the Rite Aid. Trailways is parking on Park and Elm Streets.

Calling it “this very important lot.” Mayor Collins said, “I think the residents would be very happy that this isn’t going to be lost to uncontrolled development. If somebody bought that property, the City would be in a much less advantageous position to advocate for the residents.”

Diana Palmer: My questions on bank buy & more not addressed

By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor

Ward Three Councilwoman Diana Palmer disputes Mayor Bill Collins’s contention that the whole Common Council signed on to his effort to have the City buy the vacant TD Banknorth property that runs from Maple Street to Washington Street and sits across from City Park.

She told The Chronicle prior to Tuesday’s vote, “In July, while I was out of town, the Mayor called to inform me that he was considering purchasing the TD Bank Property.

“He said he was planning to discuss it in executive session and that it was confidential, but he called me since I would not be there.

“He has never mentioned it once since then to me, so I was surprised to see it on our agenda months later having had no further discussions and not having been provided any further information.

“In July, I provided feedback based on the available information, and my position was clear:

“I emphasized that if the purchase proceeded, we should ensure the intention is not to keep all six parcels as a tax exempt parking lot, but to sell for redevelopment, possibly residential or mixed use.

“I also stressed the importance of securing an independent appraisal to justify the expense and the need for a clear commitment from the library regarding a financial contribution.

“It’s important to note that during that initial conversation, I had not seen the final version of the City’s parking study. I first reviewed that yesterday, and it explicitly recommends that a new parking structure is not justified at this time.

“I also asked that if he were to ask for a vote, that the appraisal, intention to sell to private developers, and library contribution be included.

“None of that is in the resolution. The concerns I raised in July remain consistent, but my position on parking has been influenced further by the findings of the parking study.”

Dr. Palmer said Tuesday afternoon before the Council met, “I am going to ask for this resolution, as well as the two related to the DRI — the 10 year lease agreement for 36 Elm and the budget approval…approving that $3.6 million over [budget] — to be tabled because I have not been provided with information to be able to make an informed decision.

“It’s a shame that we’re being asked to vote before the public can be informed through articles that have come out.

“At that meeting, I asked repeatedly for concrete information about how the city plans to cover the operating costs for the Market Square building, and for the lease space. The mayor kept saying the LDC is going to pay for everything, not just the lease agreement, but the general manager, the utilities, the equipment upkeep. But I haven’t been provided any information to show me that.”

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