McMahon urges village not to appeal
By MIKE ZUMMO, The Leader-HeraldCANAJOHARIE - Town Supervisor Robert McMahon said Thursday he plans to write a letter to village officials urging them not to go forward with further litigation against Hero/Beech-Nut, the town of Florida Planning Board, the Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency and the Empire State Environmental Development Corp.
The village filed an Article 78 lawsuit in state Supreme court last July, asking for nullification of the site plan approval for the company's new site in the Florida Business Park and challenged the incentives package that was created to keep the babyfood maker in New York.
Supreme Court Justice Felix Catena dismissed the case last September and the Appellate Division upheld the ruling June 25.
McMahon said, as a member of the county Board of Supervisors, he would like to stop seeing money wasted on this matter.
On July 22, 2008, county supervisors passed a resolution to hire the law firm of Russ Hodges, LLP to defend the county, the Florida Planning Board and the IDA for $300 per hour, not to exceed $250,000. At their May 26 meeting, supervisors transferred another $50,000 from the appropriations fund balance to the judgment and claims account.
"Our clock is still running and sooner or later, the Board of Supervisors is going to get fed up with it and they're going to react," McMahon said.
He said the time and money spent arguing the case in court could be better spent working with the state and the county IDA to get a new company into the facility, which Beech-Nut plans to vacate next spring.
"But as long as they're throwing stones at the county and the state, they're not going to get cooperation," he said.
Village Trustee Garth McFarland said the village brought the lawsuit because the State Environmental Quality Review contained about four pages about what would happen in Florida and only two sentences about Canajoharie.
"We didn't think that was quite accurate," he said. "The buildings are old and we know there's substantial lead paint and asbestos because we took down a building."
Lewis Oliver Jr., the village's attorney, said last week he advised the village to take the case to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. However, Mayor Leigh Fuller said he didn't believe the village could afford to go forward.
McFarland echoed that sentiment.
"I don't think the village has the money to go any further and I don't think the result would be any different," he said. "I don't think it would make good policy to go forward with that."
McMahon initially asked the Town Board for a resolution urging the village not to go forward, but Rodney Young, Herbert Allen and John Toomey said that they didn't want the town to meddle in village affairs.
"I don't want it to look like we're going against the village," Young said. "If they're doing what they think is right for their taxpayers, we would be alienating them by saying we're not trying to support them."
The village Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday and could make a decision whether or not to go forward then.
Mike Zummo covers Montgomery County news. He can be reached by e-mail at montco@leaderherald.com.
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Discobulous
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07-05-09 10:09 AM
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For sure. Those old, drafty buildings would have to be 100% retrofitted before anyone would want to occupy them - spend the money on that, not silly law suits.
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Knickman
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07-05-09 8:43 AM
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This attorney (Oliver) would like to milk it for more money to fatten his wallet.
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Knickman
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07-05-09 8:41 AM
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If this village appears "suehappy"' what new business would want to go in the old beech-nut bldg?
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mountaintop
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07-05-09 7:18 AM
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It's about time someone realized that they are not going to win a law suit. All the money spent should have gone to something constructive to encourage another company to use the Beechnut site.
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