In November 2019, Colonie has a town-wide election. Voters will choose candidates to serve as Supervisor and fill four Town Board seats. It can be tough to learn about local candidates. So SAVE Colonie created a list of relevant and timely questions for all candidates running for these positions. In June 2019 we sent out the first set of four questions to each candidate.
Thanks to Supervisor Candidate George Scaringe, and Town Board Candidates Danielle Futia and Rick Field for responding in detail. Below are our questions and their answers.
Although none of the other candidates responded, we hope all candidates will respond to the next set of questions, which will be sent to everyone later this month.
1. Public participation is a hallmark of democracy. How can we encourage greater public participation in Colonie?
SCARINGE: increasing and enhancing public participation is important to me and will go a long way toward protecting the character of our town. To accomplish this, we need to:
* do a better and timelier job of informing residents of public meetings by increasing the area of required neighborhood notification by mail and through creation of a town-wide email and text notification system;
* modernize audiovisual equipment and web archiving and streaming availability at both the town board and major development board meetings;
*reform the town’s development review process to bring residents into the process earlier;
* require that all applications and action items, together with background documents, be publicly available on the web before any action can be taken by any town planning, zoning or other land use or economic development board;
* require the Zoning Board of Appeals to transcribe all meeting minutes, and post and maintain an online archive of these documents.
FIELD: We need to do two important things to increase public participation. First, change the culture in Town Hall to be more conducive to public input. It feels like the town officials are openly hostile to the public. Public input should be encouraged, not attacked. We need to put a stop to this abusive culture …and hold town officials and employees to a higher standard. Second, utilize technology to give residents more information in a timely and more transparent manner; create a text & email alert system for all meetings, keep all background info on local projects available on line. By promoting transparency and openness and encouraging public dialogue, we can make Colonie a better place to call home.
FUTIA: With so many lives always on the go, it is hard for people to stay connected by attending weekly and/or monthly meetings. I believe technology would create a way for people to be and stay engaged while also living their lives. Social media is a great tool for residents to know what is going on, what changes are coming, what events are happening, etc. Creating these pages is not just enough, it takes constant updating to stay current. Interest from residents on these pages would be lost if there is no activity on them.
Creating an app for smart phones is another way to keep residents engaged. Notifications going directly to a cell phone, a device that is used daily by most, is constant engagement. It would be nice to see an app where each resident can set their settings to their preference – some may not want daily notifications while others would, but those who choose not to receive them can still participate in the app by checking it as little or as often as they would like. Traffic alerts, events in the area, town meetings and special weather alerts are just a few topics among many that could be included in the app.
2. Some say earlier and more effective public involvement is needed in Colonie’s development review process. Lately, some developers have met with neighbors early in the process, which has worked well for both; others have refused to meet at all. Do you see a value in early involvement with neighborhoods? If so, would it be beneficial to build it into the process? How could this be accomplished?
SCARINGE: Community involvement needs to be a critical component of Colonie’s development review process. It will pay huge dividends in protecting the character of our neighborhoods and is an evolution I fully support. As supervisor, I will require public involvement in the process before any new project can move forward. All new projects must meet simple criteria: is it good for the town/local community? We must abandon the current developer-centric model of unsustainable growth and move to one that is more community and neighborhood-preservation focused. This involves real and constant community involvement with residents and those with development proposals.
FIELD: As a realtor, I can tell you there are good and bad developers. Good ones take the time to meet with residents and businesses to determine what project would best fit the region. I believe it is good public policy to require public input early and often in the development review process. The Town must do a better job protecting the character of our neighborhoods and open space.
FUTIA: I 100% see a value in early involvement with neighborhoods during a planning process. Our neighborhoods include parents raising families and elderly who have more than likely lived there for many years. If the character of residents, a current tax payer, neighborhood will be impacted somehow, then their involvement shouldn’t even be questioned. I believe it is important for both the developer and the residents to hear the pros and cons of what each have to say. I believe communication is key to any success story.
3. Another concern has been perceived lack of transparency regarding development review at both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals levels. Development applications, town-generated review documents and other official records are not posted on line or available without a FOIL request; ZBA decisions and rationales are not posted. Will you change these policies and how?
SCARINGE: We need to increase transparency in Colonie. Lack of sunlight merely serves as a way to cloak corruption and incompetence. Utilizing technology and changing the culture at Town Hall are the first steps, coupled with requiring:
* all applications & action items be publicly available on the web before any action is taken by planning, zoning or other land use board; background documents should be available;
* the Zoning Board of Appeals’ minutes must be transcribed, posted, and maintained in an online archive;
* full transparency of ALL projects, including GEIS mitigation funding, fees, and credits awarded to developers.
FIELD: Town Hall needs to be more open and transparent and public information needs to be made readily available and stored online to give the public the information they need, easily. I would sponsor an “Open Colonie” resolution to outline new requirements for posting Town documents.
FUTIA: Like communication, transparency is important. Documents of all types, including meeting minutes, should be available to all residents before any action be taken on any project. This goes hand in hand with the use of technology and getting more residents engaged.
4. Many local governments, and the federal and state legislatures, operate under a geographic system of representation, rather than an “at large” system, as Colonie does. Some argue that the current system leaves neighborhoods without someone to contact on neighborhood issues, someone who would clearly represent their interests to the Town. Would you support a geographical or neighborhood system for our Town Board? Why or why not?
SCARINGE: I fully support the creation of a ward system; it will be a key component of my reform plan that includes term limits, lengthening the supervisor’s term from 2 to 4 years, and increasing transparency throughout Town Hall.
FIELD: As Colonie continues to grow and becomes more diverse, I feel that town residents are underserved by the current configuration of town government. Instead of six at-large board members, Coloonie should adopt a ward system to give neighborhoods throughout Colonie a greater voice in Town Hall.
FUTIA: I believe a ward system would be beneficial to the Town. Since petitioning and campaigning, I have heard many concerns from residents in South Colonie that feel they are forgotten about compared to North Colonie. A ward system would bring all neighborhoods concerns to the table so no resident feels like they are unheard.