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County Commissioner: Schoharie Casino to Have Little Impact on Traffic
Written By Editor on 4/15/14 | 4/15/14
Cobleskill, NY – Schoharie County Commissioner of Public Works, Dan Crandell, has expressed his support for building a casino in the County citing that he believes it will have little impact on local traffic and quality of life for residents.
“The infrastructure of Schoharie County is poised to handle this type of growth and development with little problem. This would be a welcomed attraction to help stimulate our local economy and create jobs,” Crandell said.
Crandell also specifically referred to the proposal of a casino near Howe Caverns, saying that additional traffic will not be a concern.
“The proposed site is currently located in the Northeastern portion of the county which has always been the more industrial part of Schoharie County. This will ensure the integrity of the more rural parts of the county,” Crandell said.
“Howe Caverns currently sees over150,000 visitors each year. The site handles car and bus traffic without any problem now and the direct connection from Interstate 88 to State Highways 7, 10, 30, 30A, as well as State Highway 20 will allow for increased traffic with minimal impact on local roads, “ Crandell continued.
Crandell also pointed out the positive impact a casino in Schoharie County could have on the entire region.
“With the existing solid infrastructure of highways and roads connecting Schoharie to surrounding counties, the entire region can benefit from increased tourism and economic growth. In fact, Schoharie County may be the best suited location when it comes to handling increased traffic flow and having minimal impact on residents,” Crandell concluded.
It is remarkable how much ink and buzz the casino issue is getting given that Schoahrie County is not a serious contender for a casino, is about three years too late in establishing a favorable foundation for casino development and licensing and is not in an economic, demographic, political or infrastructure position to compete with other regions of the State.
It certainly doesn’t help that public officials like Mr. Crandell feel compelled to shoot from the hip and make sweeping statements without the benefit of feasibility studies or other comprehensive analyses or even the vaguest understanding of the complexity and scope of a casino project.
While the County Board of Supervisors stumbles through votes and re-votes with nothing more than a fantasy of blinking slot machine lights dancing in their heads we can only hope that Schoharie County residents are not dazzled by the distraction and instead demand a hard look at what is really going on in the County from the AECOM contract debacle, to the Maranatha scam to the multimillion dollar flood gates, to the continued political shenanigans and hanky-panky that are the hallmark of county politics.
A casino is not coming to save the day, Lowes is not coming to save the day and real economic development is not coming until the voters of Schoharie County clean house and demand professional, accountable and qualified leadership. The house cleaning should start with the Board of Supervisors who continue to embarrass their constituents and move quickly to Schoharie County Planning and Development Agency which has failed to advocate for a single progressive community development strategy under the comatose leadership of Alicia Terry and a series of Economic Development Directors who have either napped in place or left County government to go to work for business for whom they secured grants.
Finally, a the County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) should be given a very close look to address their disheartening default rates on taxpayer funded loans and their nearly indiscriminate dispensing of PILOT agreements that leave the average citizen with a growing tax burden while doing nothing to stimulate legitimate job creation.
From waterparks, to giant mechanical dinosaurs to casinos the County comically and ineptly chases wild geese while ignoring the hard work and diligent efforts that will bring real and sustained economic improvement.
1 comments:
It is remarkable how much ink and buzz the casino issue is getting given that Schoahrie County is not a serious contender for a casino, is about three years too late in establishing a favorable foundation for casino development and licensing and is not in an economic, demographic, political or infrastructure position to compete with other regions of the State.
It certainly doesn’t help that public officials like Mr. Crandell feel compelled to shoot from the hip and make sweeping statements without the benefit of feasibility studies or other comprehensive analyses or even the vaguest understanding of the complexity and scope of a casino project.
While the County Board of Supervisors stumbles through votes and re-votes with nothing more than a fantasy of blinking slot machine lights dancing in their heads we can only hope that Schoharie County residents are not dazzled by the distraction and instead demand a hard look at what is really going on in the County from the AECOM contract debacle, to the Maranatha scam to the multimillion dollar flood gates, to the continued political shenanigans and hanky-panky that are the hallmark of county politics.
A casino is not coming to save the day, Lowes is not coming to save the day and real economic development is not coming until the voters of Schoharie County clean house and demand professional, accountable and qualified leadership. The house cleaning should start with the Board of Supervisors who continue to embarrass their constituents and move quickly to Schoharie County Planning and Development Agency which has failed to advocate for a single progressive community development strategy under the comatose leadership of Alicia Terry and a series of Economic Development Directors who have either napped in place or left County government to go to work for business for whom they secured grants.
Finally, a the County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) should be given a very close look to address their disheartening default rates on taxpayer funded loans and their nearly indiscriminate dispensing of PILOT agreements that leave the average citizen with a growing tax burden while doing nothing to stimulate legitimate job creation.
From waterparks, to giant mechanical dinosaurs to casinos the County comically and ineptly chases wild geese while ignoring the hard work and diligent efforts that will bring real and sustained economic improvement.
- Bob Nied
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