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PIN 2650.36 Comments Received 6/29/2015

MJ Engineering and Land Surveying, PC

Public Comments Received

PIN 2650.36 Fonda Connector Study

Fulton and Montgomery Counties

No. Date Name Section Comment Source

1 9/9/14 Stella Gittle Study Overview Website

Comment Why are you only showing maps of the town of Mohawk when the village of Fultonville is involved in the Town of Glen?

2 9/10/14 Wayne T. DeMallie N/A Public Info Meeting

Comment Come from 5’s Ent 27 to west to before fort hunter north to Tribes Hill Stoner Trail North to RT 67 to past Fulton County Airport. Diverting on road to RT 30A to the left and one road to 29 to Saratoga right hand just past north of airport. This was a design that was considered years ago using Stoner Trail North.

3 9/11/14 No Name Provided Documents & Information Website

Comment When will you post the potential connector road routes?

4 9/12/14 Katherine Allen Public Comments Website

Comment

We were told at the public meeting that a more readable map of potential routes was available at this website, but not so. The map given to us at the meeting is completely useless in identifying possible routes. I'm very upset that this incredibly vital information is so obscure. Also, I have never attended a meeting in which there was no question and answer period. The public certainly is invested in this project, and have every right to ask questions at a "public" meeting. I would like to hear from you regarding these issues, otherwise I plan to call my congressman.

5 9/12/14 Nolan J. Marciniec About Website

Comment

I attended the informational meeting at FMCC on 09/10. I find it difficult to believe that traffic patterns and potential problems were not considered when the Industrial Park was first proposed and built. Why were no accommodations for the influx in truck traffic made at that time? The presentation did not convince me that a new connector route was needed. At this point, there is no restoring the quality of life for the Village of Fonda after so many years during which traffic was given the priority over people. Unless I can be persuaded otherwise, perhaps the best solution would be to somehow mitigate the effect of truck traffic on the existing route. I don't think that the volume of truck traffic warrants the considerable expenditure and the destruction of an invaluable rural environment along any of the proposed routes.

6 9/15/2014 Bob The Study Team Website

Comment

Where are the proposed paths? The map does not show any

Where are the proposed paths? I don’t see any on the map. I heard there were 11 possible paths.

Found map

7 9/18/2014 Frederick Hastings Meetings & Public Outreach Website

Comment This whole study is a waste of time and shame on Fulton county for pushing this even after it was taken off the table

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by the Montgomery county board.

8 9/27/2014 B. Conwall Public Comments Website

Comment

This study looks like a child playing with crayons and a map. Why is the most logical route with the least amount of impact not considered? Crossing the river right in line with Main Street and then improving route 30A? It would be a straight route going through an existing commercial roadway and actually having less residential impact. And why would you even consider intruding on a school district so blatantly? It looks Iike there has been no regard for the citizens of Montgomery county, especially the residents of Fonda.

Really ill conceived and ill planned. Whoever put this together, MJ has no concept of the value of land and community. This is farcical and hopefully NYS sees through this charade.

9 9/28/2014 Kaitlin Ahern About Website

Comment

Please don't cut through farmland for this project. There is nothing good about taking farmland away from the good people who work it and provide local food sources in order to support corporate America. At worst the roadways now are a bit inconvenient for tractor trailers and there is traffic at times. The ramifications of this project are much more serious--it will destroy the foundation of the county and the lifestyle of many of its citizens (not to mention how ugly the county will become when it's covered in asphalt and subject to increased noise pollution).

10 10/1/14 Patrick Clear Public Comments Website

Comment

The Town of Mohawk is currently in the process of updating its comprehensive plan, expected to be completed in 2015. The public survey conducted as part of the last comprehensive plan had several questions relating to the issue of the current feasibility study:

Question #8 asked residents what the most important current aspects of the town are. Tied for first with 92% were Overall Attractiveness and Rural/Small town character

Question #9 asked what the residents felt would be most important over the next 10 years Top 3 answers were #1 maintain and protect the natural environment, #2 protect farmland, #3 maintain rural character.

Question #14 what does the town need most. The runaway number one answer is Infrastructure: water and sewer, improved roads

**The survey question was for condition of current roads, not new highways.

**The current town planning board has been discussing the issue of infrastructure and has identified an area of special concern for protection, conservation and preservation for future possible reservoir development and/or reservoir protection zones. All the connector routes being considered east of Route 30A pass through this area.


Comment

The Fultonville business district along Riverside Drive would be devastated by the construction of any connector road. The current businesses located along Riverside Drive that cater to the trucks currently using exit 28 would be forced to close when the same businesses open on the Fulton County end of the connector.

It would be foolish to believe that similar hotel, restaurant, truck repair and service businesses wouldn’t be built in or near the Johnstown Industrial Park. Loss of those businesses would financially ruin the community of Fultonville.


Comment

There is a growing population of Amish in and around the Town of Mohawk and a significant increase in the number of Amish working in and passing through the town. Amish are increasingly working on farms throughout the town, east into Amsterdam, and north into Johnstown and Gloversville. Amish families are also increasingly traveling into Johnstown and Gloversville to shop at local stores and sell their goods in the communities. The connector highway will pose a serious danger to the Amish. Without stoplights or controlled intersections the connector highway will

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pose a serious danger to their simple horse and buggy mode of transportation.


Comment

Several routes are identified near the Fonda Fultonville School property. These routes pose a serious health and safety risk to all the students in the district. These routes will lead to an industrial park. In addition to the risk of dangerous spills of toxic chemicals from trucks traveling these routes there are also the dangers of air pollution from the high volume of trucks and the harmful effects of noise on children.

The location of the school is a common air inversion area. Heavy fog and smoke from local home fireplaces can frequently be observed accumulating in the area south of the ridge along Old Trail Road and west of Switzer Hill Road. The geography of this spot creates a pocket that traps airborne particles and would pose a serious health risk to the students and residents when the pollution from the trucks accumulates in this pocket.

Sound from heavy traffic can have a dangerous effect on the learning ability of students. I would suggest you consult the Cornell University study on this topic. Information on the study can be found at:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010523072445.htm

and the full study can be obtained from Cornell University. Most import to note in regard to the routes near the school are the study findings of:

"We also found that girls exposed to the traffic noise become less motivated, presumably from the sense of helplessness that can develop from noise they couldn't control," says Gary Evans, an international expert on environmental stress, such as noise, crowding and air pollution.

The study adds evidence to Evans' previous research showing that noise can have serious health, learning and task-motivation effects in children and adults exposed to chronic noise.

"The findings suggest that children living in noisier areas are subject to stress, which may have serious health implications," the researchers conclude. They intend to monitor the Austrian children and the noise levels to which they are exposed and assess any long-term health effects.


Comment

It is common practice for farmers to rent/lease and own several parcels within a community. In our case parts of our farm at 899 Old Trail Road are leased to two additional farmers in the Town of Mohawk. Of most concern would be the safe access to our property during hay season. The large equipment and fully loaded hay wagons would have serious difficulty and pose a serious safety risk when crossing the planned connector road due to their large size and slow speed.


Comment

Several of the routes being considered would require new bridges. The current bridge on 30A has caused repeated floods due to debris and ice backups. The addition of a new bridge would significantly increase the risk of more serious flooding. The villages of Fonda and Fultonville and the residents, farmers and businesses west of the proposed bridges have suffered enough flooding.


Comment

The Mohawk River Watershed Coalition of Conservation Districts plan to release the final Mohawk River Watershed Management Plan in October.

The coalition identified the following seven specific goals to help realize the vision: 1. Protect and restore the quality and ecological function of water resources 2. Protect and enhance natural hydrologic processes

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010523072445.htm

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3. Promote flood hazard risk reduction and enhanced flood resilience 4. Protect, restore, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat 5. Revitalize communities and waterfronts, and adopt smart growth land practices 6. Promote agriculture and other working landscapes 7. Increase watershed awareness New York State Department of Environmental Conservation also has a Mohawk River Basin Steering Committee. The committee’s action agenda lists five goals: Goal 1: Fish, Wildlife and Habitats Goal 2: Water Quality Goal 3: Flood Hazard Risk Reduction Goal 4: Community Planning and Revitalization Goal 5: Working Landscapes, Land Use and Open Space

The proposed connector road is in conflict with both these plans.


Comment

According to USGS and natural gas industry maps the entire area shown for the proposed connector road sits over Utica Shale. The USGS report and industry reports also both state the gas reserves in the Utica Shale gas play far exceed those of the Marcellus Shale gas play. Utica shale is already being tapped in Ohio. Mineral rights will need to be purchased for all properties taken for the connector project.


Comment

Residents in nearly the entire area being studied for the connector road get their water from wells. This road will lead to an industrial park and it is safe to believe that trucks traveling this road will be caring dangerous and toxic chemicals for industries in the industrial park. There would be a significant risk of well contamination if a spill was to occur. Extending Fulton County’s waterlines to service all residents, present and future, along the connector route should be part of the project plan.


Comment

I have concerns about the accident data. I don’t believe the comparison to the state averages is a fair view of the area. As a 15 year resident of the Town of Mohawk I have never seen an accident in the community. I do not believe the truck traffic is responsible for the higher accident rates. I believe the true reason for the higher number of accidents reported is the result of extremely high traffic events in the community, especially the annual Fonda Fair, the weekly races at Fonda Speedway and special events at the speedway. All three are high alcohol events. Accidents in our community are more likely special event related not truck related.


Comment

Fulton and Montgomery Counties need to do an inventory of current and future proposed industrial parks. The report done in 2011 is already outdated. Fulton County has received an additional property, the former Tryon Detention Center, as a new industrial park. Montgomery County has a large complex available in the former Beechnut complex in Canajoharie and has a possible location where the recent casino was planned for in Amsterdam.

The current Johnstown Industrial Park that the connector project is planned for already has several vacant lots, abandoned buildings, broken roads and crumbling signs. Due to the poor maintenance of the facility by Fulton County and the high failure rates of businesses within the park it is reasonable to forecast that by time the Fonda Connector could be built the Johnstown Industrial Park would be closed.

Given the high number of sites available at other current and potential (casino site) industrial parks in the area with better thruway access it may be cheaper to relocate the few remaining businesses in the Johnstown Industrial Park.

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21 10/1/14 Martin Smith Public Comments Website

Comment

I attended the Sept 10 meeting, where comments were not allowed. I would like to point out a glaring omission from an engineering perspective. This omission is rather important as the study so far has yielded acceptable traffic delays in the route30A/5 corridor, The proposed new route should be engineered to a years in service objective. Without this identifiable objective, i.e... a 10 year or 75 year road... cost-effective statements/project objectives are meaningless and renders the phrase meaningless. I would suggest an analysis regarding the probable impact high speed rail would have on Fonda. It is not too difficult to conclude that the south side of Main Street, Fonda, may have to go...perhaps for space and safety issues. Those old structures would not last too long with high speed rail traffic... and buying up those old houses and relocating businesses, would not be that difficult and then swing up 334 next to the old railroad bed ....which appears to be garnering some interest for a rebuild of the spur.

22 10/1/14 Nancy A. Collins N/A Mail

Comment

As a resident of the Town of Mohawk (Montgomery County) with two acres of residential property on the north side of the Old Trail Road, directly south of the proposed expansion of the Rt. 30-A Johnstown Industrial Park and in close proximity (approx. 500 ft.) of the western-most proposed alternate connector highway (Hickory Hill to Venture Dr.), I would appreciate your consideration of the information below which touches on a range of topics related to the proposed project study.

I found the aerial maps (both normal and high resolution) displayed on the Connector Website not useful in showcasing the details of the privately owned properties in the Town of Mohawk (compared to the quality of what one sees on Google Maps). The Connector website clearly depict the air-handling unites atop the Johnstown Industrial Park buildings and cars/trucks in parking lots; however; directly below the Fulton County line, views of residences impacted by the proposed alternate routes in Montgomery County are somewhat of a blur. There are many beautiful homes, properties, rural acreage and wetlands-their importance and value should not be diminished in a “fuzzy map.”

Below are my comments with the proposed project and possible alternatives:

Current and Future Negative Impact Upon Area Residents

Blasting (Former/Future) – My home has been shaken several times in the past years due to blasting during new construction at the existing Industrial Park site on Rt. 30-A. As a result, we have filed complaints which were followed-up by those in-charge making visits to my home to inspect cracks in our poured foundation and to the bricks of our 10’ fireplace dividing the living room/kitchen.

Diesel Fumes/Noise Pollution – On certain days there is constant “Beep-Beep” of trucks backing-up within the park. Diesel fumes make it impossible to open windows or sit outdoors when the wind carries the fumes from idling trucks at the park to my yard. Expansion of the existing park and highways through Montgomery County will only exacerbate health issues (asthma) and noise pollution.

Run-off/Contaminates – According to Project Website maps, the area has an abundance of wetlands and springs – some of which feed our wells. Further park expansion and highway construction increase the potential for contamination of water sources and existing wells.

Opportunity for Collaboration and Cost-Effective Alternative(s)

Having grown-up, currently employed and owning a second property in Fulton County, I support regional growth and opportunities for collaboration between both county governments resulting in outcomes having a positive impact upon the residents of the region. Therefore, I would support:

Curtailing further expansion of the existing 30-A Industrial Park and truck route(s) which has already made a significant negative impact upon the infrastructure from Main St., Fonda, to Opportunity Drive and reduced the quality of life for residents in its path. Shovel-ready business sites currently exist in other industrial/business parks in the county.

Promote a collaborative effort between the two counties to study the feasibility of developing a “regional” industrial/business park at the proposed Amsterdam Casino site which significantly reduces the scope of the Connector Project by eliminating SMART-Waters issues and cost-prohibitive construction of bridges and cross-county highways to the existing 30-A park. The Amsterdam site is readily accessible to the NYS Thruway Exit and likely offers little-to-no disruption to residents and agricultural lands.

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Having the ability to successfully coordinate and plan a project of this magnitude, avoiding a major blunder (such as we’ve experienced with the design of the Amsterdam Mall), and to put politics aside is a virtue.

The words of a retired Urologist I knew sums it up: “Do it once, do it right.”

23 10/2/14 N/A Study Overview Website

Comment Have the property owners, whose land these routes go through been contacted?

24 10/2/14 Jim Clauson Public Comments Website

Comment

I found your presentation at FMCC very thorough. There was an important environmental fact you missed and probably could not perceive: what happens in extreme weather, (which we have had a lot of recently)?

For example, in heavy rains SWITZER HILL ROAD floods badly. Water pours down the road itself as it overflows the small ditches. In winter this quickly turns to ice.

I cannot as easily speak for other routes.


Comment

The Town of Mohawk is over a shale bed. The notes below regarding construction on or in shale are from geology.com

Engineering Properties of Shale Soils Shales and the soils derived from them are some of the most troublesome materials to build upon. They are subject to changes in volume and competence that generally make them unreliable construction substrates. Expansive Soils The clay minerals in some shale-derived soils have the ability to absorb and release large amounts of water. This change in moisture content is usually accompanied by a change in volume which can be as much as several percent. These materials are called "expansive soils". When these soils become wet they swell and when they dry out they shrink. Buildings, roads, utility lines or other structures placed upon or within these materials can be weakened or damaged by the forces and motion of volume change. Expansive soils are one of the most common causes of foundation damage to buildings in the United States. Slope Stability Shale is the rock most often associated with landslides. Weathering transforms the shale into a clay-rich soil which normally has a very low shear strength - especially when wet. When these low-strength materials are wet and on a steep hillside they can slowly or rapidly move down slope. Overloading or excavation by humans will often trigger failure.

26 10/7/14 Erin Breglia Public Comments Website

Comment Is this connector going to be used for an increase of fracked gas transport?

27 10/15/14 Bob Documents & Information Website

Comment Thank you for providing this information. Martin and Kathleen Smith's article in today’s paper.10/15/14 really says it all.

28 10/16/14 J. Sluti Documents & Information Website

Comment

I was just told about this horrific idea the other day. I live on Old Trail Road (in between Rt. 5 and Albany Bush Rd.), so I checked out the map with the proposed routes. I was SHOCKED to see that one of the proposed routes goes through a corn field right between my house and my neighbor's house. We bought this house on 6 acres so that we could live peacefully in the country. We have 4 children, all whom are home all day as homeschooled students.

http://geology.com/

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When we bought this house, the real estate market was still on the "high" end. Even though we have put quite a bit of money into the house, the chances of selling it for what we own, much less what we paid, is probably out of the question. I absolutely WILL NOT want to live here if there is a truck route next to my house. What are you thinking? We will be forced to move as we will not tolerate living in the country with a truck route right next to our house. PLEASE do not do this!!!!

29 10/17/14 No Name Provided Study Overview Website

Comment Sounds like a great idea. Let's hear more

30 10/17/14 Kathleen Smith About Website

Comment Why does this site say "there are no public comments available to display." on the front page when there are several pages of comments? This site is terrible. One would think for $492.000 (the cost for this study) you would be able to do this better

31 10/17/14 S. Carbone Public Comments Website

Comment

The truck traffic would best be alleviated by moving the industrial park to the Glen Industrial Park from Johnstown. The bulk of the car traffic would still be a problem on Rt. 30A all the way past Gloversville, which your plan doesn't address. As a Fonda resident who has been aggravated for the past 15 years, I say keep it out from Fonda! I also say forget about using Eminent Domain! This is a democracy not an imperial regime. While you are at it, reopen the railroad crossings, because their closure is killing a quarter of the Village of Fonda. You are 20 years too late and now the open spaces have been developed. Was this map actually a Jackson Pollock contest?

32 10/19/14 Concerned Citizen Documents & Information Website

Comment

Simply why not get Wal-Mart to move closer to the Fultonville exit where there is a park located already? The connector would not be needed and Wal-Mart can be provided tax incentives to move. Why hasn't the count legislators gotten off their backside and become a little progressive instead of reactive? Typical stupidity that waste money for something not needed or one that has a better solution.

33 10/23/14 No Name Provided The Study Team Website

Comment

The Fonda Connector is a HUGE mistake that is being forced down the throats of the good people of the Town of Mohawk. The Backers of this think nothing of proposing to take away people's homes, farmland, and our ability to make an honest living and live in peace. Every person living in or by one of the possible routes is living in total fear. A diagnosis of cancer would be less threatening! The Backers think nothing of destroying working farms or evicting families from the homes they have lived in for generations. My family has farmed our land for nearly a century - and YOU WANT TO PUT US OUT OF BUSINESS? If I remember correctly, when the Park was built, one of the largest farms in the town was destroyed because of problems created by the construction. Now the Backers see nothing wrong with destroying many more farms - cutting them in half, taking the most fertile fields, making some fields inaccessible, and putting farmers out of business. The beautiful, quiet, rural landscape would be covered by ugly asphalt and roaring trucks. The best route is the existing one. Don't many of the trucks come up 30-A from Rt.20 and I-88, thus traveling on a narrower and more winding stretch of 30-A than is between Fonda and the Park? If there is money that has to be spent, use it to repair existing roads and bridges in the area. The Park was ill placed and showed little thought and now has a number of vacant buildings. Isn't it interesting that several of the longest routes go into Fulton County, thus providing the Backers with the ability to build a connector to their next project - Tryon. Let's build another partially filled industrial park!

Montgomery County is and has long been a quiet, RURAL area that is noted for the farming industry. We need to keep it that way and the Backers of this mistake need to realize it. It's time to stop pandering to special interests. How long is that "Special Interest" going to be around, with or without the connector?

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34 11/3/14 Patrick Clear Documents & Information Website

Comment

A single connector route to only the Johnstown Industrial Park is insufficient to meet the desperate needs of Fulton County. There are two other poorly located industrial parks (Crossroads and Tryon) lacking needed highway and rail access in Fulton County, both in Johnstown and close to the Montgomery County border. Spurs from the Fonda Connector routes being considered would provide desperately needed access to both these sites. Location and sizing of any potential route must accommodate access to all three locations.

35 11/3/14 Patrick Clear Documents & Information Website

Comment Fulton County has wanted industrial rail service to the Johnstown Industrial Park for years. Consideration should be given to finding a connector route corridor sufficient in size to accommodate both an industrial highway and an industrial rail line parallel to it.

36 11/5/14 Kathleen Smith Public Comments Website

Comment

Our letter to the editor was referenced in the comments on this site. For those who were not able to read it, the text follows.

You have been seeing the signs throughout Fonda and the Town of Mohawk “Save Our Town - Stop the Fonda Connector Project.” Do you know what they are about?

Fulton County, under the guise of “regional” planning, has commissioned a study to create a Fonda bypass. (It’s a bypass, not a connector, Fonda is already “connected” to the Johnstown Park.) They want to funnel truck traffic to the Johnstown Industrial Park and the new park they want to build adjacent to it. They have come up with 11 scenarios that cut through Montgomery County - some passing through and destroying productive farmland and working farms, some cutting the Villages of Fonda and Fultonville in half, some going dangerously close to the school and Little League Park and some bypassing the Villages of Fonda and Fultonville altogether. Most would require new bridges to be built and one uses the current bridge over the river and railroad tracks. All would send traffic up a steep hill and would cost a ton of money.

Many people think this new road would only affect a handful of farmers and some farmland. However, we believe the bypass would kill the villages of Fonda and Fultonville. Once the traffic (and it won’t just be trucks) gets off the Thruway and onto the bypass to Johnstown, the businesses in the villages would surely dry up. No traffic stopping at truck stops, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, sandwich shops, etc. No more tax base, no more sales tax dollars, no more local businesses.

Also, many say if you oppose this bypass you are against progress and jobs. This couldn’t be farther than the truth! As reported in Fulton County’s own engineering study, the current route is working. (We know this to be true because we never have to sit through more than one stop light in Fonda.) We believe future progress needs to come in the form of expanding and building industrial parks and business sites along the Thruway corridor in Montgomery County. It has much better locations. It has 3 exits off the Thruway and has the railroad, barge canal, Route 5 and Route 5S and is an easy drive to the Capital District. Most importantly, developing in Montgomery County doesn’t require bypassing anything.

Be informed; don’t let the Fulton County “regional” planners jam this through. Go to www.fondaconnector.com to see the maps that show what could happen to Montgomery County if this bypass is built.

Martin & Kathleen Smith

Fonda, NY

37 11/10/14 Karen Public Comments Website

Comment I heard there are 10 possible routes being studied. Is this true and is there a map showing these routes?

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Comment

All the proposed routes pass through residential zones in the Town of Mohawk. An industrial highway through these districts would render the properties in the route corridor unlivable and unmarketable as residential properties. It would be in the best financial interest of the impacted property owners for the town to rezone the entire connector corridor as manufacturing/industrial/commercial. What accommodations will be made for highway access and traffic flow control (traffic lights or roundabouts) if/when the corridor is rezoned?

39 10/30/14 No Name Provided Public Comments Mail

Comment

What nerve! How dare you propose construction in another county? Who made you King Mraz? Keep your nose in Fulton County, not destroying the lives of the good people of Montgomery County. Drop this selfish idea. Any one of the possible routes destroy the Town. How would you like it if the proposed route went through your property? Do you even care what happens to the properties in Montgomery County? I don’t think so—just as long as your selfish interests are taken care of. Back off, Jim. You have no authority in or over Montgomery County.


Comment

Take the farmland, Mr. Mraz, and may you find your plate empty when you sit down for dinner! Do you realize the number of farms you’ll put out of business with these proposals – or don’t you care? Do you have a conscience? Montgomery County has been noted for the farming industry and you care nothing about destroying it. Farmland is irreplaceable – you are not. The price to pay for any of these routes is too high. None of us want it and the sooner you realize that, the better off we’ll all be.


Comment

We can’t believe our land was targeted for one of the proposed routes! We feel violated! We were never told! How can you do this and sleep at night? Why weren’t the effected property owners notified? You are pitting homeowners against farm owners – people who have been friends for years. No one wants the road in their yard or field. No one wants the road, period. Fulton County and Jim Mraz need to rethink this terrible idea. Mraz has big ideas with little success. What good is a road that leads to another abandoned park?


Comment Everyone I know lived in the Town of Mohawk because it’s rural, beautiful, and peaceful. Most can look out their kitchen window and see the beautiful countryside. We don’t want the Town covered in asphalt and cement. Stop this crazy road idea. We don’t need it and we don’t want it. Shouldn’t that be more important?


Comment

This is in response to the comments reported in the 10/1 Recorder article regarding the Fonda connector. MJ Engineering told the reported the proposed routes looked for the least impact to “minimize the number of residential and commercial properties… and maintain properties that have existing structures”. The “least impact” would be just the opposite. Structures and commercial buildings can be moved or rebuilt. How do you replace farmland? Who will feed the people if you take all the farmland? You take part of a farm’s land and that farmer is done! Farmers are hard working business men and women and most of these proposed routes would put us out of business and ruin the countryside. Many of these farms have been in families for generations. Isn’t it interesting that most of the proposals run through farms rather than more populated areas? Again – buildings can be rebuilt, but farmland will be lost forever. Isn’t it a fact that prior to construction, access roads, parking, etc., must be approved before building can start? Access roads were OK then – why not now? Does it matter that Montgomery County wants nothing to do with the Mraz Mandate? Fulton County made another mistake in placing the Industrial Park and now Mraz wants the good people of Montgomery County to pay for it. No thanks. This idea should be scrapped and Fulton County should replace Mraz before he does more damage.

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From one of many frustrated farm families.


Comment

To: MJ Engineering

The Fonda connector is a HUGE mistake that is being forced down the throats of the good people of the Town of Mohawk. The Backers (Fulton County and Jim Mraz) of this think nothing of proposing to take away people’s homes, farmland, and our ability to make an honest living and live in peace. Every person living in or by one of the possible routes is living in total fear. A diagnosis of cancer would be less threatening. The Backers think nothing of destroying working farms or evicting families from the homes they have lived in for generations.

My family has farmed our land for nearly a century – and Mraz wants to put us out of business? I have no respect for Jim Mraz, so I will not refer to him as “Mr.” One route would cut our farm in half and destroy our water source. If I remember correctly, when the Park was built, one of the largest farms in the Town was destroyed because of problems created by the construction. Now the Backers see nothing wrong with destroying many more farms – cutting them in half, taking the most fertile land, making parts inaccessible, and putting famers out of business. It’s apparent that the Backers have no use for farmland, other than for construction, because that’s where they have focused a majority of their proposals. Where are you going to get more farmland? Pull it out of a magician’s hat? The beautiful, quiet, rural landscape would be covered with asphalt and roaring trucks.

The best road is the existing one. Don’t many of the trucks come up 30A from Rt. 20 and I88, thus traveling on a narrower and more winding stretch of 30A than is between Fonda and the Park? The Park was ill placed and showed little through and now has a number of vacant structures. Isn’t it interesting that several of the longer routes go into Fulton County, thus providing the Backers with the ability to build a connector to their next failure – Tryon. Let’s build another partially filled Industrial Park.

Montgomery County is and has been a quiet, rural area that is noted for agriculture. In fact, agriculture is Montgomery County’s primary industry – and Mraz has no problem with wanting to destroy that industry and the lives of farmers. We need to keep it rural and the Backers of this mistake need to realize it. It’s time to stop pandering to special interests. How long is the “Special Interest” going to be around, with or without the connector?

We don’t want to sign our names and possibly be targeted. Farming has been our life – DO NOT KILL US!!!!!


Comment

To Whom it May Concern:

I am a resident of Fulton County and travel to Montgomery County to work. When I heard about the idea of looking into a possible truck route in Montgomery County to alleviate the traffic in Fonda, I thought it was a joke. Then I saw the many proposed routes and I got sick! Montgomery County doesn’t need to have another road!

Fulton County created the extra truck traffic and elevated pollution levels on route 30A and now wants to correct it by ruining a neighboring county. Why didn’t Fulton County search for industry that didn’t require heavy truck traffic? They had no real access to a road like the Thruway, but obviously didn’t give a hoot. Now Fulton County wants to expand the Industrial Park and make more traffic that is if they can fill the structures that are already empty. They even want to expand the Park on Montgomery County land rather than build on their own land. Obviously their concern for the people and the land in Montgomery County is non-existent. Montgomery County’s largest industry is agriculture and Fulton County would be destroying active farmland with most of the proposals. It appears that as long as it’s good for Fulton County, it must be good. I am ashamed to have to have these people represent me.

There has been some suggestion that Montgomery County should purchase the Industrial Park and relocate the Town of Mohawk garage and offices, the D.O.T., and County Annex to the vacant buildings in the Park, All of these I have mentioned are presently located in the flood plain. The parking at the present DSS and DMV location is so congested it would also make sense to relocate these agencies to the Park as well.

There are so many other ideas out there other than the routes proposed by Fulton County and their

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spokesman James Mraz.

Sincerely,

A Montgomery County Supporter

46 2/5/15 No Name Provided Public Comments Website

Comment The routes in the study essentially divide the Town of Mohawk in half. Our fire station is located on Route 30A. How will the proposed routes impact emergency response times? I am especially concerned about the route directly across (west) from the Fonda Fultonville School!!


Comment Many children in the Village of Fonda walk to school. What safety accommodations will be made for them to cross the route proposed along Cemetery Street?


Comment

How dare you!!! One of your routes passes directly over the top of Haven of Hope Farm. FYI, they are a rescue for homeless women with children. I find your reckless and irresponsible approach to the destruction of our community to be disgusting. How will Fulton County and MJ Engineering compensate our community for the loss of this vital shelter?

49 2/8/15 Michael D Public Comments Website

Comment

Posting to lend support against the project, we've been on Switzer Hill for nearly 50 years now, and it is truly home.

I must admit that when I first heard of a 'connector' road to the industrial park I was somewhat happy- that could be nice for the village, alleviating some heavy traffic on the roads and increasing attractiveness for some more businesses in the park. Nobody in Fonda hates Fulton County, numerous work, eat, shop and entertain there. I, like probably many others, assumed this would involve possibly a bridge over near the west side of the village, combined with improvements to, you know, the EXISTING highway that goes right to the park. Obviously a contentious situation, there most likely would be homes lost, but it is important to keep our area growing and planned/prepared for the future.

Then now lo and behold we are getting a proposed hundreds of feet long bridge cutting up SWITZER HILL (go try and drive it during the current winter weather, tell me how fun it is. Now imagine tractor trailers constantly trying to do this), bending right through the Walter Butler site, right by our school then through miles and miles of a series of fairly hilly terrain of farms and family homes.

I do feel for village residents that their lives are impacted by increased traffic and trucks. But the answer to that is not to inconvenience thousands of other residents, make acres and acres of farmland unusable and ruin the area around our gorgeous school campus. Let's not even go into negative of who exactly would be coming through the village if a bypass was done. Would I feel hypocritical that I'm saying I don't want the east side touched, but maybe someone already closer to the existing 30A could give up their property? Well a little, but not really. Their home was chosen knowing it would be on an existing highway and if the effect is on a small group, not literally the entire Town of Mohawk, there is more a reason to go ahead with displacing people. Their sides should/would certainly be heard and if it really does not fit with them it should not be done and residents would then have to deal with the current situation with moderate solutions that could gain some type of positive outcome. There is also actual benefit to displacement for some of those properties because they would get premium prices that just aren't going to be there in resale market.

We can then get in to what may be the most absurd thing of the study, the cost of said project. Is there any way the total comes in under what, 500 million? To think about that amount of money and what it actually could do for this area compared to what benefit this project has me really wondering where motivation keeps coming from for this. Now that the study has been out for a little while and there's been time for everything to sink in and see all the impacts-environment, farms, school, homes, noise, I feel there's enough to warrant not doing this. Hopefully that

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talk on the state realizing it is an absolute waste of money holds up and that can kill this thing for good.

Carving up Montgomery County to benefit Fulton County benefits no one, including Fulton County. They will see the same suffering as the Town of Mohawk would deteriorate because of the highway. Fulton County needs to focus on how to grow in today's age. Tryon technology park could be great, but is a whole new road needed there as well? Maybe existing improvements to 67? There's plenty of empty space needing filling at the existing industrial parks before warranting this highway or any other major additions to the areas infrastructure. Fulton County has all-season tourism available (Skiing, snowmobiling, fishing in winters, boating in the summers, foliage and hunting in the fall) and it's like they do nothing to market or provide additional accommodations and attractions that can really attract additional tourists. They have an attractive community college that can't grow because they can't figure out a water deal for over 10 years. Factories are surely needed but they can be spread out to deter more mainstream traffic and go in existing areas in the counties that would not necessitate such widespread redevelopment. We need to grow together, not apart. Keep one of the better school districts in the area pristine and as is for the whole reason people move to the area, the countryside, should be ANYONE's priority that lives in, works in, and cares about the area.

It's always been my plan to come back and raise my kids there because I know there was not a more perfect place to grow up than with a great community in the peace and quiet. It would just truly be such a shame to see the area destroyed by this highway for really no reason at all.


Comment Following up on my comment #13 on the list, here is the newest study on traffic impacts on children to consider as you site routes dangerously close to our school http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/traffic-pollution-tied-to-slower-cognition-in-schoolchildren-1.2980163

51 3/17/15 David Gurga About Website

Comment

I just want to say that I work part time in Galway and I notice the amount of tractor trailers on my commute. Either stuck behind them or them going by me in the opposite direction. There use to be a tractor trailer driver named Evans who lived across the street from us. I asked him why would so many semi drivers use route 29. His response was to save some money on tolls as they wouldn’t be going to exit 24. So they get off at Fonda. Go up 30 and across 29 to Saratoga to connect with the Northway. So these trucks that everyone is talking about are not necessarily going to the industrial parks in Johnstown but are using these routes is as a short cut and connector to the Thruway and Northway. So if this is built it, will most likely triple the truck traffic and the state Thruway would lose out on more tolls. Dave


Comment

I'd like to add to Dave Gurga's comment, #51 on the list. To truly alleviate the truck traffic in Fonda, the purpose of this project as stated by Fulton County, all the non-local trucks would need to be required to use the connector route as a truck bypass, as I look at the maps that would be very bad if you choose the western route to the rear of the Walmart and increase the number of trucks passing through the poorly maintained roads that already exist within the industrial park, en route to the Northway. Also looking at most of the other routes the trucks heading for Route 29 would simply turn off the connector onto Switzer Hill/Glebe Street or Melcher Street/ Old Johnstown Rd. putting a lot of trucks on roads not designed for them. Glebe and Melcher are narrow residential streets within the City of Johnstown which are difficult enough just for cars to turn onto Route 30A and would be very dangerous for trucks to attempt to make this turn.


Comment

If you haven't already please consult the Fulton County Center For Regional Growth aerial site plan map for the proposed expansion of the Johnstown Industrial Park. The proposed site plan conflicts with the Fonda Connector plan. The western route would need to cross the proposed rail line as well as dissect the proposed expansion area potentially rendering significant acreage undevelopable. In addition the expansion will nearly double the size of the current park. Is the connector roadway being designed to accommodate the anticipated traffic this expansion will

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create? All the connector routes except the western route and the current route appear to end at the Opportunity Drive entrance. If the park nearly doubles in size how will that significant increase in volume of trucks cross route 30A to enter the park without causing extensive traffic delays on Route 30A or the connector road? Please, before you waste anymore taxpayer dollars on this project, ask Fulton County to ask Fulton County what other conflicting projects that Fulton County is working on.


Comment

Route 30A beginning in the Village of Fonda is the NYS Scenic Byway Adirondack Trail. There are many conflicts between the Fonda Connector Study and the corridor management plan. The corridor management plan states as a goal under stewardship to "Preserve the rural and historic character of communities along the Byway." The connector road would not do this.

Also under: Future Stewardship The Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway will require a carefully coordinated effort to effectively safeguard the corridor’s special assets for the future. It is imperative that attention be directed to monitor and maintain the combination of local efforts and existing initiatives operating across the region.

The Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway Steering Committee listed the following priorities to support stewardship and conservation goals for the corridor’s natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources that contribute to the viability of North Country communities. • to protect natural and recreational resources ....Develop a public education program that addresses the problem of invasive plants along the roadway. • to preserve natural resources ... Develop strategies that promote wilderness ethics and support the “leave no trace” concept. •to preserve the community character and quality of life ...Encourage the improvement of roadside aesthetics and local pride

You can find the entire management plan at https://www.dot.ny.gov/content/engineering/Scenic-Byways/Byways-repository/ADKTrailScenicByway-CMP.pdf


Comment

During the week of May 6 a traffic study was conducted along Riverside Drive in Fultonville. This study was conducted during a well publicized one-time event attracting several thousand visitors to the Fonda Fair Grounds. Any use of the information gathered in this traffic study would clearly be a deliberate effort on the part of MJ Engineering and Fulton County to falsely manipulate the Fonda Connector Study Data and to mislead and deceive the residents, farmers and business owners whose properties, homes and livelihoods are being threatened by the despicable actions of MJ Engineering and Fulton County.


Comment

The update to the Town of Mohawk Comprehensive Plan has been completed and accepted by the town board. The Fonda Connector is in direct conflict with the town's updated comprehensive plan. In addition the Town of Mohawk passed resolution 33 formerly opposing the Fonda Connector.

https://www.dot.ny.gov/content/engineering/Scenic-Byways/Byways-repository/ADKTrailScenicByway-CMP.pdf

https://www.dot.ny.gov/content/engineering/Scenic-Byways/Byways-repository/ADKTrailScenicByway-CMP.pdf