Councilman Schneider Moves Out Of Cape Vincent For "Personal Reasons" - Temporarily - But Don't Lose Focus On The Bigger Issue Schneider And His "Judgment" Are Attached To!

There is an article in the Watertown Daily Times about Cape Vincent Councilman Clif Schneider temporarily moving to Sackets due to “personal matters”.   Here is the link below.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20131025/NEWS09/710259741 

This comment was also on the Pandora blog.

 Anonymous said...

One could ponder....why is this article in the online paper edition only?

Maybe it was not "newsworthy" to the print edition?

Maybe Jae Lee was "encouraged" to write it by some/all of those quoted?  

We will never know....but most can make

 a good guess - it is just politics in action! Not worthy of much more thought to me.

So is it newsworthy for the larger NNY readership?  Probably not.  But is it newsworthy for Cape Vincent?  Yup..and it has other real attached implications.  

Legal or not ,when a local councilman moves out of our town, or is involved in personal matters that might impact his judgment and that of others in town govt. that is a matter the CV public should be aware of.  Apparently according to the town attorney it is legal as long as it is temporary.   It is news when the councilman is one of the key architects of the town’s zoning laws, and also the supposed rock solid defense Art. X defense against BP which is the biggest issue this town may ever face.  An approach in my view that is coming apart at the seams!!!

Knowing both Mr. Schneider and Mr. Hirschey personally over the years of the CV wind battle, you might say that this particular councilman is the town  supervisors “brain” on the matter! And you can bet that most of the other town councilpersons are not really in that "loop"!

But don’t get bogged down and lose focus over Schneider’s  “personal issues” even though they are interesting in their relationship to town govt….instead  let’s look at the bigger picture on this matter.  The Art. X Committee that is supposed to be the "zoning geniuses" including Schneider, protecting our town from BP.

Rick Wiley on his blog JLL likes to strut around telling everyone how wonderful  the CV Art X committee is, upon which Councilman Schneider is a key central figure and how even other towns should be looking to us for guidance on the matter…really????

Actually Wiley should be embarrassed!

Well what do ya say we look at the “zoning geniuses” that make up the CV Art. X committee .  Here are the CV Art X committee members.

Urban Hirschey – Town Supervisor

Mr. Hirschey is up to his eyeballs in a solar zoning fiasco having put up a illegal solar project, because he did not read the zoning law he wrote.  Then he took his solar project down and it is in limbo.  The CV  Zoning Enforcement Officer he voted to appoint, and who at one time built a house without a permit,  gave him an illegal improper permit for the solar project.  It looks like the CV Zoning Board of Appeals will give Hirschey a variance that will allow his project, but the only way they can do that is by ignoring a part of our new existing zoning  law!!! And two other people on that ZBA are Ed Hludzenski and Dennis Faulknham are also on the Art. X committee…how cozy!  

Clif Schneider – CV Councilman

Moves out of town embroiled in  “personal matters.”  Personal  matters that may have a direct impact on the moral and effectiveness of the Art X committee.    Other persons on this committee also have distracting “personal matters” as well.   Clif was one of the big promoters of solar in the zoning law.  Now come to find out that the town is claiming the solar zoning is not consistent and is confusing because it was rushed in a frantic panic  to appease the State and Art. X.  And now this solar zoning has created a huge embarrassing  zoning fiasco that involved serious violations of one CV citizens rights, and now involves the town supervisor Mr. Hirschey.

Geeee ... How we doing so far?

Bob Brown – CV Planning Board

Another architect of the zoning law also caught up in the solar zoning fiasco.  Apparently wrote a law he can’t read or apply correctly.  If I had not intervened on the solar issue it is very likely in my opinion that he along with Dick Macsherry of the PB would have approved an illegal solar project.  On video of the planning board on 7/10/13 you can see Brown  flipping through both old and new zoning laws as he attempts to “educate”  the solar applicant on the regulations for solar zoning…yet he fails to see table 8 that clearly shows this solar project would be illegal as proposed!  He also as part of a bogus explanation to justify the actions of the planning board gives a “lecture” on special use permits that he and his planning board get partially wrong according to state zoning regulations.  Also very likely in my opinion he knew of Hirschey’s improper solar project.

Dick Macsherry – Planning Board

Also helped write the new CV zoning but apparently doesn’t understand it and table 8 in the law that clearly makes the proposed  Alexander solar project illegal. He even went so far as to set a public hearing on an illegal solar use.  Then in a scramble to justify the actions of the town on this solar fiasco  implies we should not take our law so “literally”.  Now consider that our only protections in the CV zoning regulations on wind development ,like setbacks, we have that stand between us and BP and the future of our community would be USELESS if not applied “literally”.  Mr. Macsherry also suggests we should not second guess the judgment of our zoning enforcement officer even though he has badly screwed up two solar project permits…one belonging to the town supervisor!!!   Seriously????  All of this which badly aggrieved a fellow CV citizen.  And apparently Dick would like to scrutinized certain people emails surrounding this solar zoning fiasco...yeah that sounds like a brilliant idea.  Of course it is not surprising since he defended Rienbeck trying to illegally throw out John Byrne who was legally using a camera to record old town board and planning board meetings.  I'm so glad Mr. Macsherry who is a key figure in our zoning process has such a solid grasp on Constitutional free speech  issues! Same guy who was once previously running for town council shoulder to shoulder with the Rienbeck candidates.

Dennis Faulknham – ZBA

When Mary Grogan challenged the Alexander solar project she asked Faulknham about an appeal before his board.  He wasn’t sure how to start it, and told her it was a legally issued permit and she probably could not win anyhow.  Geee..it appears Mr. Faulknham’s  mind was  real objective and unbiased , since he should have been neutral until he actually heard the appeal!!!   I wonder if the fact that the town supervisor had an illegal solar project up had any influence on that?  And that it went up when Faulknham’s ZBA should have been intimately involved in the permit but never was.  Then it took three weeks for the ZBA to find the right form for Mrs. Grogan to fill out.

Then in  the appeal hearing on video  Faulknham says the actions of the town to approve the illegal solar permit would not have been what he would have done and it would not hold up in court…but votes to approve the permit anyhow.  Also his board became involved in the solar permit fiasco scramble and sanitization PRIOR to the appeal, which is totally improper, even by state statutes.  How do you fairly hear an appeal when you have actually been involved in the process that screwed up the permit under appeal!!! Now that is a real winner!!!  Then Faulknham in considering the town supervisors variance on his illegal solar project basically says they will just ignore a part of the law they think is confusing, and if people don’t like it then they can sue.  Great logic!!!  So does this mean we throw one CV citizen under the bus on one illegal solar zoning fiasco, but will ignore the law for the supervisor’s illegal solar project???? Maybe that is not the intent but it sure doesn’t smell good or look good.

Ed Hludzenski  - ZBA

In the appeal on the solar fiasco permit Mr. Hludzenski  on video admits it was wrong, even says there will be consequences down the road and the town’s actions are indefensible, yet votes to approve the permits anyhow!

And virtually all the person above on the Art.X committee make the excuse to allow the solar fiasco permit because they claim the applicant has a significant investment in the project.  He is “vested” and should be able to put it up, even though it is illegal and the permits all screwed up…the entire process was screwed up.  Yet when asked if there are any receipts that would actually PROVE what the applicants investment really is…they can’t produce any, and the applicant was never asked for any.

They are simply taking the word of a couple zoning officers who don’t have a clue about solar equipment and are just taking the word of the applicant…keeping in mind that the same people are the ones who wrote  what they are now claiming is a screwed  up solar  portion of our zoning, and badly mis-applied our new zoning on this solar fiasco!  So we will just take THEIR word!!!

Yup that ought to do it…we don’t want to get all bogged down in actual receipts or PROOF.  Especially since the town supervisor has an illegal solar project under consideration!!!

And there ladies and gentlemen are the "zoning geniuses" of our Cape Vincent Art. X Committee that the entire fate of our community hangs on their judgment!!!! 

These are the “zoning experts” Wiley at JLL is suggesting other communities should be using as a shining example!!! These are the people that hired an expensive lawyer to help write a brand new zoning law apparently they can’t read or apply correctly...

... right down to the supervisor’s permit!

Doesn’t exactly leave me brimming with confidence.  But as the Hirschey candidate campaign slogan says...

"Let's Keep The Progress Going!!!"

Another election with "great" choices!