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Thursday, October 5, 2006
Promises for Linden Avenue Project
By JIM AUSTIN
Editor
Officials were cautioned last week about making promises they might not be able to keep in regard to the Linden Avenue project.
Last week, during the technical committee's second meeting with representatives from CLA Site, the firm hired to do the site assessment and design work, and some of the project's stakeholders, Bassett Hospital vice-president Joe Middleton said that it was ``way to early in the project'' to start making promises.
Middleton, a member of the technical committee, said there are limitations to what can be accomplished in the project.
``We want to be careful about discussing specific deliverables this early in the project,'' he said.
Mayor Carol Waller said she hoped Linden Avenue would remain primarily residential on the Walnut St. end and that some of the school bus traffic could be reduced. The mayor suggested that maybe a second road off Route 28 was needed that ran directly to the school.
``Don't jump to conclusions about new entrances,'' said CLA Site principal Peter Loyola. He said they must first determine what is here currently, define the traffic characteristics and seek solutions to bottlenecks which may arise at different times of day.
Waller commented that she believed there was a real safety issue with an oil company and the entrance to the school located near each other.
``That's why I think we need another entrance to the area,'' she said.
Loyola, who acknowledged it was a sensitive subject, asked about the possibility of combining the school's ballfields and those for Cooperstown Youth Baseball in a design that makes more efficient use of space. The ballfields would still be separate and not shared, he said.
Brad Feik, representing the youth baseball program reiterated the group's willingness to look at any proposal.
``I think we're willing to move if it provided the same amenities we have available to use now because everything is ideal for the size of the program,'' Feik said.
Land will be a limiting factor so rather scatter them around the project area, cluster them together, suggested Otsego town supervisor Tom Breiten, another member of the project's technical committee.
Loyola also asked about parking and whether they should focus on a design that concentrates it in one lot or spread out in smaller parking lots.
He said they plan to begin interviewing stakeholders to understand their desires and objectives.
Property owners/stakeholders identified during the meeting include: village of Cooperstown, Bassett Healthcare, town of Otsego, residents of Linden Avenue, Cooperstown Youth Baseball, charisma Partners/Clerk Foundation, NYSEG, Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society, Otsego County, Cooperstown Central School and Linden Avenue businesses.
The group also identified as interested parties: the Chamber of Commerce, Wilber Bank, NYSDOT, and the Walking Example Group.
The committee did not schedule its next meeting, but decided to wait to hear when officials from the Federal Transportation Administration when they would be available to discuss the mechanics of how the federal appropriation will be disbursed to the village.
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