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To the citizens of the Town of Bolton:
Sometimes it takes a while to get the minutes of our regular Thursday meetings refined and printed. Unfortunately, this can create delays in getting information regarding the Board of Directors actions, to the public. We have accomplished a great deal in a very short period of time. We will double our efforts to get the meeting minutes posted on the Bolton website in a timely manner. As a new procedure, we will post our written meeting agendas on Friday, following the regular 4:30 PM Thursday meeting. In addition, from time to time we will post additional information, and will answer questions raised by citizens. We are planning on creating and distributing via US Mail at least one more informational newsletter. Recently, Janet French wrote a letter to the Post Star and to the Mirror. We would like to answer to the best of our ability, and with the information we currently possess, all of the very good questions she raised. If we do not have an answer, we will say so. Here are our responses to points she raised: 1) What was formed was the Bolton Local Development Corporation (LDC), not the Bolton Land development Corporation. 2) By State law, the LDC can do things a Town cannot, such as buy an existing business, but there are many restrictions in the State-granted Charter covering what the LDC can and cannot do. 3) Negotiations are in progress between the LDC and DEC regarding what practical part DEC will play, such as dock space for DEC boats, office and storage space, etc. These negotiations will result in the creation of a Conservation Easement. For a good description of just what a Conservation Easement is, please see the last issue of Adirondack Life. 4) Who will do the hiring? The BLDC will. 5) How many employees are needed? Current projections indicate 10-12. The final figure will depend on what the Marina will do. 6) What will be the pay scales? Probably in the vicinity of what the current Norowal employees are getting. Pay will depend upon job scope, depth, knowledge, experience, and length of work week for salaried personnel. 7) What about benefits and unemployment? Everything legally required will be provided. Other benefits are currently under review. 8) Who keeps records and does payroll? The head cashier will accomplish these items, assisted by a new computer containing MS Office and Quickbooks. Curtis Murphy and Jeffries will probably provide accounting advice, and an auditor will be recommended by CM & J. 9) Present plans call for the elimination of the convenience store (let Tops or a replacement store do it), a scaled-down marine store, and gasoline sales. 10) As far as the reference to “unfinished projects”, that should be directed to the Town Board, not the BLDC. 11) Regarding the reference to zoning changes, etc.: The BLDC looked at a number of avenues to accomplish the safest way to ensure giving the boating population access to Lake George in perpetuity, and the current arrangement of having the State of New York and The Town of Bolton agree to a “pooling-of-funds” arrangement to purchase Norowal turned out to be the best. Advice from three lawyers familiar with the proposed purchase indicated that zoning and deed restrictions are fairly easy to change in the future. We do not want to take that chance. We hope that we have sufficiently answered these very timely questions.
Mr. Daniel Beehan Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Dear Dan: Many thanks for taking all of the time you did to write to the Bolton Local Development Corporation (BLDC). Rest assured, your comments and questions are not being ignored. Shortly after receiving your letter, I quickly volunteered to answer all of your very timely questions, although I quickly determined that a thorough set of answers would take a long time to formulate. As I mentioned briefly to you on the phone a few minutes ago, I will repeat your questions and then answer them, so that my response letter can then be posted on the town web site. I appreciate your telling me that a written response is not needed, but I would like to respond anyway, even though you think that most if not all of your questions were answered at our recent informational meeting. QUES 1: Have all other options for private business working with the town and or state to ensure the town’s ultimate goal of public access been thoroughly investigated and exhausted? ANS 1: There are two general answers to this question. 1) To date, no one has made a tangible or definite offer either to Buzz Lamb or to the BLDC, and we have made it clear that we would seriously consider any such offer. 2) Three different attorneys and one State Senator have advised us that any restrictions in any deed or sales agreement can be ruled null and void in a court action based on a financial hardship plea lodged by a purchaser. We ultimately decided not to take that risk. QUES 2: In this stock sales/purchase the BLDC is pursuing, what are the current and future liabilities including legal actions, both real and potential? ANS 2: Council has advised us that the Norowal Corporation will be liquidated immediately after the closing. No one at this point in time, buyer and seller and respective attorneys, are knowledgeable of any legal actions in progress or pending. What legal actions will happen in the future is impossible to predict. We have arranged for an adequate insurance package with Community Insurance Company. A thorough ground inspection has been conducted to ensure that there is no sub surface contamination. Your comment that there are two members of the BLDC who also are Town Board members is accurate. We do not feel that there is any conflict of interest here because both the BLDC and the Town Board want the same thing, i.e., to see the BLDC become owner of the marina. The interlocking directorship is allowed for by law, and further, the cross pollination is very good for accurate communication among everybody involved with the project. QUES 3: What happens when the BLDC (of whom I estimate their average age to be between 60-65 years old) no longer feels like running the Norowal site as a volunteer hobby business? Is there a plan for the inevitable replacement of BLDC members and what happens if new board members should no longer want to run a marina? ANS 3: Yes, we all are volunteers for this enormous task, and yes, your estimate of the average age is right on, I believe. I think, however, that your feeling that we on the board look at this very important job as some type of hobby is quite far from the truth. With the enormous amount of work this job has entailed, along with an equally enormous amount of time involved, I do not think that this volunteer position can be described as a hobby. Present thinking is that we should institute term limits for board members with initial time frames that allow for one replacement each year. This would keep at least four experienced members on the board at all times. Some seem to think that we should draw on retired business people who have a great deal of experience in running a small business. We would continue with the present committee structure. New board members would know going in that the job to be accomplished is that of running a partial service marina. QUES 4: Do any of the board members have experience in managing an operation like Norowal? ANS 4: The present board and committee members comprise a well balanced management team consisting of a marina owner, a marina manager, a retired local business owner, a retired owner and manager of income and shelter producing real estate at several locations, two attorneys, and a college professor who teaches small business management at ACC. One board member is a former employee of the Norowal Corporation. All of the people involved have many years of boating experience. One board member holds a 50 ton Coast Guard license. Two are retired airline captains. All have experience managing employees or team members. All are knowledgeable of the Lake George region and the summertime tourist economy. Most have high level contacts in the fields of accounting, law, and banking. QUES 5: Is the BLDC prepared to meet the requirements of OSHA, Workers’ Comp, Insurance regulations, Chemical Compliance, Waste disposal, NYS DEC rules and regulations, LGPC marina operating permit requirements? Is the BLDC prepared to deal with training, scheduling, hiring, firing, the replacement of employees, and dealing with customers and their issues? Is the BLDC prepared for accounts payables, bad debt, delinquent accounts, budgeting, and capital improvements? ANS 5: Yes, to all questions. Either the board, its employees, its professional advisors (lawyers, accountants, bankers, insurance brokers, etc.) will handle all of the issues you raised. QUES 6: Typically, before a business like Norowal is purchased, some type of existing conditions study or report is completed and analyzed. I would speculate if an existing conditions report has been completed on Norowal Marina, the following would be of concern: For the size of boats on Lake George and the amenities included on the newer boats:
1) the dock system is marginal 2) the shore power electrical is inadequate 3) the launch ramp is in need of major renovations 4) the public shower rooms are in need of major renovations
Is the BLDC prepared for this type of required expertise and capital expenditures? ANS 6: We are aware of the conditions you have referenced, but we do not share your level of need. We have planned on retaining a full time maintenance man during the summer season who will maintain these facilities. QUES 7: Does the BLDC plan on managing the Norowal site as a “1st class marina” or a “no frills launch site”? Either management style will have the relative reflection on the Town of Bolton. ANS 7: Our present plans call for operating the marina as primarily a boat launch and retrieval facility, complete with customer parking. We will also offer 50 dock spaces for seasonal and transient boat parking, along with gasoline sales and a limited number of items in a small marine store. The agreement we have reached with NYSDEC in a conservation easement allows for 215 linear feet of dock space to be used by DEC for boat parking, along with a small amount of building space to be used also by DEC.
All of the previously listed uses will be accomplished in an effective and efficient manner. QUES 8: Is the Bolton public works department expected to pick up the repairs and maintenance of the Norowal buildings, vehicles, docks, and property? If so, will they be hiring more employees to handle the additional workload? ANS 8: We plan on hiring a full time maintenance person to accomplish the functions you have listed. QUES 9: What is the projected difference in sales tax revenue between the full service marina Mr. Lamb currently operates and the scaled down launch/parking version the BLDC is proposing? ANS 9: For a total sales tax figure, you need to contact Mr. Lamb. We do not have those figures. Dock space rentals are not sales taxable, and the same applies to launching and retrieving. We will collect sales taxes on parking, gasoline sales, and miscellaneous items we may carry in a scaled down marine store, pump outs, and winter storage. We estimate sales tax collections on these items to be $41,383.79 QUES 10: Will the BLDC and NYS DEC continue to pay the $17,500 taxes that Mr. Lamb currently pays, or will the not-for-profit corporation be exempt from this? ANS 10: The BLDC is in fact exempt from these taxes, but is planning on making a payment in lieu of taxes when the operation is solidly in the black. QUES 11: What is the BLDC’s business plan? What are the next planned acquisitions and what schedule should we expect? ANS 11: The BLDC has no business plan, and is currently not planning on any more acquisitions. The BLDC has, however formulated a very extensive business plan for the marina. It is approximately 95% complete. Some items need to be added to the appendix, such as the DEC Conservation Easement. It is available upon request. QUES 12: Should the BLDC consider allowing private business to continue operating Norowal as a marina and save their bed tax dollars for the next property acquisition(s) that inevitably will be on the horizon? ANS 12: We did consider what you suggested. For a more complete answer, please see Ques. and Ans 1. QUES 13: The position that”The State has to do this or boaters will not be able to get to the Islands and then DEC would lose millions in revenue” is weak at best. There are plenty of other marinas on the lake that are capable of launching boats and parking cars. Perhaps the Lake George Park Commission and the NYSDEC could work together to ensure marinas lake wide have the opportunity to enjoy the increased distributed business. ANS 13: We are not aware of the “millions” you referenced. Our data show annual revenue between $450,000 and $900,000, depending on occupancy factors.
We are also not aware of another centrally-located marina with the extensive parking facilities Norowal has.
We do not know what you mean by coordination between NYSDEC and the LGPC. QUES 14: Why didn’t the BLDC buy Tops supermarket? I overheard one lifelong Bolton resident state, and I quote, ”It would seem the town’s people would be better served to have a place to shop for food year round than to have a place to launch boats they don’t own. ANS 14: We believe that the answer is moot, due to the recent announcement that Tops is selling its Bolton store to one of its suppliers. Dan, I hope that all of your questions have been answered to your satisfaction. If not. Please get in touch and I will try to get more answers for you. Many thanks for your interest.
Sincerely, J. Buckley Bryan, Jr. Board member, BLDC
Dear Mr. Freidin,
Please accept our apologies for the delay in our response to your correspondence. You raise some very good questions and we would like to take this opportunity to respond. 1. The BLDC does have a business plan. The plan is still in draft form and will not be available for public review until it is finalized. We anticipate this will be in the very near future. Our business plan formulation involves use of all of the tools and resources at our disposal including actual Norowal income and expense statements for the last five years, current market research from other Lake George marina’s, a feasibility analysis prepared by ELAN Planning and Design and Paradigm Consulting, accounting analysis by Curtis, Murphy and Jeffrey’s LLP, legal counsel from Michael Muller Esq. and input from BLDC board members and advisors. BLDC income and expense projections utilized are extremely conservative. The plan is to streamline the existing marina operation.. The public marina concept will maximize lake access for boaters, fisherman and tourists with the assurance that public lake accessibility will remain available in perpetuity, 2. In the event the BLDC becomes insolvent the primary mortgage lender would have a security interest that includes a privilege to foreclose against the property. To the extent that New York State participates in the project, the state legislature could secure its position and perpetuate public access by satisfying the mortgage. A conservation easement created to guarantee the property’s use to as a public marina and public access site can only be rescinded by an act of the New York State legislature. 3. In any bank foreclosure the property can only be sold by court order to the highest bidder subject to the conservation easement. If sold to a private marina operator pursuant to such a sale the property would still remain subject to the terms of the Conservation Easement. 4. While state law does prohibit municipalities from undertaking stock acquisitions (buying businesses), a local government is permitted in partnership with an LDC to make such acquisitions. As to the spirit of acquisition, it is not uncommon for municipalities to purchase real estate for public access and recreation. Public parks, beach access, parking lots and recreational facilities are routinely acquired and operated by municipalities to accommodate the needs of the public. In as much as the primary objective at the Norowal site will be to assure “public access to Lake George” the acquisition is very much in the “spirit” of municipal ownership for the benefit of the public. Only the BLDC and not the Town Board, will be responsible for the selection of future BLDC board members. It should also be noted that our legal counsel has exhaustively researched the subject of BLDC Directors/Officers “conflicts of interest” and none presently exist. Moreover in conformity with Internal Revenue Code requirements each BLDC board member has agreed in writing to a mandatory conflicts and disclosure policy should a possible conflict arise in the future. An LDC is a quasi-governmental entity with Not for Profit Corporation status that works for the interest of the Town. 5. The occupancy tax grant received by the BLDC is not required to be repaid as that source of funding remains consistent with the legislative act creating the tax and its lawful expenditure. What future occupancy tax grants or loans may be made available to future BLDC boards from future Town boards remains open to specific agreement at the time of the loan or grant . 6. There is really no lawful procedure to present this acquisition to voters by referendum. The BLDC has no authority to hold a voter referendum. The law requires very specific criteria to trigger a referendum at the town level. Town transactions not involving taxpayer long term borrowing or the encumbrance of town property with long-term debt/security usually constitute the criteria ‘triggering’ a permissive referendum. None of those criteria apply here. 7. Norowal is presently paying real property taxes and school taxes on the assessed value of the real estate. The sale price of $4.5 million represents the combined value of real estate and the value of business assets unrelated to real property . This includes all of the assets of the business (rental boats, inventory, cash, goodwill, etc.). Just as the contents a residence are not assessed for real property tax purposes, the Norowal’s business assets are not assessed as part of its real estate. To estimate the Town’s tax revenue loss on what “might be” remains purely speculative and inapplicable for “value” comparative purposes. The greater concern is the impact to the Town’s economy should the Norowal “access” be lost to private development which excludes public access. To put it into perspective if there was a tax revenue increase of $65,000 per year (from Norowal development) it would allow a .065 cent/per 1000 decrease in the tax rate. The savings on your $1.8 million assessment would $117.00 annually. The risk of your tax burden increasing significantly should the Town’s economy be damaged by the loss of 46,000 visitors per year and the devaluation of non-lake front properties due to the loss of public lake access far outweighs the potential savings you might enjoy should an additional $65,000 of tax revenue become available. This type of analysis is not sheer “guess work” but rather information considered and provided for in the type of reports and materials considered by the BLDC in furthering the project. 8. The fact that Lake George is being over used by boat traffic has not been factually established. Neither has the fact that any one type of boat usage, transient vs. resident, is in any way more abusive to the lake. Lake George is a resource that belongs to the people of the State of New York and all New Yorkers should be able to access it’s waters. Conservation and preservation of this valuable resource should be our highest priority, and education and enforcement are our greatest tools in that cause. Limiting access is not in the peoples’ or the Towns best interest.
Sincerely, B.L.D.C.
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