Letter to the Editor

In response to an editorial published in the Daily Gazette on December 1, 2017 titled “Let voters vote on
town hall”, the Duanesburg Town Board felt it necessary to clarify and/or respond to several points that
were made in it.

First and foremost, it is of utmost importance to our Board that the residents of Duanesburg understand
that no final decision on a relocation of Town Hall has been, or will be made until our residents are fully
informed of the options and related costs, and have an opportunity to provide input and express their
opinions.

Secondly, regarding permitting the residents to vote on whether to move forward with purchasing and
moving to a new location, the Board absolutely has no objection to this. However, it is still very early in
what would likely be a long process. It is simply premature to have a vote on this potential action when
the Board still does not have a handle on the ultimate scope and costs. We are actively working on
gathering all this information. Once all the details have been determined, the Board will hold a public
hearing and a walk-through of the property. There will be time for the residents to request a vote at a
more appropriate time should it be desired. This Board will not move ahead with something this
impactful, regardless of how positive it believes it might be, if it were against the wishes of a majority of
the Town’s residents.

Third, the editorial urged the Board to enlist an engineer to develop and cost out the full scope of this
potential move. Precisely. The Board couldn’t agree more. That’s why the Board has already done just
that. We have met with our Town Engineer several times already to share details, ideas and thoughts
regarding feasibility, and we will be meeting with this engineering firm again within a week. It is
precisely why a vote by the residents at this point in the process does not make sense.

There are numerous reasons why the Board unanimously agrees that a move to this new location
deserves serious consideration. In fact, the reasons are too numerous to fully detail here and it is
beyond the scope of the editorial. But these details will be documented fully and presented to our
residents at a public hearing as soon as it is practical. The Board very much looks forward to this
opportunity because we are excited by the potential that this property holds and believe our residents
will be too. But the Board cannot do this before it can provide answers to the many questions that our
residents will want and should have answered.