<body><div>GUILDERLAND — Supervisor Peter Barber went back and forth with one resident over stalled redevelopment at Western Avenue and Foundry Road at the town board’s Nov. 5 meeting and faced criticism from another who said he ignores people.The first, John Haluska, pressed Barber on the long-vacant buildings at the corner of Western Avenue and Foundry Road and came away with the supervisor’s account of what is holding up redevelopment there: The state Department of Transportation has yet to sign off on a redesigned turn lane that would require narrowing the travel lanes on Route 20 to 11 feet.The second, John Decatur, told Barber he needed “a good dose of humble pie” for engaging with some speakers while, Decatur said, offering nothing to a resident who had asked the board for a public hearing on the town’s use of Flock license-plate cameras.<h2>Foundry Road</h2>Haluska, who has repeatedly addressed the topic of deteriorating properties, opened by handing board members a response he said he had received from Theresa Bohl to a proposal he had put to the town.The Markstone Group has proposed Foundry Square as a development with apartments and commercial space in two four-story buildings at the intersection of Routes 20 and Foundry Road. The roughly 13-acre site includes the former Master Cleaners brownfield. In January 2025, the board set a maximum of 260 apartments for the proposal. Its determinations required a three-story facade along Western Avenue; its recommendations included increasing fourth-floor setbacks or eliminating the fourth floor. Haluska has proposed to halve the value of the long-vacant parcels but continue to bill Bohl at the properties’ current assessed rate, using the difference — approximately $20,000 in Haluska’s estimation — to mow the grounds, remove debris, and begin demolition of the site’s dilapidated structures. An assessment determines taxable value; it does not itself set the tax bill.Reading from what he said was Bohl’s response, Haluska said she had written that the DOT approved the last traffic plan but the town did not, so it had to be redone, and that the new plan needed state approval before it could go before the board. Haluska said Bohl’s response emphasized that she wanted the property fixed.He asked what the town’s problem had been with the plan the state approved.“John, typically, I wouldn’t be going back and forth, but I’ll repeat what I said previously,” Barber said.The state, Barber said, had approved intersection improvements, including on Foundry Road, but had not considered a turn lane on Route 20 for the left turn onto Willow Street, which meets Route 20 across from Foundry Road.“We asked them to take a look at that because that was a major concern of cars being rear-ended,” Barber said.The new design took a couple of months, Barber said, was prepared by an outside firm for the applicant, and “is now in front of DOT for the final OK.”Haluska asked when an answer might be expected.“Don’t know,” Barber said, “because I asked Ken [Kovalchik], my town planner, who’s in regular contact with DOT, and he said they’re still working on it. So I don’t know.”The state does its own counts and its own assessment, Barber said. Haluska called the process a bureaucracy.Later, Haluska asked if the town could push the state along.“We’re asking them to do something that they typically don’t do, which is reducing the width of their road,” Barber said. “We’re asking them for a favor.”He continued, “They want 14-foot width. That road is 12. We want to reduce it to 11, so they can fit the turn lane in.”And if the state says no?“That’s up to the applicant to decide,” Barber said.<h2>‘Humble pie’</h2>Decatur said he had watched the past two or three town board meetings and had seen resident Nico Cosenza address the board on a subject he cared about.Cosenza in October requested a public hearing on the town’s use of Flock cameras; Guilderland Police have five of the surveillance devices, four fixed license-plate readers and one rotatable video camera.“It really upset me that, supervisor, you couldn’t even give him the time of day, and it bothered me, and that’s why I’m here tonight,” Decatur said.Decatur said he had sent “a nasty email” to Councilman Jacob Crawford, for which he apologized, and that Crawford told him he had thanked Cosenza for coming.“But what I don’t like is you give certain individuals you have open dialogue with them, like John and other people,” Decatur said of Haluska. “But Nico, you couldn’t even give him the courtesy, and he’s a young gentleman that was, you know, like I said, very passionate about a subject.”He went on, “It’s very rude. You’ve done it to me before when I’ve come up here, and I don’t like it.”“A good leader would have thanked Nico for the passion and maybe even suggested setting up a meeting with the police chief, opening it up to others and letting both sides discuss their viewpoints,” he said.Decatur said the cameras did not affect him and that he expected they would be used. He also expressed respect for the police department and suggested having the town’s grant writer look into possible funding related to the cameras.After Decatur finished, Barber moved on to the agenda.</div></body>

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GUILDERLAND — Supervisor Peter Barber went back and forth with one resident over stalled redevelopment at Western Avenue and Foundry Road at the town board’s Nov. 5 meeting and faced criticism from another who said he ignores people. The first, John Haluska, pressed Barber on the long-vacant buildings...

Resident faults Barber over Flock response; Foundry redevelopment awaits DOT

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GUILDERLAND — Supervisor Peter Barber went back and forth with one resident over stalled redevelopment at Western Avenue and Foundry Road at the town board

Resident faults Barber over Flock response; Foundry redevelopment awaits DOT

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