Letter from Wendy W. Smith

Why Weren’t Residents Notified?

I am writing about the impending Lakefront Viewing Platform slated to be built out over the water at the end of Pioneer Street that is now out to bid. Some of us on the block have only just found out about this project moving forward through contractors bidding on it. While I am not in favor of this project in this location, my letter today is about the failure of the village to inform anyone who will be directly impacted by this project, the absence of any public notification, transparency, or due process in the pursuit of this public works project. 

The worst affected by this failure in transparency are my new neighbors, Wayne and Peggy Hymers, at 2 Pioneer Street. The Hymers bought 2 Pioneer in early 2024 and were ready to get to work on their dream home. If you follow real estate in town, you know that Wayne and Peggy paid a handsome price to have a home on the water and in town. The problem is, the way the village has been functioning, there was no way for them to know that a public works project was about to be built next to their home in a space where usable land currently doesn’t exist. Their real estate agent didn’t tell them, nor did the agent representing the seller; if the agents knew, and didn’t tell them, that would be grounds for a lawsuit, so I suspect they didn’t know. 

There was no public hearing, there were no notifications in mailboxes to residents in the area, and there were no posted signs in the area to advise people that in a certain amount of time the Village of Cooperstown would be building a viewing platform that would enable every tourist and local who wanted to use the platform to have a perfect view directly into the Hymers’ front yard and living room. I imagine the Hymers’ property values have fallen, or will when the platform is built. They will also have the added joy of people essentially hanging out in their front yard at all hours, which is not what they signed up for when they purchased the property.

The point is that with the proper notification from the village, the Hymers would have had the ability to make an informed choice about their purchase. They could have negotiated a better price, knowing that a public works project was going to be built next door, or they could have walked away and purchased somewhere else, but now they are stuck with this situation. I understand that this is not a zoning issue, so apparently notification is not required, but is that right?  

When the project was up for consideration under the DRI proposal, people could weigh in for the state to judge the projects. I know much of our block of Pioneer Street rejected the project, but those comments were not made public. On Pioneer Street, we know that we live near a park, so we are ready to accept a certain amount of noise and activity, but we are already at our limit and it will only intensify with the Lakefront Viewing Platform.

Since it was first brought up in its various forms and quests for funding, this project has been extremely difficult to follow online. While there are a bunch of links about the project, they are confusing and often conflicting. The first time I see a mention there was a 2018 grant to explore and create a possible design for the platform. It doesn’t seem to appear again until the pursuit of the DRI grant, then that morphed into NY Forward, but it was not funded through either of these grants and in one article it says it was slated for a future pipeline. Then suddenly, this year, buried in village meeting notes that I now see, the project was voted on and has been quietly underway with no notice beyond that. I would say the most unsettling part is that I specifically called the village about the issue this June, was told that the project was slated for construction in 2028, and that there would be public hearings. Based on that information I thought I had time, but now I know that information was false and I do feel mislead by the village.  

Quite honestly, the only way I would have really known the course of this project would be to be in government or go to every village meeting. While I appreciate the civic spirit in that, it is simply not possible for everyone to do that. For that reason, most municipalities prefer to send notices to neighbors about upcoming projects that will directly affect them so there can be a discussion period and have people weigh in on what will be happening in their community. Perhaps therein lies the rub.

I know that there are always going to be projects that I like and projects I don’t like, but that isn’t the point. The point is process, and without it, one will always feel like a fast one is being pulled. Transparent process can make a good project better and strengthen community. Transparent process can also identify why weak projects will not serve the community. Lack of a fair and informed process encourages distrust and an unwillingness to put aside individual desires for the good of the village. Without a fair process people can feel duped and may feel the need to defend themselves. In this instance, if the Hymers felt the need to defend their interests through a lawyer, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Wendy W. Smith
Cooperstown