At the 17:00 mark of the video:
Ray McDonald has an issue
and wants a guarantee.
Says he talked with Bob Ewing
of the DEC.
The road could fail, meteors could hail,
water mains could break, the slope could shake!
Here a failure, there a failure, everywhere a slope failure!
Ray says that he is uncomfortable with the wording of a sentence on pg. 4 regarding Traffic and Newport Road that states: "while there is no guarantee of when or if the aforementioned road maintenance will proceed........" Ray goes on to say that "that is correct, however in talking with the DEC......what WE'VE uncovered, basically.....is that the stability or viability of the road....what the road is built on....is an issue."
Really? WE'VE uncovered this, have WE? Where are the engineering reports on the stability of the slope under the road? Why wasn't this information brought to the attention of the Planning Board at a previous meeting when it was appropriate to do so?
Ray said that he contacted Robert Ewing of the DEC - who has never been to the Newport site - and then uses vague references to his conversation with this man as evidence that the Town needs to fix the slope!
Call Robert Ewing yourself and ask him if he's ever been to Newport Road in Irondequoit, N.Y., and what his testimony is on it. I'll bet that you won't get any "testimony".
Robert Ewing
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
NYS DEC, Division of Environmental Permits
625 Broadway, Albany NY 12233-1750
518- 402-9158
A resident has made a call to Robert Ewing, and this is what was apparently said: (Hey, if a PB member can refer to anecdotal comments - why can't I?)
"I called Albany and asked to speak with Robert Ewing. I asked Robert Ewing if he had a discussion with Ray McDonald and if he was familiar with the Newport Road Project? He said he had a brief conversation and that Ray wanted to find a way to make the incoming Board do the road. Robert Ewing's response in regard to being familiar with Newport Road...."No, not at all", "I know there is a Bay down there, but I am in Albany." So Robert has no idea what Ray McDonald is referring to and is just aware that there is a "bay" in Irondequoit. WONDERFUL. Mr McDonald should be removed from the planning board for Lying and Misleading the entire town and other board members. Gee Ray, did you think I can't make a 10 minute call to Albany???? Do you think I would take your word for anything? How much money do you think Mancini gave the Democratic Party? Hmmmmmmmm"
Ray goes on to say that if we DON'T fix the slope, that we are playing Russian Roulette, we have to tell people to tiptoe down the road, (which is totally false btw).....morally and ethically - he wants a guarantee that the slope will be fixed and the road will be reconstructed.
He is not comfortable moving forward without a guarantee.
At the 20:25 mark of the video, Ray states that in 2002 FEMA viewed the road as "almost a natural disaster".
Really? Did they declare that? Let's take a look at FEMA's report then:
The FEMA report is from 2004, not 2002, and it clearly states:
"While the road reportedly experienced some distress as a result of the incident, there was no evidence of significant damage."
"Other than a few cracks and the asphalt patches, there was no apparent damage to the road, and no apparent failure of the slope below the road in the form of a slide."
They did observe that there was "curvature of tree trunks" - similar to the tree trunks at the German Village slope failure site.
That's the "almost a natural disaster"?
Seriously?
Marty Piecuch, in September 2009 says:
"You have my assurance that any work that is undertaken on Newport Hill will be absolutely necessary in order to fulfill the Town's responsibilities, nothing more and nothing less."
No guarantee.
Mark Colangelo, Commissioner of Public Works, in December 2002 says:
"The plan calls for close monitoring of areas around the road and the road itself. Monitoring will be done 3 times a year with special equipment to detect and inform us of any potential problems."
No guarantee, and.....with all that monitoring there has been no indication that the slope or road would fail.
In a previous blog I stated why I thought the resolution to bond a million dollars (BEFORE the Town Board ever saw the engineering report!)to fix a road that has NO EVIDENCE that it would fail was a waste of taxpayer dollars. I stand by that opinion. Especially since I read the report from Foundation Design PC:
Labella retained Foundation Design, P.C. in Septemeber 2009, on behalf of the Town of Irondequoit to provide geotechnical services on Newport Road and the steep slope along the road. They did test borings on the road at 5 ft intervals from 10 ft. to 76 ft. deep. They concluded that the slope supports the roadway fairly well, and saw little evidence of erosion of the loose and highly erosive near surface sands. Some minor "remediation" on the slope can take care of any potential failures, and in general, the road is completely safe to drive on. It is not going to fall into the Bay if maintenance is performed on the slope to keep it stable.
ROAD --Foundation Design Letter 9-09
Here are the PDF's of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). Within these documents are the comments about the stability or safety of the road, and reports/comments on the slope. Read it and come to your own conclusions.
Feis Volume i
Feis Volume II
