I told you that it was a done deal. Rotterdam is supposed to have a critical impact law on the books but I'll bet you'll never see it enforced on any developer. There are state laws on the books that are supposed to hold developers responsible for problems that are caused by the builders but there's always a loophole that lets the builder off the hook. If there's a problem down the road with Helderberg Meadows development it's supposed to be the responsibility of the home owners association to fix. This is a nice concept that's been adopted, pass the buck to the residents for the short comings of the town. Where are the residents of the development going to come up with the kind of money needed to fix a water problem like Masullo Estates has when a whole town can't afford to do it?

Well, we have a town attorney AND Mr. Mertz is an attorney, so there will or should be NO EXSCUSE WHATSOEVER!!!

Yes the town has an attorney and Mr Mertz is an attorney and that's a very big part of the problem why nothing ever gets done in this town. Why doesn't a town with a water problem have a storm water management engineer to do some of the studies when building in known wetlands? Why did The towns storm water management engineering aid go to work for the state? The towns storm water management person is someone who has never been trained in that field, just window dressing.

I guess there would be buyer beware lingo in the deeds/agreements......I bet those folks from VonRoll could purchase property there.....

If there is a critical impact law in Rotterdam, holding developers responsible, than the attorneys should be the ones to defend that law.

On the downside, the developers can just say that it had it's 'stamp of approval' from the town itself!

I guess what I'm saying here is, in the end WHO WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?

BUYER BEWARE......and there will be a set up so they could hook up to sewers and other 'big drainage pipes' as they come along in the next what, 50 or so years.........by then just creamate my body and sprinkle my ashes into the swamp....

The plan is to bring the public sewer pipe out to Guilderland Ave and when and if the people in Masullo Estates decide to pay to have the sewers put in and hook up to them then and only then will Masullo ever have  sewers. The way things are run right now in this town if you want something done pay for it yourself or it'll never get done. I totally agree Senders it's buyer beware.

yup, and this is why we are a what, can everyone say it together.......COMMUNITY, MUNICIPALITY.......we need to update.....we have no choice......we are sinking.......

Hey, here's an idea, we want to expand Rotterdam and make it so much better, to bring in tax dollars to send down to the city to fix up State Street.  Why won't the Metroplex fund sewers in Rotterdam so that bigger and better businesses can be brought into town so they can pay more taxes to the sesspool city?

Now BK you're making too much sense, if the idea make too much sense the sesspool er city coincil will never go along with it.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Winter Glen Farm’s future uncertain
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

Like many young girls in the area, Rachel Kowalczyk got her first experience riding horses at Winter Glen Farm.
The genial 10-year-old from Guilderland began taking lessons at the weatherbeaten barn off Countyline Road two years ago and has become almost a fixture there, learning to care for and ride Merlin, her appaloosa pony.
“Like every day I’m here,” she said, still sporting a pair of riding breeches at dusk inside the stable. “I live here.”
   For more than two decades, Peggy Aedjian has trained young riders, developing a reputation as one of the top instructors in the area. But the future of her business — at least in Rotterdam — is in doubt.
   Aedjian leases the barn complex on the edge of what is to be the massive Helderberg Meadows development, which last week was approved by the Rotterdam Planning Commission. The project proposes a phased construction of 152 homes and 100 condominium units in two clusters on 314 acres along the Albany County border from Helderberg Avenue past Route 158.
   Provided the project receives necessary county, state and federal approvals, work could begin during the spring of next year. Aedjian and many of her riders fear the barn could be the first thing displaced by the project.
   “I’ll try to find some place to go,” she said Tuesday, seated at the stable’s dusty office. “But where, I don’t know. My customers have been here for the last 20 years.”
   The barn complex was originally built as a state-of-the-art equine facility during the 1960s and offered a mix of western, English and trail riding. Aedjian began renting the property in 1985, shortly after the owner, John Paprocki went bankrupt.
   The property was later purchased by Albert Friedman and is now administered by his widow Linda. When Barton Andreoli Sr. began planning the Helderberg Meadows project, the Friedmans sold an option on much of the land — including the barns — to Andreoli, who died in 2005.
   Since that time, Aedjian has twice offered to purchase a small portion of the property without receiving a response from either Friedman or the attorneys representing Helderberg Meadows. She doesn’t want to move her business, but fears her month-to-month lease on the stables leaves her exposed.
   “We’re really at a Catch-22, so what are we going to do,” she asked.
   The barn stables 43 horses, about two-thirds of which are boarded there by area residents. Aedjian also teaches about 200 students and trains the University at Albany’s intercollegiate equestrian team.
   But Aedjian’s stables are more than just a place to ride horses or take lessons. Some of the adult riders at the stable can trace their history at Winter Glen and with Aedjian back to their childhood.
   Nicole Twardzik of Guilderland began riding horses at the stables when she was 12; she has since graduated from UAlbany and is now preparing to go to law school.
   “I’m here all the time,” she said. “It’s kind of like a family community here.”
   Twardzik said Aedjian trains many young riders on her own horses and at a cost that is affordable for many families.
   “She’s provided people with more opportunities to ride where they might not have it otherwise,” she said.
   Sue Didonato of Altamont followed Aedjian to Rotterdam when she started Winter Glen. With the looming development, she said Rotterdam stands to lose a great resource.
   “It was a tremendous facility in the day and given the opportunity, it could be again.”
   Bonnie Greulich can barely remember when she started training at the stables.
   Now her twin daughters, Ashley and Alicia, both 8 years old, take lessons.
   “My kids asked me ‘where are we going to go,” she said at the barn Tuesday. “I said ‘don’t worry about where we go, we’ll all go together.”

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Rachel Kowalczyk, 10, brushes down her pony Merlin after their ride together at Winter Glen Farm on Monday.

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Winter Glen Farm employee Sue Wojturski hauls down hay for the horses on Monday.

Even if these folks bought a portion of the land back to keep their horse farm, you can be sure that the new residents, who are foolish enough to purchase one of those homes, will start complaining about the 'smell'. Just another small detail I'm sure the developers of Heldeburg Medows forgot about.

That is the way development goes in Rotterdam. They buy the land, throw up some buildings, make their profit and leave the mess behind for the town officials and the taxpayers left to resolve!!!

I'd rather live near a horse farm than live next to the sewage treatment plant.

I agree Shadow......and I would rather live near a horse barn than a Walmart.....so,,,I guess it is buyer beware......

I would rather live near a horse farm than a sex offender!!!!!

I just had to get my little dig in where I can....RECIND KOSIUR'S LAW!!