Anneke Radin-Snaith June 30, 2009 Letter to the Editor

To The Editor:

At the June 29th special meeting, the Prattsburgh Town Board discussed the town’s wind permit law. The meeting was open to the public, but the public was not given copies of the draft of the proposed law, and no public comment was allowed. This was as I expected, and not really an issue, except for the fact that the attorney for Ecogen was provided with a copy of the draft, and was also allowed to comment on and even write portions of the law. Isn’t the town board supposed to be working for its constituents, the taxpayers and people of Prattsburgh, not an outside developer? Why is Ecogen’s attorney being given special treatment?

On another note, shouldn’t the town attorney, whose salary our tax dollars pay, be working on our behalf? Each time Councilman Kula brought up a point in an effort to retain some local control or gain some money for the town, Attorney Leyden put up an argument. Often, when directly asked for an opinion, Mr. Leyden’s response was something to the effect of, “You just tell me what to write and I’ll put it in there.” Well, if that’s the case, what do we pay an attorney for?

Sincerely,
Anneke Radin-Snaith
Prattsburgh, NY