Letter to the Residents (July 2024):

 

Dear Brookville Resident,

We are writing to you as concerned residents of the Village of Brookville and attendees at the Tam O’Shanter subdivision meeting on March 26, 2024.

It has become apparent that there are numerous issues with this project. While some have been communicated adequately, many have not been communicated at all. We are surprised at the rapid progress this planning application has taken without a full understanding of the environmental impact, quality of life impact and the impact on the safety of our children and our neighbors.

In summary, there is a general lack of communication regarding the project and the planning process. The environmental impact is significant, considering, but not limited to, the following:

• High levels of arsenic and mercury in the soil
• Groundwater contamination
• Airborne ejection of dust and heavy materials while the soil is being processed on site or removed and transported from the site
• Transportation requirements to remove soil – approximately 27,000 dump truck trips to and from the site (approximately 1.62 billion pounds)
• CO2 vehicle traffic pollution (approximately 820,000 pounds)
• Infrastructure wear and tear

A handful of residents are trying to gain traction to better understand and obtain more information related to this project and determine the best path forward that is in the interest of the community.

As concerned members of the community, we need to effectively voice our concerns to the planning board and village leadership. We are also looking for volunteers and asking for your input and participation in planning the next steps to get a full assessment of the impact on our community and explore alternatives to this project.

We are asking our neighbors to do the following:

 

• Get on our e-mail mailing list (click Contact / Donate in the menu above)
• Urge others to join, ask them if they got this letter, make sure that we have their addresses
• Visit our website villageresidents.org and point it out to others
• Support the Village Residents Party financially (click Contact / Donate in the menu above)

 

Sincerely,

The Tam O’Shanter Committee of the Village Residents Party

 

 

Letter to the Residents (October 2024):

 

Fellow Brookville and Upper Brookville Residents,

We are writing to follow up on our July 2024 letter concerning the Tam O’Shanter project. Upper Brookville residents can catch up by reading it on our website <villageresidents.org>. We have already pointed out that there is a general lack of communication regarding the project and the planning process. We are particularly concerned that the documents released on the village government’s website lack specific details about the arsenic and mercury contamination. There is nothing that we could show to an outside expert.

Various alternative proposals for the property have been discussed. Several were mentioned at the March 2024 public meeting. We favor the village park proposal. Claims that such a project would be unaffordable by a village the size of Brookville are contradicted by the success of the Village Club of Sands Point. Adjacent villages could be involved, thereby increasing the pool of members. At a minimum, the idea is worth exploring. The mayor’s August 23 letter seems to indicate an unwillingness to do even that.

Whether any of the proposed alternatives win, lose or draw, the chemical contamination issue remains central. No matter what happens to the property, we are looking at a truly massive cleanup project. We are determined that this process must be carried out properly and with independent, outside oversight. We are exploring the options and are actively seeking out other organizations that have the same interests that we have.

We are very uncomfortable with the role of State Senator Jack Martins in this matter. He is the attorney that represents the applicant who wishes to develop the property. This property is located in Martin’s district. We do not have the ability to appeal to our State Senator to stop this ill-advised project because our State Senator is being paid by the developer to advocate in favor of the project. Your right to have your elected officials represent your interest has been compromised. Working for a client that is building a controversial project that is located in your own electoral district seems like the definition of a conflict of interest. The Village Residents Party has endorsed Martin’s opponent Kim Keiserman <kimkeiserman.com>. Please consider supporting her campaign. Let us know if you do so, so that we can compile a tally, which can be a very effective tool in a close election held in a small district, like this one.

We are also looking for volunteers. We would like to hear from the residents regarding their hopes for the property. As concerned members of the community we need to effectively and persuasively voice our concerns to the planning board and to the rest of the village leadership. We ask for your input and participation in planning the next steps to get a full assessment of the impact upon our community and a proper exploration of alternatives to this project. We are planning on holding a residents meeting this autumn at a location to be determined. All residents who have provided us with their e-mail addresses will be notified of the meeting date, time and agenda. If we do not yet have your e-mail address, please go to villageresidents.org We do not expect to send much more postal mail.

We are very appreciative of the monetary contributions we have received to date to support our efforts. A few residents have been extraordinarily generous. If you have not already done so, please contribute to the efforts to stop or modify this development that would take some of the last green space in Brookville. We hope that every resident will help with this expense and not leave it to a generous few to carry the full burden for them.

As we mention numerous times on our website, the VRP is an independent organization. It is odd that the mayor finds it necessary to point out that we are not affiliated with the village government. It would be very strange indeed, and probably illegal, for a public governmental body to have a formal affiliation with a political action committee. It is also odd that a government official would presume to speak on behalf of a private organization, the Brookville Park Foundation. Still, they cannot claim that they do not know who we are.

 

• The VRP filed about 30 years worth of state-mandated financial disclosure forms (CF-01’s) with the village clerk before registering to file electronically at the state level.
• We sent mass-mailings, like the July 2024 mailing, to Brookville, Upper Brookville and Old Brookville several times per year for about 10 years.
• Our website contains notes that we took when we attended eighty (80) Village of Brookville Board of Trustees meetings.
• Our complaints to the Committee on Open Government about the village government’s flouting of the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law resulted in an official response that was adverse to village government officials.
• Former mayor Galgano specifically mentioned us in his letter of resignation.
• Indeed, when the current mayor moved into Brookville, there were already several years of our CF-01’s in the village clerk’s filing cabinet.

Perhaps the mayor is just not comfortable with a private, village-level organization that he doesn’t control pursuing an agenda that may be at odds with his own.

Thank you for your time and please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

The Tam O’Shanter Committee of the Village Residents Party