Gallo listens to public comment
KINGSTON – Mayor Shayne Gallo said he will sign into law a change
in the Kingston City Charter allowing the city council the power to sign
off on contracts for the sale of public water outside the city limits.
The amendment was approved unanimously, and now must be approved by a
referendum of the voters next November.
Protests surfaced earlier this year when Niagara Bottling Company attempted to lease water from a city-owned reservoir located in the Town of Ulster.
Current law prevented the city council from having standing before the Ulster Planning Board. The current amendment to the city charter attempts to remedy that problem.
Niagara’s lease proposal was eventually withdrawn in the face of widespread public opposition.
Water Commissioner Abel Garraghan and William Cloonan, commission counsel,
warned that existing contracts have been on record for decades, which
cannot be overridden by newly passed laws. Gallo agreed, but said that
transparency and accountability must also play a role in city business.
Cloonan also said despite popular opinion, the water commission never made any decision regarding Niagara.
“The water board members that I have spoken to and the superintendent are very upset about the reaction people have had with respect to the water commissioners thinking they have sold the rights,” Cloonan said. “They have never made a decision to sell water to Niagara at that site. They were still doing their process of investigation of investigation as to the issue of whether or not there was an adequate supply.”
Gallo said the city has to reconcile the public’s concerns that have surfaced and “acknowledge the public has a right at least to consider this resolution on the ballot in November.”
