Land Sale May Help Regional Water Effort

Last week, the Chronicle included a story indicating that the City of Glens Falls and the Queensbury Land Conservancy were talking about the potential sale of the City's watershed properties to the Conservancy. If sold, the land might be utilized to increase recreational opportunities for the region's residents with the proceeds of the sale available to help the City finance repairs to its aging infrastructure, most notably the dams. In today's Post Star, there is an article indicating that the City Council voted last night to authorize discussions to continue with regard to the potential sale and/or lease of this land to the Conservancy or other similar organizations.

The ARCC believes that the potential sale or lease of these lands complements the Chamber's effort to create a regional water and sewer system serving communities in Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties. The sale of these lands and the resulting revenue would clearly help the City to meet the expenses related to fixing its dams - - a cost the City cannot afford on its own. The preservation of this resevoir system combined with the ability to increase the draw of water from the Hudson would ultimately help the region to build a sustainable, redundant, and expandable water supply. At the same time, the City and Town of Queensbury could look to sell excess capacity to surrounding towns helping them to meet their growing needs and our region to grow smartly. Likewise, the ability to make better use of the watershed lands NOT for development but for passive recreation means that our region will be an even better place to live, work and operate a business because of the enhanced quality of life. Sounds like a win-win-win-win!