Do things change?

I got a comment to my April 1st Blog Posting that I would like to share with you. It is true today as it was four years ago. The biggest changes since Don Corbett wrote his letter four years ago are that the cost of the dam project has risen, we are fighting to keep it below $7.5 million.
And the number of lawsuits increased beyond anyones wildest guess. All by the same people, all financed by the same nameless group, and all aimed at St. Clair Development and anyone else who made a decision is St. Clair's favor; i.e., the Borough, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Somerset County Planning Commission. Not one lawsuit against another developer or development!

Paul:
I was looking for something else today and ran across this letter I wrote almost 4 years ago. Look how much the attorneys have made, what it has cost the Borough, and we are still the same place we were when we started except for the fact that Terry compromised on the docks within days or at the most a few weeks after that 1st contentious Service Corp meeting.

What a waste, except for the attorneys. They must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Don L. Corbett
ServiceMaster by Corbett


May 16, 2007

To Indian Lake Residents and Property Owners:

We are all concerned about the Lake and what additional traffic might create, and would love to have it as we remember it 40 years ago, but that is never going to be.

I wonder if in all the rancor being displayed over the development at the Lodge, we are not losing sight of the big picture.

It seems to me, the greatest priority we have is to save the dam and get that behind us. Without the dam, our properties are not worth a great deal.

To pay for the dam it is probably going to require a raise in property taxes, or a raise in Service Corp fees or both.

With only 900 Service Corp members and a lot less homes, we do not have a lot of people among which to distribute $4-6million.

It seems to me we need the Lodge taxes and development to help distribute this load.

I don’t want things to go completely out of control, but let’s face it, there is going to be some compromises, either forced by courts; or people are going to have to come to some sort of agreement.

If it goes to court, we are going to drain additional tax dollars away that could be used for the dam. Both sides have been told by their attorneys they have a case, but let’s face it, that’s what attorneys do. They make their living making a case, but if they lose, they still have our money in their pocket.

It seems to me we need to find some way of bringing people together and reach some kind of compromise that people can live with.

Mr. St. Clair may have wanted too much, but some of the counter claims are also way over the top. There has got to be a middle ground that could be worked out. I have had some discussions with Mr. St. Clair and have found some of the things people said he was asking for, was never intended. I don’t really know Mr. St. Clair and there are always two sides, but in my experience, when these types of arguments start, there is also a lot of misinformation that goes out as fact.

We need to get past this shouting and accusations. The people on council are doing a service. They have tough decisions and it is easy for people who don’t have to make the decisions to point out all their mistakes.

In short, I feel raising taxes and Service Corp fees significantly is much worse than allowing some development. Let’s figure out some way of finding out what St. Clair’s “bottom line” is, and try to get closer to it. The Lodge is an asset to us that pays taxes.

I think we could start this process by sitting down with him as individuals and finding out where he is. To this point, he has been made out by some as some sort of villain. I am sure he is not, but at this point I don’t know on either side what is true and what isn’t.

I know this; neither side is going to get everything it wants and we are going to spend a lot of money we sorely need, to find out where the compromise is if we continue with the lawsuits.

I bought my property in 1961 and have seen a lot of ups and downs over that time period. When I bought the property, there was just a stream where the lake is now. There were stakes in the ground where the shore line was supposed to be.

When the Lake was filled, there were still not many homes. They were almost idyllic times. I glad I was there, but those times are gone and we need to accept that change is going to happen.

The government, by itself is going to put more and more burden on us to maintain and improve infrastructure and we need to have some development to distribute this burden.

I live out of town, so I cannot vote in an election. Voicing my opinion as a property owner, is just about all the power I have, so that is the purpose of my letter.

We need to find a way to find that compromise without draining more and more of our limited resources.

Sincerely,

Don L. Corbett
126 Delaware Lane