City, town deal official
Apr. 16—PLATTSBURGH — The two Plattsburghs met under one roof Friday morning to sign the much-awaited City-Town Compact, announced early this week and expected to end municipal lawsuits and a once grim relationship.
The City Common Council and Town Board each unanimously approved the agreement Thursday evening and so, the following morning, City Mayor Christopher Rosenquest and Town Supervisor Michael Cashman sat side-by-side to scrawl their names on the parchment and make the deal official.
WEEKLY MEETINGS
As previously reported by the Press-Republican, the mayor and supervisor met weekly since early 2021 to pen the compact. It would halt active lawsuits, include language to prevent future legal battles, create some boundary line adjustments and foster a cooperative relationship moving forward.
Rosenquest said Friday the deal took all of 62 days and while it was a challenging conversation, he said it was a required one that "quite honestly, wasn't at any one particular time contentious."
In his own remarks, Cashman said "we needed to be willing to listen to one another to really understand the complexities of the situation so that we can learn from each other what would become mutually beneficial, not what is perceived to be, but truly mutually beneficial."
'GOOD THINGS AHEAD'
Cashman also thanked the mayor, who took office January 2021, for making the city-town relationship a top priority.
"That is the strongest demonstration to me that you and I," he said, addressing Rosenquest, "and our teams — not just individually, but our teams — have a lot of good things ahead of us."
In thinking towards the future, Rosenquest wondered how the Plattsburgh City-Town Compact would impact the sister Plattsburghs in 20 years time.
"What kinds of partnerships? What's that relationship going to look like? What prosperity is going to be created for Plattsburgh and for the region?" he asked.
"My hope out of all of this is that people can look back and say that this is when that started."
The two said they would continue to meet on a weekly basis.
HISTORIC TREATY
The North Country Chamber of Commerce hosted the event and, in giving his remarks, President Garry Douglas somewhat likened the treaty to the one inked in Belgium at the close of the War of 1812.
"I don't know if we can equate today's Plattsburgh Compact signing with the Treaty of Ghent. . .," he said, "but while it may not be that momentous, I think that on the level of importance to us here in this region, being region specific in our perspective, I think it is as important."
Douglas went on to say Friday's event was not a "one day story" and credited that to the current mayor and supervisor.
"Because of these two individuals and their leadership teams behind them, much is going to come of this; you can be very confident in that," he continued.
"This is real. This is the real deal — just like that Treaty of Ghent was back in 1814 and we thank them for that."
COUNTY THANKS
Clinton County Legislature Chairman Mark Henry stopped by to show his support of the agreement and congratulate the two leaders.
"It's a great day for the city and the town; it's a great day for the residents of that (city and) town," he said. "I will tell you also that when our largest municipalities, the city and the town, can get together and come to an agreement like this, it benefits everybody. . .
"We look forward to working with you as you put the final pieces together and, again, congratulations. Thank you for accomplishing this."
Email McKenzie Delisle:
Twitter: @McKenzieDelisle
