Councilors speak on harborside hotel opposition

Oct. 28—PLATTSBURGH — The three City of Plattsburgh councilors who voted against a development agreement that would have potentially brought a hotel to the city's harborside have spoken out about their opposition to it.

As previously reported by the Press-Republican, the development agreement outlined that a parcel located next to the Plattsburgh City Marina off of Dock Street was set to be sold to Saranac Lake-based developer GP Manager PLF, LLC for an estimated $1.2 million to construct a hotel with approximately 125 rooms and 4,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant and other ancillary facilities.

In September, though, the agreement failed in a 4-3 vote, because it did not garner the necessary "supermajority" support from the council. Councilors Julie Baughn (D-Ward 1), Elizabeth Gibbs (D-Ward 3), Councilor Jeff Moore (D-Ward 6) were the three in opposition to the measure.

Now, they've made it clear why.

REMEDIATION COSTS

Gibbs told the Press-Republican Monday that she especially took issue with the estimated sale of the property, because the city would likely not make the full $1.2 million.

Gibbs said ahead of the vote, she wanted more information about the soil conditions of the property and reached out to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) about the information they gathered back when the city first attempted to bring a hotel to the same site with a Syracuse developer many years ago. This, of which, led to the creation of the "parking lot to nowhere" at this location.

She said she was told by a DEC representative that the land there had to be "partially remediated" at the time because the adjacent railroad had contaminated it.

When she talked to the DEC recently, she was told the land is still "partially contaminated."

Because of this, as outlined in the development agreement, the city would be on the hook for several hundred thousand dollars of cleanup costs if they sold the property, she said.

"It (the land) was remediated enough so that it could be developed for business or industrial. Residential cannot go there, because it's still contaminated," Gibbs said.

"It was sealed over with the parking lot and with the grass and that's the end of it. So that's going to have to be dug up in order for a development to go there ... which means there's going to be contaminated land that has to be removed ..." she continued.

"We don't know how much, but the cost, we're on the hook for $300,000 ... nonetheless, that $1.2 million sale just got down to $900,000. Now, I'd like you to point to any place on this lake where you can get 14 acres of lakefront property for $900,000."

'EVIL TRIFECTA'

Councilor Moore's objections included being doubtful that a hotel in that location would get a lot of traffic. He said based on the track record of lakefront motels in the area, he doesn't think a hotel at the city's harborside would be much different.

"So you have a track record of unsuccessful hotel type buildings ... to say well if we build something different it'll be all different, people will be flocking there. I don't see it, OK?"

"I got to protect the interests of the people of the City of Plattsburgh."

He said he'd rather see the city take care of what's in front of them before they embark on these other "adventures."

"It's nice to wish for things and wish that things were different, but the population of Plattsburgh hasn't changed in 60 years," he said.

"It's gone down a little bit, if anything, and that's even when the (Plattsburgh Air Force) base was here. So if you're thinking there's going to be some massive nucleolus of bringing people and things in here, I mean, I walk up and down the streets every week. Take a look at the city. We need to address what is failing now."

"So we do have reasons. It's kind of thrown at us like we're being obstinate or something. I don't like that. I really take offense at that ... Julie made up her mind based on her feelings, Elizabeth ... made her opinion known. I did too, but we all (have) different reasons."

Baughn and Moore said Mayor Chris Rosenquest was who implied they were being obstinate in not voting for the hotel.

"People are calling us 'the evil trifecta,'" Baughn said, adding that she doesn't always vote the same way as Moore and Gibbs.

In continuing her objections to the project, Gibbs said the council was uninvolved in the city's negotiations with Skyward over the last three years.

"Negotiations happened over the course of the end of 2020, for 2021, '22 and '23 without a single councilor in the room. and when the agreement was brought to us, it was delivered to us. We were not involved in the process," she said.

"So I am sure that the public generally wants to know well, what would it take for us to be on board with a hotel development down there? and I've said this from the beginning: let's pay for an independent feasibility study that tells us would this project, as proposed, be successful in this location? In this market competing with the Town of Plattsburgh and their new hotel developments? We don't have that. That's number one."

She also believes the hotel there would only be purposeful six months out of the year.

"What are you going to do down there when the weather isn't warm? The other six months of the year, on that lakefront property, where there's nothing to do? People want to stay in hotels where they can have things to do. When you stay in the hotels up on Route 3, on that end of town, you've got things to do."

"I've had people say," Baughn added, "'well, it's not your responsibility for them to find out what people would want to do during the winter. Why is that your problem?'"

"Because, if enough doesn't get done during the winter, that hotel is going to fold up, let's face it. I mean, you've got to have 125 rooms filled at least most of the time for it to make any money. If it doesn't, then we lose it and then we're stuck with the building down there, and what's going to happen with it? What's going to become of it?"

EMAILS

Since the vote occurred in September, Gibbs also said the developer has "hounded" them by email trying to "more or less strong arm the council into reconsidering this development."

General Counsel for Skyward Companies and Guide Hospitality, Scott Piersall-Leuenberger, made his emails to the city council known to the Press-Republican.

"The purpose of this email is to begin a dialogue with you," he said at the beginning of an email he sent to the council Oct. 20.

From there, Piersall-Leuenberger said he hoped reaching out would change their minds about the development agreement. He then pointed out that the council had unanimously supported the project in its early stages in 2021. Then, again, as recently as July.

"Most recently, we personally met with the members of the Common Council at a July 13, 2023, executive session at which every member of the Common Council expressed their approval of the hotel project," he wrote to the council.

"Our question is simple, what we can do to obtain your approval of the Development Agreement?"

Piersall-Leuenberger ended by saying they would be happy to meet with them individually and address any concerns they still have.

Gibbs called the emails "inappropriate."

"(They) basically tried to coerce us into reconsidering," she said.

"Well, what was mostly inappropriate with that was that they wanted to talk with councilors individually," Moore added.

"I really don't like the idea of doing that."

Rosenquest saw it differently.

"Anybody can reach out to any councilor for any reason, whether they support a project or oppose a project, I see nothing different in this instance. If a developer or somebody who wants to reach out to councilors — and mind you, these folks have been in front of the council before in executive session talking about the project — I see that as being no different than somebody supporting the project and wanting the project to move forward," the mayor said.

"I didn't read anything in there that was threatening. I didn't read anything in there that said 'or else.' I guess interpretation is what it is, but I didn't read anything into it like that."

CHECK AND BALANCE

In regards to his vote of opposition to the project, Moore made it clear that's the job of the council.

"The mayor thinks ... the council is 'holding me up' and things like that. Nothing could be farther from the truth," he said.

"We are the check and balance. We are co-administrators of the city. It is not up to us to obey the mayor's whims."

Email: cnewton@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: CarlySNewton