For Immediate Release: March 10, 2010
Contact:
Keith P. McKeever | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
When the Adirondack Park Regional Assessment Project (APRAP) was released in the spring of 2009, many recognized it as an important milestone in the presentation of factual data about community life, infrastructure, and the socio-economic condition of the 103 towns and villages in the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack North Country Association was a key sponsor along with the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages. As project manager, I benefited from working closely with AATV members and the co-sponsoring towns of Chester and Arietta.
Our beginning premise for the research project was that an objective assessment of the condition of Park communities was important. From the outset, we believed the assessment would provide facts we could agree upon as the basis for future planning discussions by Park stakeholders. As noted in the APRAP introduction, we concluded the research was meant to affirm how Adirondack communities share the challenge of providing services for the Parks residents and visitors, and to serve as gateways to the Parks public lands.
The LA Group was prime contractor for this award winning research effort with support from the Siena Research Institute and the Center for Governmental Research. Critical to the quality of the project was the significant time spent with the consulting team to develop the survey tools, reach out to municipal leaders, attend public meetings, and compile the data.
Following the release of the APRAP findings, and my accepting the Executive Director position at the Adirondack Park Agency, I have had the chance for further reflection on this important project. I continue to be struck by the depth of the research on Adirondack Geography and People, General Government, Emergency Services, Infrastructure, Community Life, Land Use and Ownership, and Public Education. And, I am pleased the APRAP research has contributed to numerous discussions throughout the Adirondack Park.
There has been considerable public comment on findings such as the decline in school enrollments, the aging Park population, challenges in sustaining volunteer services, and the disparity between public and private sector job creation. While some trends noted in the report raise concerns, there was purposely no interpretation of the data to draw conclusions about causes.
Since the release of the report, some have concluded that Park trends are based on the impact of State land ownership and land use regulations. However, the report was careful to remain objective and not draw conclusions on clearly complex issues and questions surrounding State land acquisitions, easements and private land use regulations. Instead, the report provided essential information to allow in-depth discussion of these important questions including how best to encourage employment.
To assist with these questions, APRAP provided public and private land ownership patterns through the interpretation of Real Property Tax Data. The data quantified public and private lands including forested tracks under RPTL sections 480 and 480a, as well as agricultural, residential, and various recreational, commercial, and industrial lands. In that the real property tax data provided an analysis of land parcels, it could not allow a conclusion as to how much of this land is available for further subdivision and development. This is one likely topic for further discussion.
The APRAP research also extended beyond the Park to provide a comparative analysis between those municipalities wholly within or partially within the Adirondack Park. Interestingly, corresponding demographic, per-capita income and youth migration trends appear to be present in other nearby rural areas, including the Tug Hill Plateau. The Strategic Economy Initiative recently prepared for the Adirondacks and the Northern Forest portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine also showed comparable trends.
For our region to truly benefit from the APRAP research, we need more focused effort on how to build and sustain Park communities. As the report clearly states, The obvious need to merge long-term economic revitalization with environmental protection must occur soon for the towns and villages within the Adirondack Park. Bold new strategies and investment will be required to address the complex needs of communities within a protected landscape. This statement should be an organizing principle for a collective effort to address present needs, plan for future opportunities, and create benefits from the important intersection of the Parks communities and surrounding public lands.
The partners in the APRAP research process concluded early on that the assessment would only be as good as the combined ability to be objective in the survey, outreach and presentation of data. That same objectivity must be maintained if we are to find solutions to the important issues in the report which left un-addressed, can undermine community vitality.
Among important questions raised by the research are: what types of businesses, services and housing will be needed for an aging population? How can Park communities be more accessible for senior residents and travelers? What are the employment and enterprise opportunities for our youth? How can we make communities more attractive to young families? How can we stabilize and reduce local tax burdens? Likely areas of opportunity include the creative expansion of entrepreneurship and businesses; high school, higher education and workforce training programs linked to regional economic opportunities; maintenance of open space in working forests and agriculture; encouragement of greater local food production; stronger regional tourism and product marketing based on the Adirondack brand; improved broadband, water and sewer, and transportation infrastructure; pedestrian friendly and walkable communities; and energy efficiency and conservation. These are opportunities which, I am pleased to say, the Adirondack Park Agency endorses.
The APRAP assessment provides an important foundation for us to be pro-active in improving the Parks communities. With creative focus, we can determine how to weather economic downturns and build the economy based on the Parks special character. The unique combination of recreational resources, open space, working forests, communities, and quality of life creates both opportunities and a critical challenge that we work together to ensure the future of the Park communities and environment.
Respectfully,
Terry Martino Executive Director Adirondack Park Agency
Former Executive Director Adirondack North Country Association