TUPPER LAKE - While mediation is over, the road to starting the proposed development at the former Big Tupper Ski Area will still be long and difficult, members of the group ARISE (Adirondack Residents Intent on Saving Their Economy) said Tuesday.
"We're going to have to keep working hard, and we can't get discouraged," said ARISE member Rick Dattola. "(Those who oppose the project) are going to try to do everything they can to stop this project, but this is our community, and as long as we keep saying that to the (state Adirondack) Park Agency and emphasizing that, we're going to be OK and we're going to win this thing."
The group, which supports the Adirondack Club and Resort development project, met Tuesday in a public session at the Tupper Lake VFW that drew about 45 supporters.
The resort project - which would reopen the ski area and surround it with up to 600 housing units, a marina and a restaurant - has been stalled in the process to get an APA permit for over two years, and two weeks ago developers pulled out of a lengthy mediation that was meant to negotiate a compromise between developers, municipalities, environmental groups and neighbors to the project site.
"Mediation is over, and it didn't go as well as expected," said ARISE member Jim LaValley.
An agreement that was produced by the mediation sessions was endorsed by only one-third of the parties involved.
Environmental organizations and neighbors to the project say they have questions about the environmental and economic impacts of the development, which is one of the largest proposed for the Adirondack Park.
The Tuesday ARISE meeting was organized to talk about the future of the group now that the mediation has ended, with plans being made to reopen the T-bar lift at the ski slope and advocate for the project in Albany.
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T-bar opening
LaValley, a Tupper Lake real estate broker, said volunteers have been working at the mountain to get the T-bar up and running over the last week-and-a-half.
ACR developers are not able to work on the project, since it may violate their APA permit application, LaValley said. They are, however, supportive of the community effort to get the T-bar running and are allowing the community the use of the facility.
LaValley said he was hopeful that, with all the work volunteers are doing at the mountain, the T-bar will be open this winter.
Organizers are in the process of compiling a list of things that need to be done in order to get the T-bar in operational condition and figuring out the costs of the effort, LaValley said. These tasks include restoration of bathrooms, electricity and part of the ski lodge as well as brush clearing.
Advocate in Albany
ARISE member Ben Peets said it is imperative that ACR supporters contact representatives in Albany and tell them they want the project to go through.
"This is our last chance," said Peets. "If we don't get this project, I hate to think of what will happen to Tupper Lake in the future."
ACR supporters should write to their representatives and government officials in Albany and use their contacts outside the area to pass the message along that they are in favor of the development, LaValley said.
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Lawsuit
Dattola announced that, separate from ARISE activities, which he said are meant to support the development in a positive light, he wants to gather a group of local business owners to bring a lawsuit against the environmental groups that he said are stalling the project.
He said that by stalling the permit application on procedural grounds, these groups are getting in the way of his right to make a decent living.
Dattola, who with his brother owns Tupper Lake Supply, said he would be looking for 15 to 20 business owners to contribute to the lawsuit.
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Contact Jessica Collier at 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
