To the editor:

I read with interest the enlightening articles about the status of Adirondack Club and Resort project in Tupper Lake. The articles appeared in the Aug. 11 and 12 issues. Michael Foxman, ACR lead developer, is quoted in the article as saying, “We’ve been bled dry for millions of dollars. We had about $10 million worth of lawyers and planners and engineering approval delay costs. I think that no one, including me, could’ve imagined the complexity of trying to develop in the Adirondacks with objections from the preservation groups.”

As someone who participated in three years of pre-hearing meetings with Mr. Foxman and in the 2011 ACR public hearing sponsored by the Adirondack Park Agency, I feel the project history shows that in most instances, the lead developer has largely himself to account for “approval delay costs.”

It was Mr. Foxman who failed to deliver a complete APA application for two years, who delayed the start of the public hearing by three years in so-called “mediation,” who failed to complete applications to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (which, to our knowledge, are still incomplete), and who failed to deliver substantive hearing evidence on both natural resources and the economics of the project to such an extent that the lawsuit was brought.

Sincerely,

David Gibson

Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve

Ballston Lake