To the editor:

I’d like to extend my thanks to the Saranac Lake Village Board of Trustees for hosting an informational Q&A presentation regarding emergency services on March 28. There is no doubt our community needs to improve and expand its police, fire and rescue facilities. The hard work committed to bring the village to a point where it is ready to make the most substantial investment in decades should not be overlooked. It’s important and it’s long past time to make something meaningful happen.

I attended the Feb. 27 village board meeting where Robert Krzyzanowski, of Wendel Five Bugles Design, presented preliminary plans via Zoom for a shared services complex at 33 Petrova Ave. I also attended the March 27 village board meeting where he, in person, presented an expanded version of the same plan and the subsequent March 28 information Q&A presentation where it was presented again.

At each, I asked the village board to seriously consider all options for 33 Petrova, such as for affordable housing, before deciding on one. This would include looking at all options for making the needed investments and improvements to Saranac Lake’s emergency services, which would include 33 Petrova. At each, it was made clear by Mayor Jimmy Williams and the trustees that those steps would be taken. At each, Mayor Williams assured me and other attendees that “all options are on the table.”

But as of now, they’re not.

If all options were on the table, Tuesday’s public forum would have presented all the options, and projected costs for each, and so would the previous meetings. However, in each instance, only one option was presented. When asked if Wendel Five Bugles had performed a feasibility study on improving and expanding police, fire and rescue where they currently exist, Mr. Krzyanowski confirmed that his firm had not, but would be willing to do so if requested. Previous feasibility studies commissioned by the village have concluded those options are feasible.

For this reason, I respectfully renew my request to Mayor Williams and the village Board of Trustees to take a serious look at all options. It is not honest to say all options are on the table, when what you really mean is only one option is on the table until it’s determined not feasible. At which point, other options will be examined. If, for example, it is possible to expand and improve emergency services facilities where they currently exist, while at the same time developing 33 Petrova for affordable housing, I feel that is an option worth seriously exploring.

This is a major, much needed and expensive move for the village of Saranac Lake and deserves due diligence. One that truly presents all options and allows the community to not only weigh the pros and cons of each, but also the cost. It is the only way an educated and informed decision on which is best can honestly be made.

Doug Haney

Saranac Lake