All Systems….Go?

WINDHAM - Pressure continues to be applied to the Windham town board to intercede in the possible building of a hotel at the Windham Mountain Club with no indication government leaders will do so.

Multiple requests have been received to pause the approval process being conducted by the local planning board for the new 26-room luxury hotel.

Those have come from existing hoteliers, led by Wylder Windham owner John Flannigan, and recently from State Senator Michelle Hinchey.

Questions have been raised about the planning board’s decision-making on  environmental (SEQRA) and site plan reviews on changes to the WMC’s original development Master Plan that would allow the hotel.

Controversy has become focused on the recusal of three planning board members affiliated with the ski center through work or membership, and calls for the recusal of planning board chairwoman Lisa Jaeger.

If the fourth recusal occurred, it would reduce the planning board to two members, likely halting the review process and potentially nullifying all actions that have thus far taken place regarding the hotel application.

Planners, earlier this month, closed the public hearing on the environmental review portion of the process, starting the clock ticking on a 62-day deadline to make a final determination on moving forward or not.

Flannigan, in an October 22 statement read to the town board said, “three Planning Board members recused themselves from the review of what may be Windham’s largest development in recent history. 

“Meanwhile [Jaeger] holds leadership roles that raise legitimate questions about potential conflicts, including her position as Chamber of Commerce President and the organization’s financial relationship with Windham’s largest Member, and the Applicant for this 25MM hotel, Kristin Leach, the President of Windham Mountain Club,” Flannigan wrote.

Jaeger has issued a statement declaring that her volunteer role with the Chamber is “separate and distinct” from her planning post, each fully transparent with no conflict of interest inherent.

And the planning board’s special counsel, Allyson Phillips, in an October 15 memo stated Jaeger, “is not party to any agreements with the applicant whereby she may receive a payment or other benefit that is contingent or dependent on the planning board granting a favorable approval.”

Supervisor Hoyt and town board members have made their thinking clear, that the planning board, as it should, is operating independently of the town board, with review and conflict of interest matters regarding property functioning.

Flannigan, in his October 22 statement said, “[Phillip’s] defense of Ms. Jaeger does not resolve these concerns. Residents deserve an independent, impartial review, not a response that leaves questions about conflicts and public confidence unanswered.”

In a followup October 26 email to town supervisor Thomas Hoyt and the town board, Flannigan stated he was, “concerned by the assertion that the Town Board has no responsibility for the Planning Board, particularly given its role in appointing Planning Board members under New York State law. 

“The Town of Windham should never have found itself in a position where so many potential conflicts of interest called the impartiality of this process into question,” Flannigan wrote.

“Under these circumstances, asserting that the process is fair and impartial is not credible without meaningful safeguards and a transparent accounting of the potential conflicts,” Flannigan wrote.

Hinchey, in an October 15 missive to the planning and town boards, wrote, “even if no explicit conflicts of interest exist on the planning board, the mere appearance of such conflicts erodes public trust and that alone is cause for pause.”

The Senator also referred to a “feasibility study,” writing, “I join the calls of local businesses and residents asking to see the feasibility study for this project. The public has a right to see this document, and the longer it is shrouded in secrecy, the larger the appearance of impropriety.”

Subsequent inquiries by the Mountain Eagle to multiple officials with close knowledge of the project revealed there was no such feasibility study.

Hinchey, in an October 22 letter to planners and the town board, stepped back while doubling down, writing, “a previous version of this letter requested the release of a feasibility study as I was under the impression one had been conducted.

“I apologize for that incorrect information as I have not seen a feasibility study in the public record, which is equally as troubling to me,” she wrote.

“The board and the town should consider an independent, targeted assessment given the significant impact of an addition of a hotel on community character, including effects on existing businesses, traffic patterns, water and sewer usage and the environment,” Hinchey wrote.

“If the town board and planning board care for the future of Windham, local businesses and residents alike, I would urge both entities to step in now, stop this proposal from moving forward and provide residents with the transparency they deserve,” the Senator wrote.

“That could include revising the SEQRA determination and requiring a feasibility study to fully determine the impact on the character of the town and the necessity for such a project,” Hinchey wrote.

Phillips, in her October 15 memo, noted that planners “took the extraordinary step of holding a public hearing and allowing comments from the public before it made a SEQRA determination.

“This is not required under applicable law, but the planning board felt it was important to hear from members of the public,” Phillips wrote.

Supervisor Hoyt, in a phone interview said, “we have received letters and public comments with concerns. They are being addressed as part of the process. All written and spoken comments are part of the official record.”