Author Topic: Will the STCC ever stop complaining about the Erie Canal Rehabilitation Program?  (Read 67 times)

Doug K

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Seems like the acronym for the Stop the Canal Clearcut, STCC, has taken on a whole new meaning ever since they lost the battle to stop a much needed Erie Canal Rehabilitation Program.

Their new name is quickly becoming “Start the Canal Complaining” as evidence shows from their recent postings on Facebook.



They are also leaving no stone un-turned, the complaints are about anything & everything from getting “gipped out of topsoil” to over-spray from the hydro-seed process. Seems like group participation is way down as the same few are doing the same thing… complaining about how the owners of the property are managing their rehabilitation of Unsafe Dams. If it’s not about the cost of the work, which is FULLY FUNDED already, then it’s about how the work is getting done. One STCC member mentioned the slope contour and how difficult it will be to mow… like they had to go out and cut the new grass themselves.

Folks, just a clue for you… it’s NOT our property, we don’t need to pay the bills, cover the insurance cost, or cut the grass. If you believe you know MORE than the owners do about the NYS Barge Canal system, including its operation, maintenance and condition, you should go to the Canal Corporation website and apply for a job. Just a hint, walking along the Erie Canal Trail wouldn’t qualify as “prior canal experience” on your resume, neither does living next to it.

http://www.canals.ny.gov/about/jobs/index.html

Whether you are sitting on the sidelines watching this project unfold, or walking along the top of the embankments on the Erie Canal Trail, believing you know more than the owners of the waterway do, about this property, is delusional and shows that your “perspective” is broken.



Notice the words used in these definitions… Accurate & Fair, Wise & Reasonable, all words that seem to be avoided by the STCC Leadership which then filters down to it’s membership. Your know what they say about an "apple falling away from a tree"… bias views simply create even more bias if perspective is lost. Maybe the most important definition is right at the top of the picture, the words used are clear.

"a particular way of viewing things that depends on one’s experience and personality"

The STCC Leaders & Members have shown a lack of experience in all matters related to the Canal Corporation’s Embankment Rehabilitation efforts. From their denial of  the words “unsafe embankment dams”, to their refusal to believe these embankments are actually dams, this group has shown over an over that it’s perspective lacks credibility. Their behavior towards the public safety work shows a total disregard for the Canal Corporation’s efforts on fixing these long standing safety issues of their property and its management... for them it's now "personal".

They continue to propagate a negative view of the Rehabilitation Program based on their experience of walking along the waterway or living next to it, as if that gives them enough experience to be accurate, fair, wise & reasonable about how to best manage & run a sustainable 500+ mile water & trail system that is open to the public… it boggles the mind how their perspective is centered only on their own limited views. This STCC group still fails to acknowledge these embankments are "unsafe dams" as stated by the PROPERTY OWNERS & CARETAKERS.

Life changed for the Erie Canal when the New York Power Authority (NYPA) took ownership in 2017. Maybe for the very first time ever, Upstate New Yorkers are seeing the “proper way” to manage this historical waterway. It’s clear that “new ownership” takes a MUCH different view to safety & sustainability of the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor centerpiece, than the previous administration did.

Of course their view is different, their perspective is greater & deeper than anyone else on how to manage water impounding structures from years & years of running hydropower dams in NY State. The last owners of the Canal Corporation were concerned about one thing... money, and the goal was to spend as little as possible, regardless of the safety issues, regardless of the condition.

Folks, if you ask the STCC about the Embankment Rehabilitation Program they will say the NY Canal Corp & NYPA are all wrong about embankment clearing & safety. That perspective view is based on ZERO experience managing any canals or trails, ZERO experience with Dam Safety Regulations and ZERO experience in NY State Risk Mitigation. Their perspective is from very personal views, not what's best for the public using the trail, or the State having to insure those users against liability claims. They have no answer for "safety" of the Canal, they don't believe it's a problem. They even choose to ignore the perspective shared by outside experts who pointed out canal safety issues to them several times.

But they did walk on the Erie Canal Trail yesterday… or looked out their window at the Erie Canal this morning... somehow that makes them all "experts".
« Last Edit: May 26, 2019, 07:37:29 am by Michael Caswell »

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Michael Caswell

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So Cody Butlin is bitchin' about a bit of grass seed hitting her kid's swing set?

My answer is simple.

Your kid's swing set is underneath an embankment dam that has just been repaired, and likely saved your spoiled brat's lives.
Perhaps if you'd shown some initiative, and just gone over to the swing set and hosed off the unit, that would have solved the problem?

I am amazed at how ungrateful some people can be. A fine example you are to your children.



« Last Edit: May 26, 2019, 07:38:27 am by Michael Caswell »

Doug K

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Mike,

Have to correct you sir, Cody is a "him", so the complaint was about "his" daughter's swing set. It's located about 8' away from the Canal Embankment.

Sadly the STCC has run pretty much the same since their inception... and when one person starts to flap their gums, more come out of the woodwork to complain as well. If it's not about the critters & trees, then it's about the trail condition or the length of time it takes to fix unsafe dams, just take a look... of course these folks seem to miss talking about the trail entrance signs that state the trail is under construction still out here in Brockport & to the west.



Stone dust is coming this week, along with a fresh grading of the ECT (Erie Canal Trail). I'm sure that the hikers & bikers will all have an easier ride soon... but sadly the STCC group will just start to complain about other aspects of the Canal Embankments & Trail that they don't like..because the trail or views are now different than before, when the embankments were considered unsafe by the property owners, and had to be rehabilitated.

Typical for a group that can't seem to fathom how "safety was put on the back burner" by the NYS Thruway when THEY owned the Canal Corporation for the past 30+ years. Ungrateful, can't even muster a "thank you" for what was a much needed public safety effort across NY.

And then there is the continued griping from the Stop the Canal Clearcut leadership, like Ms. Agte...who somehow want to convince the public there is only ONE bee left on the Erie Canal, and they will not come back unless we have invasive plants covering earthen dams along the Erie Canal.



Funny thing is... Ms Agte most likely took the picture in Fairport where NO embankments have been done yet. Those earthen dams are slated for 2019-20 off-season clearing. So what could be keeping the bees away from the Erie Canal in Fairport? Maybe their little bee ears hurt from all this incessant whining by humans about a project that will inevitably have to be done for the safety of the 80% of New York Residents who live within 25 miles of the Erie Canal still to this day.
 


http://www.canals.ny.gov/economic-benefit-report.pdf

Of course some folks around Rochester & surrounding towns, can't seem to grasp that SIMPLE concept of SAFETY, choosing instead to fight against it and this entire Canal Corporation Embankment Safety Program.

And the STCC is fighting this work in the name of the "trees" that are causing the Canal Embankment safety issues in the first place... which is even more ironic... or perhaps moronic, depending on how you look at it, or what side of the fight you are on.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2019, 10:11:14 am by Doug K »

Michael Caswell

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Isn't that Agte bee on Amur Honeysuckle?

How many time do we have to tell these dweebs about this stuff?

http://nyis.info/invasive_species/honeysuckle/

It's invasive, illegal and controlled.  The ECNA has been cutting this stuff down like crazy over the past few months. I wonder where this Agte bee bush is? If anyone knows, let me know and it will be TOAST!

BTW We had a great weekend down the Oxbow Trail. Cleared out a number of tires, and junk. Cut down loads of Honeysuckle, planted a Catalpa tree, and knocked back a large patch of Japanese Knotweed.
All we need now is to get the Canal Corp to mulch this stuff up.

« Last Edit: May 27, 2019, 01:14:32 pm by Michael Caswell »

Doug K

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Mike, You are probably right about the plant being an invasive species.. remember though.. this group is sure 'if it's green it's good".

Most troubling is the idea that the Canal Corporation isn't warning Erie Canal Trailway "tourists", I just can't believe someone said that. The person who posted that "riding on rocks & mud is not a trail" on the STCC website is simply letting her "inner child" show...  like a 3 year old who keeps asking why, but won't listen. Embankment Rehab work is behind, and notifications are all over.. if you simply look.



The Erie Canal Trail is not closed...like the banner said. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be. I found 4 different places the Canal Corporation tried to warn people using the trail, like Ms. Lucas Smith, that "conditions" may NOT be idea... due to ongoing Embankment Rehabilitation. It's just common sense to those of us living in the "construction zone"... too bad this STCC posting author didn't have a little more.

Erie Canal Trail Condition & Notification was on the NYS Canal Corp page as well as Facebook & Twitter



Twitter had this announcement:



ROCHESTER residents should be asking the STCC, that Stop the Canal Clearcut Facebook group to stop whining about the canal just to hear their own voices.  Especially when the issue they whine about is due to their own inability to understand how to use a web page link or look further than a banner on the top of a project page. Of course the STCC has never been known for fairness, especially to the Canal Corp.

To be FAIR... everyone was informed about trail conditions, I guess those in the STCC are expecting "personal notifications"

Someone... please start a counter-group Facebook group to the STCC.. call it Stop the Canal Complaining

« Last Edit: May 28, 2019, 02:25:21 pm by Doug K »