The Independent – May 5, 2002

School Board President Edmund Brooks said Widewaters would pay in the neighborhood of $20,000 per $1 million of assessed valuation per year in taxes to the Ichabod Crane district, which teaches kids from Stockport to Schodack.       

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Despite those new tax dollars, many residents fear the plaza's proximity to the school's main campus will be too dangerous for students and pedestrians.

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The Independent – May 8, 2002

 And town resident Remi Gaylord, referring to the new car parts store Napa built on Route 9 and another run by Van Allen's just a few hundred yards away, said competition is healthy for consumers and businesses.
      "To think that having two businesses competing against each other is a bad thing is ridiculous," said Mrs. Gaylord, a member of the Ichabod Crane school board.

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The Independent – June 4, 2002

 "I'm concerned about the school buses entering from State Farm Road, the walkers, children crossing the road. This is my primary problem with the building location," said Marcia Anderson, a town resident.    She is a member of the Ichabod Crane Board of Education, which is examining the potential impacts of the nearby plaza on the school campus and on the hundreds of students, staff and parents who travel there daily. "It's an accident waiting to happen," said Mrs. Anderson, who called the field Widewaters wants to buy from the Samascott family's orchard "the worst possible location in the Town of Kinderhook."

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The Register-Star - October 17, 2002

Ichabod Crane Central School District

P.O. Box 820 – 2910 Route 9

Valatie, New York 12184-0137

October 10, 2002

Mr. Edwin Simonsen

Kinderhook Town Planning Board

Town Hall, PO Box P

Niverville NY 12130

Re:  Proposed Widewaters Commons Shopping Center

Dear Mr. Simonsen:

The Ichabod Crane Central School District received a copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared for the proposed Widewaters Commons Shopping Center.

A review of the DEIS did not lead us to find responses to the vehicular and pedestrian traffic safety concerns we had raised with the Town Planning Board several months ago. Once again, the school district wishes to remain neutral on the matter of the proposed development and our concerns are based solely on the safety of our students, staff and visitors. The questions we pose are as follows:

1.      The district has difficulty exiting its buses onto Route 9, especially southbound, with existing traffic flow. How does the plan propose to mitigate the danger of safe passage of our buses onto Route 9 with the increased traffic flow resulting from the development?

2.      Heavy traffic congestion occurs in front of the school campus on Route 9 as the buses are bringing in students and staff in arriving. Extreme delays and traffic backups occur between 7:20 am and 7:35 am. Will the proposed development cause increased traffic congestion at that time and if so, how will the plan address that concern?

3.      The DEIS indicates that there will be one pedestrian crossing at Route 9, 9H and State Farm Road. Should a second pedestrian crossing be located in the area in front of the school to ensure safe passage across Route 9 and 9H to the proposed development? We are concerned that students, parents, and visitors attending after school events will attempt to cross Route 9 somewhere in front of the school for reasons of convenience, rather than walking up to the pedestrian crossing at Route 9, 9H and State Farm Road.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input into the Town’s planning and approval process for this proposed development.

Sincerely,

Daralene C. Jewell

Superintendent of Schools

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