The emails prior to the Dec. 8 meeting

These emails were written by representatives of Newman and their development partners approximately a week prior to the critical December 8, 2005, Town Board meeting. At that meeting, the Town refused to permit public comment or to accept the 600 petition signatures gathered in opposition to Newman's proposal, yet accepted Newman's application and forwarded it to the Town Planning Board for review. This initiated formal review of this project, which continues.

These emails reveal the extent to which Newman and the Town were working together to expedite review of Newman's proposal and to minimize public input and opposition. It is apparent that the developers view Attorney Coniglio and Supervisor Kennison as advocates for their project who can be counted on to work on their behalf in guiding their proposal toward approval. The statement, regarding the December 8 Town Board meeting, that "the historic preservation group [PDDG] is not being given an opportunity to present or speak at this meeting. Wes Kennison is concerned and focused on making the process flow in an efficient manner given the contractual time constraints that we are facing" is particularly concerning. It suggests that the Town and the developers worked together in advance of the meeting to prevent public input and to ensure that Newman's proposal was accepted without opposition.

PDDG is very troubled by the appearance of impropriety that these documents present. Close coordination between the Town Board and the developer and in opposition to public input suggest that Town elected officials prejudged the merits of this proposal and prematurely committed themselves to a course of action.