To the Editor:

Residents of Potsdam, are you aware that the Village Board will be meeting Sept. 20 to vote on the hospitals proposed expansion? I’m amazed at the number of people in town I’ve spoken with who know nothing of this. I have only had good experiences as a patient, I value the service they provide my family, our community and the health care workers employed there are nothing short of heroes.

However, has the hospital, “the business” considered every available option for modernization and expansion within the footprint it currently holds? Why not build up? Like Raymond Hall on SUNY Potsdam’s campus?

Have they been good stewards of the land they currently occupy? (See the trash and cigarette butts decorating Cottage Street for the past year or more - why would we expect anything different if expansion takes place?)

Have they been good financial supporters of the village services they receive? Have they done due diligence informing the citizens of Potsdam of their plans?

Is this move even in the best fiscal interest of the hospital? During the meeting this past week one of the hospital plan presenters even conceded that the high school is now twice the size it once was and hosts half the number of students.

Is the population in the North Country growing at such a rate that homes need to be demolished on Waverly Street in order to make a larger footprint for the hospital? This is an 'ask' from a business. It's ok to say no.

You won't get Waverly back to its current state, not ever. This vote, on Sept. 20, will have long lasting effects in the village. It will re-shape the village. This is something every citizen of Potsdam should know about.

One last note, some unkind words were shared in this paper directed at Village Board members, those were unfair. I have nothing but respect for the Village Board members who work hard and do their best to make life in Potsdam all it can be.

Doyle Dean
Potsdam