BY JIMMY LAWTON

North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Deputy Mayor Steve Fisher and Councilor John Rishe want to see movement on a community development plan that has languished for more than a year, but Interim City Manager Andrea Smith said it’s going to take time.

The draft plan was accepted unanimously by council in April of 2021, but the final plan remains unadopted.

The plan includes a vision for economic development, waterfront development, downtown development, tourism, housing, historic preservation, recreation, transportation, education as well as arts and culture.

It also includes ideas to deal with the defunct and idle state facilities which rest on prime real estate, but remain untaxed.

Fisher said he wanted to see the plan brought up for passage at the Jan. 23 City Council meeting.

However, Interim City Manager Andrea Smith told him that would be impossible as it still needs to be brought into state compliance.

“We’ve been almost two years now, at least 18 months. Councilor Rishe put together a pretty good community development plan. We’ve been sitting on it now for a good 18 months. Do you think we can get that on the next agenda?” Fisher asked.

“No, sir I do not,” Smith said.

“Is there some type of problem with it? Or something you need to do? Or do we need to get somebody to come in here and help or what?” he asked.

Smith said she had not looked at the plan in several months when she gave an update to former City Manager Stephen Jellie, but offered to provide that update to council and discuss the situation during a February City Council meeting.

Smith said that plan needed state environmental review and legal review before it could be brought to council for adoption.

“So we are looking at another couple months, probably, or a year?” Fisher asked.

Councilor John Rishe saidasked if it could be prepared in February.

Smith again said an update could be made, but that passage would require both legal and environmental review.

“You’re the city planner and you’re the city manager as well. And we’ve been paying you for the last 18 months,” Rishe said.

Mayor Jeffrey M. Skelly interjected that preparing it is “a lot of work.”

“No. It’s not,” Rishe replied.

“She works very hard,” the mayor said.

Fisher said that he wanted to see movement on the plan.

“That’s not the point. It’s been going on for a long time and it’s time to bring it to closure,” Fisher said.

Smith said she would provide an update to council as she did to the former city manager before the week’s end and begin working on moving the plan forward.

“We can resume where we were on that. I have not worked on that in months. So I won’t have anything for you on the 23rd,” she said, adding that as planner she worked at the direction of the city manager.

Smith said bringing it forward as is, would not be compliant with state regulations.

Fisher questioned what needed to be done to bring it into compliance.

Smith said it required environmental review adding that it had not yet been done.

“But it could have been 18 months ago,” Rishe said.

Smith said now that she was serving in both roles, she could resume work on the plan, but implied that the former city manager had not made it a priority in recent times.

“That shines some light on it,” Rishe said.

Skelly said that every department in the city is working short staffed currently.

The meeting will likely be discussed further at the Feb. 14 meeting.

More information on the plan can be found at https://www.northcountrynow.com/news/ogdensburg-accepts-draft-development-plan-planners-and-public-review-0296933