Group questions legality of town board vote
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - BathNY, the group fighting the proposed Wal-Mart superstore on state Route 54, has filed a complaint with the New York state Committee on Open Government alleging the Bath town boardviolated the state public meeting law earlier tis month.

BathNY member Michelle Fahmy has charged the town board acted illegally when it reconvened from a private, executive session July 9 and established a escrow account to pay the engineering costs associated with an environmental impact study of the Wal-Mart development.

The account will be funded by Wal-Mart and, according to the contract, will not exceed $20,000.

The town board vote, which was unanimous, was not included on an official agenda that town officials provided visitors. Members of the audience subsequently left the meeting room and were not present when the board later reconvened.

"I am concerned that my rights under the 'open meeting law' were violated," Fahmy wrote the Committee on Open Government, a division of the new York Department of State. "Ultimately, I question the legality of the business conducted by the Bath town board post executive session on July 9."

Town Supervisor Fred Muller has a simple explanation for why the escrow account vote was taken after the executive session.

"I forgot to bring it up at the beginning of the meeting," he said Wednesday. "It's strictly my fault. I remembered it after the executive session."

Muller added the escrow matter had not been discussed in the executive session, which had been called to review union negotiations.

"It was something we had to address," he said.

Muller had announced previously Fagan Engineers, of Elmira, would serve as consultants to the town Planning Board during the complex environmental review. Wal-Mart, he emphasized, would pay the consulting fees through an escrow account managed by the town town.

Muller told The Courier last week Fagan Engineers had advised the town $20,000 would probably cover the firm's consulting fees.

If it doesn't, Muller added, the town will expect Wal- Mart to make up the difference.

"Whatever it takes to complete the ... process, they'll be bound to pay for," he said. "I have no issue that Wal-Mart is not going to pay for it; they will pay."