Part 15: The Wine Wars: The ZBA Took the Wind Out of Fox Hill’s Sails, but Hope Springs Eternal with Ag and Markets and an Article 78 Hearing

The Zoning Board of Appeals Rules Against Fox Hill Vineyard. But the Ag and Markets Laws Are Still Available to the Williamses. Oh, and What About All Those Fibs? And Those Ethics Issues?

As reported in the March 8th post of The Powell House Press, the Chatham Zoning Board of Appeals had decided at the last minute to “delay” their decision on 509 Bashford Road’s tasting room application as accessory use. Specifically, to change what was their initial decision to allow it. Last night the ZBA did just as reported. They changed their decision and said no. They also went out of their way to be sure that the public knew that they made their decision independent of Rick Werwaiss’ public comments (story broken by local reporter Prew) and the fact that during this process the Williamses’ property was included in Agriculture District 10.

Both of these factors, the ones that the ZBA made clear had NO bearing on their decision-making processes, are grounds for the Williamses to appeal through an Article 78 proceeding. They have 30 days to file. Will they? Good question, but a better question is: will they have to? With the protection of Ag and Markets there are now many roads to the altar.

While this is a reprieve for the community, it is not a long-term solution. There remains a lot that seems...unsorted? Unresolved? Let’s just use the term undone.

The Chatham Town Board and the Columbia County Board of Supervisors still have issues before them:

What about the claims made on all the forms and documents that have been submitted?

What about the ethical issues around disclosure and recusal? Don’t confuse the two. Disclosure is one issue and recusal another.

And there are a few other issues as well. I’ll get to them.

Now with all the bombs dropping, rising gas prices and of course the Epstein Files collecting dust, the Williamses’ various applications and the fiction they house might now seem like a no-harm, no-foul kind of situation. But was it? Is it?

When anyone fills out these applications, the person signing their name should be held to a simple notion of truth. Maybe now more than ever in a media desert like Columbia County, where accountability is not a sure thing. Is it really ambiguous to anyone that when they sign an official government form they are legally attesting to the truth? Does anyone really believe, let alone have proof, that Ed and Cherie Williams have cattle grazing on 509 Bashford Road?

And is there the same ambiguity around Donal Collins’ knowledge of what the farming operation of the Williamses truly was when he stewarded their application through the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board at the county level?

These are not quadratic equations. Are there cattle, horses, a barn complex, or farm help requiring housing on 509 Bashford Road? It’s not a hard question to answer.

If everything was done honestly and transparently, would this have even made it to the ZBA or the county? That is the foundational question.

And yes, there was a real cost to all of this, and there is sure to be more.

Toss out the lingering questions about what else Donal Collins knows or has done without the town knowing about it. Toss out the questions of what kind of representation of Chatham he brings to the county level. The larger, more substantial question before the town is what to do about Resolution 72-24. This is the resolution the town passed long before the Wine Wars that was meant to ensure that the Town Supervisor’s behavior at the county level was known. Exactly what should happen when the rule meant to address this kind of rogue behavior is broken? What’s the plan? Resolution X-26 to enforce Resolution 72-24?

When Collins “recused” himself, if you can call it that, he didn’t do it properly. And yes, it is fair to ask: would he have done so if not exposed? That’s a hard question to answer. What isn’t hard to figure out is that he didn’t recuse himself when there were decisions of fact to be made in his role as a member of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, a board crucial to the inclusion of 509 into Ag District 10. What isn’t hard to figure out is that his recusal came only after the conflict was reported in the Powell House Press and read thousands of times.

These are not small issues. They are not procedural. They go to the public’s trust.

And then there is the culture that the Wine Wars has exposed. And maybe that is one of the most chilling revelations.

While most of the email I have received has been overwhelmingly positive, not all of it has been. And hey, I will take my lumps. I know my style is not for everyone.

I’m okay with Prew calling me out on Facebook. Hell, I’ve given her credit — she scooped me on Rick’s showing up at the ZBA, and I did agree with her on that. But what I am writing about here is not a reaction to my writing style.

I've received emails that have been personal and threatening. One referenced my old address. Others contained slurs. One was unhinged. But here is where it crosses a line (as if threats aren't enough): this has happened to others. Sources in both the county and the town — private citizens and public officials — have described being treated in a rude and dismissive way and reported feeling a level of fear from Donal, Abi, and their surrogates, both in official meetings and private settings.

People, not anonymous emailers, but people with names and phone numbers, have shared their stories wanting to be heard, but are terrified of being identified. They fear for their personal safety and for harm to their property.

The boards' reaction to reporting done here is not okay either. Forget the Trumpian mantra of "fake news." Press coverage is one side of the coin of the democratic process. Citizen involvement being the other. Clearly, notice is one problem. The town and county have to do a better job. There is no reason to wait until the day before to post agendas. Providing notice to a paper that is not widely read is not notice. It is a barrier to participation in the same way making people FOIL information is. The wall of silence from board members is another. The press, when identified as such, no matter the personal feelings about it, has a role that needs to be respected. It's not the Powell House Press who is "disrespected." It is the community.

These are real problems. Lying, aiding false claims and supporting lies on applications, threatening and pejorative behavior and stonewalling do not a democracy make. And the reflex that these kinds of behaviors are blue or red is nonsense.

No, Chatham — your work here is not done.

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