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HOMES EVERY WEEK! July 20, 2019
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suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Mayor addresses DRI complaints
Common Council explains ‘misconceptions’ By Sarah Elizabeth Morris STA FF W RITER
Due to public requests, the Transportation Committee was approved by the legislation to alter certain aspects of the bus schedule. This includes time changes, different pickup spots and different roads. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Morris
Public transit fares to rise Bus routes, schedules also set to change By Sarah Elizabeth Morris STA FF W RITER
PLATTSBURGH | Clinton County Public Transit (CCPT) fares are expected to rise by about 50 percent in the year 2020. The committee expects a 10 percent loss in ridership, but a $35,000 increase in overall revenue. Regular fare for riders will go up by
50 cents, student passes would be $30 instead of $20 and rural passes would be $10 rather than $5. The senior discount, which is currently a 50 percent decrease in fares, may also be eliminated, and anticipated to make $8,000 if that is the case. A public session was held earlier in the year on this matter, along with the bus route change, and, according to the Transportation Committee during its meeting on Tuesday, July 9, there was no public opposition against the rising bus fare prices, and instead requested changes to the schedule. The most common suggestions from the public included extra stops or time
PPAC discusses smart parking meters
changes, rather than price increases. “Our major change is not so much to cut service,” Deputy County Administrator Rodney Brown said. “It’s to make the routes more efficient, and based on feedback we received, make them so more people are likely to take them.” The resolution for the price increase was decided to be completed and voted on in August, the actual increase starting in January 2020. By increasing the prices by 50 percent next year, this means that Plattsburgh won’t slowly raise prices over the next five years, according to the committee. » Public transit Cont. on pg. 2
By Sarah Elizabeth Morris STA FF W RITER
» Parking Cont. on pg. 6
» DRI complaints Cont. on pg. 2
Local angler set for Lake Champlain event
Committee to meet with kiosk companies
PLATTSBURGH | Plattsburgh’s Parking Advisory Committee (PPAC) has decided to meet with the three fi rms narrowed down to determine which one Plattsburgh will hire to install kiosks, or smart meters, downtown. The committee came to the decision during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 9. Final interviews and test runs of each kiosk will help the committee determine which system will work best for those looking to park in Plattsburgh. The kiosks will hypothetically be available along the streets, as well as in parking lots, and are said to make the entire downtown parking paying process easier. Also discussed was an app, available to the public, that connects to the kiosk program Plattsburgh chooses. This will allow people to see available parking and pay from their phones, or with change and credit card.
PLATTSBURGH | Mayor Colin Read recently addressed what he feels are misconceptions those in Plattsburgh have against the Downtown Revitalization Initiative project Prime Companies is planning. After a complaint by a citizen during the public comment session at the Common Council meeting on Thursday, July 11, Read contradicted the most common accusations, or as he called them, “rumors,” against the project. One of the most common complaints from residents has to do with the farmers market. Many people have voiced their opinions over the “destruction” of the farmers market in the Durkee Street Lot, as it brings in a lot of business and parking on Saturdays. “Just to correct a couple of misconceptions — the farmers market isn’t being destroyed, it’s being moved in collaboration with the farmers market organization and made into a year-round facility insulated,” Read explained at the meeting.
Ben Wright participates in a recent fishing tournament on Lake Erie. Wright will take part in this weekend’s threeday Costa event on Lake Champlain. Photo provided
Costa FLW Series comes to town this weekend
are very few places — I’ve been to a lot of different lakes across the country — that you can catch a winning bag of smallmouth and a winning bag of largemouth.”
TOURNAMENT TIME
By Nathan Ovalle
Wright, 39, started fishing “when I was probably 5 or 6 years old with my dad.” About a decade ago, the Cumberland Head resident and Saranac native started tournament bass fishing. He has fished Lake Champlain countless times personally, but now has a foundation of tournament experience to go along. “I’ve fished probably 25 tournaments on the lake over the years, but these larger tournaments are usually one to two a year over the last 10 years, so I would say professional level tournaments - 10 or 12 times. State, regional, federation type tournaments another 10 or 15 times.”
EDITOR
PLATTSBURGH | There’s two reasons local angler Ben Wright likes fishing Lake Champlain. Sure, it’s his hometown lake. But it also boasts a quality that Wright finds special as he hits the water for this weekend’s Costa FLW Series Northern Division event, set for July 18-20 on Lake Champlain. “Lake Champlain is special not only because it’s home but because it’s the type of place you can win with smallmouth, you can win with largemouth, or you can win with a combination of the two,” Wright told The Sun. “Most fisheries that we travel to, one species is sort of dominant. You’re either fishing for largemouth or you’re fishing for smallmouth. Here, you will very likely see guys in the top 10 that weigh both largemouth and smallmouth. And I find that to be pretty special because not a lot of places you can go have the quality of fish that we do.” “They are certainly places that have larger fish, but there
‘BEEN VERY FORTUNATE’
For Wright, he thinks of these tournaments as getting paid to pursue his hobby. He works in IT and likes to spend as much time as possible with his loved ones — including longtime girlfriend Melissa, daughter Hannah and stepchildren Ben, Emma and Grace — forgoing last weekend’s FLW Bass Fishing tournament here in town to attend a family event. » FLW Cont. on pg. 3
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