Eight Million Gallons . . .

Eight Million Gallons ! . . . That's the amount of water used to fight last night's fire at the FX Matt Brewery, according to the Rome Sentinel.

Aren't we lucky that this did not happen during last September's water crisis . . .

Playing By the Rules in NYM - Not - Pt 2

More thoughts on the NYM-Oriskany Manufacturing situation:

Although the Village may be within its right not to defend a lawsuit or to bring an action to enforce a law (i.e., withholding an action -- sometimes called "prosecutorial discretion"), Village officials are still required to follow the law in their own actions. Village Officials take an oath to uphold the law.

Will a Village official knowingly approve a building permit for a project that violates the law?

Judges also take an oath to uphold the law. Whether a party defaults in defending itself (such as the Village) or there is simply incompetent representation, a judge still is required to follow the law.

Will a judge knowingly approve a project that violates a local law?

Watching what these officials do will tell the public just how far down the "slippery slope" we have allowed our society to go.

[Part 1]

A Sad Day . . .

This is a sad day in Greater Utica. One of our signature landmarks, the F.X. Matt Brewery, was severely damaged in a fire last evening. The OD has all the details with pictures and video.

This is a severe blow, not only to the Matt family and the many employees who work there, but to the community at large . . .

It was clear from last night that Greater Utica really is One Community, and the brewery is part of its "soul." People had first come from all around for the Saranac Thursday entertainment -- and then the fire fighters came from far beyond Utica to fight the blaze. Somehow we manage to come together to face disaster.

It's time to rebuild.

Playing By the Rules in NYM - Not

This story is real troubling because the implications go far, far beyond a manufacturer and some jobs.

In February, New York Mills refused to change zoning that would have allowed a manufacturer to come to the Village and expand. The manufacturer then sued the Village, but now the Village leaders voted to NOT defend the law suit.

This is a "slippery slope" folks. What is the point of having a law on the books if it won't be enforced?

What this tells the public is that "the privileged" -- be they friends of bureaucrats or wealthy individuals/companies/not-for-profits with unlimited resources to tie others up in court -- don't need to follow the rules that everyone else does.

Zoning ordinances are not rocket science. They are there to protect community values. If community values change and the ordinances are no longer felt to be relevant, they can be changed by following an orderly process. But ignoring them is disorder . . . it's unpredictable . . . and in the long run, it drives people and businesses away because people and businesses look for predictability when deciding to invest in a community.

What is happening in the Mills is symptomatic of a sickness that seems to have gripped our Oneida/Herkimer Counties region: Government does not follow its own rules!

Many people will simply throw up their hands in disgust and say, "You can't fight city hall."

Is it any wonder why so many people simply leave the region?

Planning . . .

Two stories from today's OD relate to planning, one showing a "good" direction, the other "not quite sure."

In New Hartford: Consideration is being given to increasing the size of land parcels. This is good news -- New Hartford is finally thinking about the consequences of development before it happens -- here in the context of grappling with its storm-water problems. If lot sizes are increased, less impervious surfaces will be created that cause runoff. However, New Hartford should not be too quick to jump at what seems to be an obvious solution. Larger lots also increase the cost (per capita) of services such as maintaining water and sewer lines, sidewalks, policing, etc., because development is spread out. Clustering development on smaller lots, but with surrounding buffer zones, may be an option that addresses runoff, but also reduces infrastructure costs. Look to see what has been done elsewhere - - e.g., Europe where fuel is expensive and agricultural land is at a premium (because that is what our future is starting to look like), or suburban Montreal.

In Utica: Mayor Roefaro is planning on moving Oneida Square's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument to the center of Genesee Street, and creating a traffic roundabout. Five or 6 traffic lights would be eliminated.

“People don’t like change, but change is good,” Roefaro said Wednesday. “Putting the roundabout there and bringing the statue into the middle of the street — now you’re giving Utica a whole different look.”

The objective here really is not clear. There is no traffic problem to speak of. If traffic lights are eliminated and cars will be going in circles, the area will likely become unfriendly to pedestrians -- which is exactly opposite what is needed if a city renaissance is expected.

If a "new look" is the objective, how about something less intrusive: cobble the pavement in the street, eliminate the overhead "spaghetti" of power/phone lines, put in "period" street lighting, redo the sidewalks, increase police patrols (preferably on foot), and encourage the cafe use of sidewalks where they are wide enough (e.g., near the antique store). Oneida Square's current street layout is not that bad, but some well-planned environmental changes could give it that "sense of place" that would make it a destination. Regardless . . .

Planning is something we would like to see more of . . . because creating an atmosphere of predictability makes it easier for people/businesses to make their own investment plans.

But planning, to be effective, must be well thought out. It should be directed to solve specific problems, but also be done in a way that invites the public to look for flaws . . . We want to avoid trading old problems in for new ones.

Transparency?

In a special editorial to the OD, Gerald Fiorini claims that Griffiss Airfield operations are open and transparent . . .

Isn't this the same Gerald Fiorini that in March 2006 abruptly ended a meeting before the Airport Reuse Committee could have its questions answered?

Mr. Fiorini's actions speak much louder than his words.

Is It Time to Recall? . . .

Isn't this nice? The grossly overpaid (by CNY income standards) Utica Police Chief with an unheard-of 18 year contract is being given another $250,000 to leave office. . . .

Somehow, we suspect that this has nothing to do with wanting to clean up some unethical UPD practices since the forgery scandal seems to have been forgotton. Maybe it is as simple as Mayor Roefaro wanting to hire another friend or family member. Regardless . . .

The public is sick of "deals." It doesn't want 1950s style 'leadership.' It wants to know WHY the big payout? And since it is paying the tab, the public is entitled to know why.

If the public is not given the "why" on this outrageous buyout, maybe it's time that the public boots Mayor Roefaro out.

The Things that Encourage Sprawl . . .

Assemblyman Townsend is proposing $8 million for a bridge over Rt. 840 to ease access to the New Hartford Business Park.

How about this: NO access to 840 from the NH Business Park, and a scaled down Business Park.

The region is NOT growing, but it is spreading out, and proposals such as this encourage more of the same. The PUBLIC does not need the Business Park, but the developer and certain Town and State Officials do.

What the Public winds up with is another area to police, and provide water, sewer and fire services.

This sort of thing is done because it is easy to do where things are relatively undeveloped. . . and because most town officials want to "grow" their tax bases to make it look like they are accomplishing something. In a sense, they can be excused for this behavior.

There is no excuse for County and State officials, however. They have an obligation to take a broader perspective. While New Hartford might be able to afford to provide the extra services from the extra tax revenue that will be generated, the REGIONAL impact will be that economic activity will be encouraged to abandon older areas where the infrastructure and services are already in place, wasting those investments.

If Assemblyman Townsend and the County really want to help the Region become more economically competitive, then they need to focus on those more difficult actions and investments required to encourage re-development of our older areas -- such as a more sensible North-South Arterial in Utica -- such as a total cleanup of all contaminated areas at Harbor Point.

The greater the geographic area our economic activity is dissipated over, the weaker and less competitive our region becomes.

What a Terrible Tangled Web We Weave . . .

Looks like last fall's Hinckley water crisis has developed a new wrinkle: another potential lawsuit. Erie Boulevard Hydropower has filed a notice of claim against the State of New York for breach of an old 1921 Agreement. It seems that the Canal Corp., when it reduced releases from Hinckley to keep the lake level from dropping below the Mohawk Valley Water Authority's drinking water supply intake, reduced them below the levels required by the Agreement. The reduced 'water over the dam' meant lost power and lost money to the power company.

But wait! Isn't drinking water more important than power? Shouldn't the power company give up some of its power to protect MVWA's customers?

The power company isn't the only one suffering a loss. A public fishery along West Canada Creek was also shut down for the first time in memory. While a few fishermen not being able to fish their favorite stream might seem inconsequential to some, there are others who make their living off this sport, and their incomes were also dramatically impacted by the Canal Corporation's actions.

But wait! Isn't drinking water more important than fishing and people making their living from fishing activities? Shouldn't the fishermen give up their past time and the guides, and bait-and-tackle shops take a back seat to the well being of the people in Utica and New Hartford?

Where is it written that the Canal Corp. must retain water to protect the MVWA's water supply? Isn't that the obligation of the MVWA?

Of course, we already know that the MVWA breached its own agreement with the People of the State of New York by demolishing its back up reservoir at Gray -- and if you read some of the appendices to the Hinckley Working Group's Report, you would know that MVWA was obliged to add water to Hinckley from its own reserves throughout last summer in an amount equal to what it was using.

Did MVWA's breach contribute to the Canal Corp's breach? Will the Canal Corp. bring a third-party suit against MVWA to (make its customers) pay for the power company's loss?

Did MVWA's breach contribute to the threat to its own intakes? In theory, undoubtedly because there would have been more water in Hinckley, but as a practical matter, the answer is unknown, because the Working Group avoided making those calculations like it was the plague. We can't have state-created agencies pointing out other state-created agencies' screw-ups can we? . . . especially when they are all busy suing each other . . . and why bother? . . . It's not like its costing them any money because all the costs are passed on. The taxpayers, MVWA customers, and Thruway users have bottomless pockets to finance these suits and charades.

And where was the DEC in all this when it gave a permit to MVWA to destroy the Gray Dam? Shouldn't it have known that maintenance of that dam was a requirement for MVWA to take water from Hinckley? Shouldn't it have determined in advance the consequences of MVWA removing the dam and the additional water storage to the well-being of MVWA's customers?

Some days it seems that none of the government entities want to follow their own rules . . . They all want to march to their own drummer, focusing only on their own missions . . . Nevertheless, they all are willing to cover up for each other to protect the status quo. . . Meanwhile public safety is put at risk, the public and private businesses are inconvenienced, and we all pay and pay.

What a terrible tangled web New York State government has weaved.

Your School Tax Dollars - Hard at Work

Very apropos for the week before school board elections and budget votes, with the concomitant hand-wringing over rising costs, a little story appears in the "School Zone" section of today's OD: "How fast can you stack?" What's this all about?

According to the article, the timed sequential stacking of a series of cups is "quite a trend among area students." The article specifically mentions Utica, Rome and Clinton districts as participating. . . . Don't laugh. This is serious business, folks. There is an official website for this "sport" http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org/ ... and Rome hosted a regional tournament back in April.

The teachers love it:

Diane Penella, tournament director and a teacher at Staley Upper Elementary School in Rome, said competitive cup stacking helps students develop self-confidence.

“We’re seeing kids who might have been shy and now they’re standing out. They have self-confidence,” she said. . . .

Christina Buschmann, physical education teacher at Clinton Middle School and the district’s chair of the Health and Physical Education Department, said students at her school often take part in the activity in the winter.

She agreed the activity has both mental and physical benefits.

“Being able to work both sides of your brain, it helps students increase awareness in all areas of their lives,” Buschmann said. “It’s really amazing. It takes practice to really get good at it. It’s a great activity to do for the family.”

Isn't it amazing how educators can find an educational value in virtually anything . . .

. . . . What.horse.manure!

Lacking Basic Math Skills . . . and More . . .

If you live in Utica, by now you've received this bit of postal confusion from the UCSD on the upcoming budget vote. Having a warped sense of fun I thought it would be interesting to plug the numbers from UCSD's mailing into a spreadsheet. This is what I came up with:


All the numbers in the white cells are from UCSD's mailing. Items highlighted in yellow are calculated. Rows in Orange are additions.

The first thing I noticed was that the contingency budget's increase (both in $ and %, F3 and F4 on the sheet) as calculated does not match what UCSD reported to the voters. If the UCSD cannot do simple math, or cannot proofread a mailing for errors before sending it to thousands of taxpayers, how can it be trusted to properly administer a budget well over 100 million dollars?

The second thing I noticed was the absolutely astounding 19+% increase in school district administration no matter what the voters do. That's close to SEVEN TIMES the rate of inflation.. . . and these people don't even teach.

Programmatic costs are going up about 2 or 3 times the rate of inflation. . . . and while capital costs are projected at under 2 times the rate of inflation, isn't there a big capital project being planned that will go before the voters next month??? And, how is it that the tax levy remains the same under both contingency and proposed budgets?

Hmmm . . . What's a voter to do when handed numbers like these???

The Stirrings of Change?

As expected, the county's contract with EDGE was renewed for another year and another $412K. What was different about this approval was the vote: 24-3. Three legislators, all from Utica, voted against it -- a real break from what we've seen in the past with this legislature where propositions are rubber-stamped with unanimous votes.

And questions were asked -- for a change!

Tanoury thought his queries about the accountability of the not-for-profit EDGE and whether there was any analysis of what EDGE gets back on its investments were given the short shrift at the committee session, so he raised them again Wednesday at the full board meeting.

Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steven J. DiMeo responded to Tanoury’s queries. DiMeo reviewed the legal formation of EDGE and why two affiliates were set up to support specific projects. He also said the EDGE budget undergoes an outside audit.

It was noted that EDGE officials meet with legislators on a quarterly basis.

Several legislators then spoke up in support of EDGE.

"I think they’re doing a fine job relative to accountability," said Les Porter, R-6, Remsen.

Mr. Tanoury's questions were given the short shrift again . . . or maybe it was a "long shrift" . . .

It's clear that Mr. Tanoury isn't asking about accounting practices . . . It's accountability to the public: What return is the public getting for its substantial investments, both in EDGE and in the projects that EDGE administers?

It sounds like he was given the typical Oneida County response: (1) A lot of irrelevant detail that distracts from the purpose of the questions that were asked, and (2) EDGE supporters cheerleading but providing no substantive information themselves. All talk to give the impression that EDGE is doing a fine job - - BUT NO SUBSTANCE TO ACTUALLY PROVE IT.

Well . . . If EDGE meets quarterly with the legislature and it is doing such a fine job of accountability, why is it that we still don't know what we've invested and what we've gotten in return? Why can't the supporting legislators tell us what we are getting for our bucks?

The question remains unanswered.

Again, keep asking those questions, Larry. It may take awhile, but eventually the vacuous nature of county decision making will be exposed.

More on this from Gear over at the CNY Snakepit.

A Perfect Picture at Proctor . . .

We are so lucky that the Proctor family had the foresight to bless Utica with a generous park system. . . . and that we have some great weather to enjoy it.

Pajamas, Pep Rallies and Posters . . .

Friday is the annual Ride for Missing Children and students in area schools have been involved.

To get ready, students have been raising money, making posters and inviting riders into their classrooms. . . .

In Utica, themed days were held such as PJ’s for Posters where students could wear their pajamas to school if they brought in a quarter to purchase posters.

Other schools adopted riders . . . the adopted riders have been traveling to respective schools giving safety talks and running pep rallies for the past month.

On Friday, Corasanti held a pep rally at Myles Elementary in New Hartford and talked about safety for kids while some off the ride participants rode through the crowd on their bikes. . . . More than a dozen riders from Myles will participate in the event . . .

Pajamas, posters and pep-rallies? . . . People riding bikes through crowds? . . . . I will remember this the next time I write my check for school taxes . . . and vote on the next school budget.

UCSD: Loose With Our Money . . .

Out of its proposed $171 million capital plan, the Utica City School District is planning on spending $42 million on Proctor High School alone.

Let's see . . .$42 million for Proctor + $37 million for Proctor on the last project (the 2002 Millennium project) = spending $79 million on one school in just 10 years. Either amount alone is breathtaking, but together? If they didn't get it right the first time, why should the public think they will get it right now?

This is a feeding frenzy for contractors and architects . . . Student education is of secondary importance to this board.

Water Over the Dam?

Today's OD raises the question "Should authority extend water lines?" without delving whatsoever into the pros and cons of whether or not the Mohawk Valley Water Authority should be allowed to redistribute Herkimer County, Hinckley Reservoir water to central and western Oneida County.

Of course, until the lawsuit between the MVWA and Canal Corp. is resolved, the question is purely academic because, technically, there is currently no water to distribute.

If water authority officials succeed in winning their case, state Department of Environmental Conservation officials would grant them permits to extend pipes to additional areas, said Skip Shoemaker, the DEC's Region 6 engineer and reservoir working-group member.

If DEC thinks that the court case will settle things, and is planning on granting the permit for Verona, then it better think again. It will likely have a fight on its hands.

DEC knows very well that the application to send water to Verona does not meet the permit issuance standards of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) in several important respects including:

• The application fails to show the need for and the reasons why Hinckley Reservoir was selected as Verona’s water supply source from among alternative sources that are or may become available. (ECL §15-1503(1)). Curiously, the engineering study included with the application concluded that it would be LESS cost-effective for Verona to obtain water from Hinckley/MVWA than from the City of Rome, or the Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA).
  
  
• The application fails to show that the water supply will be adequate to supply Verona in addition to its current service area (ECL §15-1503(1)). MVWA estimates a 2025 water demand of 29MGD within its existing service area, plus 2MGD for Verona, plus 1MGD (current) for Vernon and Sherrill. That's 32 MGD total . . . which equals the capacity of the filtration plant . . . and leaves no room for a 3MGD chip fab! Even not considering the limitation of the filtration plant, the supply still is inadequate (see next bullet).
  
  
• The application fails to show that the proposal is just and equitable to all affected municipalities and their inhabitants with regard to their present and future needs for sources of water supply (ECL §15-1503(2)). DEC is obliged to ensure that water supplies which are more available for use by one community are not absorbed by another. Syracuse v Gibbs, 283 NY 275 (1940). Greater Utica will be the biggest loser here. The Oneida-Herkimer Counties Comprehensive Water Supply Study concluded in 1968 that if there was significant regional population growth, central Oneida County should be served by Rome, and western Oneida County should be served by Lake Ontario (i.e., OCWA) or other nearby sources, and that Hinckley should be reserved for Greater Utica and Herkimer County. (The study actually predicted an eventual a shortage for Greater Utica even if Hinckley water was reserved for eastern Oneida and Herkimer Counties). No good reason has been presented to deviate from this long-standing plan.

That DEC is prepared to issue permits in the face of these glaring deficiencies should be another red flag that DEC answers to politically connected interests above protecting the environment and the people of the State of New York. Oneida County is on a "development" binge that seems to be driving decision making both locally and at the DEC, and is giving us a horrible case of urban sprawl (with a declining population to support it).

Look at the lands that the pipeline will pass to see who will be enriched.

Get Over the EDGE

Looks like contract renewal time is coming around again for EDGE, and was discussed at a County legislative committee meeting. Another $400,000+ of Oneida County money will be given to EDGE to "lead the county’s economic growth efforts" and to "administer the county’s Empire Zone program." EDGE's budget is $2.2 million. The balance comes from state and federal grants "and donations from businesses and the 45 governing board members."

The people who pay get to play. Why should OUR economic development decisions be controlled by a group of insiders who have paid admission to protect their turf?

As the discussion wound down, Legislator Larry Tanoury Jr., D-25, who is not a member of Economic Development & Tourism, asked if there is analysis of what the return is from government incentives provided to businesses. Shortly after Tanoury raised the topic, Committee Chairman Michael D. Damsky, R-14, New Hartford, adjourned the session, paving the way for another committee meeting.

Typical Oneida County maneuvering: someone asks good questions and the meeting gets abruptly shut down.

Keep asking those questions Larry! Even when you don't get an answer, the response to them tells the voters all that we need to know.

Do As We Say -- Or Else . . .

That's what the Utica School Board is telling the voters. Either voters give the Board what it wants (60 new positions and new programs) , or the Board will use its power to raise taxes as punishment.

The arrogance of this board is only matched by its incompetence.

What's In a Number?

People are agonizing over what to do when the phone numbers in Area Code 315 run out: Do we add a new area code on top of what we have now, and run the risk of getting trigger finger punching in 11 digits whenever we make a call? Do we split the region apart, with businesses in the new area code zone being forced to change their business cards, letterheads and advertising?

Of course, new phones can be programmed with numbers, reducing dialing. And whenever a new area code has been created, there is a transition period when the old one will still work -- providing time to use up the old letterhead and purchase new.

I'm looking on the bright side: If a split is done right (with counties being kept intact as proposed by Sen. Griffo) there is an opportunity for Utica-Rome to have its own identity. . . the Area Code can become a marketing tool, perhaps more accurately locating us on the map than "Mohawk Valley."

Welcome to ###!

A Penchant for Parking . . .

The new proposed parking plan to put a garage literally on top of Charlotte Street at Bleecker with a bus transfer station makes sense. It is a much better place than behind Grace Church where it would detract from that landmark . . . and the design will enhance rather than detract from the surroundings.

It's nice to see City officials paying attention to design and location when proposing such facilities.

Now, if Parking is teamed with more Police Patrolling at this location, the "Busy Corner" may once again live up to its reputation.

Wham Bam . . .

The impending State reconstruction of the North-South Arterial presents a unique opportunity to increase the desirability of a large Utica neighborhood -- if the right choice is made.

The pictures certainly look pretty. An overpass over Court Street with a roundabout beneath, and a pedestrian (only) bridge at Sunset, seem to be the official plan of choice. Perhaps the idea is that people going home to New Hartford from the Stanley will be able to get on the arterial at Court without having to stop at a light.

Wham, Bam, Thankyou, Ma'am!

People do live and work in this area. Pedestrians walking along Court will face walls and have a 'roundabout' route. Drivers along Sunset will be cut off entirely, while pedestrians will be forced to use a footbridge. Other streets will be cut entirely. While the footbridge has been cited as creating an "urban grandeur feeling," how grand would you feel while being mugged in a place where police vehicles have no access and where drivers passing beneath at 60 MPH are too busy to notice?

The fact is, these kinds of highways through neighborhoods are death for the neighborhoods they pass through. They were mistakes from the early days of the Interstate system when we did not know better... but people know better now, and we know there are viable alternatives.

Baltimore and Washington, DC saw the light and stopped interstates from slicing through town (I-95 now follows the Capital Beltway). San Francisco and New York have replaced elevated highways with boulevards at grade level. Buffalo is now considering the same thing. Read the Buffalo link, particularly the examples of successful boulevards from other cities presented in the last few pages.

Route 840 and its grade-level crossings has encouraged development in suburban locations that now require heavy taxpayer investment in infrastructure. Meanwhile, the State's proposal for Utica will actually cut off access to places where the infrastructure for development is already in place but under-utilized. Is this short sighted, or what?

Madam Utica has already been raped by local policies that take money out of the pockets of city residents and redistribute it to the suburbs (water and sewer fees). It must not be physically raped by a highway that will wall off West Utica to development.

This plan must be changed.

Abolish County Government?

Apparently that is being considered by some in Westchester County. It was done decades ago in Connecticut. Buffalo Pundit tells us how it was done in Massachusetts in 1997:

1. Counties continue to exist as geographical entities.
2. County sheriffs continue to exist and be elected from the county constituency. They and their deputies become state employees.
3. County clerks continue to be elected from the county constituency. They and their staff and registries become state employees and entities.
4. The middleman is eliminated, your sales tax is 5%, your property tax is lower, and yet essential services are maintained. Remember - it’s Massachusetts, not Mississippi.

Since county leaders constantly complain that State mandates such as Medicaid, new jails and the like leave them with little control over the County budget, maybe the solution is for the State to actually take direct control of county government functions.

The 5% sales tax and lower property taxes sure sound good . . .

But wait . . . Things like EDGE, the County Airport, and other county-wide initiatives might have to go . . . .

This is starting to sound even better! Where do we sign up?

Where Do We Go From Here?

The "Final Report" of the Hinckley Working Group is out. After reading it . . . if you stay awake . . . you will understand why Upstate NY is the economic disaster that it is . These people -- exclusively government bureaucrats -- do a great job of burning up time, talking to each other, gathering all sorts of information -- but don't really do anything with the information and talk to solve the problem of preventing last summer's crisis from happening again. . . . And they avoid identifying the cause of last year's crisis.

If you don't identify the cause, how can you solve the problem?

As summarized in the DOH press release, the report makes 10 recommendations (numbers mine):

1. Improve routine communications among agencies involved with the day-to-day operation of the Hinckley Reservoir and enhance communications when elevations and inflows are low.
2. Improve the aging drinking water intakes and raw water mains.
3. Consider the use of other available canal sources to help provide water to the eastern portion of the canal system for navigation when water levels are below normal and declining.
4. Close data gaps to help better assess reservoir conditions and improve forecasting.
5. Install a standby pump system to pull drinking water directly from the reservoir to help during low water periods.
6. Consider assessing and upgrading the canal infrastructure.
7. Consider the feasibility of creating additional storage reservoirs upstream of Hinckley Reservoir.
8. Request that the State Drought Management Task Force establish a new drought region that encompasses Oneida, Herkimer and parts of Hamilton Counties.
9. Form a planning and advisory group to study economic, recreational and development issues associated with the water resources and provide information that can be used for local planning.
10. Preserve and archive the extensive information gathered by the Working Group for use in future planning.

The list is an excuse for more bureaucracy and spending.

The big question not answered is would the crisis have occurred had everyone been following long standing rules such as the 1920 Rule Curve and the 1917 Agreement? The solution to preventing the problem from reoccurring could be as simple as:

DO WHAT YOU ALREADY PROMISED TO DO.

But the public is not told that . . . because government agencies simply want to be free to do what they WANT to do.

This "Final Report" is a recipe for . . . more of the same.