As Voorheesville sets out to draft a blueprint for development, it would be wise to follow advice from the architect of Altamont’s master plan: Be open and inclusive.

The third phase of a public hearing on a proposal for planned unit development districts in Voorheesville left no doubt in the minds of village board members that now is the time for Voorheesville to draft what the mayor called a blueprint for its future, a comprehensive land-use plan.

As Voorheesville Area Ambulance Service looks to close its doors on Oct. 15, the town is requesting that Albany County Sheriff’s EMS division expand its services to a 24/7 operation to cover VAAS’s former district.

Wednesday night, the village board deferred taking action on a moratorium that would have suspended the construction of gas stations in Voorheesville for six months.

Stewart’s Shops planned to buy Smith’s Tavern, a popular Voorheesville eatery, and put a gas station and convenience store on Maple Avenue but now, says Chuck Marshall, representing Stewart’s, the village wants to block the project with a moratorium on gas stations while it searches for a new well site.

Leadership is needed now in Voorheesville to engage a wide variety of stakeholders in creating a comprehensive land-use plan.

This fall, as many as seven special-needs students will be grouped in Voorheesville secondary classrooms so that they may receive help from an extra teacher while learning with their general-education classmates.

Problems with process as well as substance were raised at a public hearing Wednesday as the Voorheesville Village Board considered a change in zoning that would allow apartments on land owned by St. Matthew’s Church.

The EMS squad had made the decision because the squad lacked the volunteers it needs to service the community.