To the Editor:

What has happened to Soldier On? 

This project is a not-for-profit initiative designed to provide housing and services for our veterans. It is to be located on county-owned property at the Shaker site in Colonie.

There was much controversy among Democrats in county government over this issue. The initiative was brought forth by County Executive Daniel McCoy, and was stalled last year by his own party.

Could the legislature’s leadership deem this property too valuable for a veterans’ project? Do these leaders have other plans for this land?

What is most ironic is that, for years, Democrat leadership in the county failed to properly vet a state-required environmental review of projects. When Solider On surfaced, these same leaders who fail to enforce this state mandate suddenly required the most stringent review.

There is no question that all projects must meet the state environmental review requirements. I have no problem with Soldier On being subject to this process, but why is the evaluation taking so long?

While we’ve been assured that the project is still progressing, albeit very slowly, I wonder if the comment made by the former Minority Leader Christine Benedict is correct. She said, “As the process crawls along, Soldier On will, in my opinion, either die a peaceful death or be moved to another less-valuable site.”

Whatever the reason, it is our veterans who are losing out during this tedious process.

Deborah Busch

Berne

Editor’s note: Deborah Busch, a Republican representing the 39th District — which covers parts of the towns of Knox and Berne, along with the towns of Rensselaerville and Westerlo in their entirety — is the minority whip. Her seat is up for re-election in November.