Despite success for fairgrounds
Villagers want to unplug Countryfest



GUILDERLAND — As tickets are quickly being sold for the 2007 Countryfest at the Altamont fairgrounds, a mass-gathering permit has yet to be obtained from the town of Guilderland.

A group of village residents is actively lobbying against the event while the fair’s manager says such money-makers are vital to the fair’s survival.

Although Countryfest organizers hailed last year’s event as a success, it drew heavy criticism from local residents.
"I could have brought down 200 people today who are against the Countryfest," the Village of Altamont Neighborhood Association president, Norman Bauman, told the town board on Tuesday.
"We’re here, we’ve been here, and we’ll continue to have our events," said the Fair’s manager, Marie McMillen. "We understand we have a responsibility to mitigate the issues, and that’s what we’re doing."

Last year, the annual WGNA event was held at the fairgrounds after previously being held in Saratoga. It was one of the biggest single-day events of the summer there, attracting an estimated 30,000 people. The festival began 14 years ago.

Countryfest is scheduled for Saturday, July 14, with parking gates opening at 5:30 a.m.
At Tuesday night’s Guilderland Town Board meeting, representatives from the Village of Altamont Neighborhood Association told the board to deny the event’s mass-gathering permit. Bauman told the board that the heavy traffic, noise, and "drunk young people" make the event undesirable for the small village.
"It wasn’t just a problem, it was a major problem"We were told addressing the village board would be a waste of time," Bauman said to the town board. "What are you people planning to do"" he asked.
Supervisor Kenneth Runion later responded by saying, "Until we get more information, no permits will be issued."

Bauman contended that, in addition to last year’s complaints of impassable traffic and concert-goers urinating in horse stalls at the fairgrounds, people were also found urinating on residents’ lawns. He said the small village is unable to accommodate such large single-day events.

"Great family event"

Organizers of the event and the fairground’s manager disagree.
"The Altamont Fair has applied for a mass-gathering permit within the legal time constraint"We’ve met with the town and the state’s Department of Transportation to mitigate the issues," said McMillen. "Last year was the first year for the event and we learned a number of things from it. Those things are now being addressed."

Salena Dutcher, marketing director for WGNA, said extra precautions are being taken this year and that her company is footing the bill.
"We are working on a traffic study with Clough Harbor and Associates engineering," Dutcher said. "We’re taking every step to provide the event with minimal interference to the village"We are moving forward with every facet of bringing Countryfest back to Altamont."
Responding to the traffic mitigation study, Bauman said, "That doesn’t stop many young people who are drunk from urinating"People camped out at 5 a.m. and were drinking alcohol."

Dutcher said no large event is without problems and added that Countryfest brings a lot of business to the area.
"Any time you bring an event of this size, you will encounter problems," said Dutcher, but she also said it generates income for the village. Last year, Dutcher said, many of the local gas stations and convenience stores quickly sold out of items because of the high demand.
"This is the largest one-day country music festival in the Northeast. People come from all over the country to see this, people from New Jersey and Virginia, and, last year, as far away as Colorado."
Dutcher described Countryfest as a "great family event," and said that many people plan their summer vacations around Countryfest. She said the event left Saratoga because the venue was constantly expanding and under construction.
Bauman countered that Saratoga "threw out" Countryfest because of the "unruly crowds" it drew.
"Supervisor Runion has been nothing but helpful to us and only wants to best serve the people of Altamont and Guilderland," Dutcher said about having various meetings with town officials.

McMillen said that meetings have been held with emergency medical services teams and other emergency workers as well as with the local law-enforcement agencies.
"We’ve increased everything," said McMillen. "We have a formal plan for traffic, which will be approved by the DOT."

Both McMillen and Dutcher told The Enterprise that, with the proper planning and security measures, the fairgrounds can accommodate the expected crowd.

McMillen said that this year the fairgrounds have increased the number of on-site portable toilets from 50 to over 250, additional off-site parking areas have been acquired, the number of shuttle buses available will increase from three to 12, and more security is being brought in for the event. The costs of these improvements are being provided by both WGNA and the fairgrounds, she added.

‘Level of concern’

The Altamont Village board was meeting Tuesday night at the same times as the Guilderland Town Board. (Altamont is a village within the town of Guilderland and has its own governing board.)
Michael LaMountain of Maple Avenue told the village board that traffic at last year’s Countryfest was a "nightmare." He said cars were parked "anywhere and everywhere."

Mayor James Gaughan responded that Guilderland had met with the DOT to arrange shuttle buses for concert-goers from satellite locations and that Supervisor Runion has promised to look at safety issues before granting a mass-gathering permit.
"I take everything you say with a very, very huge set of seriousness," Gaughan concluded at Tuesday’s village board meeting.

Gaughan said yesterday that a safety plan is needed to address not only a traffic study, but all of the safety and health issues involved with large events at the fairgrounds.
"We’ve got to make sure we have exits and egresses and ingresses for our emergency plans," Gaughan told The Enterprise. "If the town decides to grant the permit"we have to work together to make it happen."

Saying that the village is involved with meetings and with the permit process, Gaughan said, that, ultimately, the decision is left to the town.

Runion did not return calls to The Enterprise yesterday for comment.
At Guilderland’s town board meeting, Councilman David Bosworth said the board had been unaware of "the level of concern" by village residents.
"Safety comes first"That’s why we have a permitting process," said Bosworth. "Fifty thousand people coming to Guilderland by July is something that we’re not ready to do."

Michael Ricard, the all-Democratic board’s longest-serving member, said he was stuck in the traffic from last year’s Countryfest and he saw people getting out of their cars to relieve themselves in the village.
"There were things going on that were not becoming of any adult," Ricard said. "It was really bad last year."

The Altamont Neighborhood Association’s vice president, Steve Reinemann, told the board that the traffic presented several safety risks.
"You’d never get fire apparatus through the village there," Reinemann said of Altamont’s main street. "If there was a fire, forget it; it would be impossible."

Runion recommended that village residents circulate a petition if they want to collectively voice their opinions.
"I would be glad to further discuss it with you," Runion told the association members. "Or you could sit down with the police department."

Bauman, who has lived in Altamont for three years, first formed his group as a neighborhood watch based on guidelines from the attorney general’s office.

Fairground fare
McMillen said the fairgrounds "desperately need" the revenue from outside events for upkeep and maintenance. The Altamont Fair alone cannot provide this, she said.

The once-a-year, six-day event serves Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties, promoting agriculture and providing a midway and other forms of entertainment. The fair is over a century old and is mostly run by volunteers. The fairground serves as a venue for a wide range of events throughout the year
At last year’s Altamont Fair, the attendance rate was looking "very promising" by Wednesday and was looking like it could break previous records, McMillen said. However, three days of rain later in the week stopped the attendance rates from increasing any further.
"The fairgrounds have a huge footprint and maintains many buildings"It’s been very difficult for the fair," McMillen said. "We could have the best entertainment in the world and if it’s rainy people won’t stay and if it’s 90 degrees outside people will sit in front of their air conditioners at home"It becomes a very dicey situation to bank on just the money off of the fair."

Mayor Gaughan described the fairgrounds as an important part of the village.
"Although it’s a not-for-profit they still have to make money"It’s critical that they have successful events, but it’s a balancing act," said Gaughan.

The mayor said that it is always reported to him that the other businesses in the village profit from events at the fairgrounds.

McMillen ran off a quick list of some expenses the fair currently faces:

— $25,000 to$35,000 for one roof repair;

— $40,000 to $60,000 for annual blacktop repair;

— $50,000 for necessary electrical system updates;

— 15 new transformers costing $1,000 each;

— $25,000 to rebuild and update a covered stage;

— $200,000 to $300,000 to finish new bleachers with a cover; and
— "Three or four" annual salaries.

These are in addition to the regular annual expenses of the fairgrounds.
"We’re not here to get rich or pay a lot of salaries. We’re here to maintain the fairgrounds," McMillen said.
In the future, said McMillen, the fairgrounds will be looking to bring in "some bigger acts," but the fair has no intention of picking up any additional events.
"We are doing good enough now, picking up some smaller events along the way," McMillen said, but she added, "It’s important that we generate income"We will have that event."

Information about upcoming events is available on the fair’s website and in local newspapers, McMillen said, but she added that the fair does not mail out individual notices on events at the fairgrounds.

McMillen said many of the volunteers and board members for the fair live in or around Altamont and that they would not want to negatively affect the village. She added that she hopes that, in the future, neighbors will voice their concerns about an event sooner.
"We would rather people bring complaints after the event rather than the following year after we already booked the acts," McMillen told The Enterprise.

— Reporter Saranac Hale Spencer contributed the information from the village’s board meeting.