To the Editor:
In 2020, your paper reported that the Guilderland Town Board voted in favor of Champlain Hudson Power Express Inc. running underground lines through the town to bring electric power from Canada to the New York City area [“Majority of Guilderland council approves buried NYC power cable to run along rail line,” The Altamont Enterprise, Aug. 10, 2020].

On Aug. 4, 2021, the Gannett Rockland Westchester newspaper, Lohud.com, did an investigative piece including reference to Guilderland on a map that discussed overhead power lines and their locations in Guilderland for lines from Canada to the lower Hudson to power New York City.

We need an engineer running the Building and Zoning Department. It is unconscionable for [Guilderland Supervisor] Peter Barber not to have hired an engineer on staff and a glaring oversight given the number of people added to the payroll. Having a paid consultant firm, as Peter Barber has done, opens us up to potential conflict-of-interest problems and we have had enough instances of conflicts of interest under Peter Barber to justify hiring an engineer.

We also need an engineer because our town lacks the depth of credentials to oversee the applications coming into the town. I would ask if someone has the town board’s ear to ask them to hire an engineer to head the Building and Zoning Department.

Christine Duffy

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Supervisor Peter Barber responded that, about 20 years ago, long before he was supervisor, Guilderland started having town-designated engineers appointed by boards based on the expertise needed. This covers a range of areas including traffic engineers, civic engineers, and environmental engineers — paid for by the developer.

“It’s impossible to find an engineer to fill all those shoes,” said Barber. He also noted, “We have a certified planner handling planning and land-use matters.”