Tree committee says town pledged $1.7M for $6M Complete Streets grant without committee review

Members of the Woodstock Tree Committee said the Town Board quietly approved a resolution on Jan. 20 supporting a $6 million Complete Streets grant and pledged $1.7 million in local matching funds, and committee members told the group they have not seen the project plan.

"There are millions of dollars at stake," said Mike (treasurer), who reported attending a recent housing-committee event and raised alarms about how the town-wide pledge was made. "We don't even know what they're getting. We don't know what it looks like." He said the committee has repeatedly requested the plan without success.

The committee said the meeting video from Jan. 20 was not posted because of technical problems and that, in contrast, the minutes do not reflect any discussion of the resolution. "They passed it. They just didn't discuss it," a member said, summarizing the concern about transparency.

Arlene Weissman, identified in the meeting as vice chair and a former DEC staffer, said committee members had been promised a principals' meeting involving Complete Streets, the tree committee, the environmental commission and the supervisor that never occurred. "We were promised a meeting of all the principles ... and it never happened," she said, urging the committee to press town leadership for answers.

The committee said it will meet the supervisor (referred to in the transcript as Anola) on Wednesday morning to seek clarification and to ask that the committee be involved in any formal resolution language. Members agreed to prepare a single committee letter to accompany individual submissions and to hand-deliver comments to Albany if necessary. The committee also authorized outreach to residents along Route 212, including a flyer mailed to addresses "between the green and Bearsville," so neighbors are informed ahead of the public meeting.

Committee members gave logistical details for public input: they reported a town-hall-style meeting labeled March 24 on the town calendar (the group also discussed confusion between March 24 and March 25) and said the state comment deadline for the grant application is March 12. Members urged prompt action to ensure the committee's concerns about tree loss and alternatives are entered into the record.

The meeting transcript includes no roll-call vote or tally on the town pledge; the minutes and video accessibility are cited as the principal record issues the committee plans to address. The group said it will present its concerns at the Complete Streets public meeting and will share a committee letter with the supervisor and the town clerk.