SARANAC LAKE — Despite having voted down a similar resolution two months ago, the trustees of the village of Saranac Lake passed a resolution Monday night supporting the Lake Placid-Remsen Corridor rail trail.

Passionate supporters of the rail trail and of another option, keeping the train track and placing a pedestrian trail next to it, packed the meeting room to air their opinions during the public comment period.

Mayor Clyde Rabideau was absent Monday night and Trustee Paul Van Cott recused himself, as he is an employee of one party involved in court action about the rail trail — the Adirondack Park Agency.

Trustee Tom Catillaz, who was acting as mayor in Rabideau’s absence, and Trustees Allie Pelletieri and Richard Shapiro voted in favor of the resolution, which states:

“The Village of Saranac Lake hereby reaffirms its support of the Remsen-Lake Placid development plan as put forth by the State in 2016 Unit Management Plan. We recognize the important economic development, tourism, and health benefits that construction of the Adirondack Rail Trail will bring to our constituents. We urge the State to take every step necessary to expedite the appropriate procedural actions to allow construction of the corridor to continue including the appeal of Judge Main’s rail corridor decision. We further urge Governor Cuomo to take any necessary action or authority to designate the Lake Placid to Tupper Lake rail corridor as a NYS Recreation Corridor.”

I think the main reason for not going with rails with trails is the B word... Bridge$

The main reason for not constructing a trail is that there are already THOUSANDS of recreational trails in the Adirondacks

UTICA — The Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which operates seasonal tourist trains, is looking for a new executive director after its director accepted a position in Washington state.

Bethan Maher was hired by the American Heritage Railways to head up the Mount Rainier Railroad and Logging Museum in Washington. She was executive director of the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, which operates the trains under the ASR name.

“Bethan has made an enormous contribution to the success of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad,” Bill Branson, chairman of the ARPS board, said in a press release. “This new challenge is a compliment to Bethan’s work ethic and the success she has helped to make happen in our operations in the Mohawk Valley and the Adirondacks.”