RACOG's bond has grown beyond pool and factory closings

CARTHAGE — A mud hole and empty factories first brought them together, but a common vision has made the River Area Council of Governments last.

Since RACOG was formed in 2000, the villages of Carthage and West Carthage and the towns of Champion and Wilna have combined efforts for everything from making the Twin Villages Swimming Pool useable to improving main streets and developing comprehensive plans.

Kathleen M. Riches-Amyot, RACOG circuit rider, said RACOG is the product of the four communities realizing they had to do something different after a handful of major factories closed in the 1990s and unemployed people were leaving to find jobs elsewhere.

But the foundation of the relationship started with summer recreation programs at the swimming pool, which is a muddy hole formed by dams in a creek from Pleasant Lake, Champion Town Supervisor Terry L. Buckley said.

"We were already working together on that so it just seemed a natural thing to put the whole thing together," he said. "It has gotten to the point where it costs so much to do everything that you've got to ... you can't avoid it."

In the last nine years, the four municipalities have built RACOG to reach further than recreation programs at the pool.

Grants have brought in more than $1 million for zoning changes, developing main streets and improving parks. Some key grants include a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant that helped West Carthage and Carthage improve the infrastructure and appearance of their main streets; $90,000 secured by Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, to beautify the fire site in Carthage; $32,000 from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to develop Village Green Park in Champion, and $57,000 to study the feasibility of a shared police force in the villages.

But it seems like one of the municipalities has been left out. Town of Wilna Supervisor Paul H. Smith said the town is part of the comprehensive plan effort, funded by a $36,000 grant from the state Quality Communities Program and Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization, and the cooperative Zoning Board of Appeals, but sometimes he wonders if being a member of RACOG is beneficial.

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no," he said when asked if RACOG is worth the $1,615 per year the town contributes to RACOG in membership fees. "Some days I wonder. But I'm trying to see about some things maybe in the future we could try to do."

Mr. Smith said he doesn't think leaving RACOG is in the town's near future, and he'd like to see grant money go toward improving the hamlet of Natural Bridge. He also noted that his constituents benefit from the summer recreation program.

"I would honestly say we're probably going to stay a member," he said. "But to say if we didn't belong some of these things would go away, I don't believe it."

Although the grants have fostered major changes in the area, they aren't the only way to measure success, Mrs. Riches-Amyot said.

The community leaders in RACOG said they think the meetings are the most important part of the council, because without the structure there would be no forum for group discussion.

"I think we probably would be able to communicate" without RACOG, Carthage President G. Wayne McIlroy said. "It's just awful nice to sit down once a month and discuss different issues."

Mr. Buckley said RACOG not only gives local leaders a place to present problems and find solutions for their communities, but also a presence in regional or state discussions.

"RACOG actually gives us a voice in state government because it's four municipalities with a common cause," he said.

After almost a decade, RACOG members are expanding their relationship beyond the council more than ever before.

West Carthage Mayor Scott M. Burto said the twin villages are working together more. They have joined forces to apply for a $400,000 state Community Development Block Grant to improve housing and are considering sharing equipment.