A Civic Conversation with Andrea Hogan
Andrea Hogan
Supervisor of the Town of Johnsburg
Warren County Supervisor
Board Member of the Adirondack Park Agency
Residing in the shadow of Crane Mountain, Andrea Hogan carries out those responsibilities while living in close touch with the wilderness she is responsible for preserving.
In a recent Civic Conversation, Hogan reflected on the wealth of assets and opportunities that exist in the First Wilderness, along with the challenges that accompany daily life for those living in the wilderness.
Among other topics, she discussed the shifting demographics of the Adirondack Park population, the impact of the growth in numbers of second-home owners and rental properties, and the challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in North Country communities.
And she reflected on the bright future anticipated by the recent announcement that Gore Mountain soon will invest more than $30 million to add a new lodge, a new lift, and a zip line-like attraction, with positive impacts on both summer and winter tourism and the North Creek Ski Bowl.
How long have you lived in Johnsburg, and how long have you been in public service?
We've lived in Johnsburg for nearly 20 years. My husband and I spent all of our time on the Northway when we lived in Clifton Park, coming up to go skiing or hiking. And one day we looked at each other and said, "That's ridiculous, let's try to make a life in the Adirondacks."
With family on Crane.
When my kids were little, I was looking for an opportunity in town to serve my community. I had been brought up by a mother who was very public service-oriented. There was an opening at the Adirondack Community Outreach Center, a local not-for-profit that runs the food pantry, a thrift store, and other programs. For about a decade I was with the Center as their director. I decided that public service really felt great to me, so decided to run for town supervisor.
How would you describe your job as town supervisor?
It's a fantastic job. It's never the same twice any day, changing constantly. I have to be ready to respond to everything from a major storm to employee issues, because I also manage a staff. It's very challenging. There's no training for it, and it's exciting and gratifying and sometimes heartbreaking.
You also have a role with the Adirondack Park Agency. Could you describe that as well?
I actually have two jobs and a volunteer gig. The APA is more of a volunteer gig. When you’re elected in Warren County as a town supervisor, you also become a county supervisor. I divide my time between working at Warren County, working for the town of Johnsburg, and I'm on the board of the APA. That work involves having to be really on top of more regional issues. Of course, in the Adirondacks, everybody's issue is interrelated. So that's been really informative to my other two jobs. They all interconnect all the time.
How would you describe the three biggest challenges you're facing, the three things that you're spending most of your time on?
As a town supervisor, the first challenge is housing affordability. That is the biggest challenge facing all of us in this region right now. I spend a tremendous amount of time trying to find solutions for the increasing cost of housing and how to keep people in their homes. It started before the pandemic, but the pandemic really accelerated people coming to the Adirondacks wanting to buy homes, as second homes or relocations. That's driven the price of homes up to the point where, in my community in particular, it's very hard for a young family to start out and buy a home.
The second challenge we face is resiliency. Our infrastructure is vulnerable to increasing storms that we're seeing that devastate the things that cost so much money to replace: roads, water infrastructure, in some communities even sewer infrastructure.
The third challenge, in particular here in the First Wilderness, is communication. We don't have reliable broadband everywhere. We've done a really good job in the last couple of years getting that infrastructure built out. But we still have some huge gaps for people. Beyond broadband and cellular infrastructure, communication for us is a little bit harder, because we don't have newspapers that regularly cover the issues that are meaningful to our citizens. We have the Sun, which is great, but it's a small newspaper that's spread very thin. They try to cover all of this region. We also have an aging population in this part of Warren County in particular. In many places communication can be patched together through social media or websites, but many people are not that savvy in that area.
What are the roots of the housing shortage issue and how can you address it?
A favorite vista from the summit of Gore.
We are suffering from a lack of housing, from years of under-building. Frankly, we just haven't been building as much as we should. Also, we live in an area that is very desirable to vacation in, and people want to have second homes. Also, people are buying up homes and utilizing them as short-term rentals, and they can make a tremendous amount of money. That takes houses out of the market for young families, and takes houses out of the market as rentals for people who can't afford to buy a house.
We're working closely with the county to dial in on exactly how many short-term rentals we have. But we know that we have one of the highest numbers in the county. It is a huge problem because it's just not an efficient way to use housing. It used to be families would live in a home with five or six people. Now the average living inside of a home is two people.
You are involved in discussions with the planning department as well as other local organizations about how to address some of these housing issues. What has been discussed as approaches for helping to deal with the housing shortage?
A short-term rental regulation is one, but it depends on how far you want to push into individual rights. Many of the communities surrounding us have enacted short-term rental regulation that does limit numbers of people, and numbers of nights, and rents. We have not done that in Johnsburg yet. We are considering it. But it's a tough decision. People perceive that to be stepping on their right to do what they want with their own home.
Land trusts have been floated as a potential solution. The town of Johnsburg just formed a special committee to look at housing affordability issues and bring back recommendations to the town board. I'm really excited to see where they go with that and what they come up with. I'm not sure land trusts are the answer. They might help with some year-round housing issues. I'm just not sure how much of the problem that's going to address. I know that there are several really worthwhile organizations like Habitat (for Humanity) that are also looking to rehab places and maybe get them back into the year-round market.
Is Johnsburg similar to or different from other communities in other parts of the Adirondacks with regard to this issue?
A winter walk.
This is going on elsewhere in the Adirondack Park. Every community is feeling this crunch. It's going on nationwide. I was at a conference in Washington and attended a meeting of tourism communities across the country. And we just felt like broken records. We were all saying the same thing. Whether you were Vail or whether you were Johnsburg, you felt the same pressures, maybe in different volumes, but it was all the same.
The town of Johnsburg is facing an aging population as well. One focus across the Adirondacks has been on attracting younger residents to the to the park. What is the town of Johnsburg doing to attract younger residents?
We've been active participants in forums like the Common Ground Alliance. We're paying a lot of attention to the work of the Adirondack North Country Association.
Johnsburg is distinctive from some of the other First Wilderness communities in that we have a performing arts center here. It's an absolutely stunning facility that was donated to the town by some very generous donors back in the early 2000s. We've started to really work harder on cultivating that art scene here, believing that that is one of the things that people look for when they're looking for a place to relocate.
These cultural offerings include community art, a glassblower who sets up in a town building in the summer down on the riverfront on the Hudson. We have an outdoor music series that happens down in the riverfront park as well. We also have a huge installation of a mosaic wall that was created over a decade by a local artist through all sorts of weather. It's one of the largest pieces of public art in New York State.
Making sure that affordable, reliable broadband and cell service are in place from every corner of the town is an important piece of attracting younger people. As an APA board member, I have to walk the line on that one. I'm not I'm not sure how I feel yet about whether cellular needs to be in every corner of the park. But broadband does have to come to every house.
We know a substantial portion of the Johnsburg economy is based on tourism. What do you feel are the biggest economic challenges that the town is facing?
Economic diversity is a big challenge here. We are primarily a tourism town. Gore Mountain brings 215,000 visitors to Johnsburg every year. In addition to that, we have Revolution Rail. They bring about 50,000 people in the summer, and they've been a tremendous asset.
Outside of tourism, we've got Barton Mines. They are a big employer here. We've got the school, which is another large employer, and we have a nursing home that employs people. But like everywhere in the nation right now, all of those entities are having trouble finding employees.
I think our challenges are a little bit bigger because of the affordability issues with housing. Some people are reluctant to commit to living in an area where the houses are so spread out and you don't have as many services as you might in in a more urban setting. That being said, it's one of the best places to live.
It seems that tourism is a double-edged sword, in that it's so crucial to the economy but brings issues with the whole culture of summer houses. How would you describe North Creek's place in the overall strategy to increase tourism in the First Wilderness?
The $30 million investment by ORDA (Olympic Regional Development Authority) is going to help us tremendously. They're putting in a zip coaster above the tree line that hopefully will bring more people to the region. While Lake George is absolutely the crown jewel for the region and summer economy, Johnsburg has the opposite economy. Winter is our season. While some other parts of Warren County are quiet in that time, we're hopping. Our restaurants are full, our Airbnbs, our hotels are just hopping. We like to think of ourselves as helping to build a 365 economy for Warren County, and being the linchpin in the winter piece of it.
Can you talk in detail about this new development that we can expect to see in the ski bowl?
This started years ago with former supervisor Bill Thomas. He and (former state senator) Betty Little hatched this idea to interconnect our historic Ski Bowl with the main mountain of Gore. Through a series of agreements, ORDA maintains and operates our skiing and the Ski Bowl. We also have a very well-developed Nordic center, one of the few in this area that has snowmaking for Nordic.
The vision is to strengthen the interconnect, create another trail so you'll have a couple of options coming from the main mountain down to the Ski Bowl. There is a town/mountain interconnectivity that hasn't been as robust as we would have wanted it. And hopefully this will all bring people a greater awareness that the hamlet of North Creek, our business hamlet in Johnsburg, is here and open for business and welcoming tourism throughout the winter.
Do you see an economic impact from the purchase of the Saratoga and North Creek Railroad by Revolution Rail?
Sure. That signals to us they're here to stay. They've been a tremendous benefit to our community over the last couple of years. They've expanded into the other First Wilderness communities. This year, they're going to be running some operations out of Stony Creek, which is really exciting for Stony Creek and Thurman. They're not only bringing a lot of people, but the Rev Rail guys are really great partners for the town. They're very philanthropic. They're engaged. And they care. They care about the communities that they're operating in.
I believe that the town of Johnsburg has the most hiking trail miles of any town in Warren County. Are you a hiker? And if so, what are some of your favorite trails in the town?
Ooh, I don't know if I want to share (Laughs). I mean, I do. I am a hiker, although I don't have as much time lately as I would like. Of course, Crane Mountain is one of my favorite climbs in the town. Right in the Ski Bowl, we have a network of hiking trails that offer a lot of bang for not a lot of energy. We have both hiking and mountain biking trails there.
I can leave town hall and in 15 minutes I can be looking out over Moxham Mountain and into the Adirondacks and have a spectacular view that offers a bit of fresh air and a great perspective.
For people who are not quite as interested in vertical, we have a really beautiful trail that runs from town hall along the historic North Creek down to the Hudson and into our riverfront center. It's nice and flat and there's some interpretive signage that our historical society has worked very hard to put in. It's just a beautiful, easy, peaceful, meditative walk along the stream and then the river.
There have been some discussions about doing some additional trail connections, especially in the Ski Bowl area. What's happening with some of those trail connections in that project?
Thanks to Warren County Planning, we undertook a study of how we might take the trails in our Ski Bowl and expand out further to connect other parts of our community. This year, our focus is on the Rabbit Pond Trail, which is going to loop around and bring people back down into the Ski Bowl. We're also working with the North Country Scenic Trail. That comes across the country and right into our Ski Bowl. We passed a resolution a couple of years ago to be a trail town. What that means is we're agreeing to have the amenities that people expect to find when they're through-hiking.
We're in negotiation with ORDA as they build the lodge in the Ski Bowl. Can they have amenities that will be open to the hikers? We're working with our restaurants and hotels to be more hiker friendly. We've connected to Beck's, a local hotspot with live music, so you can mountain bike directly from the Ski Bowl to your live music venue. We'll be working with the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) for some connections to real wilderness experience in Bakers Mills. Hopefully eventually you'll be able to walk right from the old Zahniser cabin right into the Ski Bowl and subsequently into town. Or from the Ski Bowl in town traverse up to Garnet Hill area, which is another very beautiful and connected trail system that goes out into the wilderness.
You joined the APA board a couple of years after you were elected supervisor. How has your work with the APA changed your view of the challenges that Johnsburg faces, versus other areas in the Adirondack Park?
It presents some duality in my advocacy. I understand the Wilderness Act. I do. But I get really mad when I lose cell service. And I have solar panels on my house. I understand the need for alternative energies. But I really struggle with whether these are appropriate within the park, these massive installations of megawatts of solar panels that are now stacking up in certain communities. It has challenged me from an advocacy point of view because I love the wilderness, but I'm living in it.
What was your experience of raising your family in in the town of Johnsburg?
We were a little bit different in raising our kids in that we did homeschool. We had spans of time when we could go and explore the Adirondacks with our children and experience things a little more deeply than people who are in a school situation where you've only got the weekends. But my kids are deeply connected to the Adirondacks and to outdoor lifestyle.
My son has since moved on to Colorado. He's seeking bigger mountains and other economic opportunities. But he's an avid hiker and skier. My daughter is an environmental advocate. She has decided that she wants to become an environmental lawyer.
I found it very interesting that neither one landed in a city or wants to land in a city. Kids who grow up here have a special connection to the land and to the mountains and they really want to stay.
And that is really my fourth challenge. Not only how do we attract new people, but how do we keep our kids here, because they genuinely want to stay? There's just not as much job opportunity as we would like.
I know that there are serious concerns about issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Both in your role as supervisor and in your role at the APA, how do you see that concern playing into issues of attracting new people and visitors to the area?
I don't think I'd be out of line in speaking for my colleagues when I say everyone is welcome here. But we still have a long way to go in understanding what that means and how we manifest that. I know there are a lot of people sincerely working on education and on templates for how communities can be more welcoming. But it is just an incredibly complex issue. It's very hard when you want to be somewhere, but you don't physically look like anybody else in that community.
I don't know anybody who doesn't want to be more welcoming. It's just that what that means to everybody is very different. I think we're gaining better understanding that it looks different to everybody who lives within the park, it looks different to everybody who wants to live within the park.
Somebody suggested to me that opposition to cell towers might be opposition to diversity. And I'm trying to make that connection, because there are a lot of people who really expect that connectivity. They don't feel safe without that connectivity. But at the same time, how do you preserve true wilderness and meet that expectation?
How do you think we might best commemorate the partnership between Howard Zahniser and Paul Schaefer and how it resulted in the Wilderness Act of 1964? Have you thought about ways that that the town might tell that story better to visitors and residents alike?
What I would like to see happen in telling that story is imagining ways in which it can become more of the culture here. That would be an incredibly powerful thing, because I think while that was all happening, there were a lot of people here just living, and they missed it. And it was important.
We live at the epicenter of a huge experiment that is the Adirondack Park. And you'll hear me say this often. We as residents are so happy to be stewards of this wilderness for the people of New York State and beyond. But it presents a lot of challenges and sometimes some resentments. I would hate to see left out in the telling of that story the challenges faced by the people living in that wilderness. It's not just a philosophical idea. People are living it. And I think that's really important.