Letters to the Editor October 13

Costly town supervisor

If you listened to David Sherman’s supporters, you would think he was the picture of fiscal responsibility. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Sherman’s style of micromanaging, over-studying and procrastinating has actually cost taxpayers money.

For example, the town lost a grant that would have purchased a salt shed due to lack of timely action. That is the supervisor’s responsibility. We will now pay for that salt shed with taxpayers’ dollars. This could be as much as $40,000 or more. Mr. Sherman is currently scrambling and asking the village for an expedited approval in hopes it can still be up before the snow flies.

Plans to pave the Town Hall driveway have been paid for over and over again. Not even one plan is needed for this simple job the highway crew could do in one morning, yet the driveway has still not been paved, and on Sept. 30 I saw that it was being surveyed and marked. Are these plans being done yet again at still more cost? Why? After wasting all that money on unnecessary engineering plans, is Mr. Sherman finally going to complete this simple project before the November election to impress voters?

How much are taxpayers wasting in utility bills such as lighting, heating and air conditioning so the supervisor can haunt the Town Hall until all hours of the night and early morning? What the heck is he doing up there anyway?

The Millerton Overlook debacle has already cost the village and town combined many thousands of dollars with more promising to come. The legal and financial mess created by this supervisor and his supporters trying to push the unwanted housing project on this community is ongoing. If you re-elect Mr. Sherman and his friends Mr. Arnason and Mr. Fedele along with him, you will get not just the Overlook, but several other housing projects in the village. Arnason and Fedele came out for the housing in a Sept. 8 letter to The Millerton News. They claim it will be for seniors. This is not true.

I can see why Mr. Sherman was uncomfortable with my questions about the finances of the town at the September Town Board meeting. Despite what was printed by The Millerton News, in an article about me that was so full of inaccuracies it was a complete fantasy, he did not willingly answer them at all. He immediately changed the subject and had to be prodded by a board member to answer.

Mr. Sherman is running for re-election and should be prepared for questions from the public. The issues I have cited here are just a small sampling of the ways I believe your tax dollars are being wasted.

In light of the abysmal economy and the plight of those suffering under the recent tax revaluation (another disaster we can thank Mr. Sherman for), this kind of waste and mismanagement is like a slap in the face to North East taxpayers struggling to make ends meet.

Pamela Michaud

Millerton

Trails ideas will be aired

The Pine Plains Town Board appointed the Town Trails and Bikeway Committee in November of last year to assist the town in developing a comprehensive trail and bikeway plan. The committee has been developing information on trails and bikeway planning and development. We have contacted and met with representatives of many communities that have successfully completed trails and bikeways.

We have found that the development of trails and bikeways in communities has been a significant economic development and tourism driver with the added benefits of recreation, exercise, alternative transportation and the spiritual well-being that comes from just being able to walk or ski or ride in a beautiful setting like we have in rural and scenic Pine Plains.

Even in communities where some skepticism was initially encountered, over time most people became strong supporters because of the many benefits to the community.

The committee has become increasingly excited about the economic prospects of creating a bikeway and trail network that makes Pine Plains a recreation destination as bikers and hikers eat at restaurants, stay at a bed and breakfast, shop and buy services in the communities they visit.

We understand clearly that to develop a trail and bikeway plan that can be easily incorporated into the existing town comprehensive plan, we must have strong community participation and support.

To that end, we are planning a community participation forum at the Pine Plains Community Center/Library on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 8:30 a.m. to noon to both explain the process and benefits of developing a Trails and Bikeway Plan and to solicit community thoughts as we begin. We will have representatives from other communities who will share their experiences, good and bad.

The public is invited to share their ideas and concerns on improving pedestrian and biking access within Pine Plains and to surrounding areas. Did we mention that there will also be refreshments?

If there are questions before the forum, please contact Scott Chase at 518-398-5247.

Steve Patterson

Charlie Norman

Kathleen O’Connell

Scott Chase

Rory Chase

Pine Plains Trails and

Bikeway Committee

Sandra David

Town Board Liaison

Pine Plains

Job juggling won’t work

Brian Coons wants to be Pine Plains’ next town supervisor. That just doesn’t seem to me to be a good idea.

Brian is a full-time employee of the town of Poughkeepsie, and his workplace is more than 25 miles from Pine Plains. It is impossible for me to believe that anyone can be an effective supervisor when obligated to spend so many hours of the workweek out of town.

We are fortunate that Supervisor Gregg Pulver is self-employed locally and is able to fill the time demands of his office, both scheduled and unexpected. We benefit from near full-time service on a part-time salary.

The campaign literature Brian gave me did not mention his Planning Board service. He may not be proud of his on-time attendance record on that board, which is only 69 percent spanning 29 meetings since Jan. 1, 2009. During the same time frame, Gregg has chaired 100 percent of the 47 Town Board meetings.

Despite claims of superior leadership skills, Brian has refused to take a leaders’ role on the board on which he serves, choosing to allow the Pine Plains Planning Board to remain without a chairman throughout 2011. His reasoning — a lack of time to devote to the task. What’s different now, Brian?

Gregg Pulver’s budget skills and experience are uncontested in this election. Gregg has a track record of exceptional budget management and already has a leg up on training for the new 2 percent budget cap mandate. The public’s lack of participation in the last 12 town budget hearings is a vote of confidence that speaks for itself.

Change should be for the sake of improvement, not just for the sake of change itself. On Nov. 8, vote for Gregg Pulver, George Keeler and Robert Couse on Row B. They are the most qualified, experienced choices for your Town Board.

Rick Butler

Pine Plains