To the Editor:

I would like to thank Ms. Laura Martin for her well written letter to the editor, detailing just how precisely the current town board members think they run the show in Knox. It isn’t uncommon for them to pull the stunts they did so I wasn't too surprised, as it is a recurring theme.

A typical politician doesn’t care about the little taxpayer as Ms. Martin mentioned but instead his or her own interests and ego, which is pretty evident on the town of Knox board.

In regard to the switching of town attorneys, it really is no surprise the board stuck with the same man. It is evident he knows the town history and has been around for awhile, but he must be pretty loyal to the board members to be kept on; $4,000 is a significant savings in a small town such as Knox and a lot can be done with that money.

Therefore, Mr. Dennis Barber’s comment is simply misguided and ridiculous by saying that the savings amount is “peanuts.” You should care about the taxpayers, Mr. Barber.

It doesn’t take an experienced lawyer to interpret town laws, especially in small little Knox. What does it even matter that he knows Knox history? You can’t explain that because it means absolutely nothing!

As Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis said, the current lawyer’s “institutional memory” could not be “proved crucial” by any board member at the meeting. Did you even give thought to the supervisor’s proposal, or did you already tell the current lawyer his job was safe and you wouldn't vote against him?

Maybe that new Board of Ethics Committee should be looking into this appointment. The board’s arguments make no sense and the board members are just afraid to change their ways as they have proved all through 2016.

When are we going to wake up and smell the roses? Again, this town voted for Supervisor Lefkaditis to bring change and new ideas to the town. The board needs to stop trying to undo what can’t be undone. He won and he is trying to deliver results that you ignore!

Open your eyes, open your ears, and listen to his ideas and, at the least, examine those ideas rather than shut them down instantly. Just because you want to do things the way they’ve been done for over 20 years, doesn't mean you ignore the taxpayers and our duly elected supervisor. We voted for the change and we expect changes to happen.

As for the ridiculous climate proposals, there are a lot of key phrases that stick out that people might not be thinking of.

Some of these words are “qualify” and “if.” The town of Knox has to qualify for these grants. We are not guaranteed to get anything, at least that has never been mentioned. We can spend the money to start some of these projects and in the end not even get any of the grants to finish them off.

What do we do then? Do you have a secondary plan for facilities upgrades and improvements if we don't? How long will it take to actually get the money if we do win a grant? These are important questions for taxpayers to think about.

In addition, why do we need an electric charging station? It is pointless to spend money, especially if we don’t get a grant to offset the costs. First and foremost, to me and I’m sure others, it kind of sounds like a conflict of interest for a board member with one of these electric vehicles to suggest that we should put one in and then vote to do so. There are only four electric cars, possibly, in the entire town. Please explain to me how that benefits the taxpayers?

Also, Councilwoman Amy Pokorny stated in her letter to the editor last week, that Knox is getting a beautiful facelift for new businesses and people could potentially walk all that way to patronize them. Her comments disgust me because she’s trying to make it sound like her electric charging station is this spectacular plan. It's not….There are no businesses in Knox currently in close walking distance to the potential charging station.

Besides, it will take time between the installation of the station and the opening of a business to even be of benefit. There are few electric vehicles in our area and to state people are going to come all the way to Knox, where nothing exists for them to do is outrageous. Stop misleading the taxpayers.

At the November board meeting, it was stated that, instead of the electric-charging stations that benefit virtually no one in this town, town building inspectors could attend a free training session in Albany. Isn't that a more sensible solution to reach our four climate initiatives to possibly get a grant?

What are some other climate initiatives that we can do that don’t waste tax dollars and actually benefit the entire town, not just a select few individuals?

It's time for the Knox town board members to start listening to all taxpayers and not just themselves.

Josh VonHaugg

Knox

Editor’s note: Grant projects wouldn’t be commenced without the grant approval. Amy Pokorny was quoted in our Dec. 22, 2016 story, “With an eye on the prize, town weighs energy options,” as saying she would no more charge her car at town hall than her telephone; the project would be to draw eco-minded tourists with electric cars to the Helderbergs, she said.

VonHaugg, a Knox native, is currently a senior at Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York.