Does no one see the conflict of interest in the Knox supervisor voting on matters affecting his business?

To the Editor:

I decided to be a true romantic on Feb. 14 and took my wife to the Knox Town Board meeting for Valentine's Day. I was actually embarrassed by the antics and outbursts of the assembled crowd. Thankfully, as one of the more level-headed attendees pointed out that, the assembled rabble wasn't a true representation of the good people of the town.

Councilwoman Amy Pokorny has been working tirelessly with other dedicated town residents and NYSERDA [New York State Energy Research and Development Authority] in an effort to get a $100,000 grant for the town. This committed group has worked tirelessly with state representatives to accomplish three out of the four requirements needed for the awarding of the grant.

Needless to say, Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis is against this initiative because he won't be the one able to take the credit for it. However, nor will Councilwoman Pokorny because she is the type of person who will, soft-spokenly, work tirelessly behind the scenes and do what’s right simply because of her dedication to her office and to the residents of the town of Knox.

Supervisor Lefkaditis, on the other hand, encouraged heated discussion and argument over the grant. At different points, it was intimated that Ms. Pokorny and the others who volunteered their time for the betterment of Knox were “working in secret” as if there were some nefarious intent.

Thankfully, the town attorney spoke up and was a voice of reason in defense of the group’s efforts. He pointed out that it’s not only allowable for representatives to undertake initiatives for the betterment of the town, it should be encouraged.

He was promptly spoken over and interrupted by the supervisor and his pack of cronies in the crowd. I was awaiting cries of, “Burn the witch!”

I was appointed to a vacant board position and proudly served the people of Knox last year. However, during that time I saw a disturbing pattern begin to emerge. That of the supervisor encouraging offensive behavior and packing the gallery with rude people who are, unfortunately, ignorant of the facts and are simply there to have their say — much like a Jerry Springer show.

One of his supporters proudly proclaimed, “I don't want any grant money!” That is exactly the type of reasoning that our supervisor actively encourages and promotes.

Supervisor Lefkaditis took great pleasure in reading aloud a letter from an out-of-town person who openly disparaged fellow board member and councilwoman, Amy Pokorny. As a bit of history, we should also remember that it was discovered that Lefkaditis was found to have rewritten a letter and then sent it to The Altamont Enterprise … with a completely different intent, with his own agenda and spin put on it. These are his underhanded tactics and he was never held to task for that either.

While on the subject of being held to task, does no one else see the conflict of interest between the supervisor being a so-called business owner (I say this because his "business" is still empty) and being a voting member of the town board with an obviously strong drive to increase the business district even though the existing one, apparently, can't sustain any viable business?

In his role as the chief fiscal officer of Knox he controls all of our tax dollars and can also influence decisions that will benefit himself as a business owner. No conflict?

Currently the proposed district would be near the corners of routes 156 and 157. The supervisor was strongly advocating for approving it, even though by his own admission, he didn't really know the exact boundaries or parcels to be included. Is this what we call responsible leadership?

Also, I have strong concerns over the public safety of putting in businesses in that general area. The area has a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit that, as I understand it, would be nearly impossible to get reduced. There is also a blind turn in the proposed area.

During road clean-ups, I have personally picked many portions of car parts out of the ditches, indicating that there are a number of accidents that already occur there. Do we want to add another factor into that equation of cars entering a roadway from a dead stop or being stopped in traffic, waiting to pull into a business’s driveway? I see that as a recipe for disaster.

The truth of the matter is simple economics. We live in this beautiful town for a reason — we enjoy a rural community because that is what Knox is. It’s a beautiful, history-rich, dare I say, bedroom community.

We have, at last count, fewer than 3,000 residents. While there are many of us who would welcome a nice restaurant or general store, the fact of the matter is that our population simply won’t support it. Many dedicated people have tried in the past and failed.

Putting up empty storefronts won’t bring business. It will simply be another eyesore that will eventually turn into blighted, unused properties. I don’t think that is the sort of picture we want painted for people passing through or for our residents who live here.

There’s a reason why businesses like Stewart’s Shops haven’t moved into town. They have a business plan taking into account various marketing analyses. They realize that the town simply doesn’t have the traffic count to make for a viable, profitable business.

Some of the meeting’s attendees were quick to point out that towns like Schoharie and Middleburgh have thriving business districts with similar demographics. This is flawed on its face because we are not similar. Schoharie and Middleburgh have actual town centers complete with sidewalks, a safe speed limit, and the actual brick-and-mortar buildings to support business.

Unfortunately, in the town of Knox (even in the existing business district in the hamlet) we simply don’t the same infrastructure as in these other towns. It would be wonderful to have a thriving business district in the hamlet similar to these other towns but it’s been shown historically to not be viable. Should the town even be considering other business districts when the existing “district” is simply an empty storefront?

Smart business planning comes from a consensus of residents coming together for the good of the community to see what sorts of business they would like to see thrive in their community. Unfortunately, that dialogue has already occurred and the sorts of businesses that we'd like to see simply don't see Knox as a good investment.

It has nothing to do with whether or not we have business district A, B, or C or whether the town board supports these ideas or not. It’s simple economics and whether an area will prove profitable for a business or not.

So, in closing, I would like to reassure the town board members and the silent majority of our town that the name-calling, innuendo, and accusations leveled against dedicated, devoted board members like Councilwoman Pokorny and others committed to the betterment of Knox is most definitely not the norm.

The lack of courtesy and decorum is definitely not representative of our town’s majority. We support and applaud those people who want to better Knox and encourage more informed, forward-thinking people to take part in these discussions to help make Knox a better place.

Having empty storefronts or putting public safety in danger for the sake a so-called business owner's profit is not the way for a town to be run.

Thankfully, we do not have an electoral college in Knox. We elect our officials by popular vote. I applaud and support the efforts of the town board members and would caution Mr Lefkaditis that the silent majority will take his antics and conflicted causes into account when a viable candidate is run against him during the next election.

Eric Kuck

Knox

Editor’s note: Eric Kuck was appointed to the Knox Town Board in December 2015 but did not run last November to keep his seat.

More Letters to the Editor

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.