Is highway super supposed to handle the application? Mr. Kuck, get on board before it’s too late

To the Editor:

Eric Kuck needs to get his facts straight. I never stated that the previous town supervisor accomplished nothing.  What I said was that there was no “upkeep” for 42 years.

Yes, by virtue of being the supervisor for 42 years, facilities were built. And I’m glad they were as many of us have benefited from them. But the lack of upkeep brings us to where we are today.

In researching the facts, I found that when the new supervisor took over it was discovered that Town Hall, merely eight or nine years old, was in desperate need of repair and items like the emergency generator hadn’t worked in over a year, let alone the facilities built in the 1970s and ’80s.

The task of correcting these wrongs has fallen onto the current supervisor’s plate and the current town board. And he’s doing everything in his power to correct them despite massive opposition from people like Mr. Kuck and unfortunately at times the board itself that work harder in dismissing him and his efforts than working with him to solve issues.   

As for Mr. Kuck’s comments on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, I find myself completely befuddled. Referring to the purchasing of the five pieces of highway equipment associated with a $608,000 alternative project from FEMA tied to Tropical Storm Irene, he stated in his letter last week, “The first piece to be approved for purchase was in October 2015 (Resolution #95-2015),” indicating it predates Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis.

What’s absolutely amazing is that not only is the purchase of the Caterpillar front loader referred to by Mr. Kuck in resolution #95-2016 not part of the FEMA project but Mr. Kuck actually sat on the board and voted unanimously for the March resolution #58-2016 for a John Deere tractor, which was the actual first piece of equipment associated in the FEMA project and the April 2016 resolution #84-2016, which authorized the purchase of the remaining four pieces of equipment — a roller, an excavator, a backhoe, and a trailer.

How can someone like Mr. Kuck who sat on the board get his facts so wrong?  I guess you would have to ask him that, but I’m guessing it is because he bases his information on his own personal hatred of the current town supervisor instead of actual facts.

The reality is Mr. Kuck would be better off thanking [Knox highway Superintendent Gary] Salisbury, Lefkaditis, and [town attorney John] Dorfman instead of constantly trying to find ways to discredit.

I believe that everyone is working for the betterment of the town of Knox and Mr. Kuck’s skewed facts and vehement disdain are not helping anyone.

If a reader were to take the time to research town board minutes like I did, he or she would clearly see that the FEMA project was kept on life support for years by highway Superintendent Gary Salisbury.   Tropical Storm Irene hit the town of Knox in August 2011. For five years, Gary kept that deal alive and within four months of taking office, Gary Salisbury and Supervisor Lefkaditis with the help of the town attorney and the board’s support (including Kuck’s vote) had the FEMA project approved, equipment ordered, and saw to it that the largest financial windfall in Knox’s history was secured.

Kuck would have you believe that this was a coincidence and that the “groundwork” had been laid by the previous town board but a quick review of board minutes clearly indicates otherwise.  While the board members certainly played a role, their main role was being in office when Irene hit.  Superintendent Salisbury deserves a slap on the back for the hard work in keeping the project alive, recruiting help, and seeing the FEMA project through to the end.

Even more disturbing to me is that Mr. Kuck, who is consumed by his counterproductive hatred, sits on the town’s Conservation Advisory Council. How can someone who is so close-minded and biased make good judgmental decisions?

I encourage the town board members, when his term is up and it becomes time to consider his reappointment, to look back and read his letters to the editor before making their decision. Perhaps he’s a valuable asset to the CAC.  If he is, it’s time he puts some of those valuable assets to work with everyone not just a select few that agree with him.

Knox is moving forward, Mr. Kuck — get on board before it is too late.

Laura Martin

Knox

Editor’s note: See correction on last week’s letter from Eric Kuck.

U. S. Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Public Assistance Division

500 C Street, SW

Washington, DC 20472

Telephone: (202) 646-3834

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