To the Editor:

In the interests of transparency and public safety, I am providing this PowerPoint: Sign Related Public Hazards in Berne NY & the Conduct of the Superintendent of Highways.

I think it is critical that the public has access to this information, particularly to the sign-related emails from the superintendent and deputy supervisor (exhibits 6c and 6d). As you review them, it will become clear why your FOIL [Freedom Of Information Law] requests were denied.

In my opinion, these people are simply not capable of acting in the best interests of the town and these emails clearly demonstrate this. This ignorance and foolishness demonstrated in these official town documents is truly absurd.

In my opinion, this ridiculous conduct and resulting negligence puts the traveling public, residents, and employees at significant risk and greatly increases the town’s liability because objective rational discussion is often impossible with these two. This letter and the attached PowerPoint are necessary because objective rational email discussion is not possible with the deputy supervisor and the superintendent.

Please note that, in contrast, the town supervisor always responds to me respectfully and goes above and beyond in providing me with any information I ask about, even in issues we disagree about ...

In the first email in the presentation, slide 6, there is a list of eight areas of concern regarding highway operations. We have seen very little progress.

And now that the superintendent has apparently taken a job with the GOP, between his travel time for his new political job and the job itself, it appears he is absent from Berne the better part of each day. There are eight extremely important issues that we brought up in this email that were not being progressed adequately prior to the political job in Albany. I am not at all hopeful that these issues will see any progress now.

It appears this political job was kept secret from everyone, including the town supervisor. When the rumors started, it was noted that the superintendent’s town-owned truck was missing so perhaps he was driving it to his political job in Albany.

People searched for it on the Hill and it was never seen during the hours of his political job. I was asked to look for the truck in the area around the board of elections as I work 10 minutes away.

I was thoroughly convinced he was not foolish enough to drive the town truck there but the possibility needed to be ruled out. I found no sign of the truck because (coincidentally?) it was apparently no longer parked outside in the mornings. It appears it was now parked inside the highway garage (out of sight) instead.

Apparently that truck has a GPS tracker. I believe the whereabouts of that truck should be documented and certified accurate for all the days the superintendent has been working in Albany and the month before.

As I said at the board meeting, that needs to be in the town record. I would add that the corresponding time records for the GOP job should also be submitted. I would suggest it all needs to be submitted at next month’s meeting.

Joel Willsey

Councilman

Berne Town Board

Editor’s note: See related story.