To the Editor:

I appreciate the opportunity to bring the residents of Westerlo up to date on a few issues in reference to our local government.  Recently, our Westerlo Planning Board decided to include four community members on the Broadband Committee. That is a positive note, along with their procedure in their selection process.

This was followed by the Building Committee, which includes all the town board members plus a few others, adding two community gentlemen to their committee.  Finally, the requests and concerns of the taxpayers were acknowledged.

These two men, in my opinion, are excellent choices, so far, and appear to be very knowledgeable. But I also believe that the policy of one board member who has tried to advocate the procedure of first advertising the positions then following through with interviews, should have been adhered to and not ignored.

It was admitted by one board member that he spoke with one of the gentlemen and just asked him to join them,  claiming time was an issue.  The addition of these two men to the Building Committee could possibly indicate a degree of transparency in Westerlo’s government, and a step in a positive direction.

Does this mean the beginning of a trust relationship?  I hope so, but I think that step should be pursued with a great deal of caution.  

At the April town board meeting, the supervisor read the resignation of Teddy Lounsbury as town councilman.  So now we’ll have to watch how the democratic process, transparency, and trust will work.

I believe all of us are familiar with the “backdoor policy.”  We’ll have to observe if this town board will “improve” on the selection process of filling the vacancy left by the resignation of one of its own.

Will democracy enter the picture?  Or will they go with just another, as I refer to it, player?  Remember you can’t get the support of the people by practicing bad leadership.

In my opinion, the current town board, unlike many in the past, can be good and better leaders, but only when they start to listen, respect, and care about all those that they have taken a sworn oath to serve.   

The Building Committee is slowly progressing. The previous town board’s legacy to the current town board, as I perceive it, is one big mess.  The asbestos quantity and dollar amount just keeps escalating.

It’s  come a long way from the statement made to me (in reference to asbestos): “There’s just a little under the floor.”  That was told to me at the on-site when purchasing the school was the political goal.  I wonder what that final dollar tab will be.

I also asked at that time about the cost of remodeling/renovating and that it could lead to multi-bucks.  I was told, “Don’t worry; we have plenty of money.”

Well, folks, do you think I was dealt any lies?  Beware, stay knowledgeable, and hang onto your wallets.  This current town board is in a position to do better, but will they?

How much do you want your taxes to go up? This appears to be the direction the plan seems to be headed towards.

I have heard words spoken in reference to honoring the initial school purchase referendum, and very little reference to the recent Sept. 1, 2015 referendum.  We, the people, voted the latter one down.

At times, I get the feeling that there’s a “manipulation process” in progress. You know, like how a spoiled, determined kid tries to set up his or her parents so that kid can still get what he or she wants even though “no” was the answer.

Please observe as things unfold because it’s everyone’s tax dollars that will be affected by good or bad money management.  In my opinion, all the facts, pertaining to, yet not limited to, the cost of asbestos removal have not been completely disclosed to the public.  We’re still not sure if the asbestos variance that pertains to the town has been subjected to any penalties by the Department of Labor or any other department, organization, company, etc.

At the Building Committee meeting of April 13, 2016, we were not told that we couldn’t comment or speak, but the handful of us that sat in the gallery, had become trained to stay silent.  That’s scary!  I will have to ask at the next town board meeting if they lifted that no-talking ban.

Once again, I observed: lots of lengthy, boring speeches, unclear ideas, and many unknown facts or directions to take.  It does appear to be very frustrating for the head table crew and the gallery of individuals.

One constructive suggestion I have, with all due respect to our town attorney, is to limit her input to just legal and financial advice and for her to state it only when it is asked of her.  The rest of the design work ideas should be addressed only by the others who have this knowledge and better expertise in this field.

I also believe the Building Committee could streamline its plans if all of  the members would come more prepared. Each member who is qualified in a particular area would have multiple copies of his or her own information to be presented and exchanged.

This material should include such things as individual facts, figures, ideas, and drawings pertaining to a particular topic of discussion that was selected for the night.   Each member would  present his or her own information to the rest of the committee.  Limit  the time length of the discussions and completely remove  the “debate” process.  Circulate the information, be objective, keep an open mind, and be democratic.

Additionally, use common sense in reference to the final decisions.  Prior to these meetings a standard questionnaire form could also be distributed to all of the town government’s departments where their input could provide necessary information that could help with many solutions.  It could include likes, dislikes, preferences, etc.  It doesn’t mean you will grant them all the ideas solicited, but it could help.  I’d like to remind you guys we’re all getting old with this project.

In closing, many congratulations to The Altamont Enterprise on all of its recent awards and also that Preet Bharara was the keynote speaker for the conference.  It would be so nice if he visited Westerlo’s town board meeting and gave us some advice.

Anita Marrone

Westerlo