Wacksman resigns from library board

GUILDERLAND — After a year serving as a trustee on the library board, Steve Wacksman is resigning so the board is looking for a new member.

“I brought to the board some energy and a voice for a younger generation,” said Wacksman, who is 38. “I was the youngest board member by far.”

The board’s newest member, Bryan Best, is 24; a 2005 Guilderland High School graduate, he works for the New York State Senate as a legislative aid.

Best, like Wacksman, was a write-in candidate. The 11-member board in recent years has had trouble getting enough candidates to file petitions in time for the May elections.  Best, this May, garnered 48 write-in votes, and was elected to a five-year term, which began this month. Wacksman, in May 2010, received 23 write-in votes, and was elected to fill a three-year term.

Full terms are five years. The posts are unpaid.

The library is now seeking applicants to appoint someone to the post.

“You have an opportunity to help shape the future of one of Guilderland’s most treasured assets, the library,” writes Mark Curiale, the library’s public information officer, in his weekly column, published in the Enterprise’s “Library Notes.”

Those who want the job may send a letter of interest with a résumé to the board’s president, Doug Morrissey ([email protected]), or to the library’s director, Barbara Nichols Randall ([email protected]), said Nichols Randall. The board will interview candidates and make an appointment in the fall, she said.

Wacksman served on the long-range planning committee, which is developing a schematic design for the library’s expansion. The library may hold a public vote next year on a plan to nearly double its size to meet increased use; the plan was put on hold because of the recession.

Wacksman also worked with a group “trying to re-energize our foundation,” said Nichols Randall. “We’re working to invite more people to participate in the library foundation,” she said. Nichols Randall described the foundation as “a fund-raising entity to raise money that we don’t get through taxes or grants.” She also said, “Because we’re a quasi-governmental agency, some organizations require a separate non-profit to accept grants.”

Wacksman, who has worked for the Capital District Transportation Authority for 17 years, is the manager of technical training for CDTA. He is married to Kathy Burbank, director of the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce.

“I have five young kids,” he said. We’re very busy. I was asked to come and help out and thought, OK. I did it for a year. The library work was time consuming.”

Wacksman also said, “I’m interested in venturing into different things in Guilderland — maybe a town-board spot down the road.”

He suggested that his successor be “someone with a lot of time and energy, someone who’s not afraid to reach out for help — that’s the person they need.”

Wacksman concluded, “I’ll continue to support the library…It’s one of the main meeting places in town.”