KNOX— Two little words. Were they said or were they not said at a special town board meeting on Aug. 3?

Tuesday’s town board meeting began with some sharp exchanges over the question, leaving town Clerk Tara Murphy  “feeling like a scolded employee.” 

In fact, just like town Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis, the man who made her feel this way, Murphy  is an elected official. She  was re-elected to a second term as town clerk in the same November election that made Lefkaditis a first-time supervisor. (Read Murphy's letter to the editor.)

Lefkaditis was blunt in asserting, in a public meeting with perhaps 20 or more persons attendance, that Murphy had erred.

She told The Enterprise the next day, “I was not given the respect that should be given to an elected official.”

She went on, “he spoke right over me….I feel I am owed an apology.”

She said that she had listened to the audio tape, transcribed the contested part, emailed her transcription to board members, and all members “were in agreement” with her.

The two words at issue were “suggested changes.”   Lefkaditis claimed these words — contained in Murphy’s minutes — cannot be heard on an audio tape of the meeting at a point in the proceedings when a motion was made to approve  the first issue of a  newsletter to residents. Both the newsletter and the minutes are available at the town website: www.knoxny.org

The newsletter is  a Lefkaditis initiative — he is an advocate of more informational and transparent town government — and is to be published twice a year. At the Aug. 3 special town board meeting, he made clear his conviction that the letter-to-residents leading-off each issue should be from him as the town “CEO.”

But in no uncertain terms the board members rebuffed him and argued the letter ought to be from the board, not him. (See The Enterprise issue of Aug. 11.) A motion was made to that effect and passed 4-to-1 with Lefkaditis casting the lone nay vote.

The following resolution, to publish the first newsletter issue, was approved unanimously. The draft minutes record the resolution as follows:

“Approve existing newsletter with the suggested changes above and addition of CDTA’s phone number and reference to email address from interested residents.”

This resolution is what’s causing all the heat because Lekaditis insists the words “with the suggested changes above”— referring to the resolution making the letter from the board rather than just from him — are not on the tape.

If those words are there, as the minutes state they are, it would mean Lefkaditis went ahead anyway to  make the first-issue letter be from him, defying the board.

Councilman Eric Kuck said the published letter from the supervisor reads like “something from a political campaign.” The newsletter had been mailed to all residents, as well as being available on the town website.

Murphy said in her conversation with The Enterprise, “I am very professional. My job is very non-political. I treat everyone the same.”

“I can’t believe he is using me as a pawn in this,” she said of the supervisor.

Lefkaditis said he would play the six seconds of audio in question at the next meeting. Councilman Earl Barcomb said he would rather hear a longer section that would “give the context.”

Murphy, throughout the discussion  and for the rest of the evening, continued to record all that was said, though clearly upset.

In the end, the minutes were approved by a vote of 4 to 1 with Lefkaditis dissenting.

Lefkaditis could not be reached before press time, nor was The Enterprise able to listen to the tape before press time.

Other business

Among other business, the board:

     — Heard the supervisor report that the inaugural Fall into Knox Festival and Carnival the previous week was a big success with good attendance and a $400 profit for the town. He thanked a long list of people who had made it a success;

 —    Heard town attorney John Dorfman suggest that resolutions be submitted in written form to avoid future controversy but board members deemed that impractical;

—    Discussed at length how to interview and evaluate candidates for two positions on the town planning board and what are the  qualities needed in an effective planning board member;

—  Heard and  approved a proclamation prepared by Earl Barcomb honoring the late Dan Driscoll for his many contributions to the town and region;

—  Heard a report from Deputy Supervisor Amy Pokorny on the recent Hazardous Waste Day, including total  volume received; total cost, which is shared with Berne, and the number of participants: 60 from  Knox and 63 from Berne;

— Heard Pokorny also outline initiatives the town can take to become a Climate Smart Community and qualify for large state grants, including adopting a Unified Solar Permit now in use in many communities across the state and adopting a local law that sets benchmarks for energy use by all town facilities and posting energy usage data on the web. A public hearing for such a law was scheduled for Nov. 9;

— Set a schedule for budget workshops (Sept. 27 and Oct. 4)  and votes;

— Heard the supervisor say that proposals received for conversion to Light Emitting Diode lighting in town buildings were “flawed” and incorrectly calculated;

— Heard the Knox Volunteer Fire Company spokesman thank the community for its support of the company’s 9/11 memorial program, and thanked the company for staging this yearly event; and

— Heard a town resident whose home neighbors  the Helderberg Rod and Gun Club on Quay Road complain that there is excessive and loud gunfire, some of it from high-caliber weapons, at all hours. Barcomb volunteered to speak with the club to see if solutions might be worked out.

Corrected on Sept. 19, 2016: In the original story, we wrote that the minutes from the Aug. 3 meeting had been tabled. Actually, they were approved by a vote of 4 to 1 with Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis dissenting.