VOORHEESVILLE — Florence Reddy is stepping down as a village trustee after serving three years of a four-year term. Sarita Winchell was appointed and took the oath of office, effective Oct. 1, at the board of trustees meeting on Sept. 26.

Reddy was appointed to the board in October 2014, following the resignation of David Cardona, and ran for, and won, a full-term in March 2015. Reddy had been first woman on the board since 2002, when Camille Jobin-Davis left. In the past, Reddy has also served on the village’s zoning and planning boards.

After her report to the board, Reddy said, “I’d like to take this time to say that it’s been an honor and a privilege working with each and every one of you these past three years. It’s been a wonderful experience, and I wish you all nothing but the best going forward.”  

Later in the meeting, before administering the oath to Winchell, Mayor Robert Conway addressed the meeting and spoke of Reddy’s time on the board. He quipped, “I want to express for the board, our appreciation of your time here. You were a great addition. We appreciate all the work you did, you were a very pleasant addition — as opposed to some of the more recent ones. We appreciate that and all of your hard work.”

In a later interview with The Enterprise, Conway said of Reddy, “I think she was a great addition to the board; she brought a great perspective.”

He said he appointed Reddy to the board for a different perspective. “She and her husband are small-business owners; I thought that would be a unique approach and voice to have on the board. She’s been part of the community for a long time.” The Reddys own a delicatessen in Guilderland Center.

Reddy could not be reached for comment.

Conway’s final observation of Reddy is, “She has very calm demeanor — a way about her that people gravitate to.”

Sarita Winchell will take Reddy’s place as a trustee. Winchell worked for the Voorheesville Central School District from 1974 to 2011, and then again, in 2014 and 2015, on an interim basis.

She began as treasurer for the district and then moved on to become assistant superintendent for business for nine years. She and her husband, John, have two daughters who live out of the area, and two grandchildren.

Conway said that Winchell has been part of the comprehensive plan committee, and has been doing great work there; she is very much engaged with the committee.

“Sarita has been part of the community for years. She is well known, not only for her community works, but for her time at the school district as their businessperson. I thought she would be a great addition because of her budgeting skills, and her business acumen,” he said.

For her part, Winchell says, “I’m very familiar dealing with municipal finances … I was always involved in school finance, and transitioning to village finance will be a natural thing for me.”

Winchell said that she accepted the appointment because, “I’m a long-time member of the community. My grandparents lived here and I was always coming to my grandparents’ house, and now I live in my grandparents’ house. I have a love of the community.”

Her time on the comprehensive planning committee made her even more interested in joining the board. She wants to take all of the work done by the planning committee, and get it into writing and create a road map for the village.

“I love the village and the New Scotland community, and I don’t want to see it turn into Colonie … We can’t be behind the times; we have to be thinking and moving forward in a very responsible way. That is why I want to be on the board,” she says.  

For Winchell, now is the time to give back.

“I look at retirement as a time to give back to the community. When I was working all those years — and I worked for the district for 37 years — raising my family, I didn’t have time to do any volunteering. Now I do. This is the time for me to give back to the community; that’s how I feel about it,” she says.

Winchell is also part of the New Scotland Historical Society, and does the books for the methodist church. She says, “These types of things — that’s what retirement is about for me.”

When looking for trustees to serve, Conway says, “The thing we are always hoping for with people is that [they know] we are there, first and foremost, for the residents. And we are there to provide residents with services for as low and an efficient cost as possible — and have real love of the community.”

He concluded of Reddy and Winchell, “I think both of these women exemplify that.”

Other Business

In other business at its September meeting, the board of trustees:

— Agreed that the village would partner with Michael Strauss, an Eagle Scout, on constructing a viewing platform on the rail trail;

— Granted Mike Biernacki a variance from the village building moratorium to seek a variance from the zoning board to construct an addition to his building located at 70 Voorheesville Avenue;

— Chose a consultant to design and oversee construction of sidewalks for Maple Avenue, Altamont Road, and Voorheesville Avenue;

— Let the public view new plans for sidewalks on School Road; and

— Said it should have draft of the comprehensive plan by the end of the year.