Reilly seeks water

NEW SCOTLAND – Democrat Richard Reilly says that he has enjoyed serving his community as a member of the town board for the past eight years, and he believes he can continue to contribute in that capacity.
"Any town-board member recognizes challenges and opportunities that the town faces and actively works to address them in as thoughtful and responsible a manner as possible," Reilly said.
Throughout the past two terms, Reilly said, the board has accomplished a number of things. Among them, he said, is the appointment of Susan Kidder to act as the senior liaison to the town. The board created alternate positions to the zoning and planning boards, to ensure that applicants get a review by a full board and also has "taken important steps in strengthening land-use planning," he said.

Reilly, 31, is a lawyer at Gleason, Dunn Walsh, & O’Shea, an Albany law firm. He handles construction law, not-for-profit, and commercial litigation and transactions. He is married to Molly, and has four children — Claire, William, Owen, and Joseph.

Town issues

With respect to municipal water, the town needs to work with neighboring municipalities as well as the village of Voorheesville, Reilly said.
"I think we should actively pursue opportunities to provide public water to residents in the town of New Scotland," he said. The town needs to also work to build on the existing infrastructure, he said.
Planning and zoning documents, said Reilly, are "living documents." The town’s zoning, when it was initially adopted, was ahead of its time, and has served the town well.
"We can always work to improve them, and that’s what we’re doing," Reilly said, adding that the town is trying to adopt techniques to preserve the character of the town.
It is important the town remain a "vibrant place" for young people and for seniors to live, he said.
Regarding affordable housing, the town could consider mandating that large-scale developers set aside a number of homes for a families with fewer resources, said Reilly. "We could also provide incentives to developers who either construct or rehabilitate existing housing stock" by allowing increased density on a particular project," he said.
"I think it’s a significant need," Reilly said of affordable housing. "I think it’s important that New Scotland remain a vibrant community."
Reilly recalled that, when he was growing up in New Scotland, the town was a mixture of kids "from all walks of life." It is important the town keep that texture, he said.
In regard to the RPAC recommendations, Reilly said that town has taken a look at a number of the issues raised in the report, and "will continue to do so."
"RPAC didn’t really re-invent the wheel. Many of the issues were already addressed in the comprehensive plan," he said.
"As a town board, we always attempt to involve community input. How we effectively obtain that input is important," said Reilly. "I always think public input is important. The public hearing process is a great vehicle for that," he said. "I’ve never viewed the public hearing as a formality the town board would blow past.
"What I don’t want to see is town officials abdicate their responsibility to offer meaningful solutions to issues we’re facing, by committee-ing things to death," said Reilly. Adding that, over the past several years, the town has had a "tremendous" amount of public input.
"Committees are important," Reilly said. "I also think that, as elected officials, we’re obligated to represent the residents of this town. There are times committees are used as an excuse for delaying action, rather than finding a solution to our opportunities and challenges," he said.
"The town needs to be prepared to put the pen to the paper and offer proposals to the public" That’s important as well," Reilly said. "We’re elected by the people of the town, and we do need to represent their interests."
The comprehensive land-use plan, said Reilly, substantively, "is ahead of its time." What is important, he said, is that the town ensures the data, and tools such as mapping are up to date.
"We’re always looking at land-use planning issues," he said.
"Commercial development is clearly important to lessen the significant tax burden on residents" Town officials need to seriously consider projects and identify areas where commercial development is appropriate, and work to create an environment where development we deem appropriate can be built," he concluded.