To the Editor:

We moved to Westerlo 11 years ago and started going to town board meetings when we were told that very few people attend these meetings.

Over the years, the membership of the town board has changed, but when people get on the board they often seem to have their own agendas. Some have worked well; others not so well. But never have we seen anyone as disregarding and disrespectful as Bill Bichteman.

He has taken over the board, running the meetings, talking so low no one can hear what he’s saying, and resisting or outright preventing input from townspeople. He’s gotten in the way of good work by others to let Westerlo get good internet service and get grants.

He’s made a personal mission out of continuing to throw big taxpayer money at the old school and the helpless engineering firm he keeps paying (over $100,000 and counting) even though they keep showing the same bad plan and failing to come up with solid costs.

When people question that, he tells them they don’t know what they’re talking about, then turns around and says he needs this engineering firm because he doesn’t know.

He almost took the town attorney’s advice to set up financing for this bad plan in a way that would avoid letting residents vote on it. When we rejected it for a second time, his response was to keep pushing the same bad plan, now in pieces so we can’t vote on it.

Leave him in office and we’ll wind up footing the huge bill for that bad plan and the bad engineering firm, and not be able to stop or influence it.

Think hard about re-electing a man who’ll force his expensive and wrongheaded agenda on you, not listening to you and telling you that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Bonnie Kohl-Laub

Westerlo

Editor’s note: Bonnie Kohl-Laub is married to Leonard Laub, a member of Westerlo’s Broadband Research Committee.