Chris Pryslopski (D)
Why did you decide to run for office?
I decided to run because I think that we can do better as individuals and as a town in terms of working together. As a town volunteer, I have interacted with most other appointees, officials and staff and I believe that they are good people trying to do a good job. But they do not adequately represent our diverse community and the concerns of a significant portion of our population are going unconsidered.
What positions/experiences/skills do you believe will make you a competent Town Board member?
I believe that my experience as a member and chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals has helped me develop an approach to making decisions that combines due diligence, fairness and respect for everyone’s needs. My previous work reviewing developments in Orange and Rockland counties has shown me how governments can work with developers to guarantee their residents’ best interests. The study and experience involved in both my undergraduate degree and my Masters in public administration have taught me how to assess and address the issues faced by an organization or government, as well as the critical project management skills that can help our town be more attuned and responsive.
Do/did you support the creation of a special category of zoning for the Williams Lake Project? Would you support a PILOT agreement for Hudson River Valley Resorts, if they request it?
The Williams Lake Project is not allowed under our current zoning, so some change was necessary in order to consider it. The town chose to pursue an amendment largely authored by the developers themselves; I do not think that this was the wisest choice. I would have used the energy surrounding this project to drive a more open and inclusive process to develop townwide Planned Development Districts (PDDs) that would have encompassed Williams Lake as well as other important target areas such as our hamlet centers and the Route 32 corridor.
Tax incentives are typically used in order to attract a development that would not otherwise locate in a certain area (such as nanotechnology centers in Albany) or to encourage new businesses that might not otherwise be able to reach maturity (as we see with solar technology in the Hudson Valley). The Williams Lake development does not fall into either of these categories.
At their most basic level, PILOTs allow a developer to gradually increase the amount of taxes paid. However, with this development, Rosendale is at greatest risk of incurring expenses (for instance, damage to roads) during the first few years of the ten-plus-year development plan. I would oppose any incentive that failed to guarantee our community’s financial security during this time period.
What’s your vision of how Rosendale should be developed in the future?
A resilient community with a sustainable economy must include a variety of businesses and services at a variety of scales. We need to provide opportunities for appropriate development in the hamlets and along the main traffic corridors. Rosendale is developing as a destination and we need to implement the vision, laws and other means now that will safeguard our existing residents and community character while sustaining and growing our local economy. We also need to remember that we are part of a larger region and to identify how we fit in that larger network; I believe we should focus on recreational, small-business and affordable residential opportunities in that context.
How do you plan to address long-term infrastructure needs like water system repairs and upgrades?
Our supervisor has already begun to make needed improvements to our infrastructure and I would assist in the ongoing effort to find ways to mitigate the costs to the district customers.
What would be your strategy for funding replacement of the town pool?
Many people have already invested a great amount of effort in this project. I would begin by reviewing and assessing their work to date. I suspect that we can further expand and involve our list of stakeholders, funding sources and partners. There may also be ways to incorporate greater community/volunteer involvement and opportunities for reducing costs through additional Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and competitive bidding.
What do you see as the top three greatest challenges facing the Town of Rosendale right now?
On the most basic level, I see Rosendale’s greatest challenge as deciding how we face our changing future. On a practical level, this obstacle can be addressed by getting our zoning laws in order, to encourage appropriate development and control how it happens, then remaining vigilant and responsive to ensure success. It means having difficult conversations and making difficult decisions in regard to our budget: Where are our greatest expenses and inefficiencies and why do they persist? And it involves every one of us making the time to meet our neighbors, to be tolerant of our differences and looking for ways to work together to make Rosendale our town. Volunteering whatever time you can helps get things done, keep costs down, build community and raise your spirits; this alone won’t change things, but things will never change without it.
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
My top priority is to open our government and improve communication at all levels, internally and externally, in order to become more effective and responsive. I would also make the public review, discussion and adoption of the Zoning Review Committee’s recommended improvements to our Zoning Code a top priority in order to provide the foundation we need to face our changing future. And I would dedicate myself to reducing our government’s costs by getting to know our departments and finding ways to enable them to operate as efficiently as possible.
Ken Hassett (R), incumbent
Why did you decide to run for office?
There are still some infrastructure and economic development issues that need to be attended to here in Rosendale. After 16 years on the board I can look back over my tenure and see so many times where we’ve moved two steps forward and four steps back and it’s frustrating. But finally, we’re getting to the point where things are falling into place. Rosendale is a better place than it has been in a long time and it’s got a really bright future. That’s why I’m asking the people to put me back in office for a fifth term.
What positions/experiences/skills do you believe will make you a competent Town Board member?
For the last 28 years I’ve been a business agent for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1262. What I do on the job meshes with my responsibilities here as a councilman. We have two units here in Rosendale that are covered by collective bargaining agreements — the police and highway departments — so in the past I’ve played a role in negotiating those contracts.
I pretty much know how this town works on every level, having been a part of it for so long. That definitely is an asset to bring to the board. When people get newly elected to office, there is a learning curve, and it helps to have some people with years behind them to stay on the board, keep continuity and help the newly elected people.
Do/did you support the creation of a special category of zoning for the Williams Lake Project? Would you support a PILOT agreement for Hudson River Valley Resorts, if they request it?
The creation of the Binnewater Lakes Conservation Planned Development Area served two purposes: It enabled the developers to move forward with the project in a sensible and controlled way, but also should have appeased some detractors that thought that the project was too big. I believe creating this district makes the footprint smaller and encourages cluster development. The byproduct of that is more open space.
Throughout the seven years of review that this project has gone under, not once have I heard anybody from the developers’ side mention a PILOT agreement. Should they bring a PILOT agreement to the town, I would not be in favor of it. We have people in town who have a hard time paying their own taxes to keep their house, so to justify a tax break to a developer for any reason just isn’t going to sit well.
What’s your vision of how Rosendale should be developed in the future?
We’re on the right track. We’ve become a destination for the county and even downstaters with the rail trails, especially since the Williams Lake connection was opened up to Kingston. My vision for the future is to develop our town along the way it’s going right now: as a recreational place to come. The pool is a must. We’d like to have a poolhouse that acts as a place for bikers to come off the bus and rent a bicycle at the bike shop, use our locker rooms, store their things, recreate and spend money in town, come back and shower, return the bike, get on the bus or drive back home.
We have in the past instituted some development standards along the Route 32 corridor. It’s just a matter of getting people to come in, taking that chance on Rosendale and opening a business. We have to develop The 32/213 corridor smartly and tie that into all the things that are happening in Rosendale specific to the rail trail and recreational opportunities. I can’t see us ever hosting any big businesses, simply because of our lack of appropriate space for any large type of manufacturing or development. So we’re going to have to rely on small Mom-and-Pop operations.
How do you plan to address long-term infrastructure needs like water system repairs and upgrades?
We are in line for a $2 million state grant, with a no-interest loan for another million, to upgrade the water system within the village. It broke out to about $50 more per user within the district, which is unheard-of. So we can upgrade the water system to state standards, which is an absolute necessity, with very limited impact on our users.
Other infrastructure issues would be our roads and bridges; many of them need tending to. Bob Gallagher, our incoming highway superintendent, is already compiling a list of areas that need quicker attention. We as a board are going to support him. It also depends on budget constraints: To pave a mile of road costs a lot of money. Long-term planning has to be done in order to take care of the problems going down the road. We’re lucky to have an in-house mechanic who takes care of our trucks and has even been able to take older equipment and totally refurbish it to the point where it’s just as good as new, but at a fraction of the cost. Our fleet is up to standard.
