What do you see as the top three challenges facing the Village of New Paltz?
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
Water: Our village government has known that the New York City aqueduct will be closing for repairs in 2017 (originally 2016). Our Village Board should have addressed our water issues years ago instead of waiting till the last minute. If village water issues are not resolved by June, this will be a top priority for my administration.
Since I have been both a Police Commissioner and a Planning Board member in the Town of New Paltz, I bring a fresh opportunity to unify our village, town, schools and university. New Paltz no longer has the luxury of being a divided community; we must focus on our goals together, so that we can realize many cost savings and solutions. Incidentally, I have rallied for No Frack New York, and I celebrate our New York State ban on fracking. We must ensure clean and healthy water for all residents always.
Infrastructure /Sidewalks/Safety and Revitalization: We must secure grants to ensure that our infrastructure is brought up to date, as well as repair crumbling sidewalks and create new sidewalks where needed. All of our codes must be enforced for the protection of our residents, cyclists, pedestrians and children. Our downtown is ready to be revitalized, and there are many grants which New Paltz with a focused leadership can qualify for. Let’s welcome neighbors from surrounding towns and visitors with increased municipal parking, rest areas, public bathrooms, the creation of bike paths, planting of flowers and trees, installing of directional signage and informational and illustrated maps (our new map has apps!).
It has recently been brought to my attention by the Department of Public Works that the playground at Hasbrouck Park should have come down several years ago. The entire play structure is rotting and can no longer be repaired. There are currently no plans on the village agenda to begin discussions on a new park. As mayor, I will work with the community to develop a plan for a playground and a park with recreational opportunities for all ages and for the handicapped. Our new park will have a new playground, covered basketball court, chessboards, picnic tables, public bathrooms and flower gardens. What better way to encourage and attract young families to live and work in our community?
Jobs/Opportunities for Residents: As your mayor, I will create a Green Zone empowerment community. We will foster the creation of well-paying green jobs — i.e., working on rail trails, parks, flowerbeds, reuse and recycle, et cetera. New York State offers funding to provide for these jobs and programs. I will work with SUNY and green enterprises to provide jobs for graduates and internships for students and residents with new green technology.
As mayor, I will encourage our village to welcome residents and guests and promote the message of local art and culture. Let’s pull out our parking meters! Instead, we can have local artists paint locked donation boxes (one per every block). The boxes can have a small sign that says, “Thank you for visiting New Paltz; we appreciate your business. Please donate to help keep New Paltz beautiful.” We can still have signs which limit vehicles to two- or four-hour parking and enforce this by chalking tires. Let’s empower local artists at our Village Hall by having our own Village Hall Art Gallery. During executive session our cameraperson can focus on individual works of art instead of the wall.
I will be donating $500 from my first paycheck to set up a hospitality table outside of our meeting room. We will have herbal tea, coffee and water for all residents and visitors. Imagine the welcoming tone and example we will set at our meetings with chai and local art.
Sally M. Rhoads
Why did you decide to run for the position of mayor of New Paltz?
For over 40 years I have shown my love and deep commitment to our community’s betterment. I am running for mayor because the village needs leadership and I have proven I have the abilities to do the job well. I have no conflicts of interest or vested interest — just the desire to provide energetic leadership to preserve what is wonderful in our community, find solutions to our problems, accomplish needed improvements and plan with residents our future. I stand for efficient, ethical, honest and effective government that is informed by and responsive to Village residents.
What skills/experiences/qualifications do you have that make you believe you would make a competent mayor?
I believe I can serve our residents well through my proven leadership skills, tenacity, work ethic, persistence, ability to collaborate and cooperate and my strong knowledge of municipal affairs. I am capable of tackling big or small problems for the betterment of our residents. New Paltz is a wonderfully diverse community full of intelligent and interesting people. It needs a strong and independent leader who can bring people together to solve what sometimes appear to be “insurmountable problems.”
Elting Memorial Library is a perfect example of what our community can accomplish when we work together with effective leadership. For years, people knew (and talked about needing) a better public library. We were informed by the “professional experts” it could not be done, that 3.5 million dollars could not be raised, nor was there enough community interest and support to do it. But we, the community, did it!
I am currently a proactive trustee and was deputy mayor for two years. I will have no learning curve. I know the role and responsibilities of being your mayor. If elected, I will be able to “hit the street running.”
What do you see as the top three challenges facing the Village of New Paltz?
The top three challenges I would pick are:
1) Finalizing and immediately implementing the remedies needed to provide water for the village when the aqueduct is shut down in 2017.
2) Collaboratively working with the town and Clean Water and Open Space Protection Commission to purchase the remaining Millbrook Preserve (currently for sale and in danger of being developed).
3) Implementing a joint solution with the town to solve its sewer needs and the village’s future needs by upgrading and expanding the sewer plant capacity.
I think the top three challenges identified in Question 2 are also the top three priorities. However, the village is facing more than just these three immediate challenges. We need to address:
1) providing sewer lines to residents of Huguenot Street and to North Chestnut Street, if the B-3 district is to be viable for economic development;
2) respond to the five-year request from the Fire Department to become a Fire District;
3) increase and balance available housing;
4) finish a solid, enforceable and non-contradictory housing and zoning code;
5) do a new Master Plan (or a joint Comprehensive [Plan] with the town)
6) form with SUNY New Paltz an association of other SUNY communities to address common problems; and
7) initiate communications, planning and shared services with the town, New Paltz Central School District and SUNY.
There are also day-to-day issues which affect the quality and happiness of residents and businesses that need attention: parking, lighting, sidewalks, graffiti and litter.
I also have several internal government priorities which will lead to a more efficient and effective village:
1) provide the day-to-day leadership and oversight needed by our excellent department heads and their staff;
2) communicate promptly with the trustees, employees and the community;
3) implement decisions of the board expeditiously.
All public discourse will be with civility and respect.
Jason West
Why did you decide to run for the position of mayor of New Paltz?
I decided to run for reelection because it’s a job I love. For all the headaches, it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to serve. The work of local government never ends, which means for all the progress we’ve made, there’s always more left to be done. I’m proud of my record and look forward to what comes next.
What skills/experiences/qualifications do you have that make you believe you would make a competent mayor?
I have served eight years as mayor, and three years before that on the Town’s Environmental Conservation Commission. During my tenure, we’ve seen the first efforts at greening our infrastructure, including a 15-kilowatt solar panel array on Village Hall, the use of natural reeds to help treat wastewater, the daylighting of a stream in Peace Park to (in part) absorb more stormwater and the provision for rain gardens in Hasbrouck Park. I’m proud to have created our new Environmental Policy Commission, which immediately set to work drafting and passing the plastic bag ban.
Our traditional infrastructure has been getting an overhaul. We’ve repaired our water towers, done nearly annual replacement of aging sewer lines and are engaged in a complete renovation of our water treatment plant. While sidewalk funding has seen a steep decline, we recently received a sidewalk repair grant that will allow us to fix some critical areas, including the bluestone sidewalk on Huguenot Street. The village is currently researching whether we should have some form of public waste collection, including curbside composting.
With housing costs — both rental and owner-occupied — climbing beyond the ability of too many to afford, we passed the first affordable housing law, and created a Housing Board to promote more affordable housing. I wrote our new “rental property inspection” law, which aims to streamline the rental inspection process and improve the safety and living conditions of tenants.
Planning in general has received a lot of attention: We’ve rezoned Route 32 North to be more like Main Street, hired a full-time planner and taken steps towards both overhauling our zoning code and writing the first Master Plan in 20 years. The village planner and I began a series of community walks last year, with village staff walking neighborhoods with residents to identify problems.
I’m also proud of the community events I’ve been a part of organizing. From the same-sex marriages to Flood Aid, the village’s 125th anniversary and our now-annual Christmas Tree Bonfire, these events bring our community together, turning strangers into neighbors.
What do you see as the top three challenges facing the Village of New Paltz?
The cost of living is growing increasingly out of control — housing costs in particular. We run the risk of becoming a community of relatively wealthy homeowners and impoverished students, and the village has taken the first steps by implementing affordable housing strategies, but much more needs to be done. Smart growth may be one answer: Build more of the right kind of housing to alleviate the pressure.
The environment is always an enormous challenge. Being an environmentalist is no longer an option; it’s a necessity of survival. Environmental problems are simply so big that it can feel like anything you do is just a drop in the bucket. But we have to work at it and do what we can. Last year I convened a group of experts to try to figure out how to make the Wallkill River clean again, and we’re having an event on campus on April 23 to bring together everyone interested in this river in our backyard. It may take us 50 or 100 years, but we’ve made a start on having the river we deserve to live with. We’ll soon have our first solar streetlight, as well as the green infrastructure mentioned above.
Hurricanes Irene, Lee and Sandy brought home the realities of climate change, which is predicted to bring more frequent storms and more volatile weather. We can do our part to try to slow climate change; if we could measure the carbon footprint of the entire village, there may be things we can do to try to make our community carbon-neutral.
Finally, infrastructure in the face of declining funding is a constant challenge. There is simply more competition for a shrinking pool of money. We have been very successful in securing funding, with more than $1.8 million in sewer repairs and a $4 million water plant upgrade in the last four years.
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
1) Continue to prioritize infrastructure repairs and improvements.
2) Expand our affordable housing policies to ensure anyone who wants to can afford to live in the village.
3) Explore forming a public power utility to reduce the cost of power and allow us to create clean energy.
