What skills/experiences/qualifications do you have that make you believe you would make a competent trustee?
I believe that I possess the skills that would serve a trustee quite well, and have developed these to a high degree through my employment and life experiences. One of my strongest would be my people skills, followed by organizational skills and then my ability to communicate with others, listening to what they have to say and evaluating their comments. I then incorporate all available information into an informed opinion. I have developed analytical skills that would prove an asset as a trustee. I have been a project coordinator at SUNY Ulster, and honed my ability to gather necessary materials and prioritize actions to reach a successful conclusion. Past employment responsibilities demanded interpreting and implementing complex legal requirements in order to do the job properly: something I would consider a plus for a trustee.
Many experiences I’ve had will prove valuable to me as a member of the Board of Trustees. In college I served as both president and vice president of the Student Art Guild, and organized events including film festivals, the Beaux Arts Ball and gallery exhibitions. I was also the student representative on a number of faculty committees. After receiving my BFA in photography, I ran my own business providing legal evidence photography, pictures for real estate agents, commercial and promotional work, portrait photography and portfolio photography for artists. I worked for the Catskill Center for Photography as a CETA employee. I was president of Art Bloc Coop and helped establish its gallery for a group of exhibiting New Paltz artists.
My wife and I moved to Tucson, Arizona in the late ‘80s, where I became a senior eligibility interviewer for over 26 different federal and state assistance programs for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. While in Tucson, I was a volunteer at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and was an active member of my Neighborhood Association, completing an historical assessment of the architectural styles of the homes within our neighborhood to document their uniqueness and preservation value, as the university planned expansion and demolition within our borders. I was also involved in the neighborhood’s native plants and xeriscape project to help conserve water.
Upon our return to New Paltz, my wife and I bought a house in the village, and have been owner/occupiers and taxpayers since 1996. I worked for Ulster County in child support enforcement, and then became the head of circulation at the Macdonald DeWitt Library at SUNY Ulster County Community College. While there, I completed a certificate in web design and was promoted to the college’s web coordinator: a position I still hold. I am a non-teaching professional and hold the academic rank of assistant professor. During my tenure I have served on the College Council, Safety & Security Committee, the College Cabinet, chair of the Web Development Committee, chair of the Portal Design Work Group and on the Self-Evaluation Committee for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. I have been reelected annually for the past ten years as president of my union.
I served on the Board of Directors of Unison Arts for almost five years, and was vice president of the board up until my term expired a year ago.
The result of these experiences led to my acquiring qualifications that I believe will allow me proficient skills to serve as a trustee. I am a very organized person, a creative and innovative thinker, play close attention to details and value accuracy in my work. My employment in the social services was marked by 100 percent timeliness and accuracy for eight years of caseload management. My child support caseload was near 1,100 individual cases, which I was able to prioritize and manage effectively and efficiently. I am able to comply with legal instructions in the completion of mandated tasks. My long residency in our village gives me a large and varied constituency, and I have a good working knowledge of the history of New Paltz, both historical and recent. I also value my own personal history as a fan and supporter of all things New Paltz, so have a vested interest in doing my best if elected.
What do you see as the top three challenges facing the Village of New Paltz?
I don’t believe I am any different from the other candidates, for mayor or trustee, in that I see our most crucial challenge is solving our difficult water situation, and do[ing] so with the best interests of the residents in mind, and with the most economical and effective means available. Secondly, I would say that parking and traffic present an ongoing challenge, complicated by our single bridge and egress to the west: the only way to the County Fairgrounds, where many local events take place. We need a creative solution to remedy this problem. Lastly, the third challenge I see is to better working relationships with the town and the college administration and students.
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
1) Based on the challenges cited above, I would think that one priority has to be our water issues. This includes having a plentiful and safe water supply during the time New York City is working on the aqueduct, and into the future. Any growth will be dependent on having sufficient potable water. The options need to be closely examined and an intelligent solution developed and implemented in a timely manner. Drinking water is not our only concern, as we have to address storm runoff, the condition of the Wallkill River and the upkeep and expansion of our sewer system.
2) My second priority would be the parking and traffic issues we face. Downtown parking, curbside parking on the residential streets and metered and lot parking need attention, and the input of residents and business owners must be taken into consideration. Ideas to improve the traffic flow during “rush hour,” when events are being held and during our tourist season need to be considered.
3) I would also like to see more cooperation between all of us who share the village. The town/village has to cooperate and work together to make shared responsibilities function optimally. Students and the college are a major part of the village, and as such, need to work with us. Helping students to develop a sense of the community they are part of can go a long way to eliminating noise problems and litter. Better landlord/tenant relations can instill pride in how a property looks to a passerby and neighbors. And the college can help by addressing these issues with incoming students during the orientation process. I think there are ways to work together without having to resort to passing new laws and still achieve a balance in how we all live here.
I will make myself available to residents to discuss their concerns, help them gather information and assist in ways I can, promptly and respectfully.
New Paltz is a great place to live. I would like to have a hand in keeping it that way.
Dennis Young
Why did you decide to run for the position of trustee of the Village of New Paltz?
I’m running for trustee because I believe it is the greatest way for me to serve the community I love. I’ve attended more Village Board meetings over the past year than any of my fellow trustee candidates because I am passionate about our community and because I believe you don’t complain about something unless you are willing to help fix it. Despite our incredibly high cost of living and our reputation as a green community, we are falling behind our neighbors. Rosendale’s Community Center has been run on geothermal heating and cooling for about ten years; Esopus has an ambitious and cost-effective solar program and a Town Hall that runs fossil-free day-to day operations; yet New Paltz came dangerously close to spending our precious tax dollars to convert new equipment at Village Hall to hydrofracked natural gas. I know we can do better, and I would like to be involved in creating a more financially and environmentally responsible future for our community.
What skills/experiences/qualifications do you have that make you believe you would make a competent trustee?
As a successful business professional, I have gathered a great deal of experience in negotiating and contracting. Aside from the environmental impact of converting Village Hall to natural gas, the thing that struck me the most was the lack of negotiating with Central Hudson. I was in the room when they made their first sales pitch to the Village Board, and my jaw dropped that it was accepted publicly and without any negotiation. I give the board a great deal of credit for reversing their decision after the Environmental Policy Commission lobbied against the conversion, but there is no doubt in my mind that the funds CHEG offered to convert our equipment in exchange for an easement could have been secured for other more worthwhile endeavors (such as energy-efficient LED streetlights and/or additional streetlights in the darkest portions of our village, like Church Street or the Gardens for Nutrition). With the cost of living in our community as high as it is, we cannot afford to leave money on the negotiating table.
I also have extensive project management experience that would have been helpful in establishing and adhering to deadlines necessary to secure a water source during the impending DEP shutdown. It is sad that we are being forced into a decision that our residents are not comfortable with, due to a lack of time to explore other options. With better planning this could have been resolved long ago without causing great stress to our residents and without exposing the village to potential litigation from its own community members.
Another valuable lesson I have learned in the private sector is the benefit of being a collaborative team-builder and an effective communicator. We have many brilliant minds in our community; keeping everyone in the loop and valuing the opinions of all is the best way to lead. A recent accomplishment that I am quite proud of is recruiting a candidate for the Environmental Policy Commission that has extensive experience researching grants. Once approved by the Village Board, we will have a dedicated researcher focusing on finding money to help us improve our community at no cost to the taxpayers. This is the kind of approach you can expect to see if I am fortunate enough to be elected.
What do you see as the top three challenges facing the Village of New Paltz?
1) The cost of living: As the father of three young children in a school district that provides them amazing support, I have a deep, personal investment in our community. A concern of mine is making sure we can afford to stay here — not only as our children grow, but also in retirement. My amazing wife Jessica and I love this town more than anywhere on the planet, and New Paltz is the place to which we will retire. I want to make sure that we will be able to do so.
As Jessica and I canvassed the neighborhood these past few months, the most consistent plea we heard from families, seniors and students alike was that they are all struggling to meet the cost of living within our beautiful village. Please be sure that I will focus on keeping taxes down while investing appropriately to maintain the overall excellence of our community.
2) Repairing the fractured relationship with the Town Board: In early March, the cover of this very newspaper proclaimed that the town and village Boards were “on the same page at last.” Collaboration between the boards should not be front-page news; it should be an everyday occurrence. If elected, I will proactively work towards better communication and cooperation with the Town Board to solve the infrastructure problems we face as a community (drinking water, sewage, stormwater drainage, parking, et cetera). Having served on the Environmental Policy Commission (EPC) since last summer, I feel we are an excellent example of what bright-minded public servants can do when they work together, focus on data and never give up. We spend countless hours compiling and processing information to find greener ways to improve and preserve our community, and I am extremely proud to be a member of the team. If the focus is on working collaboratively, I am certain we can find creative solutions to the challenges we face, and I am equally certain that there are tax dollars that can be saved.
3) Developing our community appropriately to ensure our infrastructure is expanding in tune with the continued growth of both SUNY and our community: The continued growth of both the college and the town require our planning to be addressed carefully and with great scrutiny, and there are many of these issues that need to be addressed. One issue that never seems to dissipate is our lack of parking, both by the college and in our downtown business area. The new Engineering Building on campus is great for the school, but it has displaced the parking lot closest to several dormitories and many classrooms. We need to work with the college to ensure the needs of students are being met; otherwise it will impact the residents that live closest to campus.
We also need to find new ways to offer additional parking to better support our business owners, and I am also very interested in seeking ways to rejuvenate the newly rezoned 32 North. Adirondack Trailways is seeking a new location to better serve their customers, and personally I would like to see them relocate somewhere in this area, such as the old STS Tire location, as it is ideally located next to a park-and-ride. The commuter parking congestion we currently see on Prospect Street, Grove Street and Main Street would disappear, and those parking spots would then be available for residents and customers looking to support our local businesses.
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
1) If it is not resolved by June, finding a viable water source during the aqueduct shutdown needs to be everyone’s top priority: At this exact moment we need to be focusing on our Plan B, should the Plains Road residents exercise their legal rights and force the village to look elsewhere for water. The deadline for finding a solution is rapidly approaching, and a steady stream of water trucks marching through the village is another undesirable option. It’s unfortunate we are left with these difficult choices. Having been notified of the impending shutdown many years ago, being backed into a corner in determining our temporary water source was completely avoidable. Better management of timelines will be crucial in solving all of our community’s needs.
2) Finding innovative and environmentally sound ways to offer relief to the high cost of living in New Paltz: In my role as a commissioner for the EPC, I have focused my time on finding greener ways to reduce the heavy financial burden of living in our community. Whether I am elected or not, I will continue to focus on delivering a village-wide optional garbage contract to our residents. If we band together and purchase in bulk, we can deliver real cost savings to village residents, and not just on our monthly refuse bills. The environmental and financial impact of fewer garbage trucks traveling our roads is significant. Also significant are the reduction of traffic, wear and tear on our village streets and the reduction of noise these vehicles bring into our homes. My hope is that we can ultimately reduce costs and increase services by adding curbside composting.
In addition to reducing the cost of refuse, I am also very interested in exploring the potential of a municipal energy distribution center. At last month’s EPC meeting, we were fortunate enough to have energy expert Randolph Horner visit us and explain the benefits of a municipal solar field that could provide enough energy for the town, village and the school district. While it may not be financially viable without outside investors or grant money, if we do our homework now we can be poised to strike when the opportunity arises and we can successfully lower our expenses. The cost of energy from Central Hudson is only going to increase; if we have the ability to obtain it at a consistently lower rate, then we need to explore that opportunity to the fullest.
3) Expanding our tax base: We need to stay focused on supporting our existing businesses while proactively recruiting new ones to fill our vacant spaces. If we can expand the tax base, we can afford to invest in renewable energy and lower our long-term financial obligations. We are in it for the long haul; by investing wisely, we can help provide long-term tax relief for everyone.
