by Alex Brooks
Candidate Frank Higgins, Town Supervisor
[private]Frank Higgins worked for 30 years at GE in various management positions, and three years at Momentive Performance Materials in various management positions. He served as the Treasurer of the Grafton Fire District for over 25 years, and was a Fire Commissioner for three years. He served as one of the Grafton Town Justices for 15 months, until he was appointed Supervisor at the end of March of this year. He is running unopposed.
These are some of the things Higgins has done in his first six months in office:
He has restructured the bill paying process so bills are paid in a timely manner. He has crafted a preliminary budget for 2014 with a tax increase of less than 1.5%. He has recruited a bookkeeper with a lot of municipal bookkeeping experience and a mastery of the bookkeeping software used by the Town, which has resulted in the balancing of the Town’s books and filing of the annual audit required by the State comptroller’s office (normally due by the end of February). He has recruited a new Town Assessor with a salary reduction of $4,000 annually. His newly hired Secretary, Joe Allain, has built a new website which can be updated from Town Hall with no delays or fees involved. He said he and Allain are still working to improve this new site and would be glad to hear from Town residents who have suggestions about this.
In the area of Town highways, Higgins has worked with Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck to auction off old and no longer needed Town highway equipment providing additional income to the highway budget. The Highway Department has completed the paving of Steve O’Dell Road and North Long Pond Road using the annual CHIPS funding from the State. The paving of North Long Pond Road was done in conjunction with the State Park, which provided funds for half of the materials required for the project.
Hasbrouck and Higgins secured the donation of two large trailer storage units from Price Chopper, one of which is being used as temporary storage for the overflow of documentation that has been cluttering up the Town Hall, and the other is used by the Highway Department for the storage of parts and equipment. Going forward Higgins plans to convert Town files to digital storage to reduce the need for storage of paper files.
Looking to the future, Higgins said he is working on the following projects:
Obtaining a Time Warner franchise to bring cable to the Town for the first time. Town surveys have been completed, and a required waiver was approved by the PSC this month, which clears the way for the pole survey & construction planning to begin.
An energy survey of the Town Hall and Town Garage has been completed and the Town is in the process of obtaining new energy efficient fixtures based on this survey to lower energy costs.
Higgins is working with a solar energy company to have solar panels installed on the Town Hall and Town Garage, which will reduce the town’s electrical energy costs 20-25% with no investment for installation. He has also asked the solar company to look at and provide a proposal for the Town fire house and VFW-fire hall for approval by the fire commissioners at their next meeting.
He has been successful in obtaining the monetary and material awards required by a recent decision of the NYS Supreme Court concerning the Valente Quarry’s contractual obligations to the Town, and he is working with the Town’s attorney to bring the quarry into full compliance with the Court’s order.
Higgins expresses thanks to Councilwoman Barbara Messenger, Town Clerk Sue Putnam, Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck and his crew, Joe Allain and Tom Withcuskey for their assistance and guidance in all of these projects.
Town Council
(two seats open)
Mike Crandall
is a lifelong resident of Grafton, one of the fourth generation of his family to live here. He has been married for 34 years to his wife Sharon Crandall, and they have raised four children in Grafton. Those children are now looking to start their own homes here in Grafton.
Mike has served as Town Councilman for 20 years. In over 20 years of working with Town budgets, Mike’s efforts to hold costs in check have resulted in stable or declining property taxes for many years.
He has protected services for seniors and helped secure $605,000 in State grants for the construction of the Town Senior/Community Center.
He has been a leader in the effort to revise the travel trailer law that restricts property owners from camping on their own property.
He was the sponsor of a Town local law that strictly regulates the placement of adult bookstores and adult entertainment.
In addition to his work on the Town Council, he is involved in the community as a volunteer for the Grafton Fire Auxiliary and for nearly forty years as the Music Minister for the St. John Francis Regis Church in Grafton and the Sacred Heart Church in Berlin.
If elected to another term as a Town Councilman, Crandall will aim to keep taxes low, encourage small business growth to grow the Town’s tax base and “continue looking after our seniors and youth.”
Eric Buckley
“Grafton residents are losing belief and trust in their local government, and they are no longer confident that their elected officials will do the right thing regardless of party affiliation. It’s imperative that government and residents come together and work hard for the good of Grafton, which I am fully committed to do!
“Grafton is a beautiful place and has been my home town since birth. I worked at the Grafton State Park as a teenager and currently own and operate a business in the town. Serving in leadership roles for youth organizations and with the Elks has provided me experience and opportunity to bring people together for the good of all. I have learned to listen to people and be respectful of different opinions and ideas. I can work with anyone and be diplomatic and professional in tough situations.
“I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to restore confidence in our local government. On my travels throughout the town recently, residents have expressed concerns and ideas which I look forward to addressing or implementing. Lastly, I can assure the residents that Grafton will be a better place after my time of service.”
Stacy Reinhard
Stacy Reinhard has been a resident of Grafton for 20 years. She works for LexisNexis, a global legal research provider, specializing in serving Law Schools. In addition she works with the management team there on market analysis and new business prospecting to grow their business, and she creates, maintains and analyzes financial reports. She is company certified in a number of their leadership programs.
She serves as Secretary of the Grafton Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary.
“While visiting residents as part of our campaign, I have heard concerns expressed about the closing of our community school, about the vacant properties in town, the lack of internet service and a general impression that the Town is not moving forward.
“If elected I would like to come together with the Board and assist them in moving things forward for our Community. I applaud the current Town Supervisor for his efforts to bring in an internet service provider, and I will assist with that project in any way I can.
“I also think we need to find new and creative ways of promoting and supporting our local business community to encourage the kind of economic development that will grow our tax base. By partnering with the businesses and County and State agencies I believe we can foster job growth in our community. I’d also like to reach out to our State Park and other facilities in our community with the aim of enhancing tourism, and promoting community events. And lastly, I would seek to find opportunities to invest in our town youth by using creative ideas and thinking outside the box. I believe these are the kinds of thing that can get our town moving forward again.
“I will work with the Board and the Town Supervisor to review, prioritize and identify those things that are in need of resolution. I enter this new endeavor with no personal agenda and I realize that I have a lot to learn and I am totally up for the challenge. I am open minded, ready to listen and eager to work on creative solutions that can move our town forward again. I pledge to listen to the residents of Grafton. I will serve with professionalism and dignity for the greater good of our Community.”
Marie Claus
For six years I have been serving the residents of the Town of Grafton. My family has been serving the town in various capacities for decades. Most recent would be my mother having served the Town for over 20 years as a Town Council member.
Our community is unique. It has been said that Grafton is a bedroom community, mostly comprised of single family homes. We have little through traffic as we have no airports, train depots, rivers or major roadways within our boundaries.
We prefer to live close to the land and would like to preserve that lifestyle for future generations. That is why we have a Right to Farm Law in effect. I hold that we have basic constitutional rights. The right to bear arms is one of them.
I am a committed public servant. After serving in the Army for 18 years, I began my second career with The Home Depot 9 years ago. I am a life member of Grafton VFW Post 7466 Auxiliary. I look for fellowship at St. John Francis Regis Church in Grafton.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all residents who have so warmly welcomed me into their homes this campaign season. I hope to continue serving. If elected, my goal, as always, is to keep taxes down without losing services.
Town Justice
(one seat open)
John Pagano
John Pagano has worked in retail businesses for 50 years. He has been a manager for Price Chopper and Radio Shack, and most recently he ran his own gift shop in Camelot Village in Bennington. From this work he has learned to work with people and to make major decisions, and he has learned to be a good listener. He believes these skills will be useful in a Town Justice.
He describes himself as non-political, and aspires to be a fair and impartial judge. He enjoyed learning about the law in college, and looks forward to the challenge of learning to be an effective Town Justice. He said he is a big advocate of using community service in sentencing.
John has been married for 25 years to Kathy (Bell) Pagano, and they have 3 kids and 5 grandchildren. They have lived in Grafton for over 20 years.
Ed Bly
Ed Bly and his wife Diane live in Grafton, where they raised two children who are now in college.
He has had a long career in law enforcement, beginning in the U.S. Army Military Police and serving for many years as a New York State Correctional Officer, ending up as Assistant Commissioner of Correctional Facilities.
He retired from the Corrections Department on July 31, 2013 and soon thereafter agreed to run for Town Justice.
On September 24, 2013, he was hired by the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office to manage the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility as the Chief of Correctional Facility Operations.
Bly felt he could not hold this job and the Town Justice position at the same time. He asked to withdraw his name from the ballot, but it was too late.
Bly said, “I ask employees under my charge to be honest, demonstrate good character and practice integrity as I truly believe in these traits and will accept nothing less from myself. To accept an appointment as Town Justice would violate these beliefs.
I apologize to the good citizens of Grafton for any confusion, but should I win on election day I will be forced to resign upon appointment and endorse another qualified town resident for appointment to this important position.”[/private]