by Alex Brooks
Highway Superintendent
[private]Ray Harrison
Ray Harrison is a lifetime resident of Petersburgh. He has worked for the Highway Department for 30 years, learning road building techniques “hands-on” from Petersburgh’s two previous Highway Superintendents, Earl Brock and Earl Stevens. He has been the Highway Superintendent for five years. He has faced many obstacles in the last few years with the extreme weather we have experienced. Harrison has shown his dedication in these emergencies, putting in long hours, often late at night and, subsequently, many extra hours communicating with FEMA.
Harrison has also been willing to put in extra hours helping various Town organizations with their projects, such as the Cemetery Association, the Veterans Memorial project, the Water District and the Town’s project taking down the former Jones Garage.
He has kept expenses down by collaborating with the Town of Berlin and Rensselaer County, working together on projects and sharing equipment.
Harrison said he is in the process of upgrading Town roads, replacing culverts with larger ones and lining ditches with “shot rock” to make them more resistant to washouts in the future.
Gene Kluck
I made the decision to run for Petersburgh Highway Superintendent several months ago. It was not a quick, rash decision. For the last 25 years, I have worked very hard building roads in the heavy highway construction industry. I started out as a highway laborer, was promoted to crew foreman and was ultimately promoted to a superintendent. My career at Rifenburg Construction, Inc. was satisfying, but, with a family, including two young boys, I wanted to work closer to home.
As longtime Petersburgh residents, my wife Sherry, our two sons Joshua (13) and Matthew (8), and I are very proud to call this town our home.
As part of this campaign I have taken a great deal of time to travel all the roads in Petersburgh. Currently, our roads do not conform to any standard. Drainage is inadequate in many places; ditches have eroded, and road widths are inconsistent.
I also spent a lot of time listening to the concerns of residents during this campaign. Their top concern is safety. As Petersburgh Highway Superintendent, my goal will be to ensure safe travel for our Petersburgh residents. This can be achieved by adopting and maintaining a standard for overall road quality and, over time, bringing our roads into conformance with it.
Budget constraints, equipment, manpower and continuing storms will not allow these improvements to be achieved overnight. The Highway Department will need to develop a long-term plan and work diligently over time to bring the roads up to standards. The crew and I will be spending many hands-on training hours establishing proper drainage and cutting back vegetation in the ditches. Roads will need to be repaired and improved with existing material and equipment. Less contracted work will be utilized for the day to day operations.
Many residents I spoke with expressed their concern about the lack of maintenance and upkeep on our Town equipment and the appearance of our Town highway complex. There also seems to be no plan or process for when equipment breaks down or new equipment is required. Broken down, needed equipment, just sitting in the Town highway yard is not an option. It is the responsibility of the Highway Department to maintain our taxpayers’ largest investment and expenditures with respect and pride. Under my leadership, a preventative maintenance plan will be defined and implemented.
In recent years the Highway Department has been chronically over budget. It is the Highway Superintendent’s responsibility to keep spending within the budget, and if elected I intend to do so. I will work tirelessly to incorporate and maintain responsible spending practices within the set budget.
With my expertise from 25 years of road building experience, with your continued support and the commitment of the current highway employees, I believe that we can improve the quality and safety of our Town roads, establish a sound preventative maintenance plan for our equipment and do so within the Highway Department budget. Achieving success, little by little, while remaining accountable to the voters, will help build our community pride. Let’s get to work! (Kluck is on Row G on the ballot)
Town Council
(2 seats to fill)
Jack Barnhill
I was born in Washington D.C and moved to Bennington as a teenager where I attended my last two years of high school at Mount Anthony then went on to Southern Vermont College. My professional career took me to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then to Philadelphia, PA. When the opportunity to move back to this area that I love arose we jumped on it, and seven years ago I, along with my wife and two boys, became a resident of Petersburgh. I currently own apartments and keep an office in Bennington, VT. My entire working career has been one of managing people, materials and money successfully. As much as I’ve enjoyed my time in big cities, I am glad to call Petersburgh home.
I wouldn’t call my candidacy a “campaign.” At the regular Town meetings, and lately the budget meetings, most of the people running have been in attendance, and we don’t fight amongst each other, rather we all seem to be, for the most part, on the same page. When I hear the word campaign I think politics, and I have not seen politics enter into our discussions at the meetings, and we’re better off that way. Petersburgh is made up of individuals from all parties, and right now we all have a common problem – Petersburgh does not bring in enough revenue to cover its expenses and cuts have to be made and taxes will go up more than the 2%. I proposed at the last meeting that a maximum of a 5% increase in taxes be made and the rest come from across the Board department budget cuts. I am not happy with a 5% increase, but it is better than the proposed 9.6%. This problem is not going to go away unless we increase revenues and stem the tide of people leaving the Town. To do this we must attract small local businesses and closely watch the Town’s expenditures. We must also foster a closer community, with local events and gatherings. These are my first priorities as councilman.
Denise Jacon Church
Petersburgh’s financial situation is the biggest issue the Town Board faces now and in the future. The incoming Board faces the huge challenge of having no reserve funds. Town roads were washed away in the cloud burst storm last May, and there were no federal or State emergency funds granted to the towns in Rensselaer County.
If I’m elected I plan to work collaboratively with the other Town officials to find a balance of conservative spending while assuring the Town government serves Petersburgh citizens. I will help make difficult decisions to cut expenses when possible in order to prevent the burden falling on Petersburgh’s residents paying property taxes. We are a small town with a minimal tax base. I would like to improve our economic growth by attracting small businesses to Petersburgh. A few environmentally and family friendly businesses would increase our tax base without changing the unique character of our Town that we all love.
I have been a citizen of Petersburgh for 16 years, a citizen of Rensselaer County my entire life. I have worked in business administration at various State offices and Williams College for the past 35 years and am currently employed at the New York State University at Albany. I have been an active civil volunteer and have attended many of the Town Board meetings the past several years. Since 1999 I have been Petersburgh’s representative on the Rensselaer County Environmental Management Council and on the County’s Youth Board since 2011. Last year I became an active Board Member of the Petersburgh Veteran’s Memorial Community Center.
Neil Geary
The Eastwick Press was not able to reach Mr. Geary before press time.
Running Unopposed
Siegfried Krahforst, Town Supervisor
I am asking the voters to give me two more years. I am trying to put the Town on a sound financial footing, seeking to save money wherever possible. I hope the voters are patient with me.
I have been working very hard, trying to get money for the Town. I have reached out to all our County, State and Federal representatives and contacted many State and Federal agencies. The Town has just applied for $156,000 in Federal funds to reimburse our Town for the cost of rebuilding our roads after the May rainstorm. I will continue to work hard for the people of Petersburgh.
Callie Crisp, Town Clerk
Elected in 2010 to the office of Town Clerk, I look forward to providing another four years of dedicated service to the residents of Petersburgh. My intent is to continue working to improve functionality and efficiency within our local government in order to best accommodate the needs of the public.
Richard Snyder, Town Justice
Richard Snyder is running unopposed for Petersburgh Town Justice. He said he is looking forward to learning about the law and taking his place on the Bench. He said he will strive to do the best job he can, and he pledges to be fair and honest in his new role.
Emily Harrison, Tax Collector
Emily Harrison is running unopposed.[/private]