The Town of Rosendale has a new councilman, appointed in December 2016 by his colleagues to replace Stacy Lipari, who resigned from her elected position in November. “I want to welcome Frank Klepeis to our Town Board,” said town supervisor Jeanne Walsh at the board’s annual organizational meeting on January 4. “He has been a member of both the planning board and the recreation commission.”
An electrician by trade, Frank Klepeis, Jr. ran on the Republican, Conservative and Reform Party lines in November 2015 for the Town Board seat about to be vacated by Bob Ryan. He was defeated by Lipari, the Democratic/Working Families Party candidate, by a vote of 972-830.
Lipari left her job as the director of the Creative Co-op in Rosendale for a work opportunity that required a much longer commute, attending her last Town Board meeting on November 2. She has most recently been acting as a volunteer at the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, North Dakota.
As is usual at Rosendale’s organizational meeting, Town Board members took up their liaison roles for the coming year; but Lipari’s departure occasioned a more complicated shuffle than having Klepeis simply take over her former assignments. Several new appointments were made. The new appointee will serve as the liaison to the Food Pantry, High Falls Water Commission, Highway Department, tax collector and Youth Commission, as well as three of the upcoming infrastructure projects to be funded by New York Rising: the new generator at the Rondout Municipal Center, the James Street improvements and the flood control measures at Washington Park.
For 2017, councilman John Hughes will serve as the liaison to the town’s bookkeeper, the building inspector and code enforcement officer, the Park & Ride, the Planning Board, the Water and Sewer Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the fourth New York Rising project: renovation of the Bathhouse at the Rosendale Pool.
Councilwoman Jen Metzger was appointed to be the liaison for energy benchmarking, the Economic Development Commission, Dog Control, the Justice Courts, the Main Street Improvement Association, the Pilgrim Pipeline project, the Police Commission and the Recreation Commission.
Councilman Chris Pryslopski will be the liaison to the town’s assessor and Assessment Board of Review, the Environmental Commission, the Rondout Municipal Center, the Rondout Valley Little League, the town clerk and the Transfer Station.
New appointments to open seats on Town of Rosendale boards and commissions will be made in February, according to Walsh. Residents interested in applying may contact town clerk Mandy Donald at (845) 658-3159, extension 2, or rosendaletownclerk@yahoo.com for further information.
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