This year, two Town Board seats are up for grabs in Gardiner. Board hopefuls are Jack Hayes, Pam O’Dell, incumbent David Dukler and Warren Wiegand.
Pamela O’Dell
Pamela O’Dell has been endorsed by the Conservative Party, “which is the only party endorsement I chose to seek.”
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the Town of Gardiner at present?
I believe the most important issues facing the people of Gardiner are found in two fatal flaws in the current zoning law. First, it was previously possible to subdivide a large property multiple times over years, chipping off small lots for children or sale. Under current law for small developments, a property owner may only subdivide one time. This encourages development of the property to the fullest extent possible, which has the maximum negative impact on schools and services.
The second flaw is that property owners of land in the two top tiers of the Ridge must seek permission in getting a special permit in order to build one single-family home, where in all other zones, owners have a “use by right” for a single home, without special permission. I believe this is against the Fifth Amendment. Both of these flaws should be repealed in the zoning law.
What, in your view, is Gardiner’s most threatened resource? Most underutilized resource?
Its people, in terms of economic liberty and freedom.
If elected, what would be your top-priority action to take as town board member in your first year of the next term?
Reduce the size and scope of town government spending as much as possible, and make changes to the zoning law as indicated in [question] number one.
What practical measures can the town board take to help the Planning and Zoning Boards cope with the recent deluge of large-scale development proposals, many of which are controversial?
I don’t see there being any “deluge” of proposals that, left alone, the planning and ZBA can’t handle on their own. The town board can assist in making timely and quality appointments to these and all boards. Also, the recent ouster of planning board member Mike Boylan by town board members, and subsequent loss of secretary Margarete Wagner and ZBA chair Mike Beck, represent a tragic loss of decades of cumulative knowledge about Gardiner planning and zoning, and it was done needlessly as a purely political move to put in place an inexperienced newcomer to town.
What needs to be done on the municipal level in order to make/keep Gardiner an affordable place to live?
I believe that current debt service for the town is at about $230,000, which could be an issue if future economic needs occur. Growth in terms of population and businesses, which affect town revenue, is stagnant, a trend seen throughout towns across New York State. Spending should be confined as much as possible on only essential services such as safety, highway and tax collection.
What background, experience, skills or approaches do you feel make you the most qualified candidate for the elected office you seek?
I have over 40 years of business experience, including eleven years owning my own business, which includes creating and holding to multi-million-dollar budgets.
Jack Hayes
Jack Hayes, MPA has been endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and People 4 Gardiner parties.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the Town of Gardiner at present?
I think the biggest challenge facing the Town of Gardiner at this time is the exclusionary tactics of persons who describe themselves as progressives. I believe they are creating division among the people of Gardiner. When they twice reject a qualified, competent, experienced candidate, Marybeth Majestic, solely because she works with people of all parties, I believe that philosophy to be dangerous.
The Progressive Party supervisor candidate has no experience in government and is, in fact, committed to “resisting” government. Gardiner needs leadership that will include people of all political persuasions to address the issues and the needs of the township. Gardiner needs the input of its farmers and should not be purging them from advisory boards. Gardiner is a diverse community and its town government should reflect inclusive diversity.
What, in your view, is Gardiner’s most threatened resource? Most underutilized resource?
Gardiner’s most threatened resource is its sense of community. Dividing people into ideological camps is creating a “them and us” mentality. Gardiner was a very warm and welcoming community, but roadside signs of “Stop!” “NO!” “Reject!” are signs Gardiner may be changing.
We may be underutilizing the power of community and building alliances.
If elected, what would be your top-priority action to take as town board member in your first year of the next term?
My top priority in 2018 and all the years of my term will be to do what I said I would do when I received my nomination: I am dedicating this run for office to the needs of Gardiner’s senior citizens. I want seniors who want to live out their lives in our town to be able to afford to do so. I will work closely with and for the farm community. Farmers are a key economic engine as well as the best stewards of the land.
Lastly, I have promised to make every effort to recruit young members of our community to assist in making decisions for the future of Gardiner. I want our young people to be able to afford to live here if they wish to.
What practical measures can the town board take to help the planning and zoning boards cope with the recent deluge of large-scale development proposals, many of which are controversial?
The town and planning board are administering development applications under the guidelines and vision of a comprehensive master plan and zoning law which was recently revised. Many people who are currently concerned about zoning regulations and buildout were integrally involved in writing the master plan and zoning laws. Some of the criteria of the revised zoning actually encourages developers to request a higher number of units in the initial subdivision.
The town board could address one situation fairly quickly: create greater code enforcement. Mass-gathering permit requirements are routinely ignored, historic sites on protected waterways have been turned into septic-smelling industrial hubs and fireworks are regularly exploded with no regard to code. Developers agree to all sorts of restrictions because they have no intention of complying with them.
What needs to be done on the municipal level in order to make/keep Gardiner an affordable place to live?
In order to make Gardiner more affordable for at-risk groups (seniors and young), every legislative action must include a cost/economic impact statement. The current zoning has created enormous cost impacts on new buyers and restricted families from subdividing land for their children. School taxes have become another “mortgage.” Seniors and all people on fixed incomes are grievously affected.
What background, experience, skills or approaches do you feel make you the most qualified candidate for the elected office you seek?
I have served in the public sector most of my adult life. As a state policeman, I worked with local, county, state and federal officials on numerous issues; traffic, school safety, emergency response and others. I would draft legislative suggestions to submit to the New York State Assembly for improvements to various laws.
As a past Town of Gardiner supervisor, I worked with my board (and Marybeth Majestic) to improve the infrastructure of our town, transfer station, sewer district, town hall remediation and restoration, recodification, prepared budgets et cetera. As county legislator, I chaired committees and worked to increase awareness of the danger of the leaking New York City aqueduct system, and reviewed budget requests of county departments. As a board member of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, I supervise the monthly/annual budget, monitor policy and engage in strategic planning of solid waste needs. I have a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Marist College.
Warren Wiegand
Former councilman Warren Wiegand is making a bid on the Democratic Party ticket to reclaim his seat on the Gardiner Town Board. He was also endorsed by the Working Families and Women’s Equality parties.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the Town of Gardiner at present?
The biggest challenge is keeping Gardiner a great place to live and raise children in the face of increased development activity. In the long term, uncontrolled building threatens the town’s rural beauty and character. And in the short term, it pits neighbor against neighbor. My 15 years’ experience on Gardiner’s Town Board, open space commission and planning board give me the experience to create solutions to both the short- and long-term challenges.
What, in your view, is Gardiner’s most threatened resource? Most underutilized resource?
Over time, we must protect our land and its associated natural resources. And today, we must protect open, two-way dialogue among Gardiner’s residents.
Our most underused resource is the energy and ideas of Gardiner’s residents. We need more people to be involved in the town’s committees and in discussions of everyday issues, especially younger people.
If elected, what would be your top-priority action to take as town board member in your first year of the next term?
My top priority will be to lead Gardiner in a discussion of the town’s future, with an emphasis on new housing, protecting farms and open space and controlling development. This endeavor will result in an updated master plan (the current plan was completed 14 years ago) and in a new zoning law (the current law was passed in 2008).
What practical measures can the town board take to help the Planning and Zoning Boards cope with the recent deluge of large-scale development proposals, many of which are controversial?
In addition to sponsoring a new master plan and zoning laws, the town board must ensure that the planning board, ZBA and environmental conservation committee are staffed with well-trained members who make recommendations and decisions based on the appropriate laws and analyses of environmental impacts.
What needs to be done on the municipal level in order to make/keep Gardiner an affordable place to live?
With the cost of land ranging from $20,000 and $40,000 per acre, housing has become too expensive for young families. Since the majority of Gardiner’s land is in areas of five-acre minimum zoning, the town should encourage new building in the hamlet, where five acres are not required, and in areas eligible for open space development, where the minimum lot size can be as low as one acre. Also, the town board should consider whether the basic five-acre zoning should be reduced, so that more young families can enjoy Gardiner, too.
What background, experience, skills or approaches do you feel make you the most qualified candidate for the elected office you seek?
I’ve served Gardiner for over 15 years on the board of assessment review, as the chair of the open space commission, as the chair of fundraising for the new library, as the deputy supervisor of the town board (for eight years) and on the planning board. In addition, my corporate experience includes ten years in strategic planning at American Express, which will aid in developing the new master plan, protecting farms and open space and writing new zoning laws. Finally, I am recognized for a calm, rational approach, which I hope will help the town work through its current challenges.
David Dukler
Incumbent councilman David Dukler is seeking reelection to another term on the Gardiner Town Board. He has been endorsed by the Democratic, Working Families and Women’s Equality parties.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the Town of Gardiner at present?
Gardiner is facing a new wave of development after years of relative quiet. The most visible of these are the large-scale projects: Heartwood, Route 208 Apartments, Shaft Road. They all have raised concerns about their design, both on the part of the planning board and the public. While the planning board uses the code to evaluate the projects, the public has concerns that go to the heart of the master plan and how the code comports with it.
As we have recently discovered, the code does not cover all recent developments in the marketplace. Heartwood is described as a “glamping” project: a glamour-camping resort that falls between the cracks of our code. This ambiguity needs to be solved. The availability of water as we go forward has also raised concerns. With the changing weather patterns and effect on rainfall, residents are understandably concerned about how large-scale projects will affect them. Other residents are concerned that property rights may be compromised by additional regulation.
It is the responsibility of the town board to address this crucial issue. We need to:
1) revise the code in areas where it is found to be lacking. We must do that with input from all stakeholders, as well as those with expertise in areas related to development issues;
2) review, revise and reaffirm the master plan as our guiding document. The master plan was arrived at through a process involving a large group of community members. It represents our community’s vision for our town.
3) bring the public and private sector together to create a plan for Gardiner going forward.
What, in your view, is Gardiner’s most threatened resource? Most underutilized resource?
The rural environment that has been Gardiner since its inception is slowly disappearing before our eyes. While we knew that this would eventually happen, we are now experiencing an acceleration of that change. It makes real what more development means. It raises our awareness of how precious our open spaces and vistas are, how much of what we have taken for granted. As we move forward, we must reaffirm our commitment to preserving what we love about Gardiner while shaping the Gardiner of the future.
I believe that our hamlet district is our most underutilized resource. By working to create more in-hamlet density housing, we could accomplish a number of goals: We could create less expensive residential units for both renters and owners. We could foster the condition for more businesses in the hamlet. We could promote a walkable hamlet for shopping, families, seniors as well as more utilization of Majestic Park. We could make the possibility of a drugstore, a theater, more food establishments and other community businesses more likely.
If reelected, what would be your top-priority action to take as town board member in your first year of the next term?
My first priority is to have the zoning codes updated. We must also consider the need for a moratorium as pertains to sections of the code that are deemed lacking in specificity. The community needs to feel confident that the board is doing all in its power to see that the intent of the master plan is being carried out and that no projects are allowed to fall through the cracks.
What practical measures can the town board take to help the planning and zoning boards cope with the recent deluge of large-scale development proposals, many of which are controversial?
The town board needs to engage in a conversation with both the planning board and the ZBA. We need to hear about their view of the challenges we face and what resources they need. We need to reach out to the wide array of resources — governmental and private — and access their expertise that can help us better understand and meet the challenges of recent development pressures and projects. We need to see that our budgets are sufficient to meet these needs.
What needs to be done on the municipal level in order to make/keep Gardiner an affordable place to live?
“Keeping Gardiner affordable” is a great bumper-sticker slogan. But what do we mean by affordable? What solutions do we have? What will make an impact? Some have called for a reduction of residential zoning from five to two acres. In a survey of local realtors, a consensus emerged that a three-acre reduction on a 2,000-square-foot new raised-ranch house would result in about a $25,000 reduction in cost. Over a 30-year mortgage and a current rate of four percent, it would result in a monthly mortgage savings of $78 (assuming ten percent cash down).
Increased density also has hidden costs. All studies have shown that new residential housing demands more in services than they pay in taxes, causing rates to go up for all. Greater housing density means more cars, longer drive times, degradation of the local environment and more demand for and pressure on public spaces.
The best tool that town government has to create more residential options is to formulate and actively promote an alternate vision for the town. As described above, a new and expanded vision for the hamlet could serve as a new model for small-town/rural development. The town could work to bring together residents, developers, planners, environmentalists, seniors, families and all other interested parties to craft a new model that would find a new way of keeping Gardiner rural while building both a housing and business base that would create a vibrant Main Street, increase our tax base while preserving the rural and small-town community we all value.
What background, experience, skills or approaches do you feel make you the most qualified candidate for the elected office you seek?
1) I am a problem-solver. I am not doctrinaire. I approach issues as problems that need to be solved. I promote discussion for understanding, dialogue and use of all available resources to help make the best decisions.
2) In a discussion of issues, I seek to understand. When we differ, I want to comprehend my colleagues’ thinking. I know that life is rarely black-and-white, that there are many ways to create solutions. The more we understand, the better we can be in devising effective solutions.
3) I show up and work. I have hardly missed any meetings over four years. I have actively sought out additional work to support the two supervisors and boards with whom I have served. I will continue to take on that role, as there is much work to do and not enough time to get it done, no matter whom I serve with. I have a passion to improve the life of our town. I chose to live here. I value that choice every day. I will work so that future generations will get the best of Gardiner in the future. ++
To learn about the Town of Gardiner supervisor candidates, visit www.hudsonvalleyone.com.
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