New Paltz councilmember Edgar Rodriguez is considering legal action in response to what he has referred to as a shadow government composed of town supervisor Amanda Gotto and councilmembers Randall Leverette and Kitty Brown. Speaking at the July 17 meeting of the town board, Rodriguez claimed he and Esi Lewis were victims of this political cabal. Lewis was the only councilmember not in attendance.
Rodriguez criticized the abolition of the town police commission during a special meeting on July 8. Lewis and Rodriguez had reacted with surprise to the motion, while the other three appeared fully prepared with minimal discussion to take the vote. To Rodriguez, this procedure indicated collaboration outside a public meeting.
A meeting of the police commission, now consisting of all five members of the town board, immediately preceded the July 17 council meeting. The commission retired for an executive session. Upon return, Leverette assumed the role of chair of the police commission.
Rodriguez saw this action as additional evidence of decision-making outside the view of the public. The three explained that they had discussed who should perform as chair of the police commission on the walk back into the public meeting room while Rodriguez was using the bathroom. No vote was taken to designate Leverette.
Rodriguez believes these moves as well as the abolition of the previous police commission may as likely violation of the state open-meetings law.
Gotto called the claim that the three may have met together illegally “a lie.” Leverette resented the accusation. Brown demanded that Rodriguez file a complaint with the town ethics commission. She also wanted to know the precise time and date that the three of them were alleged to have met together.
Rather than there being a conspiracy, Leverette suggested that perhaps Rodriguez and Lewis had been failing in their duties. Councilmembers get documents “days in advance.” Rodriguez and Lewis typically only ask questions the day before meetings at the earliest. “I’m in the office every day,” Leverette said. “I’ve seen you in the office twice.”
When Leverette called the accusation “insanely childish,” Rodriguez replied, “I have warned you about insults.”
“Speak up!”
An unnamed individual left the July 17 town council meeting in New Paltz after loudly and repeatedly asking for elected officials to speak more loudly.
The first request came early on, and other persons in the gallery agreed that this was a problem.
Councilmember Edgar Rodriguez conceded that hearing was a problem for those with diminished hearing. He prefers to sit where he can watch faces for contextual clues.
Some time later, the same individual speculate that audience members “can’t hear because you don’t want us to.” Saying “you win!” he left.
The current supervisor, Amanda Gotto, has a speaking voice that is markedly softer than that of any other member of the town board.
Deputy supervisor Kitty Brown noted that the background sound of fans from the cooling system in the meeting room causes white noise. These fans can be adjusted. An amplification system also might facilitate clearer sound in the meeting space.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that “covered entities must provide auxiliary aids and services when needed to communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities,” according to a 2020 guideline.
New Paltz library costs
Two members of the Elting Memorial Library board, June Wheeler and Hilary Cloos, requested an increase in town spending on the library at the July 17 meeting of the town board. The amount the town contributes to the library’s budget — which would increase by $75,000 to $844,000 if the request is approved in a November town referendum — would require additional fundraising through the book fair and other means, Wheeler said.
Since the shifting of responsibility for deciding on library funding from the town board to the voting public, increases have been approved without fail.
An upcoming roof replacement will require a separate capital campaign, as will the installation of an elevator to make the library more accessible to those with mobility issues.
Officials in the Mid-Hudson Library System have recommended their members request smaller annual increases rather than waiting until a larger amount is required, Wheeler said.
Costs that are rising fastest include employee health insurance and digital resources such as electronic and audio books. Anticipated federal aid cuts must be offset to maintain present service levels. The library board has been fastidious about keeping up with maintenance issues in the historic building, as deferral of these would lead to more costly work later on.
Batteries systems risk fire
Joe Londa, a member of the New Paltz’s climate-smart communities task force, recently presented a lengthy and detailed report about utility-scale battery systems to the town board. Batteries are an essential part of any electricity grid. More systems are now third-tier, meaning that they are more powerful.
Fire is the most significant risk for battery systems, and local firefighters must have training on how to extinguish those safely. Londa noted that the frequency of battery fires has dropped in recent years as manufacturing standards have been tightened.
The town board accepted Londa’s report. It will now be distributed to members of the public before any law is considered that would authorize building battery systems in New Paltz.
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