The Saugerties town board has honored four residents who have volunteered their time and expertise to make the town a better place to live. As part of the celebration honoring the four, supervisor Greg Helsmoortel declared December 14 Brian Sawchuck, Gerry Marzec, James “Spider” Barbour and Paul Pavlovich Day.
Sawchuck served as a member of the town zoning board for a decade and on the conservation advisory commission for more than a decade. Councilman James Bruno said Sawchuck had also helped spearhead the town and village’s open-space plan, as well as helping the town with its water plan.
Marzec was honored for his service on the town’s biodiversity team since 2008 and for being an environmental advocate.
Councilwoman Leeanne Thornton described Barbour as “a walking textbook on the environment.” He served on the Esopus Creek commission, and knows more about the local environment than most experts. He has also served as a member of the conservation advisory commission.
Pavlovich served as the town assessor for many years, as well as on the board of asssessment review. As assistant assessor, he had helped train several other town assessors over the years. “You’ve always been there to help us when we needed it,” Helsmoortel told Pavlovich.