Borst, Neary to Seek Re-Election

SCHOHARIE - Schoharie County's two longest serving Mayors are set to extend their time in office next month, when residents of the Villages of Richmondville and Schoharie head to the polls on Wednesday, March 18th. 

Filing the necessary petitions to seek re-election as mayor of their respective municipalities, both Kevin Neary of Richmondville and John Borst are all but assured victory with no declared opponents to their candidacies. 

Now concluding his eighteenth year in office, Mr. Neary has overseen the administration of the county's only self-sustaining municipal operated electric company, Richmondville Power and Light at low cost to citizens.  

Mr. Borst on the other hand, has obtained minor fame from appearing several times on the David Letterman Show, but is primarily recognized for his work in leading recovery efforts in Schoharie following the devastation of Irene. 

In addition to the mayoral campaigns, village residents in Richmondville will be electing two Trustees; neither of whom are opposed, while voters in Schoharie are set to also elect two Trustees as well as one Justice. 

Following Neary and Borst as the longest serving mayors is Matthew Avitabile of Middleburgh, Doug Plummer of Sharon, Linda Holmes of Cobleskill, and most recently, Charles Johnston of Esperance. 

Local Mayors, SALT Join Forces to Recognize Impact of National Service

Schoharie, NY – On April 1, Schoharie Area Long Term (SALT) along with local leaders joined more than 1,750 mayors and town supervisors across the country in a day of recognition to highlight the impact of national service on local challenges. 

SALT and local leaders, including Mayor Avitabile of Middleburgh and Mayor Borst of Schoharie hosted a luncheon and press conference at the Middleburgh Reformed Church, 178 River Street, Middleburgh.  At the event SALT AmeriCorps VISTA members were recognized and thanked for their commitment to national service and the local recovery effort.

Local officials, members of SALT and long-time
volunteers enjoyed a "thank you" lunch as well

The nation’s mayors and town supervisors are increasingly turning to national service and volunteerism as a cost-effective strategy to address city challenges at a time of fiscal constraint.  Currently, eight AmeriCorps members serve in Schoharie County, proving vital support to residents by assisting with ongoing flood recovery efforts. Since 2012, over 23 AmeriCorps VISTA members have served with SALT in this capacity. While serving in the Schoharie Valley, they have assisted with volunteer recruitment and management, construction management, fund development, grant research and writing, marketing and special events, business and community development, and technology services. 

In addition, VISTA members have helped to leverage over $238,000 in cash and over $640,000 of in-kind resources for the recovery effort. They have also recruited and coordinated over 5,200 volunteers, helped to organize over 20 special events, and submitted over 35 grant applications.  “The VISTA members have significantly increased our overall capacity to assist with recovery in SALT’s coverage area. It is our distinct honor to have been awarded this AmeriCorps VISTA grant.”  SALT Executive Director, Sarah Goodrich stated.  “We especially appreciate our VISTA volunteers for their commitment to the mission, their dedication to our daily work, and for the many varied gifts they bring to our team. Congratulations and thank you to all of our VISTA members for their outstanding service to our community!” 

Furthermore, committed long term volunteers were recognized for their dedication to rebuilding our community. Cathleen Berry, Jim Czebiniak, Bill Kinisky, Jim Lord, Dr. Rev. Carlton Shepard, and Michael Vamvas were among those recognized for their long-term service to the recovery effort.    

SALT also kicked off a spring volunteer recruitment campaign for ongoing recovery work and to build up a pool of volunteers who will be ready to serve Schoharie County in the event of a future emergency or disaster. All of these volunteer opportunities will help move Schoharie County toward a community that is resilient, vibrant, and fully recovered.  To sign up today visit SALTRecovery.org/Volunteer, email: volunteer@SALTRecovery.org or call 518-390-8828.

Village of Schoharie Approves Tax Abatements

Village of Schoharie officials made the case to a handful of residents on Tuesday evening for passing their own version of tax abatements to compliment the Town's controversial four local laws approved last year. Town Supervisor Gene Milone has since called for neighboring municipalities and even the entire county to adopt the targeted exemptions.

 

Mayor John Borst, who stressed the abatements were being implemented to, "try to revitalize the community," explained to the small audience that the laws would offer partial assessment exemptions to first-time and existing homebuyers for reconstruction efforts among other factors. Trustee  Balliett concurred, arguing that there was no downside to abatements and that badly damaged homes could be fixed up. He would later go on to say, "God Bless anybody who could fix up these houses."

 

Board members unanimously supported the proposed abatements, drafted as four local laws, after holding a thirty minute public hearing before the regularly scheduled January village board meeting.

 

In other action board members:

•  heard that the Village has been awarded $41,750 from the NYS Department of State for Waterfront Recreational Assets Planning and that talks will soon commence to develop a contract.
• noted that the Community Reconstruction Program committee will be meeting on Thursday, January 23rd, 7pm at the Schoharie Town Hall and that the group is close to prioritizing funds. One proposed project is to rebuild the historic Central Bridge-Schoharie railroad.
• requested a $302,906.66 disbursement from HELP (2011 Hurricane Emergency Loan Program) to fund repairs to the WWTP. Board members described the request as mostly cash flow as cost is subject to FEMA reimbursement. The Village was required to put down an $8,000 payment at 0% interest.
• appointed Town Justice Kenneth Knutsen to serve as acting Village Justice in the absence of Judge Kennedy at a rate of pay of $25 per occurrence.
• approved a motion to propose Local Law #5-2014 and to hold a public hearing at 7pm on February 11th, 2014 at the Village Offices. The proposed law would grant the Village authority to exceed the 2% tax cap if necessary.

 

 

Shrederis to Run for Schoharie Mayor?

The Schoharie News has learned, through multiple sources with knowledge of the situation that former Town of Schoharie Supervisor and current President of the Schoharie Fire Department Martin Shrederis is considering a run for Mayor in the Village's municipal elections in March 2015.

 

Mr. Shrederis, who served as town supervisor for fourteen years, lost his position atop the town in 2011 to then Councilman Gene Milone and in a heated rematch just two months ago failed to reach even forty percent of the vote despite an higher overall turnout amongst the electorate. A loss that has been attributed to the Fiztmaurice Report's untimely release and his involvement in a political advertisement by the Conservative faction.

 

Recently, Mr. Shrederis made local news for comments concerning the Schoharie Fire Department's construction of a new station and the town's lack of participation in ongoing negotiations with FEMA, telling the Cobleskill paper that "Mr. Milone has no business sticking his nose in fire department business,"  even though current plans call for a local residence to be knocked down, which Mr. Milone finds objectionable.

 

One variable in next March's election is whether incumbent Mayor John Borst decides to run for re-election. Mr. Borst is a well respected and beloved member of the Schoharie community, and would prove himself a difficult task for the former Town Supervisor to overcome in a non-partisan village race, where personality and government success tend to mean more than party affiliation.

Although still fifteen months out, it is definitely an interesting political situation to keep a close eye on.