Lumberland to vote on town’s classification

By SANDY LONG

GLEN SPEY, NY — Residents of the Town of Lumberland filled town hall to capacity on April 18 to learn all they could about an upcoming special election scheduled for May 24. The result of a petition filed by some members of the community, the election will determine whether Lumberland remains a town of the second class or becomes a town of the first class. But townspeople learned that the answers they sought were not entirely clear.

Conflicting opinions offered by town attorney Brian Edwards and attorney Jeffrey Kaplan, who has been hired by the group of citizens that filed the petition related to the town’s classification, further mystified community members. They pressed the town board to schedule a followup meeting to provide the information needed to make an informed decision about the matter. The board eventually agreed to hold the meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.

Primary outcomes of changing the town’s classification include the elimination of the town constabulary and reduction of the supervisor’s and town clerk’s terms from four years to two. Of the 15 towns in Sullivan County, 13 have two-year supervisor terms; the remaining two towns have four-year supervisor terms.

Sheriff Michael Schiff described the services provided by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s department and answered questions raised by those in attendance.

As additional issues related to the financial impact of eliminating the constabulary were raised, it became clear that more research would be needed.

On behalf of the group of community members he represents, attorney Kaplan requested that voting hours for the special election be extended to accommodate commuters. The board approved changing the voting hours to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Regarding concerns raised at the last town meeting by council member Nadia Rajsz related to the town’s savings accounts balances, supervisor John LiGreci stated, “There is nothing to hide. There is no problem. There is nothing missing.” Rajsz again asked to see the balances, prompting council member Joseph Carr to ask LiGreci, “Why can’t she just see the bank statements?’ LiGreci responded that any member of the board can see the statements.

Later in the meeting, LiGreci provided a “State of the Town” address where he stated that the Town of Lumberland is “much better off financially” than it was when he assumed office in 2000.