Three towns, three new town supervisors

Posted 11/9/21

New leadership will take the helm in each of the local towns in January, following a Republican sweep on Election Day.

Town of Lloyd Republican challenger Dave Plavchak unseated the Democratic …

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Three towns, three new town supervisors

Posted

New leadership will take the helm in each of the local towns in January, following a Republican sweep on Election Day.

Town of Lloyd
Republican challenger Dave Plavchak unseated the Democratic incumbent Supervisor Fred Pizzuto by a vote of 1,388 to 1,173.

Plavchak knew that many residents were unhappy with what was taking place at the Town Board meetings.

“There was a lot of bickering and stuff was just not getting done,” he said. “You hear excuse after excuse after excuse on affordable housing; it’s a joke...It’s pretty simple to me, it’s a law, it’s on the books and we either enforce it or say we’re not going to do it and get rid of the law. But it’s one thing I plan on going after.”

Plavchak wants to revise the Adaptive Reuse law so that buildings that are in varying states of decay might be revived or knocked down and the sites reused. But he stressed the importance of including guidelines for appropriate densities on these sites.
Plavchak wants to attract more retail businesses by more aggressive marketing of the town. He is also considering mailing quarterly newsletters to all residents and hosting public forums as ways to keep the public abreast of what is happening in Lloyd.
“I am going to do what’s right for the whole town and not just for little pockets. I think that’s been part of the problem,” he said.

Plavchak is well aware of the potential traffic issues that are going to impact the Route 9W corridor and is worried that the state will do nothing about this looming issue. He will look to see if strategically placed traffic circles are viable options that will help the traffic flow in this corridor.

“I feel I had a really good two years; would I have liked to spend two more years? yes, because there are things I would have like to see get done,” Pizzuto said. He fully expects the new board will work to complete them, such as the Tillson Avenue reconfiguration, the street-scape project in the hamlet, the Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park and construction of a pavilion at the town field.

Town of Marlborough
Republican Scott Corcoran unseated incumbent Democratic Supervisor Al Lanzetta by a vote of 1,162 to 902. Corcoran has served 10 years as a Town Councilman and takes the lead position on the board in January.

Corcoran credits the Republican wins to the candidates working closely together as a team.
“We stayed positive through the election...and at the end of the day I consider Howard [Baker] and Al [Lanzetta] friends of mine and I think we did a lot of good things together on the Town Board. My goal is to continue what we’ve been doing.”

Corcoran said in his first year the board will work to install the pylons and bumpers at the south Milton pier so large boats can dock there. The board also has to determine what to charge the tour boat companies in fees that will help pay down the costs associated with the project.

“It was a $1.6 million project and there is still a $1.2 million bond left on that pier,” he said. “We put $100,000 from recreation fees collected from developers and we got $300,000 in grants that mainly went for the engineering work.”

Corcoran also wants to complete the revitalization of the TOMVAC building for a community recreation center. They have the plans ready and about $800,000 in grant money to fund the project. He said the bids that go out to contractors in January will give a better idea of the actual cost of the project, which he hopes will start up in earnest in March.

Corcoran said the town received nearly $900,000 through the American Cares Act that will be used to upgrade their sewer plants, starting next spring.
Democrat Al Lanzetta explained his loss in one sentence: “The Republicans came out and the Democrats stayed home.”

“I am going to enjoy life. I’m 76 years old and I’ve served 10 years and I think I have done a lot for the Town of Marlborough,” he said.

Lanzetta ticked off a few projects that he is proud to have championed: new sidewalks in Marlboro that was paid for by a $250,000 grant; the 2,600 feet of sewer line along the west side of Route 9W that was paid for with a $500,000 grant; pushing for the repaving of the Route 9W corridor; installing the lighted crossing signal in the heart of the Marlboro hamlet; securing $150,000 to pay for the all-inclusive playground at the town park; the creation of a dog park off of Sands Avenue; a new handicap kayak launch at the Milton Landing paid for with a $40,000 Estuaries grant; the final finishing of the Milton Train Station through a $150,000 member item and a $50,000 grant to do the roof. Plans are underway to build a park on the west side of the station that is being funded by the NYS Office Of Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation. In addition, Lanzetta was able to negotiate to have two cell towers and a mini cell tower built that brings in $50,000 annually into the town coffers.

“We accomplished quite a bit in the last six years that I was Supervisor, and whatever I can do to help I’d be more than willing to help,” he said. “Hopefully, everything will go well for the new administration.”

Plattekill
Political newcomer Jennifer Salemo is the new Town of Plattekill Supervisor after defeating former Supervisor Judy Mayle.

Salemo, who had the Republican and Conservative party endorsements, outpolled Democrat Mayle 1,277 to 809 in election results released late Tuesday.
Salemo will succeed Republican Joseph Croce, who decided not to seek office again after serving as Town Supervisor since 2013. The Supervisor serves a two-year term.

The 50-year-old Salemo is the General Manager and part owner of Turtle Creek Golf Course.

“It was an awesome experience campaigning and getting to know people,” she said after addressing a group of supporters at Turtle Creek. “I’m a down to earth person and I’m pretty new to this. But I think that was refreshing to a lot of people. Plus, I think my experience of running a business appealed to a lot of voters.”

Mayle was Plattekill’s Supervisor from 1992 through 2002.

“I thank everyone that supported us during this election and congratulate my opponent,” Mayle said after the results were announced.