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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Disclosure forms reveal candidates’ spending
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
Campaign financial disclosure forms revealed the
big spenders and one discrepancy in the 2019 Village of
Montgomery elections, in which all incumbents swept
open positions.
Trustees Darlene Andolsek and JoAnn Scheels and
mayor Stephen Brescia all filed their contributions and
expenses under the Brescia for Mayor authorized single
candidate committee. Cheryl Couser, New York State
Board of Elections (NYSBOE) Deputy Public Information
Officer, said only one candidate is allowed to file their
financial disclosure form under an authorized single
candidate committee, which in this case would be
Stephen Brescia.
Village Clerk Monserrate Rivera-Fernandez said the
two trustees authorized the honest party committee to
file their contributions and expenses for them, which are
included in the Brescia for Mayor form.
While Couser said candidates may authorize a party
committee to file for them, the honest party committee
is not a NYSBOE-recognized party, and cannot file for
Scheels and Andolsek.
If the trustees’ expenditures or contributions totaled
more than $1,000 each, they would be required to file a
financial disclosure form with the NYSBOE, Couser said.
There were no records with the NYSBOE for Darlene
Andolsek or JoAnn Scheels.
Couser said if the trustees’ expenditures or
contributions totaled less than $1,000 each, they would
only be required to file an in-lieu-of statement with
Rivera-Fernandez or a no-activity report. There are
no records at the village level for Darlene Andolsek or
JoAnn Scheels.
Brescia’s said his treasurer, Ronald Clum, CPA, assured
him the disclosure forms were being filed correctly and
if there were any mistakes, it was not a deliberate
deception.
“We probably should have done it separately, or
together as one, but that’s the only mistake we made,”
Brescia said. “There was no deception.”
The Brescia for Mayor committee spent $6,179 on the
campaign and received $9,775 in contributions, leaving
a $3,596 balance as of March 26, according to NYSBOE
financial disclosure forms.
Some notable contributions include a donation from
Kevin Dowd, village attorney, for $100. Lanc & Tully
Engineering & Surveying P.C, village engineer, donated
$180. Engineering & Surveying Properties, P.C., whose
engineers consulted with the City Winery project,
donated $150. City Winery was approved on Feb. 27.
In comparison, Don Berger, former candidate for
trustee, spent only $165. Maria Beltrametti, former
candidate for mayor, spent $100 for signs, according to
financial disclosure forms filed with the village.
In the 2017 election, Berger’s CF-05 financial disclosure
only claimed $725 in expenses for mailers. However,
Berger placed two advertisements with the Wallkill
Valley Times, which cost $795 and were not claimed as a
separate line item on the disclosure form.
In that election, Berger also filed an in-lieu-of
statement claiming he spent less than $1,000 and did not
file a financial disclosure form with the state, which is
required when expenditures or contributions are more
than $1,000. Berger ran for trustee in 2017 and lost.
Berger said it was his first election, and if he made
a mistake, he was simply following the instructions of
Rivera-Fernandez.
While the biggest spender won the trustee and mayoral
elections, the same did not hold true for the village
justice race.
Tina Fassnacht, the winner of the race, and Joe
Marrero, former justice candidate, both filed an in-lieu-
of-statement with the village, meaning neither their
expenditures nor contributions totaled more than $1,000.
John “Jack” Byrnes, the third justice candidate, spent
$5,795, including $1,380 on alcohol for a fundraiser. He
received $3,162 in contributions.
Byrnes’ biggest contributions included $500 from
Montgomery Self Storage, $1,000 from John O’Brien and
$1,000 from John Ellis. Trustee Michael Hembury also
donated $25.
PB authorizes $53 million capital project
Continued from page 1
project, the local share for both propositions would only
be $5.3 million, or $957,000 more per year, a 1.36 percent
increase.
With both propositions, a homeowner whose current
tax bill is $3,000 would owe $41 more per year, or $3.42 per
month. A homeowner whose current bill is $10,000 would
owe $55 more per year, or $11.42 per month.
The local share for only the base proposition would be
$3.2 million, or an average annual tax increase of more
than $707,000, a 1 percent increase.
With the base proposition, a homeowner whose current
tax bill is $3,000 would owe $30 more per year, or $2.5 per
month. A homeowner whose current tax bill is $10,000
would owe $100 more per year, or $8.33 per month.
This final proposal is a 27 percent decrease in the
base scope and a 39 percent decrease in the athletic
scope from the first $76.7 million facilities modernization
plan proposed last year, which was rejected by voters in
December.
The athletic scope was increased by $2.6 million after
the March 19 proposal, when the board decided to add
an eight-lane track and synthetic turf field at the high
school football field.
“It’s the right move and I’m glad you guys made that
decision,” Pacella said.
If passed, the district hopes to start construction in
June 2020.
“It’s a very aggressive schedule but we’re hoping it can
be done,” Pacella said.
The capital project will be up for a vote with the
school budget on May 21. Residents of Shawangunk
and Gardiner may vote at the Walker Valley Firehouse,
Crawford and Montgomery residents at the Pine Bush
Fire House (Station One), Mount Hope and Wallkill
residents at the Circleville Evangelical Presbyterian
Church, and Mamakating residents at the Town of
Mamakating Park in Bloomingburg.
B riefs
Helicopter Crash in Crawford
A helicopter crash on March 30 in Crawford
resulted in a fuel leak and no injuries for the six
people on board.
The Town of Crawford Police responded to
a helicopter crash on Youngblood Road at 12:38
p.m. last Saturday. The 1989 Bell 222A helicopter
experienced an engine failure shortly after takeoff
and the pilot attempted to land, according to the
police department. The engine loss caused a hard
landing and the helicopter overturned.
The pilot and five passengers refused medical
attention. One passenger suffered a minor laceration
received while exiting the aircraft.
There was a fuel leak from the helicopter that
was contained by hazmat crews.
The Town of Crawford Police Department was
assisted at the scene by New York State Police,
New York State Environmental Conservation Police,
Bullville Fire Department, Pine Bush Ambulance
and Mobile Life Support Services,
Names are being withheld to allow proper family
notifications.
The investigation is ongoing.
- Laura Fitzgerald
Wallkill approves new firehouse
A new 17,500 square foot headquarters for the
Wallkill Fire District is set to be built on the Borden
family property in Shawangunk after District 64
voters approved the funding of the firehouse by
a 175-123 margin in a special election on Tuesday.
Taxpayers approved $5,582,469 in borrowed funds for
the new firehouse, and the district will contribute
$1,500,000 in reserve funds to finance the project.
A total of 298 ballots were cast in the election,
representing a 10 percent voter turnout.
The new firehouse will be funded via a 30-year
bond, and as a result of the balloting, fire taxes for
local voters will increase $1.65 from the current
rate per thousand of $6.38 to $8.03. The current
firehouse, which is located across the street from
Shawangunk Town Hall, was built in 1964, and
was in need of extensive repairs, including needed
upgrades to the facility’s roof and restrooms. The
town has expressed possible interest in purchasing
the property and converting it into a new police
headquarters.
District fire officials were thrilled to get the
go-ahead for the project. “The taxpayers have
spoken,” Fire District Commissioner Michael Croce
said. “We think we put forth a relatively good plan
and now we go forward and hopefully we can start
construction sometime next year. The Planning
Board is our next stop.”
The project was long in the works, but will now
finally become a reality. “It was probably close to
18-20 years from the first time this started,” Croce
said. “This present board has been working on it for
maybe two years. So this is good news.”
-Ted Remsnyder