Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , July 6 , 2016 3
Shawangunk braces for vote on future of highway dept .
Continued from page 1
from the town . Eggelton , 52 , was given an appearance ticket for a Class A misdemeanor of falsifying business records in the second degree . Eggelton , a former Town of Lloyd police officer and Wallkill High School graduate , took over the Highway Department in 2010 and ran the agency until he was defeated in the Republican primary by Ed Byrne last fall . Eggelton ’ s case will not be tried in the Shawangunk court system .
After defeating Eggelton in last year ’ s primary , Byrne ran unopposed in the November general election and took office at the start of this year . His reign was short-lived however , as Byrne resigned on April 4 , a scant three months after he took over the agency , due to an undisclosed health problem . The town board acted quickly to find a replacement , as they called a special meeting the next day and immediately named Jim Barrett as the Deputy Highway Superintendent . Barrett has run the department for the past three months and could be considered for the superintendent appointment if the public passes the referendum later this month .
There are myriad reasons the board hopes to switch the highway position from elected to appointed , with a main concern being the autonomy former superintendents enjoyed , which left some ventures the board wanted completed left unfinished . “ We ’ ve just had some issues trying to get some projects done ,” Shawangunk Supervisor John Valk said . “ Like if we need to get something done at the park , if they don ’ t want to work on it , they don ’ t have to . Also we wanted the parking lot at the police station paved and it just didn ’ t get done . They didn ’ t want to do it .”
The towns of Newburgh and Cornwall have appointed highway heads , and Shawangunk is hoping to get in on that trend .
“ If they ’ re elected , really we have no control , except to appropriate their money or not appropriate it ,” Valk said . “ We really can ’ t say what roads should be fixed or decide any issues . It ’ s basically up to one person . We feel that it would be a joint decision now between the Highway Superintendent and the board if we have an appointment . We ’ d have more oversight and we could control the position a little better . It works for Newburgh and Cornwall , so we want to try it for our town .”
The vote will be held on July 19 from 12 until 9 p . m . at Shawangunk Valley , Walker Valley and Wallkill firehouses
Valk argues that the timing for such a change is fortuitous since the superintendent slot is currently open . “ It ’ s the perfect time , because we ’ re not bumping anybody out of office ,” he said . “ The office is vacated at this point . If the Highway Superintendent is in there and you make it an appointed job , it ’ s like you ’ re voting him out of office . This way , nobody gets booted out .”
If the measure doesn ’ t pass , the position ( which traditionally comes with a twoyear term ) will be up for grabs in the town election this November . “ That ’ s why we ’ re having the referendum early and not waiting until election day , it needs to be filled if the referendum fails ,” Valk said . If the measure does get the go-ahead from the public , the board could name someone in short order to lead the department . “ We might or we might not ,” Valk said . “ It could be thrown open for applications and we ’ ll have resumes coming in . It ’ s whatever the board decides they want to do . We want to get the most qualified person .”
The supervisor understands that citizens might be concerned that the board is using the unrest in the Highway Department to gain more influence over town business , but he argues that the change to an appointed position will streamline the agency ’ s work . “ I think the ordinary public understands , but some people may think we ’ re just trying to have too much power ,” Valk said . “ But I think it ’ s better management of our taxpayers ’ dollars . The Highway budget is almost $ 2 million , and that ’ s a lot of money for one person to have control of .”
The vote will be held on July 19 from 12 until 9 p . m . at Shawangunk Valley , Walker Valley and Wallkill firehouses . “ I just want people to realize that it ’ s a very important thing to come out and vote ,” Valk said . “ There ’ s been a lot of votes this year , and it seems like people are always at the polls . But this is really important for your tax dollars .”
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