Jolicoeur Hits the Ground Running

Hints of how Alison Jolicoeur intends to define her administration as Putnam Valley's new supervisor were revealed yesterday as she put her stamp on the Town Board's first meeting of the year. Despite dealing with a long list of housekeeping resolutions at the required "reorganization meeting", she managed to signal her intention to change both the substance and the tenor of Town Hall.

The changes began almost immediately with her decision after the Pledge of Allegiance to ask for a moment of silence but not tie it to remembering the men and women who serve in the military overseas, as had previously been done. It was followed by the introduction of a new town counsel, David Daniels, the managing partner of Daniels, Porco and Lusardi. Daniels then suggested that the board "revamp" most of the rules governing its work practices in order to make town governance more efficient. He will present a new approach for consideration at the town's next work session on January 21st.

Over the next hour, Jolicoeur proposed other procedural changes and showed a willingness to address some of the issues that had arisen during her campaign. Specifically, she tabled approval of the PV Volunteer Ambulance Corps' contract, saying there were a few things that need to be "tweaked". She asked the board to approve the current fees associated with the Building Department, Planning and Zoning Boards, but said they would be reviewed and revised in the near future. The town's new attorney, Daniels, noted the volume of litigation associated with those fees and said, "There are statutory fixes that you can put in place to minimize the risk that an applicant will not be happy with the fees and challenge them, often when they're not happy with the outcome of their applications."  

In an effort to "increase the opportunity for public participation", Jolicoeur also proposed adding two more seats to the Board of Ethics and reducing the term of office from five to two years. After some discussion, the board settled on a suggestion from board member Sherry Howard that three-year terms would be more manageable.

With the exception of the town counsel, there were no changes in appointments of staff or members of boards and commissions. However, Jolicoeur did re-establish the Climate Smart Task Force that has not met for four years, appointing Allison Hague as its new chair. As is required, the board also scheduled a public hearing for the Volunteer Fire Department's contract to be considered. At that meeting, the timing of which has been changed to January 28th at 6pm, the Fire Department will present cost estimates along with supporting documentation.

At the end of the meeting, Jolicoeur delivered on her campaign pledge to make Town Hall meetings more open and transparent by offering those in attendance an opportunity to make public comments. Two took her up on her offer, with remarks that included the reading of a poem. Change is certainly afoot.

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