Yates Town Board has failed to represent citizens

Editor:

I am writing to encourage the voters of the Town of Yates to support Jim Simon for Town Supervisor and John Riggi & Glenn Maid for Town Board.

I have been a resident of the Town of Yates for 33 years, a member and past president of the Lyndonville Lions Club, a past member & president of the Lyndonville Area Foundation, past chairman of the Lions 4th of July and former Superintendent of Schools. I started attending the Town Board meetings in January 2015, and I was dismayed at the way our Town Board conducts its business.

First of all there was a lack of professionalism among the board. Several members dress as if they are going to a summer picnic. On several occasions, members of the audience who were speaking were belittled and disrespected by the board members. There is a lack of understanding of parliamentary procedure and there is no discussion on the issues. Everything seems to be rubber-stamped. To the public, there is a lack of transparency.

The upcoming election is not a vote on the Lighthouse Wind Project, but on the ineptness of the Town Board to represent its citizens. The Lighthouse Wind Project will be worked out by the process set up by the State of New York. The Town Board is a different story.

Our Town Supervisor has been aware of this project since July 2014. Yet the town has not sent out any informational letters or newsletters to the residents. There is very little information on the Town of Yates website. Most of the information provided to citizens has come from SOS in the form of presentations, workshops and their website. Where are our leaders?

The Town Board has not responded to the many questions and presentations made to the board about this project. They have not discussed the issues in public and in some cases they have not even read the materials presented to them.

The issue this Tuesday is not if you are in favor or oppose to the Lighthouse Wind Project, the real issue is the ability of this board to represent all the citizens of Yates, to be leaders on this and other issues, to keep the public informed and stop burying there heads in the sand and saying we have no part in the decision.

As a major steakholder in the project they have a great deal of input. As County Legislator Lynne Johnson stated, “The role of government should not be to harm the very citizens it is charged to protect.”

It is time for change.

Richard P. Pucher
Lyndonville