While Mayor Dave Merandy and Trustee Marie Early plaster their images in advertisements on the front and inside pages of The Current with Election Day right around the corner, I thought it was a good time for some reminders.
Let’s take a peek at some of Merandy and Early’s finer efforts, two of which place Cold Spring in the unenviable and dangerous position of losing a lot of money in lawsuits. First, there was the very questionable hiring decision for the highway department crew chief. The board passed over five employees with considerably longer seniority to hire a virtual neophyte with the least amount of tenure of all the candidates.
If that were not bad enough, there is a pending complaint by developer Paul Guillaro of Butterfield Follies fame, naming Merandy, his wife and former trustee Stephanie Hawkins, Early and others in a probable $2.5 million lawsuit for impeding progress with the Butterfield Project by, among other means, withholding building permits to bring construction to a standstill.
I should not have to cite what a settlement of half that amount would do to a small village like Cold Spring. It is laughable that Merandy has sent emissaries to Chestnut Ridge, where a great many seniors live, seeking signatures and to squeeze out some votes. The senior housing complex sits across from what could and should have been a new, state-of-the-art senior center were it not for the efforts of Merandy, Hawkins, Early, et. al. Really, Dave? Do you think you are going to get even one vote from Chestnut Ridge after the manner in which you approached our beloved project?
This, by the way, taking place as they gave public expressions of love and care for the older generation. If that is love and care, I hate to see how their enemies are treated!
I encourage all sane Cold Spring residents – and even the insane ones – to vote for Alison Anthoine for mayor and Peggy Schatzle for trustee. With the incumbents remaining in office, Cold Spring might not be able to afford much of anything, should legal rulings go against the village.
Gregory Bochow, Cold Spring
Mr. Bochow’s letter is factually incorrect. There is no “pending complaint.” But I question how he determines there is a “probable lawsuit” when only a notice of claim was filed. That is not an ongoing process. That is a statement. Marie Early is nowhere referred to in it. I am not “named” as if a defendant, for impeding progress or withholding permits. And finally, there is no fact to support the allegation or rumor that is promoted here. I question what source Mr. Bochow has that leads him to believe that someone “withheld permits to bring construction to a standstill” — is this opinion or based upon information?