George Mansfield returns but process faces pushback
George Mansfield, a 14-year, seven-term veteran of the Beacon City Council who chose not to run for re-election in 2023, was appointed to the council on Monday (Jan. 6) to fill a vacancy created when Dan Aymar-Blair resigned after being elected Dutchess County comptroller.
The council’s vote to confirm Mansfield was 5-1, with Jeff Domanski of Ward 2 voting “no.”
Mansfield, a Democrat, will serve the final year of Aymar-Blair’s term as the Ward 4 representative. Mansfield said Tuesday that he plans to run in November, but for an at-large council seat, which could set up a Democratic primary if Amber Grant and Paloma Wake, the current at-large representatives, both run again.
Beacon’s charter gives the mayor the authority to fill a vacancy on the council, and for the second year in a row, Mayor Lee Kyriacou named a former member to fill an empty seat (he previously appointed Amber Grant, who served from 2018 to 2021, after Wren Longno resigned). Kyriacou said he received about “half a dozen” applications for the Ward 4 post after Aymar-Blair announced on Dec. 2 that he would leave at the end of the year.
Mansfield told The Current in January 2024 that a break from the council would tie in well with the September 2023 closing of Dogwood, the restaurant and bar he owned on East Main Street. However, he left open the possibility of returning, and this week said he applied to be part of the conversation regarding development at the Metro-North station, the possible rezoning of the Fishkill Avenue corridor and the future of the city’s two closed firehouses.
After interviewing candidates, the mayor said he chose Mansfield because he’s “somebody who knows exactly what they’re doing and can come to the table and start right off the bat.” Appointing someone who had not previously won a contested election “kind of gives them a free election,” Kyriacou said.
A year ago, Kyriacou appointed Grant to represent Ward 3. At the same meeting, Pam Wetherbee, a former Ward 3 representative who had been elected in November 2023 as an at-large member, shifted to that seat, and Grant became an at-large member.
Grant and Wetherbee were required to run in November to keep their positions. Both ran unopposed and were sworn in on Monday.
Kyriacou did not reveal the names of other applicants for Aymar-Blair’s seat but acknowledged that council members were likely aware of them.
Domanski called the appointment a “missed opportunity” because “there was no consultation or broader conversation that was had to explore the candidates in a more formal way, even in executive session.”
Before voting, Wake asked if council members had suggestions for amending the charter guidelines. Wetherbee said the value of an experienced “plug-and-play” member outweighed concerns for her because Mansfield will have to run for election in less than a year. Domanski advocated a more collaborative process but made no proposal.
To change the city charter, the council must approve a policy and hold a public vote. While the mayor has appointed council members two years in a row, before last year it apparently had not happened since the city went to a “strong mayor” structure in 1991, with ward representatives rather than at-large commissioners.
Firehouse broker
By a 5-1 vote, the council on Monday selected Gate House Compass Realty to broker the sale of the Mase Hook and Ladder and Beacon Engine Co. fire stations, with Domanski abstaining.
City officials issued a request for proposals on Dec. 2 for agencies to facilitate the sale of the century-old stations. The proceeds will be used for the $14.7 million central fire station that opened recently at 1140 Wolcott Ave.
City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis said representatives from 10 companies toured the empty stations last month. Gate House, a Beacon agency owned by Charlotte Guernsey, was one of four firms to submit proposals by the Dec. 19 deadline.
Of the four, “Gate House was the one that stood out to us,” Ward-Willis said, because of its history of sales in Beacon and a competitive commission. The other proposals came from Beacon Coldwell Banker Realty, McGrath Realty Inc. and Absolute Auctions & Realty, Inc.
Once the sites are marketed, council members will be updated on offers in executive session. The council will be asked to review final offers, but “generally, the contract does not become public until after it is approved by the council,” Ward-Willis said.
Several council members on Monday explored scenarios in which the city could retain the buildings or lease them inexpensively to a nonprofit organization. However, if the firehouses are not sold, ongoing initiatives such as parks and road and sidewalk improvements would lose funding, City Administrator Chris White said, while a low-cost lease would be at odds with the council’s responsibility to act in taxpayers’ best interest.
Both properties are part of the city’s historic district and will be sold with covenants that restrict renaming them or altering historical features.
Appointments
The council approved Kyriacou’s reappointments of Karen Quiana and J. Randall Williams to the Planning Board; Stowe Boyd, Elaine Ciaccio and Montos Vakirtzis to the Zoning Board of Appeals; Robert Palisi to the Board of Assessment Review; and Peter Bailey and Andy Bell to the Tree Advisory Committee.
Beacon City Council: Let’s lay all the options on the table and make the best choice for our city regarding the sale of the two former firehouses. I understand the short-term financial pressures driving your decisions, but I’d encourage us to test the assumption that a long-term lease with an upfront payment could provide more revenue without sacrifices. Let’s run the financial analysis together — I’ll help. You can still choose the path you feel is best, but let’s ensure we’ve explored every option.
On another note, I heard the best and most unexpected compliment about City Administrator Chris White today. After talking with him, I realized how much of a punching bag he’s been, despite doing his job well. There’s a poetic turn of the leaf happening — case in point, the Jan. 10 ribbon-cutting at The Joint on Main Street. Seeing Mayor Lee Kyriacou and White there for their “inaugural joint” felt like a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm. You had to be there — it was pretty, pretty, pretty good!
It is so important to have a new generation of leadership on a local level as well as state and federal levels. Both parties are guilty of cronyism, but the Democrats paid the price for it in our last presidential election.