We would like to take this opportunity to respond to a Times Herald-Record editorial titled, “The Woodburys look for ways to save money.” Our response is based both on what was said and how it was said. This is directed toward Woodbury voters.

The assumption that our village was formed to prevent annexation by Kiryas Joel is false. Our village was formed to prevent the formation of other villages in the Town of Woodbury. At the time of the vote, there was great discord and fear among the citizens of Woodbury. The fear of a neighboring community forming a village within our borders, real or imagined, was a fear of the loss of control over zoning. If this happened, residents of either the hamlets of Highland Mills or Central Valley might have then incorporated as villages in response to this encroachment.

Woodbury would then have several smaller villages within its borders and would have resulted in a huge fragmentation of costs, services, property values and governments. It was felt that one village would be the best route to prevent what you call “so many overlapping governments.” We knew then, as we do now, that a village does not protect against annexation. Annexation is an issue for the courts.

As far as “paying a price” and talk that it “would not cost any more” for the decision, did anyone who voted for the village think that it would be free? We doubt it. We all knew that there was a price tag attached to this. Anything of value has a cost. The goal is to keep costs to a minimum.

To respond to the quote that the vote was “misguided,” we say, “Not so fast!” The village has been in existence for less than three years. Can you unequivocally say that we would be better off today if we had not formed a village two and a half years ago? Can you state with certainty that no other group, either within or outside of Woodbury, would not have incorporated as a village? Can you honestly say that the village has not had any benefits for Woodbury?

We have not been around long enough to prove a point one way or the other. Woodbury voters did what they thought was best. The fact remains, however, that we now have a village, and we will deal with it the best way that we can.

We believe that misleading editorials lend nothing to honest campaigns and we would hope that Woodbury voters could sort through all the political rhetoric that they are hearing. Please be an educated voter on March 18.

Preservation Party candidates

Ben Meyers, Highland Mills

Fred Ungerer, Highland Mills

George Pedersen, Highland Mills
 

 

It has been said that “In a democracy, we get the government we deserve.”

I do not believe I have the Village of Woodbury government I deserve. It’s important for each of us to think carefully about who we vote for on March 18.

A government we truly deserve requires that “the people” hold their officials to standards. We deserve leaders who do not encumber us with confiscatory taxes: who take initiatives to control and minimize the size and cost of government.

If it can’t be done at the local level, it will never be done.

When the CommUNITY Party took office, they had their chance to deliver on their promise to keep the village formation and operating costs down. Since then, spending has skyrocketed with excessive and outrageous legal, consulting and operating charges driven by how they structured the formation and operations of the village, and to accommodate new, high-density zoning. And thus, burden taxpayers with subsidizing the unending consulting and legal costs directly associated to those projects.

If there is any hope of having a Village of Woodbury government I deserve, it lies with the election of the Preservation Party candidates: Meyers, Pedersen and Ungerer.

I will vote for my own self-preservation on March 18 and hope that the majority are concerned enough about their own economic survival to help preserve what is left of Woodbury for those of us who want to remain here.

Aimee J. Fitzgerald

Central Valley

 

Creating Woodbury’s Village was about preserving zoning while keeping taxes to a minimum. That’s not happening. Elect the Preservation Team. They understand the burden of taxes, the impact of zoning and the true concept and benefits of conservation clustering and open space.

What The Preservation Team will never understand is why any elected official would design local laws allowing developers to build more than our original zoning code allowed. For example, 451 homes across from our high school were approved when only 148 were originally zoned. Similar bonuses exist for Legacy Ridge. The time has come to stop this from happening to other large parcels of land yet to be developed in our Village.

“The Woodbury Taxpayer” must elect a team who has a real strategy to reduce taxes while planning for our future. On Wednesday, March 18, at the Highland Mills Fire House between the hours of noon and 9 p.m., vote for Ben Meyers for Village mayor, and George Pederson and Fred Ungerer for Village trustees. Vote Row B all the way.

Carol Mullooly

Central Valley

 

The main issue in this election is zoning. The Village of Woodbury was formed with zoning protection in mind. However, at the candidates’ public forum on March 3, the Preservation Team was the only one to speak out against the high density zoning that the Town and Village Boards have approved. Two projects in our community have more than doubled the amount of houses that can be built. One of them more than tripled the amount of homes!

The Preservation Team will not allow this to continue. They will not be intimidated by developers. They will stop high-density zoning offered in return for supposed bonuses to the community and will change the zoning to prevent reoccurrences of this high density development. They encourage controlled growth that is in the best interests of the residents of Woodbury.

Cutting costs is, of course, on everyone’s mind. All the parties have spoken to this point. The Preservation Team, however, is the only one to offer solutions. The Preservation Party promises not to entertain Village Departments’ requests for equipment that is unnecessary, not cost-effective or can be shared with another municipality. A case in point is the current request by the Woodbury Water and Sewer Department for the purchase of a $100,000 backhoe that is currently unnecessary and can be borrowed from the town for free. The Preservation Team does not believe that a lawyer needs to be present at every village meeting. No issue needs to be decided on the spot. Legal questions can be tabled, thus reducing the amount of billable attorney hours. Consultant and engineering fees will be scrutinized and reduced. A line-by-line examination of the budget will be conducted, and unnecessary items, no matter how small, will be eliminated.

The Preservation Team is a goal-oriented, solution-based team with a proactive approach to running our village. If you want solutions to Woodbury’s problems, I urge you to vote for Meyers, Pedersen and Ungerer, Row B on March 18. The future of Woodbury is at stake.

Steven E. Musich

Village of Woodbury- Highland Mills
 

 

In these increasingly troubled economic times, Woodbury needs to elect the most conservative and fiscally responsible person as mayor for the village. I ask that you please consider Ben Meyers. Ben is a man with great experience and has been a resident of Woodbury for 28 years. Ben will listen to the public’s concerns and will act accordingly. His focus is the preservation of our zoning, protection of the village and lowering it’s budget which are all important issues designed to save Woodbury and its residents.

I ask the Village of Woodbury to put differences aside and please vote on Wednesday March 18.

United we stand and divided we fall. With this statement in mind I implore you to consider your options and vote for the team with the Village of Woodbury’s best interest in mind and those candidates would be Ben Meyers, George Pedersen and Fred Ungerer.

They are the clear choice for a united and better Woodbury.

Carmen Gubernick

Highland Mills