To the Editor:

Hi, my name is Rodney Votra. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about myself and clarify some facts concerning the Town that have been raised in recent months.

I am a 44 year resident having spent my entire life here in Parishville. I have been married to my wife Denice for the past 24 yrs. and we have raised our children here in Parishville. As a family we love the closeness and bond that we’ve experienced with so many of you throughout the years. This bond was evident this past summer as we celebrated our 200th Birthday as a Town. I work for the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Correctional Division, and I’m proud to serve St. Lawrence County in this capacity.

I was appointed to the role of Town Supervisor early in 2014 as our former supervisor resigned the post unexpectedly. Immediately, the Town Board and I went right to work finding ways to save taxpayer dollars while improving the standard of living for our residents. The following is a brief summary of just a few of our accomplishments in this short period of time;

• We started by “cutting the fat” in the Supervisors Office. This was done by eliminating the Bookkeeper position and saving \Taxpayer dollars in excess of $50,000.00 in wages and benefits. Doing so put an additional work load on the Town Clerk and Supervisor positions, but has proven to be a cost effective way to manage the office and make sure that the persons responsible for managing Taxpayer dollars stay involved in the process.

• We moved ahead with the demolition of the “Old Town Barn”. This Board through careful planning established a way to do the project without affecting taxpayers in a negative manner.

• The Bicentennial was a huge success, not only with full support of the Board but with great appreciation for the many volunteers and donations received from the community. The Board continues discussion on ideas and planning for the years to come to keep this celebration alive.

• The Town Board established a recreation committee to improve our park and recreation programs. This committee has worked hard raising money for a rink liner, saving money in labor and water cost of re-flooding in warmer temperatures. New lighting for the rink through monies raised and grants acquired will be installed prior to this winter season. If you look around the park, you’ll find new paint covering the buildings and rink boards, most of which was done by volunteers. A few years ago the Board decided to cut the summer program to 4 wks. The Board acted on reports that the last 2 wks. of the program brought little in attendance due to families vacationing etc. prior to returning to school. At this time we continue to operate on the 4 wk. program in anticipation that eventually we may see the program return to 6 wk.’s at the request of the taxpayers.

• The Board made a conscious decision to do everything possible to ensure that only taxpayers in the community are using the transfer station. Because the transfer station is subsidized with Taxpayer money, we want to make sure taxpayers are only paying for trash generated in our Town. As part of this effort, the Board eliminated the use of our transfer station by private haulers reducing the risk that some may be misusing and or not paying their fair share of this taxpayer subsidized facility.

• This year, The Town Board for the first time has taken a real part in planning and establishing the Budget. We are proud to present a 1.35% increase over last year’s budget and project good things in the years to come. The Board was able to add money in to the budget to increase spending for Parks and Recreation as well as money set aside to begin sidewalk repair that the Town Board sees as an increasing issue. We hope to be able to maintain the Bicentennial celebration and have increased the celebrations budget for the coming year in an effort to do so.

As your supervisor, I promise to continue working hard with our Town Board establishing ways to keep our community moving forward and saving taxpayer dollars.

I encourage you all to get out and vote this November 4, and I look forward to serving the Parishville community for many years to come.

Thanks for your support.

Rodney Votra

Parishville Town Supervisor