To the Editor:

I would like to introduce myself to the people in the town of Pierrepont. I am Jane Powers, a candidate for Town Supervisor in the Nov. 8 election.

I am a lifelong resident of St. Lawrence County, was born in the Village of Potsdam, and have lived in Pierrepont for more than 43 years. I have come to love this town, its beauty and its people.

I worked for over 34 years for St. Lawrence County government, 25 of those as Director of Real Property. I recently retired and feel that I can contribute to local government. I have the time, energy, experience and desire to become involved in all aspects of running the town government.

I would like to help solve issues at the local level such as lowering the real property taxes, maintaining and improving our road system at a lower cost, bringing our township together and by promoting local businesses. My goal is to help the people of Pierrepont feel that they are part of the solution instead of standing at the sidelines and not having a real voice in town decision making.

Through my job with the county, I became directly involved with town government operations, audited town budgets to determine tax rates, and trained town local government officials in the areas of assessments and budgeting.

My past experience will allow me to work with other levels of government to help reduce costs by sharing services. We can learn from other towns in the county and the state how they provide services so that Pierrepont can benefit from what has already been proven to save money.

My strong points are: discussing the issues at hand by bringing the related stakeholders together, dealing with confrontation, knowing local and state levels of government, and having managed an office of over a dozen employees with a budget comparable to the Town of Pierrepont budget.

Some of the initial things I would like to get started on are:

1. establish a town web site for posting town documents and notices, as well as a way for residents to email the supervisor and council members with issues that need to be addressed;

2. enhance the knowledge of commercial activities/businesses in the town, both townwide and countywide;

3. continue to explore the development of a ATV/snowmobile trail system that would tie Pierrepont in with the existing three county system; and,

4. encourage all residents to feel part of the Town of Pierrepont by having some town board meetings in Hannawa Falls.

As discussions continue with the residents of the town, I am sure that other ideas will come forth that we can explore together. “Just Imagine” what we can do if we all work together.

I ask for your vote as your next town supervisor on November 8 so we can work together for Pierrepont.

Jane B. Powers

Candidate for Supervisor

Town of Pierrepont