Trustee Candidates Debate RVC's Hot Topics

Part two of a series

After mayoral candidates answered community-posed questions during Wednesday's debate at the Sandel Senior Center, candidates running for a trustee seat on June 21 weighed in on what they thought were the most pressing issues in the village, including the current relationship between the village and the school district, crime and the condition of the athletic fields.

Concerned Citizens Party trustee candidates David Krasula and Michelle Sewell debated with RVC United candidates Nancy Howard and Michael Sepe. 

Here's what they said:

On what they think is the primary problem in the village:

Krasula said the village's financial issues must be the principal concern. "We need to keep our financial house in order," he said. "Tough times call for tough leaders, and experience really does matter."

The strength of the downtown is Howard's biggest concern. "Everyone here is wondering if they need to go out and feed their meters," she said. Howard added that businesses are leaving RVC because of the village's "aggressive ticketing campaign," and restaurant owners have resorted to paying parking fines for its patrons. "We need to be a well-rounded business community," she said. "We need to make it beautiful again."

Sewell said it's important that the village continues to have strong, core services. "We need to work out reasonable contracts," she said of negotiations with unions. "We need a two to four year plan, and a zero-based budget. We have to justify every tax dollar spent."

Sepe said that some of the village's policies are punitive and "simply don't work." "We need to stop viewing residents as walking ATM machines for tickets," Sepe said. A few of those policies, as he referred to, were restrictive zoning laws and over-ticketing in the downtown.

On the village's current relationship with the school district:

Howard and Sepe agree that the relationship is broken. "It's a bad one," Sepe said of the relationship. "It's gotten out of control. We need to talk it out, fix it and get it right the first time." The two vowed to restore the relationship that existed between the village and the district during former mayor Eugene Murray's tenure.

Sewell and Krasula had a different take on it. "This is a shotgun marriage," Krasula said of the relationship. "It needs to be improved." Krasula said the relationship is one-sided, as the district uses village fields for athletics, but the village is not allowed to use the schools for programs during the summer.

On the condition of the village's fields and crime in the village: 

"We need more cops on the street," Sepe said. He added that he'd like to add two more cops to the night patrol. Sepe also said he wants to improve the village's athletic fields, and didn't understand why the village rejected the idea of the RVC Soccer Club installing new sprinklers at Tighe Field.

Krasula responded by saying there were New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations that needed to be met first, and the village couldn't afford to move forward with the proposal and risk getting fined by the DEC. He added that the appointment of Charles Gennario to commissioner was one of the best decisions made during his tenure.

Sewell agreed that there needs to be local advertising on village fields to help generate revenue for upkeep. "This could be a revenue stream for the fields," she said of adding ads. 

"We're embarrassed by what the fields look like," Howard said of the village's athletic fields. "It's about the pride and dignity of our community. They should look as wonderful as our homes." She agreed with Sewell that placing advertising on village fields is the best way to improve them.

Residents can vote on June 21 at the recreation center from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.