Pizzuto seeks a second term as Supervisor

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 7/14/21

Last week the Lloyd Democratic Party held their caucus for the purpose of choosing candidates for the November election. In quick succession and without challenges, the party nominated Fred Pizzuto …

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Pizzuto seeks a second term as Supervisor

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Last week the Lloyd Democratic Party held their caucus for the purpose of choosing candidates for the November election. In quick succession and without challenges, the party nominated Fred Pizzuto for Town Supervisor, Sal Cuciti and Lisa Green for Town Council, Rich Klotz for Highway Superintendent, Wendy Rosinski for Town Clerk and Terry Elia for Town Justice. Gary Pregno is running for the Ulster County Legislature.

Lisa Green is a newcomer to the electoral process.

“I’m running because Highland is at a crossroads and I want to bring a fresh perspective to the key issues of balanced development and protection of the environment while keeping our friends and neighbors safe,” she said. “I’m a lawyer who isn’t afraid to read complex documents or ask tough questions. I’m also a homeowner and mom who loves our town. I’ll serve my neighbors’ interests, not my own, and will always listen to their concerns.”

Sal Cuciti is presently a member of the Planning Board and is seeking a seat on the Town Board.

“We are not ready for the historic development pressure we are facing, and will face. So many of the issues Lloyd will have to deal with in the next ten years will be driven by development pressure; infrastructure, traffic, taxes and quality of life will all be impacted. For example, our water plant is nearing the end of its life and yet we keep adding to and extending the water and sewer district. One recent project the planning board reviewed is estimated to use over 60,000 gallons of water per day. So my top priority is a new and more protective zoning,” he said. “We need businesses in our business districts to help with taxes, but more apartments and high-density residential development on Route 9W is not helping this. And we need to site businesses correctly with buffer areas and green space so they look good.”

Cuciti pointed out that current traffic studies show that the level of service will decline to level F at Chapel Hill Rd and 9W.

“As an architect I have studied zoning and planning for more than 30 years, I have represented projects at planning boards around the region and I have served on our own town planning board for three years. I feel that I am the best qualified candidate to help solve this,” he said. “My other priorities are improving parks and recreation, staying under the tax cap and increasing communication and transparency on the Town Board. I am not interested in personality disputes. I want to focus on our common objectives for Lloyd and on logical steps to get us to those goals, protect our quality of life, and keep our town a beautiful and vibrant place to live.”

Fred Pizzuto is seeking a second term as Town Supervisor, noting that 2020 was a difficult year.

“We managed to get through the year and with the current administration we were able to present the town with a zero based budget and we didn’t have to go back in and steal taxpayers dollars out of the reserve fund, which you should never do unless it’s a dire emergency,” he said.

Pizzuto said the rehabilitation of the tennis and basketball courts as well as pickle ball has been completed. Recently the boring under the rail road tracks that will eventually bring water to the Highland Landing Park has also been finished.

Pizzuto said in the next year the town is looking to construct a new $2 million water tank rather then reline the old one up near the water plant. He said the water plant is also “at its life’s end” and engineering designs are now being done. He estimates the cost of this project at $5 million. In addition he said the town will also need to replace the aging sewer line along North Road.

Pizzuto is well aware of the coming traffic issues that will occur on Route 9W because of the many proposed and approved development projects in this corridor. He pointed out that the state may have to step in to alleviate the problems with a new roadway design.

Pizzuto touched upon the cottage portion of the Villages project.
“The Town Board has final say as to No or how large we want it to be or how many cottages; we have the ability to control that,” he said. “The developer is never going to get what he wants. We’ll have to see.”

Pizzuto said he is in discussions with RUPCO about them running the town’s affordable housing program. Even though the law has been in the code for a decade, the town has failed to ensure that developers provide the required number of affordable units to qualified individuals or families.

Pizzuto said, “If I can plug up a few of those holes in the next two years and kind of move the ball forward, then I can probably exhale.”