Tuesday, December 21, 2010

UC GOVERNMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE

Tonight is the last meeting of the Legislative body for 2010. That fact doesn't make the agenda any less contentious. We are faced with some internal housekeeping as well as some key appointments.
What's at stake tonight is the representation of the UCRRA Board. According to the County Charter, the scheduled openings account for two positions but we are set to place three. It's a mess.

We were honored with the presence of the current interim Executive Director of the agency Tim Rose. Tim, if the Board had any sense would be the next fully appointed Director considering the astounding difference in expertise and competency compared to the last Director. 

If chosen, Tim would be paid less compared to the former and although responsible for fewer tasks, would probably do more for the agency.

What's the issue? Legislators who have issue with the current Board Members are determined to replace them even though two of the three have expressed the desire to serve again. These would be the three members who voted to fire Bemis, the last Director. 
The investigation into the alleged wrongdoing continues by both the Board and the Ulster County District Attorney.       
Tonight's meeting should be interesting. There is a push by some to postpone the Board appointments until the investigations are done and the applicants have been properly vetted. 
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Update: The Legislature passed the recommendations of the leadership for the three positions on the RRA Board. A number of us raised questions about the process, vented our angst about the reassignment of a former board member that served during the dark period of the Agency, while praising the two inductees we were comfortable with. 
 
Like a select few on the Legislature, I question the wisdom of losing members who are educated in the field of waste & recycling that are well versed in the current administration clean-up. My thanks go to the outgoing members who achieved so much in their short time serving the taxpayers.

I would also add my sadness that the oversight of the RRA Board and Agency, expected to shift to the Ops & Efficiency Committee, will not be shifted after all. Seems the wishes of the Republican Committee Chair trump the desires of the Legislature Chairman. 
Politics.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoy the party tonight as everyone will be in a hurry to get to the party.

Anonymous said...

The best thing to happen to the Ulster Democratic Party is the anointing of Robin Yess as Republican Chair. Watching the Republican Caucus lose members one at a time is like
death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Laura's departure marks the loss of a grounded force in that caucus. Watch them get really crazy now.

Anonymous said...

The RRA mess has been just that for many many many years. Charlie Shaw was a favorite amongst Danny Alfonso and Ward Todd.

one who knows,,, said...

hey 10:41 - you are nuts

Robin Yess had nothing to do with Laura's abandonment of her Party,, she is a nutjob,, really,, have you ever spoken with her ?
She talks as if she is from Pluto, not Ulster County - she is always distracted from her responsibilities with her personal life's many dramas & distractions,,
she never has a firm grip on the FACTS, & is always at odds with GOP principles.

Robin Yess is trying to hold a fractured GOP together with many of her own trying to undermine her attempts at leadership.
Give her a break to undo decades of Savago's stealing from the GOP for his own personal gain & Mario Catalano's terrible leadership, or lack of it & with two or three big mouth Town Chairmen working against her, she is lucky to be able to feed herself while putting out the fires her own partymembers keep starting.

Lead, Follow or get out of the way,, but for you,10:41 - just shut up til you know the real facts.
HAHAHA Laura Petit is a friend of Chairwoman Yess so you are wrong on every point.

Anonymous said...

one who knows more than one who knows said.....

no, 2:12, you are wrong, Petit's departure is a reflection of lack of leadership in the County Republican Committee and in the Republican Caucus from the top down, and it is a loss.

Chairs Yess and Wadnorla are burning bridges all over the place. Legislator Petit is from the same Town that Yess is from, yet she departed the party fully disgusted with the whole lot of them. Didn't Yess see this coming?

Mostly likely Chairman Wadnorla's response regarding Petit's departure will be "No one ever said a word to me about it" - just like he said about Bemis


From the Daily Freeman - "When I (Wadnorla) was on the board, I never had an employee come to me and say anything bad about Bemis, so if all this was going on, they never said a word to me about it.”

Is Wadnorla serious? Either Wadnorla is lying or incompetent because if he didn't know anything about the unrest at the RRA, he should have. Either that or him and Bemeis were tight, and now Wadnorla's memory is just "foggy".

Wasn't Wadnorla on the RRA Board in 2008 & 2009. Why wasn't Wadnorla the rocket scientist and the new Chairman of the Legislature the one to uncover all of the various DEC and insurance violations by contractors at the RRA? Why didn't Wadnorla know about the bully-like behavior of Bemis, or did he know and just look the other way? What did Wadnorla do at the RRA, and for that matter, what has he done in the Legislature?

Legislator Petit is bright and articulate. I would take someone with a brain any day over a liar or moron in a suit.

Anonymous said...

Wadnola does not belong as Chairman. He is too much of a ribbon cutter and not enough of a thinker. He is just trying to cling onto any semblance of power. He has never wanted anything else but to be the boss. Bosses work less and reap all the rewards. That describes Fred exactly. I am tired of seeing this guy suck every penny he can from the public and act like he is doing us a favor. Time to send Fred to the back row.

Anonymous said...

People paying their own way for a Exec / Legisltive Office dinner at Wiltwyck is not a problem. But, when Wadnola was a Board Member at the RRA they had a swanky $700 dinner at Fred's place, paid for by the RRA, or should I say the taxpayers of Ulster County, that is a problem. That's far more troubling than a bunch people paying their own way at Wiltwyck. Easy enough to verify - the RRA paid the bill to Fred's Place.

Anonymous said...

What are these people trying to hide? Why was the Legislature so anxious to get rid of the 3 Board Members that brought this information to light? What was the hurry.

It sounds like this guy Bemis was just friends with a lot of people and they are trying to protect him and get revenge on the people who exposed him for what he is.

Anonymous said...

Provenzano justifies not re-appointing the 3 RRA Board Members that terminated Bemis because they waited too long - according to Provenzano,"till they had a list a mile long", implying that they should have acted sooner, and that is why they were not re-appointed.

Why isn't she calling for the resignation of the two Board Members who didn't think the list was long enough, wanted to give him more time and voted against the Bemis termination?

from the RecordOnline.com
Legislative leaders didn't appoint any of the trio to a second board term, meaning their oversight of the Resource Recovery Agency ends on Dec. 31.

"You don't wait until you have a list a mile long, then fire the guy," Provenzano, D-Kingston, said.

What she should have said is "but if you do have a mile long list, you should fire the guy, and keep on the people who made up the list, and fire the two people that voted against firing the guy".

Why is she so anxious for the people that dug up the dirt to go away?