On November 8th, 2011 voters in Gardiner elected their town government for the next two years, who were sworn in on January 1, 2012. Supervisor Carl Zatz is returning after a two-year hiatus to a two year term. Sitting board member Carmine Mele has two years left in a four-year term. We also welcome newcomer Mike Reynolds, who was elected to a four year term. Sitting board member Warren Wiegand was re-elected to a four year term as Council-man. Sitting board member Rich Koenig has two years left of a four-year term.
As we know, the elected leaders of Gardiner (the Town Board) appoint additional leaders (the Planning Board and Zoning
Board) and together this relative handful of representatives set the priorities and the tone for all of us. They decide what is important and what are the problems and issues that need to be addressed. They decide where to spend funds, and where to withhold funds. In all matters they decide on what direction to send Gardiner.
Needless to say, these representatives, though elected by the public, need the continued input of the public if they are to truly represent it. There are many ways to involve ourselves. Attending Board meetings and speaking up on issues that matter is certainly a good way, but for those who are unable to make that level of time commitment, the Town website (www.townofgardiner.org) is a tremendous resource. There, you can find meeting agendas or sign up to receive them, via email, automatically in advance of the Town, Planning or Zoning Board meetings. Whether you can attend the meetings or not, the agendas alone will keep you up to date
on the issues facing the Boards.
Following a meeting, the minutes, which summarize the actions taken at the meeting, can also be found on the site and, finally,
there you can also find contact numbers for Town officials in order to send them your comments and ideas. It will be very interesting to watch this new town board guide Gardiner into the future. Helping them will be even more interesting!