Crowded Field Seeks Two Kent Town Board Seats
Two Republican councilpersons, Paul Denbaum and Bill Huestis, are running for another term on the Kent town board against Democratic challengers Stephen Papas and Jason Makely. The term for a council seats run for four years.
Paul Denbaum
When Paul Denbaum ran four years ago, he had a list of priorities to improve the Town of Kent. Running for a second term, he believes he’s fulfilled those pledges.
In his first term, the town has offered four straight no tax increase budgets that he’s supported, implemented term limits, and put forth more transparency.
“Every item that we promised we delivered on,” Denbaum said, noting the four straight budgets without an increase is unheard on in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Denbaum said there are several things the town board has done to control spending, including cutting pay for town board members, moving the recreation department to town hall, eliminating the human resources officer from an outside contract and going out to bid for every town service.
Denbaum, a attorney, has proposed legislation that would outlaw concrete mixing plants in every part of town except one district. He pointed to the current controversial concrete plant on Route 52 that is near hundreds of residents. The parcel of land where concrete mixing is located was not intended to have that sort of production, he said.
The entire Zoning Board of Appeals resigned because of disagreements with the town board over its decision to green light the concrete business. Denbaum said while he would have liked to see things work out differently, he defended his criticism of the ZBA’s actions. Denbaum said the former ZBA chairman held a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent and wants to see Denbaum off the board.
“I would rather it not end this way, but I’m not the one who organized a walk out on a Friday afternoon that put the residents of this town behind eight ball when it comes to simple things like a variance for shed or something simple,” Denbaum said. “I’m not going to go up there and kiss the ring of the zoning board.”
Denbaum said to draw businesses, he passed legislation that lessens the tax burden for a certain number of years for new businesses. Denbaum said he thinks if one business comes in, it’ll create a snowball effect. He wants to reexamine zoning and planning laws that encourages development and relaxes some requirements.
Denbaum pledged regardless of whether it is popular or nor, he’ll continue to do what’s right for the town.
“I will tell you why I think that way, I will engage with residents,” Denbaum said. “I promise that I will do my best to vote for what’s right and explain my position and never back down.”
Bill Huestis
As Bill Huestis runs for another term, he wants to continue to keep the community in mind and focus on quality of life issues. During his tenure, he’s worked on a variety of issues and wants to continue to tackle large-scale problems in Kent.
Huestis said one concern is traffic safety and he has been in contact with New York State about improving state road intersections in town. He’s concerned with zombie homes or “homes in distress” that pull the property value down for other homes in the area.
Huestis would also like to see improvements to the “untraditional main street” of Route 52 and Route 311. He and the town board have been pursuing grants and want to see upgrades in the area considering there are so many empty buildings and storefronts on the main roads. Huestis would also like to explore getting sidewalks in town to make it more walker friendly.
Huestis said he’s pushed for town lakes to be prioritized in a state program that would lead to environmental issues handled.
“We really need a ‘Kent first’ initiative to seek outside funding and be a model,” Huestis said. “We just need to make progress. You got to buy into the town, you got to spend the time, and you got to listen to people.”
During his first term, Huestis said he was the first person to advocate that Little Fill’s Causeway on Nichols Street become safer with new guardrails and a paved road. A state grant paid for it, he noted.
Huestis supported legislation that would lower property taxes for new businesses. Huestis said he’d work to bring in more commercial development, stressing he wants the right type of businesses that meet the needs of the community and the town’s Master Plan.
Regarding the concrete plant controversy, he said the plant concerned him because it hurts residents’ quality of life. He’s interested in a public hearing over legislation that would limit concrete mixing plants to a small part of town.
“I’m going to keep an open mind on this and there might be other options,” he said.
Huestis, a former director for the senior resources office at the county, said he’s been intertwined in the community for more than 60 years. He noted his hard work can be seen throughout the town as a volunteer before he was elected to office.
“Let’s be one community,” Huestis said. “Together we can address and improve the quality of life of our town and that’s the main thing here. We need to step up.”
Stephen Papas
When going door-to-door, Stephen Papas said he hears that residents want the Town of Kent to have an identity.
“Whether it’s having a downtown, whether it’s having a more robust recreation department, the Town of Kent feels disjointed,” Papas said. “And in order for us to feel that it’s not disjointed is we need to have community outreach to the different areas that I would love to lead.”
Papas would like to bring more grants into Kent. His day job entails writing grants for the non-profit Meals on Wheels so he would like to bring those skills to different projects taking place in Kent. Partaking in the town’s lakes committee, he’s already written and submitted grants to try to get money for different lakes in town. He would like to pursue grants for the Route 52.
“Unfortunately it’s not the most desirable location for commercial development,” Papas said. “And I want to change that.”
Papas said to improve Route 52, he thinks a mix-use development would
serve that main road in Kent well. Papas would like to use the town’s great hiking trails and lakes to draw visitors and hopes to find businesses that can offer day hikers a place to go.
When discussing the current town board, Papas gave much of the credit to fellow Democrat Maureen Fleming for keeping budget line flat the last four years. When asked about the proposal by Councilman Paul Denbaum to outlaw concrete-mixing plants in most of the town, Papas said while he doesn’t want a concrete mixing business in town, he thinks a better approach is to look at the entire town and undergo a comprehensive plan rather than just “spot-zone.”
Papas said he didn’t like how the Republican majority on the board undermined the Zoning Board of Appeals, which eventually all resigned in the aftermath of its Kent concrete plant decision that gave the controversial business the green light. Even if the concrete plant isn’t wanted in town, Papas said the ZBA had to follow the law
Papas said he has experience at the federal, state, and local level. He has lived in Kent for less than a year, but believes he’s familiar with the inner workings of the town. His fiancé and her family have lived in town for many years. He wants to make this a community where he raises his children one day.
“I hope they vote for me because I want to protect our lakes, develop a downtown, because I want to bring back an identity where people identify as a resident of Kent,” Papas said. “and not a disjointed hamlet like Lake Carmel or Kent Lakes but they see themselves as a Kent resident and have that pride.”
Jason Makely
Jason Makely said instead of continuing to commiserate on social media platforms about the current state of government and politics across the nation, he wanted to take a small step to
improve government at the local level. “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem,” he said. “If can do something to benefit my little corner of the world, I would be remiss if I didn’t use my skills, talents and abilities to bear in that regard.”
Makely, who is a talent agent for a top ten firm in the field, said his professional job is to advocate and represent people, which is similar to being an elected official.
Makely said he wants to ensure the town’s lakes are taken care and would stay on top of their environmental health. As someone who fishes for a hobby, he wants to explore ways to eradicate the blue-green algae blooms in the local bodies of water that shut down town beaches many times over the summer.
“I feel like there’s got to be a fix there,” Makely said. “It’s something I feel very strongly about.”
Makely said he wants to continue to increase the sense of community in the area by holding events hosted by the library and recreation staff. He suggests putting a more advanced website out or interactive platform that residents can access and find out about different happenings in town.
Addressing the controversial concrete plant, Makely said he’s heard pros and cons about the business. Living along Route 52, he acknowledged a possible increase in traffic and that some lakes could be affected.
Concerning the friction between the town board and other volunteer boards, Makely said better communication is necessary. Getting everyone in the room to hash out differences could solve problems, he said.
He gave credit to fellow Democrat and Supervisor Maureen Fleming for the job she’s done. He said he wants to bring a fresh perspective to the board and wouldn’t have an allegiance to anyone, but the town’s residents.
“I’m not a politician,” Makely said. “I really want to get to the heart of any issue and find the best solution that’ll benefit the town and that’s how I’m going to approach everything, with the town’s best interest at heart.”
