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Mamakating Highway Dept. pickets town meeting

Samantha Montagna - Reporter/Photographer
Posted 10/7/19

WURTSBORO — In a quiet and quick town meeting on Tuesday, October 1, some members of the Mamakating Highway department led by Rob Hufcut, chief of Summitville Fire Company and candidate for Highway …

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Mamakating Highway Dept. pickets town meeting

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WURTSBORO — In a quiet and quick town meeting on Tuesday, October 1, some members of the Mamakating Highway department led by Rob Hufcut, chief of Summitville Fire Company and candidate for Highway Superintendent, stood quietly in the back of the meeting holding signs demanding a “fair contract now!”

The meeting conducted business as usual, and sign holders did not interrupt or create a disturbance, which created an elephant in the room type situation. Once the time for public comment was announced, Hufcut took the podium to express his concerns about discussing the new contract for the highway department in public.

Negotiations of the contract cannot be discussed publicly, but Hufcut claimed that the town board did speak about the contract during the last town meeting when they were not supposed to after he left the meeting due to a fire house commitment.

Brenda Giraldi, Deputy Town Supervisor, and the lawyer for the town, Benjamin Gailey, insisted that the contract was only referenced as it is now. They were clear that no new negotiations were discussed in any manner.

Brenda closed the matter down by stating that the union's lawyer can meet with the town's lawyer to discuss the contract, but no contract negotiations were to be discussed during the town meeting.

Hufcut also expressed concerns about the snow removal contract, bringing up the counterpoint op-ed written by Edward McAndrew, Division of Public Works Commissioner, which appeared in the September 17 edition of the Sullivan County Democrat.

McAndrew's letter aimed to clear up any misreporting and misinformation about the snow removal contract. Hufcut wanted to discuss what the board has said to bring about the op-ed, but Giraldi refused. She repeatedly stated that they would not discuss the snow removal contract any further. “It's over,” she stated.

In other news, JoAnn Salamone's retirement as Highway Clerk and Deputy Superintendent was announced. Effective at the end of November 2019, Salamone will be ending her thirty-one-year career with the Mamakating Highway Department. Resident Chris Leser remarked, “She will be very hard to replace.”

She received a standing ovation from the board and residents at the meeting to recognize her dedication and hard work for the town of Mamakating.

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