Residents question Nisky Town Board over program funding
Finding a seat during the recent Niskayuna Town Board meeting wasn’t easy, as senior residents filled the room and shared concerns about the future of the town’s senior program.
During the board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, seniors shared their concerns for what they heard was going to happen to the town senior center and programs. While seniors were told they would receive a program bus, which was requested at a previous board meeting, the bus wasn’t there main concern anymore.
Before residents spoke at the meeting, Supervisor Joe Landry wanted to provide a summary on budget initiatives for senior residents. He said there are two main plans that include adding staff to the senior center and purchasing the requested bus. Money for the bus was placed in the 2011 tentative budget. Donated money accounts for $9,495, with the town’s plan to bond the rest. Also, an additional $32,000 for staff at the senior center, Landry said, was not intended to have any impact on the current programming and staff.
`I don’t know where the rumors are started, or what the rumors are,` said Landry after the meeting. `I’m trying to set the record straight since I have set my budget out.`
Margaret Blechienger spoke on behalf of residents that frequent the senior center and said they were concerned about the possibility of some positions being eliminated. She frequently asked board members questions during privilege of the floor, which were often answered, about what she had heard from seniors.
`I walked into the community center upstairs to play bridge and everybody was crying and everybody was upset,` said Blechienger. `Sue Leonard was informed that her job would end in the December of this year, 2010. As far as I know nothing was in writing and still isn’t and Jonathan McKinney resigned as a committee person to the seniors and they were extremely upset.`
Councilman McKinney confirmed he had resigned as the chairman of the Senior Committee, because he had been excluded from plans surrounding the development of the senior center.
McKinney said he had received a call from Landry in which he told him he wanted to have a meeting with him to discuss the future of the senior center.
McKinney provided
The Spotlight
with his resignation e-mail from the committee, which he sent on Monday, Oct. 4, to Landry and Councilwomen Denise Murphy McGraw and Liz Kasper.
`You executed the first part of your plan last week, informing the Senior staff that they were to be let go or moved to another location, without a word to the Senior population we serve,` said McKinney in the e-mail. `Predictably, I’m taking the heat today and there is a misconception spreading throughout the Niskayuna Senior community that as Chairman of the Senior committee, I am the one responsible for this chaos.`
McKinney did also confirm he didn’t know of anything being in writing about the decisions made towards staffing, but he did say they had occurred and Susan Leonard was told she would be fired.
Landry said Susan Leonard was never told she would be fired from her position and he thought seniors were probably upset when Blechienger mentioned it because of the changes that were happening.
`I got elected to serve the people,` said McKinney. `All the seniors that you saw in there I played with their kids when I was growing up, my duty is to them and not to get reelected.`
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