One year ago, Bethlehem Supervisor Sam Messina was standing before a packed Town Hall auditorium to deliver his vision for his first term in office. This Wednesday at his second State of the Town address, he reflected on what has been done halfway through that term, what remains to be accomplished and how to best plot a course to the future.
He once again grasped the compass that sits in his office, the same one he referenced when he was sworn in to office. Like at his inauguration, Messina said the task ahead is one he will not tackle alone.
The compass is still there. I use it as my guide, he said. `My responsibilities here are more to use the powers of the board of elected officials, staff and town volunteers to get where we need to go. The power is not in the supervisor.`
After a busy year, Messina had plenty to talk about when it came to looking back at 2010, which saw the implementation of several long-discussed ideas, including the passage of a law mandating the release of Town Board meeting agenda attachments, approval on a slew of housing projects and the opening up of the Clapper Road Water Treatment Plant to service more residential customers, the last of which Messina characterized as the most important town government action of the year.
`It made us more independent…it showed the businesses in our town we’re concerned about our costs…and more than anything else, to me, it showed me that our Town Board had the courage to do what was right,` Messina said.
Last year also saw what most town leaders said was the most difficult budget process in recent memory. The Town Board was often at odds with Messina when it came to how finances should be handled, but they came to an agreement on the budget just days before adoption was scheduled.
In his State of the Town address, Messina said instances of disagreement ` of which there were many in the early part of the year ` were not bad things.
`We may disagree, but I think we’re doing what’s best for the town, and that’s what’s important,` he said.
Though Messina took the time to reflect on the past year, he also outlined some things he’d like to see accomplished in the next 12 months.
Perhaps topping that agenda is making some choices and commitments on the many studies, initiatives and improvements the town has started but not completed. These include an open space preservation plan, the Delaware Avenue Enhancement Plan Study and examinations into finding efficiencies in town government., to name just a few.
Messina said he’d like to see the Town Board make decisions on these points in coming weeks.
`We haven’t set enough priorities. We haven’t set what really must go forward and what can wait a while,` he said.
Messina also said the town should examine ways to open up at least part of the county Rail Trail, examine terms lengths for some officers and think about setting up tobacco-free zones in town parks.
One big-picture topic Messina had one year ago vowed to tackle is moving the town’s 2020 plan forward. A committee has since reformed to push the goals of that study forward, and Messina said he hopes an action plan will be moved forward in 2011.
In addition to members of the Town Board, town staff and Bethlehem residents, local legislators were in attendance at the address, including newly-minted Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, Albany County Executive Michael Breslin, Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners and Albany County Legislator Richard Mendick.“