Former official appointed to seat after Kohout takes public works post
A familiar face has returned to the Scotia Village Board of Trustees after a sitting board member was hired to lead the Public Works Department.
Andrew Kohout was selected to be the village’s new public works superintendent after a vacancy was created when the village removed Jeffrey Stuart at the beginning of the year after a one-year probationary period. Kohout, a Democrat is leaving his trustee position, which he has held for just over two years. Republican Thomas Neals was selected by Democrat Mayor Kris Kastberg to fill the vacancy until the upcoming November election. Neals lost reelection in 2010 by 36 votes.
It was an usual situation, but those things happen, said Kastberg about the recent hire and appointment. `I knew that was going to be sticky for me. [Kohout] didn’t express an interest in the position until we decided to look for another candidate.`
Kastberg has authority to make an appointment to the board of trustees once a vacancy is created, and, he said, party affiliation wasn’t going to affect his decision. Neals was the board’s police department liaison until he lost the election and Kohout took over the duties. With talks of police consolidation or enhanced shared services between the village and the Town of Glenville, Neals is in a good position with his established understanding of the department.
`You can’t really afford partisan politics in the village,` said Kastberg. `We are right in the middle of building our budget for this coming year to get him back on board, we got somebody that was up to speed and ready to go and ready to contribute, so that was kind of a no-brainer.`
Neals agreed politics doesn’t play a big role in the village and said he is excited to rejoin the board.
`We leave our politics out by the sidewalk,` said Neals. `Whatever party sits on the board, we are there to represent the people. The citizens expect you to do your best while you are sitting there,` said Neals. `We have a very good working relationship, and that may be the reason why I was selected to come back on the board.`
Since talks restarted between police departments after Neals left the board, he said the mayor briefed him on the situation recently, and he’ll have his first meeting it the morning of Wednesday, March 9. Neals said costs keep rising for municipalities, and he welcomed the discussion between the town and village.
Kohout also said Neals was a `good fit` for the village, and because he only lost the 2010 election by a small margin of votes, it was clear residents support him.
`It just seemed to be the obvious choice. [Neals] was only two and a half months removed from the board when he lost the election in November. There was no downtime really in having him back,` said Kohout.
Kohout said he would’ve stayed on the board for another two years, but he saw the opportunity and thought it would be a chance for him to do even more for the village. He left his previously employed position as an architect to hold the position with a $55,000-a-year salary.
`I am devoted to the village, I live in the village. I think it is important that our employees had a devotion to the village, and I think they saw that in me,` said Kohout.
There were a total of 10 people that expressed interest in the position during the week and a half the village took resumes, with the opening advertised in local newspapers, said Kastberg. After receiving the applicants there were four selected to meet the qualifications, but one had already accepted another job. A committee consisting of two trustees, the former public works superintendent Tom Cushing and the parks and recreation superintendent James Marx interviewed the three remaining candidates. Kastberg said he kept himself out of the hiring process.
`In a small village like this, it is unlikely you would interview people you don’t know,` said Kastberg.
Kohout said he knows some people might feel the supervisor job was some sort of a handout or he was given favoritism in the hiring process, but he said that isn’t the case. All he has heard so far is positives from people about his recent appointment.
`I was never given any indication that I was a favorite or anything like that. I feel my chances were as good as anyone else’s,` he said. `I really took myself out of anything to do with this.`
As of the morning of Wednesday, March 9, the village’s website has been updated with Neals’ picture and name on the Board of Trustees section with Kohout’s picture removed. Also, Neals’ name has been added to the village’s website contact information section and Kohout’s removed. What has yet to be changed on the website is under the contact information section Jeffrey Stuart is still listed as the public works superintendent and he is still listed similarly on the department’s section, with Kohout’s name still missing from both.“
