From Amie Acton, 7/24/21
The July 22nd board meeting, held in the mini theater at the Allegany County Fair, was both a regular meeting in operations and a public lesson in municipal government. The beginning of the meeting was dedicated to introducing both board members and attending county employees to the audience, sprinkled throughout with praise and gratitude for their work by Chairman Crandall (1). Also present were elected officials State Senator George Borello, State Assemblyman Joe Giglio, and a representative from Congressman Tom Reed’s office.
Awards and recognitions were given to Tyler Shaw, US Army Captain and current County Health Director, Karen Tripp, Allegany County Fair President, Norine Ryan, in memory of whom this year’s fair was dedicated, Morgan Holcomb, a 13 year-old 4Her from Friendship, who wrote on why the fair is important to her, members of Angelica Boy Scout Troop 736 Noah Ford, Jacob Bliss, and Jacob White, who served as color guard for the meeting, and Caitlin Stewart, who was pleasantly surprised to receive recognition for her many achievements in 4H.
Visiting elected officials spoke and State Senator George Borello was the first to address the audience. Speaking energetically, the Senator focused on the importance of agriculture in Allegany County, both historically and today. His brief speech, however, leaned into “culture wars” topics of tradition and respect then veered headlong into socialism and American Exceptionalism before concluding.
The mic was then turned over to State Assemblyman Joe Giglio who began by sharing his admiration for the natural beauty of Allegany County. He went on to speak on coming “through the darkness” that was the Year of COVID and continuing to focus on working for the people of the district. Giglio praised the kids in groups like 4H and Boy Scouts who will go on to become the future of our communities, thanked people for allowing him to serve on their behalf, and ceded the stage with no mention of national politics.
Lee James, Town Supervisor in Cuba, spoke on behalf of Congressman Tom Reed, who will be retiring at the end of his term because of allegations of sexual misconduct. She praised the fair board for getting this year’s fair off the ground in 59 days, thanked the community on Reed’s behalf for allowing him to serve, and shared Reed’s appreciation for constituent input and participation in government.
From there the board moved on to the regular business of voting on resolutions brought forth by various committees, covered in past articles. During the presentation of resolutions from the Human Services Committee, Committee Chair Hopkins (1) made statements to clarify sources of and need for monies being accepted and re-appropriated. County Administrator Knapp made additional statements to clarify for the audience that this process was going quickly and, in general, without discussion, because they’d already been presented and accepted in one or more committees as appropriate, not from a lack of work or serious consideration by legislators. This trend continued as other legislators provided context to resolutions as they were coming up for vote. It was a long list and all resolutions were passed.
Total bills for the month were $2,972,734.99; the board unanimously voted to pay the bills then adjourned.
