TOWN OF HIGHLAND, NY — Highland resident Peter Kolesar is exhorting Highland residents to sign a petition for a permissive referendum—a petition that requires a public vote to be held—regarding the Highland Town Board’s decision on January 14 to purchase the building at 564 State Rte. 55, adjacent to the town hall, for parking.

In a letter to the editor dated January 25, Kolesar and fellow residents object to the purchase and “are requesting that it be submitted as a referendum vote to the qualified electors of the district affected, for their approval or disapproval,” the letter states. See full letter on page 6.

The letter, emailed to the River Reporter, says the petition is available for signature at Irene’s Diner, 555 Route 55 in Eldred.

Highland’s town attorney, Javid Afzali, at the January 7 public hearing on the purchase, outlined the option of a permissive referendum, i.e. a process by which the public can petition the town board to hold a public vote on certain matters. 

Now that the board has voted on the purchase of the property, the Highland electorate has the ability to trigger such a vote if five percent or more of the town’s registered voters sign a petition for the action within 30 days of the vote to purchase. If a petition is successful, the purchase will be put to a special referendum in the town. The board is then required to follow the outcome of the vote. The ability to petition for a referendum is part of New York State town law.

Kolesar’s letter deems the board’s proposal of the purchase as “imprudent and wasteful,” “beyond the property’s true value” for the intended use of town parking outlined by the board. (see sidebar).

Highland supervisor John Pizzolato obtained a copy of Kolesar’s emailed letter, and wrote him a response that he copied to the River Reporter. In it, the supervisor urged Kolesar to “please be a part of the dialogue,” and “come to a meeting.” The response from the supervisor will be printed in next week’s edition of the paper.

Pizzolato defended the “current and newest members” of the board as “hardworking, committed to working with everyone to achieve our common goals, seize opportunities, and maintain the things we all love about living here.”

According to Sullivan County property records, the property was assessed at $29,000 in 2023 and 2024.

The property was last sold in July 2024 to the current owner, Sal Martornano, for $27,500, according to Sullivan County sale records.

Boller Properties listed the property at $99,000 on real estate site One Key in late November 2024.

In the supervisor’s response to Kolesar’s letter he also wrote, “Now to address the actual facts of the property.... It was appraised at $85,000 this month. Our accepted bid of $78,000 is solely to be paid for in grant funding that needed to be designated by the end of 2024. Our first bid of $60,000 was rejected by the owner and countered at $89,000.”

At the January 14 meeting, Pizzolato said the appraisal of $85,000 was by an independent assessor, Bob Buckles, with Capital Appraisal Group. Afzali said the reason the town should move forward on the purchase of the property now is because it is currently available with a purchase price within the town budget. “We don’t know if it’s sold if it’s ever going to be available, or at what cost,” he said.

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