ELDRED, NY — Supervisor John Pizzolato said he’ll be enforcing rules of decorum in town board meetings from now on.

He showed  off a gold gavel, giving it a slam. “I’ll use it,” he said at  Highland’s August 13 meeting.

Another addition was the Sullivan County Sheriff’s deputy on guard in the doorway.

Pizzolato then listed the new town board’s accomplishments since taking office on January 1— reestablishing St. Patrick’s Day traditions, changing a repurchasing program “to get the safest vehicles on the road,” holding public meetings on the comprehensive plan, finalizing a contract with the highway department, and canceling unneeded policy coverage. “Whether you agree with our policies or not, we are working very hard,” he said.

He expressed disappointment in the behavior of “a small divisive bit” and the “downright pathetic vitriol filled with baseless accusations that reflect an overall lack of decency and truth.”

“Your negativity and hatred have surpassed the love for this town,” he said, to loud applause from the audience. 

During a conversation about fees, board member Jim Akt brought up a letter related to planning board business “left in his mailbox.” Pizzolato interrupted him: “You’re not going to derail the meeting right now with an anonymous letter.” Akt continued to discuss the letter while Pizzolato made more attempts to cut him off, saying, “Thank you very much, Jim.”

“Is this a dictatorship?” someone in the audience called out.

Someone else said, “No, it’s an orderly meeting.”

The supervisor banged his gavel again. The meeting resumed. 

Mel Carney, the mother of board member Kaitlin Haas, brought up multiple concerns about the supervisor and town attorney related to budget line items, highway bonds—and code violations. 

‘Warring parties’

Outstanding code violations—including Pizzolato’s own, for his restaurant in Barryville, the Oasis—are fueling a heated debate that started a month earlier.

At Highland's July meeting, town board member Laura Burrell, a member of the building and code committee, shared a list of all the open code violations in town. The committee is working with code enforcement officers to “close out and update” these violations, she said.

Burrell said the list is not totally accurate. Some of the listed violations are from “years prior and have been completed and remedied.” The next report will be more accurate, when the database is cleaned up, she said.

The committee is also looking at allowing applications to be uploaded online to reduce the number of planning and zoning board meetings an applicant must attend, and to allow the public to view applications before meetings.

Burrell said the committee also wants to bring application fees into line with the true cost of reviewing them, to which the town board agreed.

Akt began the July meeting by asking why there were so many outstanding violations in town, some going back to 2021. The town attorney, Steven Mogel, said there are all sorts of reasons for why this happens. It’s not necessarily a “bad thing” for code enforcers to work with property owners to remedy problems, he said, since seeking solutions through the courts can be time-consuming and expensive.

“I have to seek an injunction, get a temporary restraining order, close the property down, and then have the people subjected to criminal contempt if they are violent,” Mogel said. “The problem with doing that is that’s an expensive and difficult process.”

Akt continued to ask Mogel about business owners in violation. Mogel said he wasn’t able to give legal advice without first having all the information he needed about a case.

Pizzolato attempted to cut off Akt’s line of questioning. The two started going back and forth, raising their voices.

Audience members chimed in. The room erupted in yelling.

“I’m here as an attorney,” Mogel said. “I’m not a referee. I’m not here to separate warring parties.”

He continued, “Everyone, are we going to have a town meeting here? Are we going to proceed?”

He stood up and gathered his things, preparing to leave.

The town clerk, Sue Hoffman, stood up.

“We are not [going to continue] because the town clerk is leaving, and this meeting needs to be adjourned,” Hoffman said. 

She said she'd refereed a combative workshop meeting the week before. “I’m not doing it again,” she said. “I’m embarrassing myself by leaving my job, but I can’t do this again.”

Mogel sat down. Hoffman left. Pizzolato continued the meeting.

Hoffman returned minutes later, apologizing for her exit.

The meeting resumed.

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