Parsons Settling Into Role as Town Supervisor

LEWISBORO, N.Y. – Newly elected Supervisor Peter Parsons has only been on the job for barely three weeks, but he’s already discovering what being a supervisor is all about.

“Ninety percent of this job is administration for the small things that I hope will eventually help people,” he said.

As an example, Parsons cited his Friday morning meeting with County Legislator Peter Harckham (D/Katonah) to discuss county-aided training for ambulance corps volunteers. He is also trying to expedite the town’s move to its new offices at Orchard Square in Cross River by working with its property management team. And he wants to consult with Pound Ridge Supervisor Gary Warshauer about large trucks that travel on Lake Kitchawan Road.

“If a driver is driving a tractor trailer or a big beverage truck and using a GPS, the GPS will send them down Lake Kitchawan Road,” he explained. “Everyone knows you shouldn’t drive a big truck down there; it will cause chaos, maybe take out fences and some mailboxes.”

Parsons wants to place signs at each end of Lake Kitchawan Road that will warn off truck drivers, but one end of the road is in Pound Ridge, so he needs Warshauer’s help.

“Are all these things big deals? No, but they will help people,” he said. “I am discovering if you work hard, these are some of things that you can get done.”

Parsons also wants to amend a local law that calls for the speed limit on dirt roads to be raised from 25 mph to 30 mph if the road gets paved.

“Again, is it a big deal? Not really,” he said. “But hopefully it would prevent some accidents.”

Parsons said that managing the town’s finances is a given for the job of supervisor. But he said if he can do that while taking care of the minutia, he’ll then be able to tackle some of the larger priorities he’s set for his administration. He’s laid out five goals:

• Help with the physical expansion of the town library.
• Resolve the issue between the Leon Levy Preserve and the Wolf Conservation Center so that the WCC can move forward with its plans for expansion. The Wolf Center lost a lawsuit last summer, which squashed its plan to create a new habitat. “I want to try and move forward from the disagreement so both facilities can blossom,” Parsons said.
• Create a more open and accessible government by providing the public and the town board with more information on finances on a regular basis.
• Reform the enforcement methodology of wetland laws to make it friendlier for homeowners who wish to undertake small projects.
• Set long-term goals for how the town will maintain its roads, facilities and infrastructure, such as what it will do with its Onatru building when the staff moves to Orchard Square and where the Parks and Rec Department should be located. He would also like to look at the possibility of creating a community center.

“I’ve only been on the job for 19 days and a week of that was spent in Albany taking classes,” Parsons said. “It’s not been very much time so, yes, there’s still a lot to learn.”

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