Candidacy
Announcement
Blackman,
Crane and Kristansen for Village Board
Brockport Mayor Margay
Blackman and Trustees Annie Crane and Katherine Kristansen announced this week
their candidacies for re-election in the June 20, 2017 village election. They
are running on the Revitalize Brockport ticket.
The three strongly believe that the Village is “on the right track,” and they pride themselves on their
excellent working relationships with Department heads and Village Hall
staff. “Good relations with the town,
the college, village businesses, and the residents are essential to a vibrant,
healthy village, and we’ve made them happen.”
As members of a productive and progressive village board, Blackman,
Crane, and Kristansen are anxious to continue to utilize their skills and
energy for the betterment of Brockport.
They emphasized success in several areas:
First: Fiscal Responsibility
Most significantly by staying under the tax cap for three years,
while making essential DPW equipment purchases, and police and code enforcement
hires.
Additional projects already underway and/or in the planning stage
that will benefit taxpayers include:
Sidewalk infrastructure replacements over several years.
A money saving streetlight buyback project.
A solar farm (at no taxpayer expense) will save $1.2 million over
25 years.
Steps taken to becoming a “clean energy” sustainable community
that will open up other municipal funding opportunities.
Second: Community Safety
The police force is now up to 15 full-time officers allowing for
regular surveillance of streets, parks, and the downtown business district,
with back-up from Monroe County Sheriffs and University Police when needed and
saving overtime expense.
Strengthening code enforcement in the village with a new and
enlarged staff has brought Certificate of Occupancies, fire inspections, and
350 of the 372 rental registrations up to date (those outstanding are in
court). The codes office has additionally made a concerted effort to improve
exterior property maintenance throughout the village.
The board continues to investigate the use of strong village codes
to effectively deal with public safety issues and is exploring a system of
points and penalties to improve neighborhood quality of life.
Third: Intergovernmental Relations
Sharing services with area towns and villages and participating in
the selection of a new town/village assessor have been beneficial to the
Village.
Reviving the Town/Gown (community/college) Committee has improved
communication with the college and led to a grant partnership with the college
and town of Sweden to revitalize our shared canal front. This project will
allow the village to undertake a much-needed comprehensive plan leading to
better control of development within the Village.
The mayor has been working with Senator Ortt to secure funding for
Brockport under proposed legislation that would provide
state aid to municipalities that host a residential SUNY institution to offset
public safety costs and lower the tax levy.
Fourth: Quality of Life
Parks, Art & Special Events, while taking a back seat to
public safety and infrastructure, are important to make our village an
attractive place for people to live, shop, and visit. Grants have fully funded
three public murals. A successful Canal opening celebration is in its 5th
year. Public/private partnerships have improved our playgrounds, parks, and
provided plantings in the downtown business district.
In Summation:
The Revitalize Brockport candidates are committed to working for
village and community residents by meeting, listening, and talking with
them. “We look forward,” they said, “to visiting neighborhoods—going door-to-door in preparation for
the June election and for the next four years on the Village Board.”
