League of Women Voters' Campaign Forum: Commissioner of Pubic Works
In a half-hour debate, incumbent Republican Anthony "Skip" Scirocco talked about his record as commissioner of public works. Challenger Dominique Yermelov highlighted what she would change.
The League of Women Voters' candidate forum on the race between Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of the Department of Public Works was largely cordial, with both incumbent Anthony "Skip" Scirocco on the Republican and Conservative lines, and challenger Domenique Yermolayev on the Democratic and Functional party lines, often saying that the other was correct, but then expanding with their own ideas.
Scirocco highlighted that he is a lifelong resident of Saratoga Springs and that his priorities originally were teamwork, open space and preservation to which he has added infrastructure.
Yermolayev referred to her own experience as a project manager and to her platform on efficiency, transparency and communication.
The LWV holds the debates online without an audience. It was held Oct. 7. The candidates faced nine questions.
[Find the full video of the debate here.]
What follows are some key answers, edited for length and to try and show the differences between candidate responses. [Editor's note: an ellipsis (...) indicates words removed from an otherwise direct quote. We often remove “ums” and “ahs," "you knows" and repeated words without using the ellipsis.]
The candidates are organized by order of response:
What are your goals for the department over the next two years?
Scirocco: “It's imperative to keep...the city vibrant through these challenging times. Apparently working with the business community, making sure that they have what they need. It's important that we work with the different organizations, making sure that they have what they need, working with the City Council and you know cooperatively, making sure that all our facilities are in order.”
Yermolayev: “I have three areas that I want to focus on in the next two years, specifically, the first one is finding a modern digital communications tool for constituents and the DPW to work together to respond to issues, similar to a ticket-based system that most people are already using. We actually already have the technology in place in City Hall we just don't implement it well...I would like to focus on is improving our scheduled services, such as leaf pick up and hydro blow out. And updating our sidewalks legislation. There's a lot of concerns as our city continues to grow, about the piecemeal nature of sidewalks."
How do you plan to listen to residents, transmit information to the public and increase transparency?
Scirocco: “I take pride in the way we operate the Department of Public Works…Right now we're working on...an online payment portal for water and sewer customers to pay their bills, and they can do it, either through email or online. It would help them with information like water main breaks, hydro flushing, you know, and upgrades in that respect.”
Yermolayev: “We already have the technology in place in the city. We just need to use it better. My background in enterprise resource planning and logistics means I know how to manage information and the flow of it. One of the things I do want to bring back in addition to this online system is the annual report. DPW has not published an annual report since 2017 and while they do really wonderful work every year,...I think the annual report really shows the breadth of the effort of the department, and we need to continue to show the great work that people who work in the DPW department do."
A Civilian Review Board, CRB, was recommended for adoption by the Police Reform Task Force appointed by Saratoga Springs City Council. Do you support the creation and funding of a CRB?
Yermolayev: “I am...generally concerned about the creation of the CRB because as it's posted today [it is] possible to be easily swayed by future governments. If the plan were to evolve such that the CRB could actually stay independent of future commissions then I would definitely support it.”
Scirocco: “Yes I do support it...I think it could be a good liaison between the police and the citizens in the city...It could work in favor of police...[Also,] They could be more accountable...If there is some frivolous type of of complaint, they can just kind of investigate it and [it will] go away as versus keep festering...and making things worse.”
What do you see as the role of the Department of Public Works in creating a healthy and sustainable environment for residents?
Scirocco: “Department of public works on a daily basis is, you know, is out there. We're providing enhancements to the environment. And for instance planting trees...We run a compost site. There's a...number of things that we do.”
Yermolayev: “We need to start creating systems that are going to outlive us instead of fixing something on a five or 10 year timeframe. We need to start looking at the hundred year flood plan, especially in the era of climate change. One of the things I would like to focus on if elected is finding land acquisition opportunities in the Greenbelt, whether that is through the city or through setting up a separate Land Trust so that we can [buy] at-risk properties and make sure that they're endowed for future generations.”
Scirocco, in response: “Yes, that's a great answer. And I agree the city now has a open space committee that currently already does that. They look into areas that you know the city can purchase. And we had a $5 million open space grant. We...purchased the Waterfront Park. We purchased some property out off of Crescent Street on both ends at Crescent...We're...constantly looking at properties to buy. We've purchased some property around Loughberry Lake to protect the lake.”
Yermolayev, in response: “Just to clarify my plan a little more: I actually want to implement a Land Trust, so not that the city owns and manages lands that in future political persuasions can be sold off, but to find a way to keep certain lands on the city forever wild through endowment.”
Should you speak to residents concerned about lead and safe drinking water? Do you have a plan to address these concerns?
Yermolayev: “I've been talking to a lot of people about lead in the water, what we've recommended to residents so that we can get a clear picture of what's going on in Saratoga is that they order the free...lead water test from the...state of New York. I think one of the issues in Saratoga is that the lead is caused by certain development and soldering... I don't know because...it is not published online...where the lead problems exist so if we can get more people to order a lot of water tests, and we can create a clear map of an issue whether it's an individual residence, neighborhood or specific district, we’ll be able to better address it in the future."
Scirocco: "You can you can get a test kit to test in your own house for for lead....We've made all the requirements for DOH requirements as far as what we're putting out of the water treatment plant. The lead, we found out is coming from, like old solder, old pipes, in your house, and it obviously gets into your system."