WILLIAMSBURG — At the Annual Town Election on Monday, May 7, residents will have the opportunity to choose between two people to represent them on the Select Board, the incumbent William Sayre, of 51 Conway Road, and challenger Richard Kisoski, of 12 Cole Road.
Elected in 2015 in a special election to fill the remaining term of Paul Dunphy, who resigned his position due to health reasons, Sayre is currently the Chairman of the Select Board.
A 29-year resident of Williamsburg, Sayre has also served on a variety of boards and committees over the years beginning 1992, including the Finance Committee, the School Building Committee, the Public Safety Complex Committee, the Capital Planning Committee, the Fire Chief Search Committee, the Police Chief Screening and Search Committee and the Building Needs Committee.
Kisloski is a retired civil engineer and has lived in town for 46 years. He is the chairman of the Capital Planning Committee and serves on the Finance Committee, Williamsburg Trust Fund and Cemetery Commission. He also served four years as a member of the Williamsburg Public Safety Complex Committee.
Sayre says that he has enjoyed his work on the Select Board and believes that he and fellow board members Dave Mathers and Denise Banister, together with Town Administrator Charlene Nardi, have been working together diligently and efficiently on day to day issues and large projects, while trying to keep an eye on the town’s tax rate.
“Taxes are higher than I would like them to be,” Sayre said. “It is an issue that I think about all the time and is constantly discussed at Select Board meetings,”
He noted that the town now has an improved budget tool put together by Finance Committee co-chair Paul Wetzel, designed to help project the tax rate based on a variety of proposed projects and scenarios.
“This gives us a better way of picking and choosing projects by giving us a better perspective on where our taxes are headed, and how much money we can spend to do those projects.”
Sayre said that the biggest issue that the town is currently facing is a proposed $2.5 million Public Safety Complex.
At present, an Owners Project Manager Steering Committee has been created to hire a project manager who will provide all pre-design services through the development of a bid package for a designer for the complex.
Where the complex will be built is still under discussion, and the $2.5 million allotted for the project does not include additional land acquisition if necessary.
Both men agree that the proposed safety complex, a proposal to build the Mill River Greenway, and how best to utilize or re-purpose pubic buildings are important issues facing Williamsburg.
Sayre believes that his dedication to the town and his long time experience in town government provides him with what it takes to help in making crucial decisions on necessary projects and goals as the town moves forward to a sustainable future.
“I believe in citizen participation, listening, and dedication,” he said. “I also really enjoy being of service to others; I find it very inspirational.”
Kisolski says that he is running for a seat on the Select Board to help the town make better choices in how critical tax dollars are spent.
He said he believes the town is constantly asking voters to approve big-ticket items without giving people adequate information to make informed decisions. This, he says, can result in putting too much strain on the town’s finances and raise property taxes at an unacceptable rate.
“We can’t just keep buying everything that people want to have in town, there is only so much we can afford,” he said. “We have to separate the vital needs of the town from all the things that people want for the town.”
Kisloski says that his service to the town over the past few years has inspired him to “mitigate the ever increasing property taxes” and to help run the town like a business in order to bring about fiscal well-being.
This is not the first time that Sayre and Kisloski have vied for a seat on the Select Board. The 2015 special election was a three-way race in which Sayre garnered 273 votes, while opponent Robert Parker received 51 and Kisloski received 33.
“I ran three years ago but I didn’t spend much time trying to get elected,” “This year I am taking it much more seriously,” Kisloski said.
Voting will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Anne T. Dunphy School.
The following candidates are running unopposed
Denise Banister, 54 Old Goshen Road, Assessor, three-year term; Gordon Luce, 26 North Farms Road, Board of Health, three-year term; Joan Coryat, 109 Nash Hill Road, Board of Library Trustees, three-year term; Edward O’Neil, 91 Chesterfield Road, Board of Library Trustees, three-year term; Eric Cerreta, 157 Main St., Elector Oliver Smith Will, one-year term; Eric Cerreta, 157 Main St., Finance Committee, three-year term; Charles Dudek, 12 Old Goshen Road, Finance Committee, three-year term; Cynthia Kassell, 46 Hyde Hill Road, Local School Committee, three-year term; Paul Rudof, 106 Nash Hill Road, Moderator, one-year term; Colin Black, 119 Nash Hill Road, Recreation Commission, three-year term; Paul Kennedy, 10B Eastern Ave., Regional School Committee, three-year term; Eric Weber, 107 Petticoat Hill Road, Trust Fund Cemetery Commission, three-year term; William Turner, 21 Lawton Hill Road, Water and Sewer Commission, three-year term.