McGrath
KILLINGTON — A familiar contest will unfold
on Town Meeting Day in Killington, where incumbent Select Board
Chairwoman Patty McGrath will face challenger Jim Haff — the former
selectman she ousted from office in 2013.
McGrath, 55, co-owner of the Inn at Long Trail, said the main difference between Haff and herself was his focus on the “nuts and bolts” of running a municipality. A Select Board needs to look at a bigger picture, she said.
“I think that any municipality that’s not paying attention to its economy — no matter how well you run your municipality — is not going to do well,” she said.
But McGrath is also positioning herself as the even-keeled candidate.
She said Monday she was running again in part “because I’ve done a solid job keeping things calm in the town” — an echo of her plea for civility on the Select Board in her 2013 race against Haff, an outspoken and sometimes controversial selectman.
McGrath said she considered building a new fire station as the “most pressing” priority for the town, but also counted re-doing the pool and recreation facility, beautification, affordable housing, and new mountain biking trails as priorities.
This is Haff’s fifth select board race. He ran and lost to then-incumbent Select Board member Mike Miller in 2008, but ousted incumbent Jim Blackman in 2010. He served for a three-year term, and lost to McGrath in 2013. He ran again against incumbent Chris Bianchi in 2015 but lost by a narrow margin.
The co-owner of the Butternut Inn and Pancake House, Haff, 55, thinks the Select Board is “kicking the can down the road” when it comes to long-term planning and not telling taxpayers the full picture.
“I just think that the board is misappropriating funds and I think the board is not taking care our existing infrastructure,” he said.
Haff said the town isn’t planning financially for a new irrigation system the Green Mountain National Golf Course will soon need, or the pool it will have to replace, all within 10 years. He also alleges the town may have illegally paid back its Tropical Storm Irene debts.
“Do I believe the town is in dire financial straits? No. Do I believe that the town is short ($1 million or $1.2 million)? Yes,” he said.
He concedes Killington’s economy has improved in recent years — but doesn’t think the Select Board can claim credit. It’s mostly the Powdr Corp.-owned Killington Resort’s doing, he said.
“The resort is doing its job. Why can’t the town do its job and take care of its existing infrastructure?” he said.
This is McGrath’s third Select Board race. Before winning her seat from Haff in 2013, she ran against then incumbent Selectman Bernie Rome in 2011, losing by just three votes.
lola.duffort @rutlandherald.com
McGrath, 55, co-owner of the Inn at Long Trail, said the main difference between Haff and herself was his focus on the “nuts and bolts” of running a municipality. A Select Board needs to look at a bigger picture, she said.
“I think that any municipality that’s not paying attention to its economy — no matter how well you run your municipality — is not going to do well,” she said.
But McGrath is also positioning herself as the even-keeled candidate.
She said Monday she was running again in part “because I’ve done a solid job keeping things calm in the town” — an echo of her plea for civility on the Select Board in her 2013 race against Haff, an outspoken and sometimes controversial selectman.
McGrath said she considered building a new fire station as the “most pressing” priority for the town, but also counted re-doing the pool and recreation facility, beautification, affordable housing, and new mountain biking trails as priorities.
This is Haff’s fifth select board race. He ran and lost to then-incumbent Select Board member Mike Miller in 2008, but ousted incumbent Jim Blackman in 2010. He served for a three-year term, and lost to McGrath in 2013. He ran again against incumbent Chris Bianchi in 2015 but lost by a narrow margin.
The co-owner of the Butternut Inn and Pancake House, Haff, 55, thinks the Select Board is “kicking the can down the road” when it comes to long-term planning and not telling taxpayers the full picture.
“I just think that the board is misappropriating funds and I think the board is not taking care our existing infrastructure,” he said.
Haff said the town isn’t planning financially for a new irrigation system the Green Mountain National Golf Course will soon need, or the pool it will have to replace, all within 10 years. He also alleges the town may have illegally paid back its Tropical Storm Irene debts.
“Do I believe the town is in dire financial straits? No. Do I believe that the town is short ($1 million or $1.2 million)? Yes,” he said.
He concedes Killington’s economy has improved in recent years — but doesn’t think the Select Board can claim credit. It’s mostly the Powdr Corp.-owned Killington Resort’s doing, he said.
“The resort is doing its job. Why can’t the town do its job and take care of its existing infrastructure?” he said.
This is McGrath’s third Select Board race. Before winning her seat from Haff in 2013, she ran against then incumbent Selectman Bernie Rome in 2011, losing by just three votes.
lola.duffort @rutlandherald.com
Comment: What the above report fails to relate is Haff's loss against McGrath was as narrow as his loss to Bianchi, only about twenty votes. Jim Haff has a lot of support in town and word is people are disenchanted with the current Select Board and its priority of spending on so called Economic Development at the expense of the town's infrastructure.
The futility of the town's economic development spending came to the fore this summer. After the Resort added their summer menu of attractions local businesses exclaimed they had the best summer in years.
The inefficacy of continued large scale expenditures of hundreds of thousands on economic development, while experience has shown that it is the Resort's efforts which actually make the difference in the town's economy, underscores the need for a change of direction in the town's government.
If the town government had its priorities straight and set out to build a new firehouse around 10 years ago when they decided to pursue economic development, a new firehouse would have already been paid for and then some.
If the town government had its priorities straight and set out to build a new firehouse around 10 years ago when they decided to pursue economic development, a new firehouse would have already been paid for and then some.
Vito
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