Trustee Randy Whitestone Looks Forward to Addressing Challenges in his Second Term

When residents stop Village Trustee Randall Whitestone to share a concern or offer up a complaint, what is on their minds? We asked Whitestone what he hears from his neighbors and he explained, “People are around more, they notice their surroundings and want peace and enjoyment. Quality of life comments are big: people are talking about road conditions, pathways, pedestrian safety and flooding. With climate change we will face that even more. They also talk about the conditions of the fields, and noise and light pollution from outdoor lighting installed by neighbors.”

Fortunately for Scarsdale, Whitestone is currently serving his first two-year term as a Village Trustee and heads the “Quality of Life” Pillar of the strategic plan. He has a clear vision of the problems we face and a process for how to address these issues in his next two years as Village Trustee, a seat for which he is running unopposed on the Citizens Non-Partisan Party slate.

We sat down to discuss the state of the Village and Whitestone’s candidacy at Metro Diner on Friday February 18, where it looked like the Village was returning to life. It was a sign of the times that people were waiting for tables in a restaurant that was often half full during the past two years.

What has the Village Board accomplished during the last two years? Whitestone said, “We have re-engineered Village government.” He explained that when he started, the business of the Village was all done on paper, and there were huge stacks of paper everywhere. The Village had been run the same way for many years and the trustees realized it was time to update operations for the 21st century. They are currently in the process of moving all systems online, which will allow them to both operate more efficiently and gather data and analytics that they can use to make smart decisions down the line.

Another hallmark of his first term has been a big turnover in Village staff. Whitestone said Scarsdale was a part of the “great resignation,” and retirees and departures included Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, Village Clerk Donna Conkling, Village Treasurer Mary Lou McClure and Fire Chief Jim Seymour.

Trustees have been successful at recruiting new talent such as assessor Victoria Sirota, treasurer Ann Scaglione, assistant Village Manager Alex Marshall and promoting Rob Cole to Village Manager and most recently Chris Mytych to Fire Chief. These new appointees bring new perspectives on how the work can be done more efficiently and they are implementing better systems.

And new thinking will be vital as the Village faces some large infrastructure needs. Whitestone said that Village Managers and trustees will need to decide how to tackle a necessary upgrade or even replacement of the Scarsdale pool and replace portions of our water system that are over 100 years old. He also mentioned the need to focus on our storm water management system that contributes to some of the flooding we’ve experienced during recent storms. During his second term he looks forward to addressing traffic and pedestrian safety, including studies the Village commissioned for the village center and Sprague Road, as well as reorienting the budget process to put goals front and center and measure and benchmark progress.

Whitestone explained, that the board needs to analyze the Village’s financial capacity, staff capability and resident’s willingness to pay for the services they expect.

As part of the ongoing 2022-23 budget discussions, trustees have been discussing fund balance levels, our bond rating, managing cash balances and our capacity to take on more debt to finance some of this work.

Whatever the outcome, Whitestone said, “We can’t starve our long term needs for long.’

Of late, Board meetings have been calm and lacking in the controversy that marked previous times. We asked Whitestone why he thought Village business had quieted down. He explained, “We have a board that asks questions, probes and invites public participation. Mayor Veron has invited comments and tries to be transparent. We spend the time necessary to listen and to analyze.”

The talk turned to affordable housing as Governor Kathy Hochul had just removed a controversial proposal to permit accessory dwelling units on single family lots from her budget. We asked Whitestone if he thought conversations about developing the Freightway Garage site into multi-family housing, retail and parking might be renewed in the next two years.

He said, “Freightway is over fifty years old. We do regular condition assessments to ensure that it is safe. It is an aging facility and perhaps there are better long term uses for the parking structure and the adjacent lot. I am in favor of continuing to think about it and asking our Village Planner for an analysis.” But in terms of priorities he said, “We have so much on our plate including the water system, the pool and even Village Hall” that we have to do what we have time to think about.”

We asked Whitestone for his views on historic preservation and he pointed out that the Reconnaissance Level Cultural Resources Survey of historic properties had not been updated since it was done in 2012. He said, “Perhaps it is time; it could be more comprehensive.” He said wistfully, “my grandparents were the first owners of a house built in Fox Meadow in 1928 and it’s still standing.”

Now that all Village Board meetings are available on ZOOM, how has this shift to hybrid meetings affected the process? He said, “I would rather see people in person but having the meetings available online makes them accessibile to more people. It’s a mixed bag, but net net it’s positive. We are investing in new equipment to improve the quality of the online experience.”

What else? Some projects don’t require years of consideration. Whitestone happily relayed that the trustees are considering building either four or eight pickleball courts at Crossway, opposite the Fire Station. He asked what I thought and I responded with an emphatic “Yes.”!

The Village election is scheduled for Tuesday March 15, 2022, from 6 am to 9 pm, with voting at the Scarsdale Library on Olmsted Road.