Election 2011: Highway job hopefuls meet at forum, both say department needs leadership

“I have the working knowledge this job requires,” Hap Bowditch Jr. said of the post of highway superintendent at the October 23 candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Shelter Island Association. “I can hit the ground running.” The “only difference” between himself and his opponent, Jay Card Jr., was in their “approach,” Mr. Bowditch said. His “people skills” would aid in guiding the men to finish projects quickly and within the budget, Mr. Bowditch said.

“I have worn my life on my sleeve,” candidate Jay Card Jr. said of his history as a leader. It showed he was qualified for the “management of the largest budget” in the town of more than $4 million. He added, “Accountability must be the standard and not the exception.”

His plan is to assign highway crew members to specific “areas of responsibility” for increased day-to-day accountability.

Asked whether the position was a hands-on or management role, Mr. Bowditch said it was both. “You can’t be a good manager if you don’t know the job.”

Mr. Card said it’s a leadership role. “It’s difficult to be a hands-on guy and to also be the supervisor.”

On maintenance of Shell Beach, Mr. Bowditch said that action depended upon how the town wanted to “invest their money.” Mr. Card said “allowing the groins and bulkheads to fail” was only letting erosion get worse.

Both candidates agreed that working with the state DEC was needed for a “long term fix” to the problem.

Asked what departmental issue would need to be immediately addressed, Mr. Card identified leadership as the prime concern. “The guys do a great job during a storm when we need them badly,” Mr. Card said, but “I think they need some leadership in the day-to-day issues that come around.”

Mr. Bowditch said safety was the top issue. “I believe we’ve had a lot of problems on our roads because of them not being taken care of,” he said.

Asked if the candidates would install GPS technology in department vehicles, both candidates said that they were in favor of doing so as a “last resort.”

The last audience question was about the federal mandate known as “MS4,” a program requiring municipalities to develop plans for handling stormwater runoff.

Mr. Card said that the town had been doing the work required under MS4 before MS4 came through as a requirement. “Nobody had to tell us to do that,” he said of installing drywells to catch road runoff.

He said, “that  planning and maintenence is critical to how we implement the MS4 plan.” He cited the importance of using GIS, a computer program that could locate and help manage all current storm drains, to prioritize where to place the next drywell.

Mr. Bowditch said that he had been “one of the guys” who installed the town’s drywells and also had had the privilege of cleaning them out. He said that they did it twice a year and that drywells have always been put in place for the protection of people driving so there would be no hydroplaning; they also allow the aquifer to be recharged by preventing runoff. MS4 requirements, he said, were simply about documenting runoff solutions, which he said he had no problem doing.