By David Avitabile
For the fourth time in for year, the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors will have a new chairman.
At their re-organizational meeting Monday afternoon, supervisors, along party lines, elected Republicans Dick Lape of Richmondville as chairman and Larry Bradt of Carlisle as vice chairman. They replace Republican Tony VanGlad of Gilboa as chairman and Democrat Phil Skowfoe of Fulton as vice chairman.
Each of the 10 Republican supervisors on the board voted for Mr. Lape as chairman. The six Democrats cast their votes for Mr. Skowfoe.
For vice chairman, all the Republican but Harold Vroman voted for Mr. Bradt. Mr. Vroman cast his ballot for William Smith of Broome, a fellow Republican. The Democrats once again back Mr. Skowfoe.
Mr. Skowfoe preceded Mr. VanGlad as chairman in 2013 and Mr. Vroman was chairman in 2012.
The upcoming year should be a busy one, Mr. Lape said after taking his oath of office.
The completion of the streambank rehabilitation project is an important issue, he noted, and he expects a vote on the administrator issue early this year, possibly as early as this month.
Mr. Lape has come out in favor of having a county administrator.
After it was noted that the vote for chairman was along party lines, Mr. Lape said that everyone on the board wants to serve the public.
"If everyone keeps in mind the reason we're here. Everything will fall into place."
Immediately after the vote, Mr. Lape thanked supervisors for their support and Mr. VanGlad and Mr. Skowfoe for their leadership in 2014.
He added, "The number one priority is to protect the health and safety of our residents and to protect the health and safety of our county employees."
Serving the people is paramount, he added.
"That's why we're all here."
His election as chairman was a surprise, Mr. Lape admitted after the meeting was over.
He was asked about being chairman a week before the meeting.
Mr. Lape said he let it sink in for a few days and then "Saturday it hit. It is a big responsibility."
Mr. VanGlad said last week that he would probably not seek another year as chairman.
He noted that the position requires a tremendous amount of time and Mr. VanGlad wants to spend more time on his family business.
Last year was a very active year with about 25 meetings being held, he noted.
In addition to Mr. Vroman, and Mr. Skowfoe, other former chairmen on the board include Earl VanWormer of Esperance and Carl Barbic of Summit.