GARDINER – Supervisor Katz says that 2009 has not been an easy year for towns in the Hudson Valley.

"I was fiscally conservative early on. I made cuts during the budget process at the beginning of November. Now, I just have to make sure that I was conservative enough on revenues, and we have to watch carefully to be sure we don't spend more than we planned for."

There are some changes coming, of course.

"Well, we have a new town board in 2010. Two new members will be sworn in on January 5. There's no question that there will be a new dynamic on the board, and I'm looking forward to it."

By then, Katz, and all the other supervisors in New York State will know what they're facing after Governor David Paterson's cuts are announced after December 15.

"I had an e-mail from the Association of Towns on the topic of cuts the other day. Aid to municipalities is not going to be cut, and neither is the CHIPs fund, which is the highway fund. That, of course, is good news for the municipalities."

Among the issues confronting the town is the cell phone reception and cell tower problem. On October 2, State Supreme Court Justice Henry F. Zwack, responding to a lawsuit brought by Sensible Wireless, a group opposed to overly large cell towers, annulled the Gardiner Town Board's resolution of December 9, 2008, that had allowed JNS Towers to build a 160 foot cell tower on town property. Because Gardiner is thinly populated, the cell tower company said that having more than one tower is uneconomic, which rules out the building of smaller towers to cover the town.

Katz says, "I'm talking to the lawyers at the moment about various aspects of the problem. We are working on coming up with a plan of action."

Meanwhile there is progress to report on the sidewalks issue.

"We have two grants to put in sidewalks in the hamlet on 44/55. The way it would work is we would spend the money on the design and send invoices, and get payment back. The money isn't the problem now; it's the permit process from the transportation department."

Katz is optimistic that 2010 will see the project begin.

"I hope that in 2010 we will break ground and get it done. There are two problems, and they go to the same source. One is that it's 44/55, so it's controlled by the state. The other is that the money comes from the State Department of Transportation. It's a slow process. They have to approve the engineering drawings, and then you have to go out for bids, so there's a lot to do yet, but we are progressing."

Another encouraging development concerns the Gardiner Business Park.

"We have Amthor International here now, and that's a solid step forward. Gillette Creamery has finally closed on that property there. Gillette will be moving here in the summer."

Beyond the business park, Katz says, "I am very encouraged that we're making progress in our tourism development. We're working on the tourism website, which is Gardiner-specific but connected to other tourism websites. Along with that, we're producing promotional material for tourism in conjunction with the Scenic Byway as well as other towns and the county."

Asked what he would like to see, the supervisor said, "My biggest wish is that we could somehow get more people involved in the government — more people to come to meetings and see what's going on.

"But the main thing I want is for everyone in Gardiner to have a happy holiday, and hopefully a prosperous New Year."