2019 Candidate Profile: Ilan D. Gilbert For Supervisor

YORKTOWN, NY — Westchester County will have several contested races in this fall's election, including the supervisor for the Town of Yorktown. Yorktown-Somers Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Ilan D. Gilbert, 63, is running for re-election to the office of supervisor of the Town of Yorktown. His opponent is Republican Matt Slater.

Gilbert is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines. He was previously a Yorktown town justice.

The single most pressing issue facing our community, and what I intend to do about it.

Having been supervisor for the last 20 months, I can say that there is no one single pressing issue facing the town, but a multitude of issues that must be addressed.

I believe a Supervisor must have a keen understanding of the town's current status while possessing a vision for its future.

There must be a plan to make sure that there is a regular maintenance schedule implemented for water, sewer and highway sustainability.

There must be an effort to purchase fuel efficient and cleaner equipment.
I have begun within these first 20 months of my tenure to investigate, where practicable, the use of solar energy, energy efficient lighting and other green initiatives while refurbishing town properties.

Business revitalization is also a pressing issue for the town. I have continuously worked to encourage new businesses in Town while helping existing businesses.

Additionally, I must also underscore the pressing nature and importance of public safety, substance abuse and mental health issues facing our town and country. We must continue to address these issues right here at home and in our town.

In the end, the supervisor must keep a number of issues in his sight and work on more than one thing at a time.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The clear difference can be seen by what I have accomplished over the past 20 months of my tenure as supervisor.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

The main focus of my campaign platform is to build on my accomplishments of getting things done and continuing to move the town forward.

Not only were needed infrastructure repairs put off by the prior Republican administration, but it became apparent that sufficient funds were not allocated to replace aging equipment. The goal is to replace equipment on a continuous basis so that the town is not faced with extraordinary costs in one year. That being said, five trucks were needed and purchased for the Highway Department, as well as a bobcat, a mini-excavator, a hot-box so that the town did not have to rely on cold patches during the winter, which do not last as long.

I increased the paving budget for 2019 and I propose to do the same for 2020. In the middle of 2019, I reviewed the town's finances and determined that it would be to the town’s benefit to take advantage of a favorable contract for asphalt paving before an anticipated price increase and thereby allocated an additional $250,000 for paving in 2019.

Looking forward, I allocated funds to the Highway Department for a basin truck to facilitate a more efficient method of repairing storm drains.

Aside from the actual physical deterioration of infrastructure, there were other issues needing attention. It is not obvious, but the town is facing economic issues that many municipalities in the country are trying to combat. These issues include, but are not limited to, the competition that retail businesses face with internet commerce.

As to economic revitalization, I have created a new business revitalization committee that has made recommendations as to how our town can attract new business, redefine and brand our town and infuse new economic life into the town.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Immediately upon taking office I acted to install generators at Town Hall and the Highway Garage so that those facilities could continue to function during power outages and storms. I felt this was a public safety issue that needed to be addressed immediately.

I worked with Con Edison in “blue sky storm preparation.” To that end, we worked together to institute a Pilot Program to identify trees on private property that were dead or diseased and posed a risk to the electric lines (called danger trees). These trees were removed, at no cost to the homeowner and only with the homeowner’s consent.

I created the Economic & Business Revitalization Committee — which brought a diverse group of individuals together to provide innovative ideas to help our business community, including a proposal for branding and actively marketing Yorktown.

I met with Senator Harckham to advocate to have New York State compensate Yorktown and similarly situated communities that have state park properties but do not currently receive taxes or other payments for those facilities. Other communities throughout New York State already receive such payments.

I acquired a grant for $65,000 from the Field Hall Foundation for the purchase of a senior bus and a food serving table for use in the Senior Center.

I replaced the roofs on the Water Department, the Courthouse, the Police Department and two roofs at Town Hall. I also replaced the failing air conditioning system at the Police Department.

I negotiated in cooperation with the Town's highway superintendent,
to have in areas where work was performed by Con Edison paved curb to curb rather than just patched. This resulted in significant savings, thereby allowing us to pave additional areas of the town.

I refurbished a number of the town's tennis courts.

The town is in the process of replacing three sewer pump stations. Four additional pump stations are being reviewed for replacement.

I have acquired a commitment from the East of Hudson Watershed Corporation for $10 million towards the expansion of the Hallocks Mill sewer district and have acquired town board approval so that we can, over the next 60 days, petition the effected residents in order to proceed with this project.

I negotiated with Enbridge Gas pipeline for an additional $4.15 million compensation to the town. This helped to keep the taxes down and pay for the much needed repair of infrastructure.

I fought NYSEG's proposed rate increase and brought a NYS Public Service Commission public statement hearing to Yorktown so local residents, businesses and government representatives could directly present their opposition to the proposed exorbitantly large rate increase to representatives of the Public Service Commission, including one of its commissioners.

I directed the town attorney to initiate actions against delinquent taxpayers, the first time this has been done since 2013, to make sure that all taxpayers pay their fair share. This has already resulted in additional payments to the town of approximately $400,000.

In conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Department, my office submitted and acquired a $260,000 grant for an adaptive use playground. This is an inclusive playground that children of all abilities can use.

My office requested and received a $70,000 grant for the installation of 12 radar speed devices at schools in the Yorktown and Lakeland school districts. This will help ensure the safety of our children while going to school.

In response to my request, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced a $875,000 investment in the Hilltop Hanover Farm. This is the result of numerous meetings with the county executive and others and after months of discussions and ideas shared by my Economic Revitalization Committee and then taking those ideas to the county level. We are thrilled that our county executive equally shares the vision.

The best advice ever shared with me was …

You always learn more by listening than by talking.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I believe I have been pretty detailed in my accomplishments today, but there have been many other things that I have accomplished over the past 20 months that are too numerous to include here. The electorate should know this job is not a stepping stone for me, but rather done out of a love for the town, where I raised my children. It is my ultimate goal to leave Yorktown even better off than I found it.

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