Town of Shelter Island Superintendent of Highways
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Kenneth L. Lewis Jr.
(Rep, Con)
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Robert M. Reiter
(Dem)
1. Why are you the most qualified candidate for this position?
2. What can be done to improve traffic flow on the Island?
3. What are your plans to mitigate flooding on the Town roads, since data indicates that heavier rains and more frequent storms will become the norm?
4. What are your plans for resurfacing/repairing heavily used town roads?
Experience
12 years with Highway Department
Campaign Phone
5166599155
Over the last two years I think that I have proven myself to be an effective leader and manager of the Highway Department. I have operated with an open door policy and have kept an open line of communication with my team and the community. I make myself available to the community 7 days a week: meeting with community members on site, answering emails with requested information, and impromptu office visits. I hold monthly staff meetings where I provide lunch for the team, giving them a forum to bring any concerns forward to myself and the other members of the department. I feel that my budget experience from my time in the private sector has also proven valuable to navigating the budget process for the municipality.
We don’t have traditional traffic issues per se, due to our rural community but I do feel that road widening for bike and pedestrian traffic need to be addressed. To that end, I have been working with the NYS DOT regional team to assess and formulate a plan for widening and resurfacing our busiest road, NYS Route 114. I started the conversation with them during my first year in office and have continued the dialogue, in addition to giving them an in person tour of Route 114. My team has also been working diligently since I came into office opening up shoulders and the right of way island wide. We have cleared overgrown vegetation and restored a safe emergency egress to roadways islandwide, and will continue to address areas annually.
Since taking office two years ago, I have been working very closely with the Town engineer as well as my catch basin insulation leader to identify areas of roadside flooding and storm runoff. With a number of new constructions taking place in the last two years, vacant properties that were once recharge areas for storm water run off became problem flood areas. We have installed catch basin systems to these problem areas. In my short tenure we have installed over a dozen catch base systems in various parts of the island. We also are on a regular schedule with our VAC CON truck to service existing catch basin systems and keep them silt free. I have also coordinated with the State and County for regular maintenance of their drainage systems.
I have fostered a strong relationship with a local asphalt company over my past 2 years in office. Through that relationship and working closely with the Town Engineer, we have identified our oldest roads and town landings in need of resurfacing. We began our repair and resurfacing projects 2 years ago and have had great success on the Island. This past Spring and Fall we continued our resurfacing efforts and have expanded that to include our parking lots for our Senior and Medical Centers. I also have utilized valuable input that various community members have communicated to me over the past two years.
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