Steuben County officials: Farrand supporters overstating his influence on projects

Steuben County officials said supporters of county Legislator Dan Farrand are overstating his influence and efforts on county public works projects.

Farrand, R-Rathbone, is running for re-election for the county Legislature’s District 10 seat. He is facing opposition from Woodhull Town Councilman Ed Sahrle in both the Republican and Conservative primaries Sept. 15, with Democrat Judy Reagan already guaranteed a spot on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

District 10 includes the towns of Greenwood, Jasper, Rathbone, Troupsburg, West Union and Woodhull.

Recent cl-aims Farrand arranged for the county Legislature’s Public Works Committee to have the bridge crew make box culverts for the towns are completely wrong, according to the committee’s Chairman Robert Nich-ols, R-Tuscarora.

“Any of these projects is a team effort,” Nichols said. “Now, did Dan support the project? Yes, and I’m grateful for his support and the support of all the other legislators on the Legislature. But Dan isn’t even on the Public Works Committee.”

Committee members all agreed the proposal to have the county’s bridge crew build culverts during slow periods in the winter was raised by Legislator Joseph Hauryski, R-Campbell, who sits on the Public Works Committee.

Hauryski said Farrand mentioned the culverts during a discussion earlier this year, and Hauryski thought it was a good idea.

The proposal met resistance from county Attorney Frederick Ahrens, who cautioned the committee the project could lead to more accidents and increase the county’s liability. Several years ago a public works employee lost part of a leg working with the culverts.
 
The committee agreed to offer the service on a very limited basis to the towns after it was reviewed by Lew Eason, the county’s risk manager.

 “We won’t be making that many for the towns,” Nichols said. “Only when there’s time and the crews aren’t making the culverts for the county. So that’s maybe one, or two, a year for the towns. It’s not much.”

Nichols said credit for the project should go to Hauryski and the team approach of the committee, working with the Public Works Department.

“I’m really proud of the committee,” Nichols said. “We stood up and made it right. Now the Public Works Committee listens to other legislators, but that’s all. Dan didn’t work on this.”

Other claims Farrand worked out a joint program with several towns and the county for a crusher, and arranged for BOCES to provide equipment to the town of West Union are misleading, Nichols said.

“Now Dan did work on them, but both of those were done by (state Sen.) George Winner,” Nichols said. “That was several years ago and the county got into it much later.  Dan doesn’t work for Winner any more.”

Nichols said Farrand’s supporters should not believe he has a strong influence on county Public Works Commissioner Vincent Spagnoletti.

“Vince treats everybody the same,” Nichols said. “Even I, as chairman, don’t get special favors. There’s protocols, there’s standards.”

Roads in Nichols’ and Farrand’s districts are among the poorest condition in the county, largely due to the nature of the soil and weather in the area, Nichols said.

The county began the slow, concerted effort to fix those roads more than 10 years ago, at the urging of Farrand’s predecessor, Legislator Harley Mayo, R-Jasper, Spagnoletti said.

“Under Harley we made a lot of gains,” Spagnoletti said.  “My job is to serve the elected representatives of the districts, that would be any legislator. These are not special favors we’re granting to Dan. If Ed Sahrle becomes legislator, if Mrs. Reagan becomes legislator, it would be the same thing. I’m not favoring Dan over any one.”

Public Works takes into consideration available funds, safety, the amount of traffic on the roads and what road conditions are throughout the county, Spagnoletti said. The department also plans several years ahead, listing priorities.

“Some years we can do a lot down there, other years, we can’t,” Spagnoletti said. “This year, prices are down, we’re going to do a couple more (in District 10) this year. Next year, we’re only going to do a few.”

Spagnoletti said his work with Farrand should not be taken as support or an unofficial endorsement of his candidacy.

Farrand did not return phone calls from The Leader. He has declined to talk to the press during his campaign, restricting himself to press releases and organizing a strong letter writing campaign.