Joseph Chilelli, a candidate for the 118th Assembly District, left, talking with Reed Proper, far right, and Jim Ulrich aat the Old Forge Library on Wednesday. Photo by Dana Armington
Candidate for New York State Assembly District 118, Joseph Chilelli, was in town Wednesday afternoon for a meet and greet event at the Old Forge Library.
Following the event, he visited local business owners, officials, and other constituents.
At the gathering, Chilelli discussed a variety of issues including the Health Center’s recent partnership with St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and how to entice doctors and their families to move to the area.
Those in attendance also expressed concerns regarding the lack of urgent care and the cost of using emergency services like Old Forge Ambulance to go to Utica for something as minor as a cut.
Of note, accolades were given for the Emergency Services in the area for their care, compassion, and quick response times.Another of the issues raised was that of state and federal mandates, and the high costs of such mandates. Chilelli related this to the school consolidation issue between Frankfort, Herkimer, and Ilion, which he feels is counterproductive to the wants and needs of the communities.
“We always hear that the state is broke and has no money, yet they are giving us $7 million a year to consolidate. Why not just give the money to the individual school districts and let us deal with our own issues?,” he said.
The school issue prompted discussion on the declining enrollment of the Town of Webb School District and what to do about it.
Chilelli told the audience that he felt that enrollment was based on what a community offers and what is attracting young people.
He also said one way to increase the population size is to utilize natural resources to create a niche industry to the area.
“Tourism is great, and you can survive on that, but the family nucleus is not going to stay here on tourism. They need something else. So you need another part of the community that is relying on local jobs. So, to me, when you have an asset like the timber and the forest here which is a renewable resource, it would play into the logic. Let’s advertise and promote the area to woodworking of all kinds,” he said.
