George Hiltebrant of Thendara is running on the Democratic ticket for Town of Webb Supervisor in the general election in November.
Hiltebrant, who retired as Town Supervisor in 2001, after serving 25 years in that post, said that if elected, a priority would be to finish projects that have been started, such as Lock and Dam and the Sewer Pump Station.
“I would want to get these projects behind us, then only spend on what’s necessary. With the shape this country is in we shouldn’t be spending on niceties. We should only be spending on necessities,” he said.
“When I came into office the first thing I did was build the Sewer Plant. We started it in 1977,” he said.
Other major town undertakings during his administration included: construction of the Covered Bridge, rebuilding of Lock and Dam, improvements at McCauley Mountain that included putting in snowmaking, construction of the North Street Pavilion and the new police building, a new landfill and the closing of the old landfill at McCauley, and replacing of the Green Bridge, the Covey Bridge in Big Moose, the Rondaxe Bridge and the Beaver River Bridge.
“We also did a lot of road paving, I got the Senior Citizen Housing built, and I promoted Cable TV for the area,” he said. “When I left office the town was debt free and I left close to a $2 million surplus.”
Hiltebrant who was born and raised in Old Forge and was a graduate of the Town of Webb School, also attended Norwich University, graduating in 1965 with a degree in business management.
He spent two years in active duty in the US Army and 26 years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993.
“I did duty at Ft. Knox, KY, training officer candidates. I had different commands and I ended up as an instructor for the command and general staff college at Malone and Dover, Delaware,” he said.
During that time he learned to make quick decisions.
“You didn’t have a lot of time to make decisions. When I was asked a question by the General, I had 10 minutes to brief him about everything that was going on.”
Consequently, he learned to cut to the bottom line and give direct answers, he said.
His other town interests include the Town of Webb School where he is a member of the School Board.
He also serves as Treasurer of Home Aide Service of the Central Adirondacks (HASCA), and he is President of the Thendara Golf Club. Hiltebrant also served five years as Town Councilman before taking office as Supervisor in 1977.
With his business management background he loves working with numbers, he said.
“I think that in the 25 years I served as Town Supervisor, I have proven my fiscal responsibility, and I proved that I was a leader. I have the experience to serve as Town Supervisor and, if elected, I would not need on-the-job training,” Hiltebrant said.
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Editor’s Note: Though George Hiltebrant announced his candidacy in a letter to the editor that was published in The Weekly on March 24, 2011, this is his first candidate profile to appear in this paper.
