ST. ARMAND — Two candidates are running uncontested for two seats on the St. Armand Town Council.

They are one newcomer and one incumbent: Karl W. Law, running on the Republican line, and Donna L. Whitelaw, running on the independent Integrity party line.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise sent questionnaires to the candidates. Below are their responses.

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Karl W. Law

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Age: 41

Occupation: New York state Department of Correction and Community Supervision, correctional officer; town of St. Armand councilman, deputy town supervisor.

Position sought: Councilman, four year term

Q: Why are you running for this position

A: I am currently seeking my second full term for councilman, however, I was elected for one year for a one-year term prior to my first year term. As of December 2020 I will have sat on the board for five years and am trying for another four years. I’m running for multiple reasons, the main one being this is simply my way of giving back to a town that has helped raise me and that I’m proud of being part of. I was completely green going into my first year as councilman and the voters took a chance on me. Thank you. I can hold my head high knowing I’ve served with integrity and dedication for the last five years. I’m asking the constituents of the town of St Armand to give me their approval again.

Q: What are your qualifications?

A: I consider myself as local as they come. I’m a fourth generation Law from the area and I’ve spent all of my 41 years here. I graduated from Saranac Lake High School and received an Associate’s Degree from North Country Community College. I’ve been a correctional officer for nine years now and have had multiple other jobs through the years, including one of my favorites, caretaking for some of the wonderful camps in the area. All of these experiences have molded me into who I am today. Growing up, and still to this day, it never appealed to me to leave here. I love where I live. Going into this election, I’m not green anymore. I will have had five years serving as councilman and two years as deputy supervisor.

Q: What are your main goals?

A: In my first interview with the Enterprise I said one of my main goals was to stay under the 2% tax cap. The town budget is a team effort and the most important duty as a councilman. In my terms as a councilman we haven’t gone over that to date. As a board we haven’t passed our 2024 budget yet, however, we have had our budget workshop meetings and as it stands now we’re looking to be under our 2% tax cap again.

Something that I’m always thinking about is how do we welcome more local business opportunities into the town, specifically during these hard times of high inflation, and somehow maintain and keep the integrity and feel of our bedroom community. Finding that balance is very important to me and something I plan on pursuing in the next four years.

Another main goal of mine is to continue to always have the willingness to listen to the constituents. The town of St. Armand people are the ones I work for on a daily basis. They’re the ones that allow me to use my discretion and trust that I will listen to them in making my decisions when it comes to town business. No problem is too small.

Q: What do you think are the three biggest problems in this town and how do you plan on solving them?

A: For the last five years I’ve dealt with all of the town issues and done my best representing the residents in my decision making. I guess, thinking more currently, as to what would be the biggest problems …. I automatically think of paving/upkeep of town roads. Our winters up here are brutal on the roads. We have an amazing highway department that works hard and in the winter months always has our roads cleared off before our morning commutes. Having said that, winter takes its toll. What can I do to fix these issues? Our town supervisor (who works harder than anyone for the town), myself and the town board have set up a town road pavement schedule going all the way through the year 2025. This allows the residents of St Armand to know when to expect paving, on which specific roads, and allows the board to be monetarily sound and careful in budgeting looking that far ahead. We’ve done the same thing as for our tentative sidewalk replacement schedule which dates out to the year 2030. Along with budget planning, grants are being sought to assist with these projects.

Another issue that comes to mind is the Moody Pond parking issue for hikers going up Mt. Baker. The residents of Moody Pond have dealt with hikers parking on their lawns, blocking their driveways, blocking fire hydrants and it’s even gone as far as our residents being harrassed for having to address the owners of the vehicles. Enough is enough. The town board has voted to put signs and barriers up trying to deter this from happening and have even been lucky enough to have a few volunteers step up and be willing to write tickets. Doing all these things, however, still isn’t solving the bigger problem which is the fact that where the trailhead is there isn’t a parking lot. The town doesn’t own the trail head, therefore it can’t put a parking lot in for the hikers. The state Department of Environmental Conservation owns the trailhead and the town needs DEC’s help to get a sufficient parking area in place near the trailhead to alleviate the residents of St. Armand. This is something the town has dealt with for many years. This has become a safety hazard for people walking and driving around Moody Pond. Moving forward, we have scheduled a special board meeting on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. specifically to hear from people, noty only from the town of St. Armand but everyone who is being affected by and/or feels strongly about what to do about the parking problems. And, also, to let them know what the town is doing about it.

A third problem is dealing with new disinfection requirements from DEC for our wastewater treatment plant and areas of the town that are unsewered that fall within our sewer district. There are streets in our sewer district that still have private septic systems and I understand the upkeep can be very expensive. As a result, some of these septic systems have gone unmaintained for years. Looking ahead, the town board and I are seeking grants that will allow us to put in new sewer lines and be up to date with DEC’s requirements.

Q: Other comments to voters?

A: Through my terms I’ve served during the most unprecedented times. I’ve been there through the coronavirus pandemic and helped maneuver the town along. Doing that wasn’t easy. It required us to have meetings online and not meet in person for a long time. I personally feel a certain disconnect doing meetings virtually but it called for us to do so. I can say with confidence that I did it to the best of my abilities. I’m asking the voters of St. Armand to give me another chance in continuing to grow our town and be there for whatever good or bad awaits us.

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Donna L. Whitelaw

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Age: 67

Occupation: College teacher

Position sought: Town council member

Q: Why are you running for this position?

A: I sincerely care that we continue to live in a prosperous, safe, community minded town that is able to provide dependable services and activities for our citizens.

Q: What are your qualifications?

A: Resident of the town of St. Armand for 19 years, proud member of the St. Armand Veterans Task Force, caring member of the St. Armand Youth Task Force, active and involved town resident.

Q: What are your main goals?

A: To continue to work to ensure our town is a healthy, community oriented, beautiful location to live in.

Q: What do you think are the three biggest problems in the town, and how do you propose solving them?

A: Continue to build community spirit, safety and prosperity so our residents feel the same senso of community to all work together and help productively solve local issues. (Environmental, financial, safety, etc.)

Q: Other comments to voters?

A: I care about our community!