New trustees urged to be ‘open and welcoming’ to community

Trustees James Freiband and Matthew Fabbro shared parting thoughts on their two years of service as members of the Woodbury Village board at the Dec. 11 Village Board meeting.

Freiband said he was grateful to express his ideas and dialogue on many issues impacting the Village. He urged the incoming board to invest in the sewer remediation project and to keep the Village boundaries as they are. He also asked the new board to address the issue of many village houses being owned by non-resident landlords or LLCs. He called for better controls over both short-term rentals and leased housing

“I appreciate the opportunity for the past two years to at least express ideas and have a dialogue on the many issues that affect the village,” Freiband said.

Fabbro thanked his fellow trustees, the various committees, volunteers and others who devote their time to serving the village. He said Woodbury will continue to face issues related to annexation attempts, land preservation and growing infrastructure demand. Fabbro said he will continue to offer assistance to the new board and asked them to keep their campaign pledges of fighting annexation attempts.

“While the results of this election were not exactly what myself and my running mates had hope for, I hope our community can move forward as one and mend some of the divisions from this hard-fought campaign,” he said.

Fabbro also urged the newly elected trustees to be open and welcoming to all members of the community and for the entire board to work in partnership with the town board.

Trustee Kathleen Mottola thanked Freiband and Fabbro for their service and passion for their beliefs. Mayor Andrew Giacomazza also thanked the outgoing trustees for their work, noting that it is a difficult job without many perks.