Mayor Purcell states his case for re-election

Dear residents of the Village of Monroe,
On March 20, residents will be asked to exercise your right to vote.
As your current mayor, I am once again asking for your support.
I have resided in the Village of Monroe for 27 years. With my lovely wife Debbie, we have raised our children, Jimmy and Kira Grace, in this community.
I am employed as a general foreman for Hellman Electric Company for 11 years. I have managed New York City contracts from $500,000 to 27 million dollars. I supervised five to 70 employees.
I have volunteered as a coach for PTA basketball, Monroe-Woodbury Little League, Monroe-Woodbury softball, and have been a travel softball coach for 12 years. My family and I are Sacred Heart Church parishioners.
I am running for re-election with Trustee Wayne Chan. We are self-financed and seek no endorsements from any group. Trustee Chan and I continue to make decisions based on what's best for the Village of Monroe.
One of the most important is the new Comprehensive Plan which has not been done since 1960. This plan led to the Revitalization Plan for the downtown, which is happening today. Major zoning and building codes were adopted to protect the village and plan for controlled growth to safeguard our quality of life.
I secured $6 million dollars in grant money for water infrastructure, roadway and sidewalk replacement, as well as vehicle equipment for both the D.P.W. and Police Departments. One major grant of $400,000 paid for the dam repairs. This repair was delayed for 20 years.
We continue to improve our parks and downtown. The placing of decorations during the holidays and decorative lighting is a small example of our continued progress of the Downtown Revitalization.
We received $382,000 in grant money to build two new commuter lots which removed the blight which was once the Ross Lumber property.
We implemented friendly business policies that have resulted in 90 percent occupancy of commercial rateables.
We negotiated control of the county roads within the village, most importantly North Main Street. North Main Street now has a school zone, 25 mph speed zone. It also is important to mention that no commercial vehicles weighing more than 11 tons are now permitted on village roads.
The elimination of "chicken trucks" brings back a residential feel to the neighborhood.
We worked directly with Orange Executive Steve Neuhaus in a joint venture to bring the Heritage Trail to the Village of Monroe.
We closely managed budgets and have been successful in keeping our "AAA"
bond rating. We created the Activities Committee, Summer Concert Series, Summerfest Carnival, Farmer's Market, Halloween Parade, window painting and Winterfest to show off the assets that make Monroe a beautiful place to do business. The list could go on and on.
I recognize that there is a changing atmosphere in our community. I will be diligent in keeping up the changes deemed necessary to protect the integrity and the future of Monroe.
The accomplishments mentioned in this letter and many more speak for themselves.
At this time I feel that the issue of creating a governing body of Orange County Sewer District 1 with all the municipalities in the district is critical to the growth of Southeast Orange County. We all must have a voice in their decisions.
I feel honored and humble to have the opportunity to serve the Village of Monroe as your mayor. It is you, the people of Monroe, that make me want to continue to serve. We all have an investment in our community and we want a true return on that investment. I treat everyone equally, guided by the rule of law. This is democracy.
Over the next few weeks as Trustee Chan and I have stated, the cyber, social-media bullies will appear and try and sway your vote. I ask that you, the village residents, find out the facts for yourselves as you come to your decision. I urge all in our community to vote. It will have a major impact on how our village moves forward.
Sincerely,
James C. Purcell
Village of Monroe mayor