Town Clerk Takes Stand On Land Deal
By COREY KILGANNON
November 5, 2000,
Sunday, Late Edition - Final
Page 11; Column 1; Westchester Weekly Desk
In 23 years working in Carmel Town Hall, Connie Munday has seen her
share of contentious local issues.
She has usually stayed out of the fray, but last week, Ms. Munday, the
town clerk, threw herself into the debate over whether to sell a 19-acre parcel
of town-owned land on Route 6 in Putnam County to a local developer.
Days before last Wednesday's Town Board vote on selling the land, Ms. Munday
wrote a three-page letter to Carmel residents, detailing the history of the land
and the proposed sale. In the letter, which was distributed by neighborhood
groups, Ms. Munday, urged Carmel residents to demand a public referendum to
decide whether the land should be sold.
"It's your land; why not?" Ms. Munday wrote. She has certainly
been the center of debate over the propriety of her actions, including insulting
exchanges on the town's online chat room, ChatPutnam.com.
"There comes a time when there are issues facing the community that they
need full information on," she said, defending her action. "I'm a
citizen of this community, and I work for the voting public, so you bet this is
my
business."
The board approved selling the property for $1.15 million to Paul Camarda, a
local developer who has a contract to buy a privately owned 68-acre parcel
adjacent to the town plot. He plans to build a hotel and a restaurant.
Mr. Camarda said that as part of the deal, he would give Carmel six acres of
land he owns in town and create public parkland on the hotel property.
Even as the board approved the sale, civic groups were gathering the 483
signatures on petitions to force a referendum.
Anthony Seda, president of Concerned Residents of Carmel and Mahopac, said,
"Carmel residents have been asking the board questions for months on this
and we've gotten no answers." Robert Ravallo, a board member, who
supports the sale, called Ms. Munday "an excellent town clerk," but
defended the board's efforts to inform the public.
"You can watch the board meetings on the local cable channel," he
said. "This was not done in a vacuum. The town has been trying for
years to sell the land and finally got the price it wanted."
Town Supervisor Frank Del Campo had a similar view. He insisted that
Carmel is getting good deal on the sale, and as for Ms. Munday's actions,
he said that "she's entitled to her opinion."
"Most of the time, we agree, but here we respectfully disagree," he
said. "She's been in government over 20 years, and has been a
tremendous asset to me."
Despite repeatedly being elected town clerk, Mrs. Munday said she has never run
for the town board. "I've been asked to," she said, "but I like
being town clerk."
Mr. Seda said she might be where she is most potent. "Connie has
given us back a little faith in our government, the feeling that somebody in
Town Hall still works for us," he said.
Go to www.carmelresident.org