Controversy Dominates Town Board Meeting

By DARLA M. YOUNGS
HARTWICK

Bryan LoRusso and several former Town of Hartwick employees want Hartwick Town Board member Chris Briggs to resign. A contingent of concerned Hartwick residents wants LoRusso, also a Town Board member, to resign. Hartwick Town Supervisor Robert O’Brien will be relocating before the end of the year, leaving that post unfilled. And the town’s attorney, William Green, has resigned, effective January 1, 2025.

The room was at maximum capacity on the evening of Monday, October 14, when approximately 50 residents assembled for the monthly meeting of the Town Board. In preparation for what was expected to be a long meeting, there was pizza and, just in case things got out of hand, there was law enforcement.

The meeting began like any other, following a slight delay in start time due to difficulty connecting to Zoom, via which the town meetings are recorded and made available to the public. The full board was in attendance: Supervisor O’Brien, Briggs, and LoRusso were joined at the table by board members Bruce Markusen and Tom Murphy, along with Andrea Vazquez, the town clerk, and attorney Green. A call to order was followed by roll call, review of the previous month’s minutes, review and approval of bills, and other budget and finance reports.

O’Brien then opened the meeting to public comments, at which time a group of nearly two dozen audience members stood to speak, or to show solidarity for those who did.

JoAnn Gardner was first to address the crowd with regard to “Mr. LoRusso’s Facebook threats against people with Harris/Walz signs,” referring to a recent controversy among Town of Hartwick residents involving comments made by LoRusso on his personal Facebook page, where he wrote, “Starting to see Harris signs going up! Remember them when we [lose] our country!! You can repay them later!!!” and “I’ll be posting [addresses].”