Ulster County committee recommends five candidates to chair for two UCRA board seats after interviews

The Ulster County Legislature’s Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee on March 10 recommended five contenders to the legislature chair for two open seats on the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency board after a series of 15‑minute interviews.

The committee — chaired by Chris Hewitt — voted to forward James Gordon, David Gilmore, Michael Baden, Lark Petit and Poppy Cannon Rees to Chair Criswell for final appointment. Legislator Kathy Nolan moved the recommendation and Legislator Joe Donaldson seconded; the motion carried in committee.

Why it matters: the interviews and the committee’s referral come as the county works to implement its 10‑year local solid waste management plan (adopted February 2020, approved February 2021) and explores options for diversion, a county reuse hub and possible long‑term disposal strategies if regional capacity tightens.

Most candidates emphasized waste diversion, the proposed Reuse Innovation Center and incremental, study‑based approaches to any future landfill siting. Incumbent board chair James Gordon, noting his three years on the UCRA board, said the agency is “the planning unit,” and described the agency’s role as the point of coordination for county solid‑waste planning. He told the committee the agency must “pivot” toward reuse, diversion and building a circular‑economy hub while treating landfill siting as a last‑resort option.

Several applicants urged a “hub‑and‑spoke” approach with a central reuse facility and multiple transfer‑station collection points to reduce travel burdens on residents and keep reusable materials in the county economy. Poppy Cannon Rees, who described her background in textiles and nonprofit promotion work, said textile waste “is a problem” and urged development of local markets for reused materials; she also backed public education and decentralized reuse points to improve participation.

Candidates repeatedly cited the county’s drafted 0‑waste implementation plan and the existing 10‑year plan as guides rather than fixed road maps. Vincent Mello, a candidate who described prior work with waste‑processing technology, and other interviewees urged automation and technology investments to improve segregation and beneficial reuse of plastics, glass and construction materials. Several interviewees said organics diversion and composting were among the most actionable near‑term steps.

On landfill siting, the applicants’ positions were cautious and conditional. Most said a landfill could only be considered after exhaustive diversion and reuse efforts, technical site screening and careful public engagement. Gordon summarized that a landfill “would be the last step, not the first,” and that siting would require detailed environmental, economic and political study plus state permitting.

Other themes raised in interviews: textile‑to‑insulation technologies; potential for biogas or waste‑to‑energy subject to environmental review; better drop‑off opportunities for household hazardous waste and electronics; and more robust public outreach and education to raise participation in diversion programs.

Procedure and next steps: after discussion in executive session to review interview scoring sheets, the committee moved and approved the five names it will forward to the legislature chair, who will make the final appointments to fill the two current vacancies on the UCRA board. The committee said it would provide the chair the scoring matrix and the committee’s ranked priorities along with the names.

The committee also affirmed the existing meeting schedule for the UCRA board (second Thursday of the month at 6:15 p.m.) as workable for several candidates and discussed potential home‑rule changes to expand board membership in the future.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to recommend to Chair Criswell the following five candidates for consideration for two open UCRA board seats: James Gordon; David Gilmore; Michael Baden; Lark Petit; Poppy Cannon Rees. Moved by Legislator Kathy Nolan; seconded by Legislator Joe Donaldson. Outcome: approved by the committee (voice vote).