September marks the close of our first month publishing The Founding Farmers. We are grateful for the early support in our effort to deliver timely information for the residents of Southern Ulster. Our mission is simple: to make public information easier to understand and access. While much of what we share is already available through official channels, gathering and reviewing these details takes time—time many busy residents do not have. By presenting it clearly, we hope to make civic engagement easier and more meaningful.
This recurring section highlights notable comments, letters, and submissions from readers. We welcome contributions of all kinds and will respect any request for anonymity or privacy. Submissions can be sent through Messenger on our Facebook Page, via email at transparency@foundingfarmers.org, or via a comment on any of our posts. We will always respect requests for anonymity or privacy.
The Founding Farmers is a tool for civic engagement, and your participation helps shape it.
Kristina M. wrote to the Town Board on September 21st, requesting Narcan training:
Yesterday afternoon, in front of Dollar General Milton, there was a horrible car accident. My husband ended up jumping out of his truck and helped pull a man out of his vehicle along with other caring individuals. The man was in bad shape. He held him until help arrived. Once emergency responders finally arrived they ended up administering Narcan. As we were talking about this, we realized we would not be able to identify if someone needed it or if he was even on drugs or anything related. I’d imagine that most of the community is not educated.
I am writing this because I feel strongly that the town of Marlboro should host a free Narcan training for community members. Many towns have done this, New Paltz has resources, for example.
Supervisor Corcoran replied that he’d forwarded the request to Chief Cocozza.
A clip of Cindy Lanzetta speaking at the Planning Board meeting on September 15th was shared with us. In this clip, Mrs. Lanzetta questions the Orchards on Hudson Residential Development group as to why care to providing sidewalks in Marlborough isn’t a priority for the developer, when it has been in past projects. The development on Dock Road has been discussed extensively in the Planning Board meetings this year, given its size and impact to the Marlborough community.
A concerned resident submitted a letter reflecting on the tragic incident in which Town Board member Edward Molinelli struck and killed his colleague, Justin Grater, at their workplace, Hudson Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram on Route 17-K in Newburgh, as first reported by News 12. The letter highlights the community’s ongoing frustration: despite the seriousness of the case, little information has been made available regarding the status of the investigation.
In both Orange and Ulster Counties, criminal cases are prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office once law enforcement completes its investigation and refers the matter. Police departments may release limited information in the days immediately following an incident, but once a case is under review, the District Attorney’s office typically does not disclose any findings until proceedings are complete.
The Founding Farmers will provide updates in coming weeks once we confirm if the case was formally referred to the District Attorney’s office.
Over a year ago (May 2024) Ed Molinelli, who just resigned from the Marlborough Town Board, was involved in a vehicular accident, at his place of work in Orange County. The “accident” resulted in the death of his co-worker. Mr. Molinelli allegedly backed into Justin Grater, someone he had been known to have disagreements with, and then dragged Justin across the road.
There have been NO updates that anyone can find in local media. Knowing how various vehicular accidents in Ulster County, esp. those resulting in death, have been scrutinized, it is hard to understand why this issue seems to have been ignored by Orange County. While I can appreciate the fact that Mr. Molinelli is ill, Justin lost his life, and even his family seem not to know why Mr. Molinelli was never charged, etc.
Town Supervisor Scott Corcoran took time to engage with the community in the last days of September regarding our article on the changed early-voting site in Southern Ulster. He provided additional context on the BOE’s decision to relocate the Marlborough voting site to Highland:
Just so everyone is aware….. The Town never received an agreed upon agreement from the BOE. The Town did ask the BOE for confirmation with a contract that could be presented to the Town Board for approval back on March 19th. That letter or email was never provided to the Town. We did get confirmation on election day to be held at the Community Center just not early voting for the 9 days prior to election day. The Town took that as that the BOE would be holding early voting at a alternate site. Since March the Town has had citizens that have booked dates to use the Community center which happen to be conflicting dates with early voting. When the BOE identified their error we tried to accommodate early voting but we could not work it out and they made the correct decision to hold early voting in the Town of Lloyd for Southern Ulster. Everyone still has the ability to early vote and Election day is still at the Community center for Milton residents and at St. Mary’s for Marlboro residents. Please check your BOE registration mailer for your polling site. I also want to clear something up about the rental cost. We had originally asked for $650 per day for a total of $5,850 for the 9 days. At first we had received confirmation that we would be able to receive $4,000 for the 9 days or about $444 per day. Then we received notice that BOE could only agree to $150 per day or $1,350 for the 9 days. The Town was not in agreement with that number and we asked if the BOE could meet us 1/2 way at $325 per day or $2,925 for the 9 days. We never received anything back from the BOE after that. Our Town Board try’s to be as transparent as we possibly can without jeopardizing pending litigation or labor negotiations. We are here to serve the Town of Marlborough and answer questions. We regret that we were not able to make the Community Center work for this early voting election but we will make sure moving forward we will work closer with our counterparts at the BOE and the County so this oversight does not happen again. As always I’m available by email or phone call. My information is on the Town website. You can also come to our Town Board meetings every 2nd or 4th Monday of the month. Thank You….. Supervisor Scott Corcoran
We also received a flyer on this topic from a candidate in the upcoming election. As much as we appreciate the sentiment, Founding Farmers does not publish any collateral by any political candidate, nor do we endorse any candidate.
Until next time,
The Founding Farmers
Leave a Reply