Town of Owego Planning and Zoning announces appointments

Contributed by Peter Gordon, Historian —

At the regular meeting of the Town of Owego Board on Tuesday, May 7, the Supervisor and Councilmen unanimously appointed Bill Carrigg as Planning and Zoning Administrator, and Brenda Burrell as Code Enforcement Officer.

Carrigg, an Owego resident for over 50 years, grew up on Marshland Road and had significant experience in the construction trades and law enforcement before coming to work for the Town of Owego as the code officer.

Carrigg will continue as the Town Emergency Manager, FEMA Flood Plain Emergency Center Manager, and CEDAR (Code Enforcement Disaster Assistance Response Program) manager for post-disaster assistance response through New York’s Department of State, and FEMA connecting communities with agency and private sources for recovery.

Brenda Burrell, originally a Tioga Tiger and now an Owego resident, recently completed three days of certification training in Syracuse at the New York State Building Officials Conference, completing her required annual 24 hours of training on essential code enforcement basics and to learn new codes and innovations in the building trades.

Burrell is described as having the curiosity, energy, and motivation that allowed her to move from her position as Planning and Zoning Secretary to the first woman Code Enforcement Officer in the Town of Owego.

Burrell was unanimously appointed by the Town Supervisor and Board, and will report to Carrigg.