From the Desk of the Owego Town Supervisor

Donald Castellucci, Jr. —

In the middle of 2024, I began to contemplate my future plans and where I wanted to be over the next couple of years. When I began elected office in 1996, I had no intention of serving as long as I have. I believe you have to know when to pass the torch to the next generation. Beginning my 30th year in office, I believe that time is now, if it wasn’t before! I am humbled to be the longest-serving elected official in Town history.

The privilege to serve this community has been a blessing. My parents taught me the importance of helping others whether you had nothing or everything. I’ve learned over time that you very well might be the answer to someone else’s prayer to God. I know many blessings have come to me and our family, and I always try to pay it forward.

I am fortunate to be a member of the Apalachin Lions Club for the last 28 years. The members there have taught me the importance of giving back to the community and the difference you can make right in your own backyard. The Owego Elks have taught me the same. Their partnership with me over 25 years hosting blood drives for my mom and dad, Catholic Charity events, and other personal events has been invaluable. I have volunteered my time to many local events over the past 30 years as well.

My 17 years serving on the Resolutions and Executive Committees of the NYS Association of Towns was one of the highlights of my career. I have made many friends and worked with colleagues on all levels of government. Representing the Town on these levels has created many fond memories.

Like any other profession, you have ups and downs. You have made some decisions you might change knowing what you know now. Overall, I am confident I have made the correct decisions on most of the issues that the town has faced during my tenure. Making those decisions was never a one-person undertaking.  I have been blessed to have many good people around me over time who were good public employees as well. They have put the public first and have always tried to assist the residents.

The most difficult times during my tenure were the 2006 and 2011 floods. Seeing families’ lives devastated twice was not easy. In 2006, the Board at the time had not experienced anything of that magnitude. It took all levels of government to address the situation. I will always be impressed by how the community stood together and bounced back from that disaster. In 2011, the magnitude of the flood was even worse than in 2006. Having some experience from 2006 was helpful, but I needed a different skill set to address the safety and administrative aspects of the event. It definitely took a team effort, and the experience the department heads had from 2006 was invaluable. Again, the community demonstrated courage and resilience. That is something I will never forget.

With bad experiences comes a silver lining. After 2011, we were able to rebuild and retool the town’s operation and infrastructure.

Hickories Park has had many upgrades, including new electric sites, sewer for campers, the Dog Park, a rebuilt band shell, new electric throughout the park, and much more. Camping is at an all-time high. The park has become a destination site for locals and travelers. We have a new disc-golf course in Campville. We are currently repurposing the Tioga Terrace Park with basketball and pickleball courts. There is a walking path and more amenities coming in the future.

A lot of infrastructure has been rebuilt or updated. Well houses and pump stations have been rebuilt. Water wells have been redeveloped. There is now standby power at many of our wells and pump houses. Our Apalachin sewage treatment plant was upgraded, and we are currently upgrading our Owego sewage treatment plant. Bridges and culverts such as Valley Road, Foster Valley Road, Long Creek Road, Gaylord Road, and Dutchtown Road have been rebuilt (to name a few). Most of these projects were facilitated with NYS and FEMA, saving local tax dollars.

My most satisfying achievement was the building of the 9-11 Memorial in Hickories Park. It encompasses all of the 9-11 narrative. It is still visited by many people each summer. We were also able to host the Tunnel to Towers Rolling Museum. It will be bittersweet when I officiate my last 9-11 ceremony this year.

The other project of which I am proudest is the new Shared Services Building. The benefits are many. All of our equipment is now able to be stored indoors, which extends the useful life. The equipment is now out of the floodplain. We have a fuel tank located on campus so if there is an emergency event, we can respond. The town needs to be able to respond to emergency events immediately. We now will have access to most of the needed equipment at all times.

The town was recently designated as a Storm Ready Community. We have created an emergency operations center (EOC) in the new building. We are continually adding information to our website to help residents navigate storms and emergencies. The building has the potential to become an emergency shelter if needed. The Town was able to run water and sewer to the new building and the town hall. This gives the town or a developer an opportunity to invest in water and sewer lines from Lopke to the village line. These are just some of the advantages of the new building.

The Town Hall was built in 1987. We have continually upgraded the facility. There are new windows, upgraded HVAC, roof repairs, a recently paved parking lot, and we are utilizing new security protocols. This will help extend the useful life of the building.

About six years ago, the town purchased the street lights and converted them to LED lighting. This has created significant savings for users.

We also share many services with the State, County, and Village of Owego, along with other municipalities across the County. While many people know I believe the tax cap is a political scam at the state level, even with all of the projects we have completed, we have been under the tax cap since 2017.

One of the issues that I regret that I haven’t been able to address to date is the internet access in some areas of the town. I am sure there are other issues, but this is one that comes to mind.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for their support over the past 30 years. It has overall been the experience of a lifetime. The ups and downs, the supporters and detractors all make the road of life the success it can become.

Certainly not least, I want to thank my family. Vicki and I have been blessed with the many friends and acquaintances we have made over the years. From my first fundraiser at Metro’s Restaurant in 1995 until now, the support has been limitless. We are blessed with two successful children, Donald and Lauren, and now our daughter in law, Emily. We were blessed with community support with the kids’ travel sports and academic fundraisers.

Life is never perfect, and ours is no different than anyone else’s, but this is still a great place to raise a family. We are forever grateful to the community.