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HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. With village elections on Tuesday, Hastings Board of Trustees incumbent Nicola Armacost is running for re-election and said there is one aspect of her tenure that she is most proud of over the past couple of years.
Were in the best financial situation as a village that weve been in for many, many years, Armacost said. Last year we wiped out all the internal debt, which was almost $700,000.
There are two open seats on the board of trustees with Armacost and former trustee Marge Apel running unopposed after being nominated by the Hastings Democrats. Trustee Jeremiah Quinlan will be stepping down, as he will not seek re-election. The Hastings Republicans did not nominate a candidate for Tuesdays election.
Armacost, a 48-year-old Hastings resident who has lived in the village since 2002, was first appointed to the board in 2009 and was first elected in 2010. She lives in the village with her husband Tim and two sons Zach and Cole, and works as a managing director at Arc Finance, which is a not for profit organization that links financing mechanisms with clean energy and water in the developing world.
Having a background in finance helps her solve difficult problems in the village, Armacost said.
I think that my finance background makes me valuable, Armacost said. I know the questions to ask and I am not afraid to ask them. I understand the way in which debt structures work, I understand those kinds of things and I think I can help the other trustees in maybe drilling down a little bit deeper than they have in the past.
Along with continuing to get the villages finances in order, Armacost said the biggest issues facing the village today revolve around the Comprehensive Plan and the impending waterfront cleanup project.
Now that (the Comprehensive Plan has) been adopted there are a bunch of different recommendations in that plan that need attention, Armacost said. We sort of need to work out a schedule and a strategy to how we will finance those measures and thats something I intend to support.
She also sees the waterfront project as one that could greatly benefit Hastings in the future and is something that needs to be handled carefully.
I think that our waterfront is a huge, huge potential source of income and tourism, Armacost said. So really finding a way to make sure the waterfront ends up being developed in a way thats responsive to the current and future needs of the village.
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