When he parted the tall purple loosestrife stalks and spotted Twin Island Lake (aka Mud Pond) 35 years ago, Kevin Walsh knew he had found his home. “Pine Plains is a gemstone,” he said on a porch overlooking that very same lake in mid-September, “and all it needs is a little bit of polishing to be a jewel.” Since being endorsed by the Democrats for one of the two open positions on the town board, Walsh said he has been “working independently, from the center” to ask questions and learn how residents feel. “Two big issues that I hear people talking about are the town septic system and the moving of Town Hall,” he said. “Some people are terrified that Pine Plains is going to become so gentrified, that adding the central septic is going to change the look and feel of the town.”
“I am in favor of a septic system being built but I am also open to hearing peoples’ objections,” Walsh added. “A town board member is a representative of the people, and if people do not want it and cannot be convinced of its value, then it won’t happen.”
Walsh said he is getting up to speed on the issue—finding out what steps have been taken, assessing tax implications and potential maintenance costs, and considering the possible expansion beyond the central district if it was good for the town. “We could have more growth, improvement, and remove limitations now faced by businesses,” he said, adding that installation of a septic system “is not a party-related event. Politics at this level is irrelevant. [People] don’t need to fear it; nothing that extreme would be done.”
Walsh said people have expressed doubts about the need to move Town Hall to an area just north of the intersection of Main and Church streets. His response to them, he said, is that we “need to relocate and build it bigger to allow for growth, plan for the future,” and that it should be in the center of town to create “a more cohesive Pine Plains.” He noted that it would add to the existing attractions, such as the library, The Stissing Center, Tower Pizza and The Back Bar Beer Garden. “Everybody goes to the garden, people from out of town,” Walsh said. “Wonderful music, everybody feels comfortable there.”
While he understands objections to solar farms, Walsh said that they can be “done properly, with right screening” and that “solar is most viable right now and the best technology for our electricity needs.” Walsh is an electronics and sound engineer. “In electronics and engineering, you have to get it right, not sort of right,” he said. “You have to be awake, paying attention, and work from a knowledge base.” He also restores violins, plays the fiddle and has served on the Conservation Advisory Committee for Pine Plains. “I have a long history of wilderness survival and primitive technology,” he said. “I am a nut about the woods and nature.”
Walsh was born in Poughkeepsie, grew up in Pleasant Valley, served in the Navy, went back to Poughkeepsie and then moved to Pine Plains. He and his wife, Vivian, have two adult children, Kyle and Paige, who have moved out of the area.
The election is on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting is from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5.