Dear North Castle Residents,
Yesterday Town Clerk Anne Curran sent an email notice to our residents with considerable misinformation regarding Becky Kittredge’s funeral. I would like to provide the facts regarding the arrangements for the former Town Board member. As we enter election season, I would also like to express my deep disappointment with the political nature of Ms. Curran’s message which is unbefitting the Office of Town Clerk. This is the truth about Ms. Kittredge’s funeral arrangements:
- The Town Board was pleased to hold Becky Kittredge’s funeral ceremony in front of Town Hall in order to pay tribute to this valued public servant and her many contributions to North Castle over the years.
- We ceased all official town business on Friday morning August 31st, for the three hour period of the funeral and closed off Bedford Road from Maple Avenue to Main Street to allow for the proceedings. We gave all Town employees time off to attend both the funeral service and subsequent buffet lunch at Legion Hall.
- We provided the procession with an official police and fire truck escort from the funeral home in Hawthorne to Town Hall.
- This was the most extensive recognition of a public servant in recent memory and far exceeded what was done by the prior Town Board for Jack Lombardi.
- In response to Ann Curran’s request to air Ms. Kittredge’s funeral video on NCTV, an informal email discussion was conducted by Town Board members. Contrary to Ms. Curran’s representation, NO VOTE WAS EVER HELD as there has been no Town Board meeting since August 14th 2013 well before Ms. Kittredge’s passing. We were also aware that “All About Armonk” and Channel 12 were already covering the funeral so that any residents who were interested could easily access the proceedings.
- When asked about airing the funeral on NCTV, several Board members expressed that rather than showing a funeral, a video montage celebrating Becky’s lifetime achievements would be a much more tasteful and respectful tribute– and frankly more relevant to those residents who are unaware of her contributions. It would also address the issue that the Town had no policy or guidelines about how to handle the passing of elected officials and employees.
- The Town Clerk chose not to pursue this suggestion or to inform residents about it. Instead, she decided to send out a town-wide email deliberately mischaracterizing the nature of our discussions. I can only assume that her effort was an attempt to paint the three of us in a negative light and inflame voters’ passions.
- As early as August 26th, immediately after Ms. Kittredge’s passing, Councilman Cronin began exploring and proposed to me a more lasting memorial to her service in one of our parks. Over the weekend he met with members of the Recreation Board to review the proposal. We hope to publicly announce our plans at the Rec. Board update at the September 11th Town Board Meeting.
Given that some residents have expressed an interest in viewing Ms. Kittredge’s funeral on NCTV, we will of course schedule to have it shown. We will also add as an agenda item to our September 11th meeting the development of a policy concerning funerals for elected officials and Town employees including the appropriate level of funds to expend and televising such events.
In closing I must point out that the Town Clerk’s office is required by law to be a politically objective source of accurate information, NOT a venue for expressing opinions about Town Board actions or for advancing political agendas. The fact that Ms. Curran used the passing of Ms. Kittredge to pass along misinformation and make a political statement is not only an ethical breach, it is in poor taste.
Sincerely,
Howard Arden, Supervisor