Welcome to Essex Town Hall!
Wright’s Inn was one of many inns that once accommodated travelers in Essex, New York in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Now it is only one of two inns that are still standing in Essex centuries later. The building today serves as the Essex Town Hall, but it is the shell of Essex’s earliest surviving tavern. Visit the Essex-on-Lake-Champlain Blog to read the rest of the article on this historic structure. Download the 1989 Historic Structure Report for a deep-dive into this history of this building. You can also view the original deed, too.
Clerk to the Supervisor
Cheryl Sprang
Account Clerk
Angel Forbes
2024 - The Year of the Dragon
Essex Town Supervisor
Ken Hughes
It may seem a bit whimsical, but I don’t believe in coincidences. After the stroke of midnight ushered in the new year 2024, I experienced several random references to 2024 as “The Year of the Dragon”. The Dragon also happens to be the same Chinese zodiac sign as the year of my birth, so it appears to be an extra special feature of the zodiac this time around! According to the qualified researchers on the internet, this year is meant to bring about prosperity, good fortune, honor and success … four words which I hope will define how this year unfolds for Essex residents and the local government that serves them.
2024 rings in the beginning of my 3rd term as Town Supervisor, an honor of a lifetime. Knowing that I have earned the public’s trust through action and effort brings me such personal fulfillment. It’s a responsibility that I take very seriously and I’m grateful to have earned it. I begin this year working with a new Highway Superintendent (Kyle Wrisley) who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job after working for 25+ years at Essex County DPW. I also am pleased to share that for the first time in the past two years, we now have a full complement of elected Town Council members as we welcome Paul Versnick to the table as an elected official. Paul’s perspectives as a full time member of the agricultural community will yield great dividends to the Town Council’s efforts over the months and years to come.
For those that live in the historic hamlet, my main goal is to get this too-long overdue water project completed in 2024. This project has plagued the town for over a decade and I speak for everyone when I say that it’s time to get it done. Regular updates will be posted on this project’s process. For those that are not affected by this project, I continue to fight for issues that I know affect many of you: affordability of property taxes, cellular connectivity, broadband access, safe and smooth roads, reduction of power outages to name a few.
What I thought would be accomplished in 2023 (the updating of the Town’s 20+ year old Comprehensive Plan) has been pushed into 2024 and possibly into 2025. The Town is waiting for the NYS Department of State to manage the affairs of this process, and they apparently can be quite methodical in their process. For those unfamiliar, the Town’s Comprehensive Plan is the authoritative policy document used to direct long-range planning for Essex that focuses on physical development, social and economic policies. Elected officials, appointed town boards and committees, federal and state grant funders and policy developers will reference our Comprehensive Plan to support action. All residents of Essex will have the opportunity to take center stage in helping to develop the next version of the Plan, with the help of a professional planning organization. Not since the early 2000s have the townspeople of Essex had this opportunity. I am very much looking forward to listening and learning about how you desire to see Essex grow for the next decade and beyond.
My thanks to everyone who serves the public in any capacity, and my equal thanks to all of you who treat our public servants with dignity and respect. Public service and volunteerism to improve one’s community are among the highest duties. May you have an abundance of prosperity, good fortune, honor and success this year, and every year!