After more than 13 years as Red Hook Village Trustee, Jay Trapp retired in November. Mayor Ed Blundell appointed Will Noonan on Nov. 13 to take his place.

Noonan has a background in human services and union negotiations and representations. Blundell said these credentials are important as the board will be working on police reform and redesign that may have some union and personnel human services components. 

Trapp began his public service in the village as a volunteer member of the planning board where he served as chair for 15 years.

“With the planning board, you get to have a direct hand on what could be done [in the village] with the growth of the community,” said Trapp. “Since the village is the business center, I wanted to be a friendly face to those who came to us looking to open up a business, especially the small businesses.”

Moving up to the village board made sense to Trapp after having worked with several mayors, learning how local government worked and his desire to create positive change for the community.

“We each have our strengths and talents on the board and Jay was always the critical thinker especially in editing the resolutions,” said Mayor Ed Blundell. “He would always find some correctable point and to me, he was like a cross between an english and engineer major.” 

Trapp brought with him his background in environmental engineering and sustainability from the planning board.

Deputy Mayor Brent Kovalchik worked with Trapp for 15 years. Kovalchik was chairman of the zoning board while Trapp chaired the planning board. They were both elected to the village board in 2007.

“Jay was responsible for getting me involved with local government when I first moved here,” said Kovalchik. “Our biggest accomplishments were the Neighborhood Mixed Use zone and the light industrial business district that we both wrote. We were good partners and between the both of us, we have about 60 years of service.”

Their work on the sewer and the seniors project led to the village’s recent central sewer project in the business district.

“Being in the planning and village board has changed me forever because everywhere else I go, I will take these experiences to help me reflect on the things that I come in contact with,” said Trapp. 

Trapp and his wife Emily, who joined the Hardscrabble Committee several years ago, both retired at the end of 2020 and moved to Leesville, South Carolina.

Trapp, a musician, has his music room set up in his new home and will be spending a lot of his time there while he waits for the live music scene to safely return after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On behalf of the village, we extend our sincere appreciation for all of Jay’s help,” said Blundell.

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