November 29, 2009

Dear Mr. Piechuta,

I have heard from our lawyer that at the November Aurora Board of
Trustees meeting you publicly expressed the belief that the concerns
that we wanted addressed at that meeting were the result of ill will
stemming from the private property law suit that was initiated against
us by the Zwigards and Koepp/Place. Hearing this opinion expressed
by the village CEO at a public meeting is disconcerting to me.

We strongly believe that the Koepp/Place/Zwigard law suit is a private

issue and has no place in village government meetings.

The village government’s unwillingness to respond to the questions

raised at that meeting is emblematic of a larger and more troubling
issue: that of special treatment by village officials toward Wells College
related activities and individuals. It is my belief that this favoritism has
led to unequal application and unfair enforcement of village law. I
have a well documented history of many such incidents of bias over
the past 6 years. I have attempted to draw them to the village
government’s attention, but most of my efforts have been ignored and
the village officials have allowed village laws to continue to be broken -
by some.

To further support my beliefs, I would like to remind you that our

deputy mayor, Ken Zabriskie, resigned his position in objection to
excessive Wells College influence on our village government. Shortly
after his resignation in September 2008, Ken wrote a letter to The
Citizen alleging “unchecked corruption” at work in our village. Nothing
has changed since Ken resigned and went public with his concerns.
Indeed, his letter was not even acknowledged by our village
government. For your convenience I will include a copy of his letter to
the newspaper.

To reduce the problems in this village to bickering amongst neighbors

is a red herring that deflects attention away from the serious issues
that I (and Ken) have raised. There were serious problems in Aurora
long before the four people suing us moved in next door.

Sincerely,
Laura Holland

Why I resigned from the Aurora Village Board

Saturday, September 20, 2008 10:58 PM EDT

When I was elected, almost 12 years ago, I ran on the principle that “Aurora needed her
own voice,” A local would be on the village board with no ties to Wells College. It was
paramount that at least one trustee would be looking out for the well-being of all village
residents versus the Goliath (Wells College).

To this end, I failed and Goliath won. I resigned both my position as deputy mayor and
village trustee at our last meeting, after realizing the giant would not be dropped by my
little stone.

The main issue was how could a private entity (Wells College) with the cooperation of a
fellow board member, circumvent the whole local governing body and establish an office
for the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office in Aurora.

I felt, and still do, with respect to this issue, that we no longer need a village board
because we are just pawns. I feel violated, abused and embarrassed.

I am sorry for letting so many good people down and am withdrawing from any future
political life due to this type of unchecked corruption.

Because of who you vote for in the next mayoral election, you may gain some unwanted
bedfellows.

Kenneth Zabriskie

Aurora

Zabriskie is former deputy mayor and village trustee of Aurora

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