The Evans Town Board met on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. All members were present. A standing room only audience attended the meeting. At the point of the meeting when the members of the audience are able to address the Board, Supervisor Robert Catalino II asked that anyone wishing to discuss the Lake Erie Beach Park issue wait until all other issues had been addressed. A Derby resident said that in January, the Town Water Department dug up her lawn and driveway, damaging the sidewalk around it. She has called the Water department for needed repairs, but they have not yet been out. She will not be responsible for anyone suing for injury as a result of the sidewalk damage. Also she has been prevented from fixing her driveway. The Board will notify Mr. Kait of the Water Department to call her the next day about the problem. A resident living on Sycamore Street said that the neighborhood streets are torn up so badly that kids may get hurt while playing there. He also said that an emergency vehicle would have difficulty getting down the street. There is also a dilapidated house was making the neighborhood look bad while other residents want to spruce up the area. The Board will set up a meeting with the Highway Superintendent and notify the Building Inspector about the possible violations.              

     Several Residents commented on the appointment of Jeanne Chase as Town Assessor. They questioned her qualifications and asked for documentation supporting her stated experience. They think Chase may have committed perjury in her application and want proof of her seven years of assessing and doing appraisals. “She can clear it up in a second,” Bob Catalano said. “Show us some proof.” The Board said that it has faith Chase is qualified to be Town Assessor. It said that Chase’s history in real estate is well-spoken for and that Hunt Realty will back her up. Catalano argued that Peter Hunt of Hunt Realty once had plans stamped by an architect who wasn’t even licensed, so Hunt is not to be trusted. A couple residents mentioned going to the Attorney General and petitioning publicly for Eliot Spitzer to investigate Chase’s professional history, should documents not be provided to the people. Peter Bolgulski said, “People in this town want to see the proof.” He accused Chase of lying on her resumé and suggested that the Board was covering something up. He also accused the Board of having an “in-your-face attitude” that made the Town of Evans look “bush-league.” Someone from the audience, during Bolgulski’s comments, suggested that the Board was paying Chase off with an appointment as Town Assessor because Connors Hot Dog stand was allowed to be built on the county sewer. Councilwoman Erickson, who is a Connors, defended Connors Hot Dog stand, saying it is paying $30,000 to readjust the location of the sewer and correct the mistake. Councilwoman Erickson stated that neither she nor Connors Hot Dog stand ever had any help from Chase and she was not paying Chase back for anything.

     A Public Hearing was held to rezone vacant land for Lake Shore Family Medical, to build a multi-tenant building on Erie Road near Delamatar Road. The building would house Lake Shore Family Medical and possibly a day care center for children, with room for expansion to a total of 4 buildings. Mark Dean, architect for the project, stated that an application was turned in to the Town Planning Board and that a traffic study was in progress. When asked who would be the tenants in that space, Mr. Dean responded that at this point there were no particular tenants planned, the space was speculative. Bob Catalano said that it is wrong to develop a building without knowing exactly who the tenants will be. He also said that the traffic in the area is too dangerous for a children’s day care center. Bill Styles asked, “Who builds a building and doesn’t know what to do with it?” Dean answered Styles by saying that people build buildings all the time without knowing what the purpose of the buildings will be. He said that he speculated the tenants would be from Lake Shore Family Medical and Styles said, “‘Speculate’ isn’t an answer.”

     Ray Markowitz announced that every community has great leaders who give their time as volunteers, in Evans, we can be proud of Sharen Trembath, who started the Great Beach Sweep clean up program. Mrs. Trembath just won a Woman of Distinction Award in Albany. Markowitz also requested to be appointed to the Advisory Board of Lake Erie Beach. The discussion then turned to the controversy of the Lake Erie Beach Park property. Markowitz read a letter that was sent with him from Ken Williams who couldn’t make it to the meeting. The letter included a statement saying that the Town can’t just sell the land and that the property owner should know that public access still holds. After reading this letter, Markowitz then spoke for himself. He said that people have the right to use and expand Lake Erie Beach Park. He said the boat lane was given to the Board for one dollar with a verbal agreement that it would always be for the people. Markowitz argued for access to the lake to keep the lakeside businesses going. He said it isn’t right to give the land to whomever has enough money to buy it. Many additional residents spoke to the Board about the Lake Erie Beach Park situation. They all believed that the Board should not sell any of the Park property and should continue to work to make improvements to the park for accessibility of all Town residents and for the esthetics of the park and to promote beach access for tourism. The Board responded to these comments, saying that there has been no sale of the park land. The piece in question is not .7 acres as was printed in the Angola Penny Saver but 0.07 acres. The Board attempted to clarify the situation, saying there had been a discussion scheduled to decide what would be done with the park but Assemblyman Jack Quinn asked that the meeting be postponed until he could be there to join the discussion. The Board said it never proposed to sell any part of the park. It also mentioned that the man who owns the home in question has a severely handicapped child, so he paid his own money to pave Point Breeze Drive, a paper street, in order to make easier access to his home for his child. The Board brought to attention that the home-owner’s neighbor, Edward Schneider, harassed him because part of the paved handicap road was in the park. The Board assured the people that it was not giving an advantage to the home-owner. The Board explained that Schneider met with the home-owner and the Board and one solution that was discussed was to sell 0.07 acres of park land to the home-owner to make a turn around for handicap van access. The Board said Schneider said that this solution was not possible because the home-owner would “feel no pain.” The Board also suggested that the money made by selling the 0.07 acres of land could be used to expand the park. The Board wants to make access to the park and lake better for all the Town’s people, it said. The Board claimed that the whole situation was being blown out of proportion and that it was not selling a section of the park. Mary Ellen Hanna, who is part of the Friends of Evans, said the Town Board fails to represent the taxpayers. She complained that some signs had not been put up when it was promised they would be. She asked, referring to the Lake Erie Beach Park issue, “Has a letter been issued to the property owner stating that there is no sale of park property?” The Board said no letter had been issued. Hanna complained that when recent work concerning a fence was done in the park, no town residents were notified of this action in the park. She said that no resident requests have been acted on in six months. Maureen Jewitt said that Evans is a giving, caring town and that the home-owner just wants to help his son with a road for easy access. One resident responded to this comment, saying that Evans has been giving because it gave the home-owner the opportunity to build his house, get an easement for his utilities and blacktop the road. He said that there are limits to how much the people can give and that this new proposed road is too much. He stated that the rights of the masses are more important than the rights of an individual.

     In other matters, the Board : • Announced that Traveler’s Restaurant had closed due to the personal problems of the owner. It will reopen, under new management/ownership on July 17, 2005. • Affirmed the Community’s support for the application and use of grant funds for the replacement of the playground structure at Nettlecreek Park. • Appointed Lance Harrison of Angola to the position of Lifeguard Supervisor to be paid $11.00 per hour and Patrick Murphy of Angola to the position of Assistant Lifeguard Supervisor to be paid $8.50 per hour. • Appointed the following individuals to the position of Lifeguard Captain: Kim Covino, Ben Farley, Brian Ruffles • Appointed to the position of pool attendant; to be called as needed: Darrah Vona, Katherine Milks • Approved that the sums of money seized by the Town of Evans Police Department, pursuant to lawful arrests (listed 8 cases, totaling $1,687) which is unclaimed by the rightful owner, may be utilized by the Town of Evans Police Department for undercover narcotic investigation; and that the Chief of Police shall maintain appropriate records reflecting the expenditures of the above referenced funds. • Adjusted the water account of Daniel Arlington because of a water problem and John Nesterowicz because of a leak • Set a public hearing to be held on July 13, 2005 at 8:00 P.M. for the consideration of a special use permit renewal for First Place Finishes, for restoration and custom painting of automobiles and motorcycles including collision repair, located at 1526 Eden-Evans Center Road, Angola, part of SBL# 221.00-4-29. • Contingent upon final review and concurrence of the NYS DOT and the FHWA, the Town of Evans hereby grants design approval for Phase One of the of the Town of Evans Multi-Use Pathway • Appointed Kim Sobol of Derby part time caretaker to be called as needed • Stands with Niagara Falls/Western New York community and are united in its support for the Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve and Guard base, and its retention and ask for the overturn of the Pentagon’s recommendation and keep the base open • Appointed the following to the position of lifeguard Jacqueline Ball, Alicia Beck, Charles Commer III, David Farley, Frederick Garassi III, Alycia Gottoroff, Brad Gottoroff, Derek Greiner, Deidre Hartz, Ryan Held, Richard Kelleher, Laura Klopp, Megan Maslach, Sara Murphy, Britney O’Connor, Stephanie Polakiewicz, Lauren Valtin, Mary Veith, Elizabeth Weber, Ian Widmer-Wick The next work sessions will be Wednesday June 22, and July 6, 2005 at 5pm. The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 7:30pm.