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The Town Crier March 1, 2006 |
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The Town Crier March 1, 2006 |
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Farnham’s New Fire Truck Has Been Delivered
Highlights fron the Farnham Village Board Meeting by Alice Escott The Farnham Village Board met on Tuesday, February 21, 2006. Trustees Judith Pruett and Jere Hoisington were absent. The new Rescue/Pumper Fire Truck was delivered on Friday, February 3, 2006, inspected by the members of the fire department and put into service on Saturday, February 4, 2006. Within fours hours of being put into service, the Department put the truck to use on its first call. The truck has a 1,000 gallon tank and state of the art instruments and accessories. Department members made a list of incidental items that need to be addressed by the manufacturer. The official dedication of the rescue/pumper will be scheduled later this spring, after the weather breaks. In Old Business, Mayor Terry Caber received a letter of commitment from Erie County Environment & Planning Commissioner Drew Eszak regarding a $150,000 commitment (1/3 of the total demolition cost) for the demolition of the Farnham School. Mr. Eszak indicates that he will "speak with County Executive Joel Giambra. If available and with approval of the County Executive and the County Legislature, the County will set aside $150,000 through the Community Development Block Grant program to be used toward the school’s demolition." Mr. Eszak further states, "The County understands the importance of this project to the Village of Farnham and the Town of Brant, both from a public safety and economic development viewpoint. Projects such as this are when government should step in, at all levels, to assist the local community. For if we do not, buildings such as the former school, will continue to deteriorate and only become a bigger safety concern as time progresses." be used towards the school’s demolition." Mr. Eszak further states, "The County understands the importance of this project to the Village of Farnham and the Town of Brant, both from a public safety and economic development viewpoint. Projects such as this are when government should step in, at all levels, to assist the local community. For if we do not, buildings such as the former school, will continue to deteriorate and only become a bigger safety concern as time progresses." Mayor Caber has sent letters to State Senator Dale Volker and State Assemblyman Jack Quinn asking for their help in securing a third, $150,000, of the cost of the demolition project during the current New York State budget preparation, as a member item request. The final third of the cost of the project is being requested from Congressman Brian Higgins as a Fiscal Year 2007 Appropriation Request. In addition to the financial requests, Assemblyman Quinn is introducing an amendment to a previous bill that allows a municipality, under 20,000 people to apply for assistance in the demolition and disposal of abandoned buildings and vacated industrial and commercial structures. The Village Recreation Park Project’s revised Notice of Intent and Stormwater Permit were filed on behalf of Village of Farnham with NYS DEC which puts the Project into the next step, the 60 day review cycle. Pictured above is the first of the playground equipment that has been ordered for the park, a modular unit from Miracle Play Equipment, a company that is on the New York State bid list., at a cost of approximately $33,000. The Village has been asked to "spend down" the CDBG funds that were granted for the establishment of the park. Spending down the funds shows that the Village is on track with the project and puts the Village in good standing as the mid-year review of the 2006 CDBG funding draws near. The Village was not chosen to receive funds in the original round, but is eligible for mid-year funding. Mayor Caber announced that the Village is in the process of preparing the Tentative Budget for 2006/2007. The Tentative Budget must be on file by March 20, 2006. Mayor Caber stated that he did not anticipate a tax increase. He also noted that the Village’s share of the revenue sharing from the increased County sales tax would be approximately $3500. Trustee Tony Krtanjek reported that the Full Time Employee Policy Manual/Handbook has been completed and reviewed by the Village Attorney and Trustees. Since there were no changes to be made, the Board approved the Handbook, as written including the stipulation that it will be revised as needed. Krtanjek also reported that he has been in contact with the Collins and Gowanda Correctional facilities and the Lake view Shock Camp about the possibility of work crews being available during the upcoming spring and summer season. All 3 agencies are willing to send crews. Kratanjek will work with DPW Chief Ellsworth Nolan to compose a list of projects to be submitted to the agencies for approval and then to schedule the various crews. This effort saves the Village considerable money in maintenance/upkeep costs. The Beautification Committee met on February 2 and will next meet on March 22 at 6:30. All residents are welcome. The first project the committee will be undertaking is landscaping around the Village Welcome sings. The DPW has been working on several jobs in the Village Hall including the downstairs Men’s bathroom, the upstairs Ladies’ bathroom and the kitchen. The next project will be the windows. Code Enforcement is planning on stepping up its inspections as the weather breaks. In other matters, the Board • Tabled a resolution amending Village of Farnham 1999 Bond Resolution for additions and construction to the Village Water System in the total project amount not to exceed $1.5M in accordance with the application to NY State EFC for refinancing the $250,000 loan at 0% interest. This issue will be dealt with at a Special Meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible after Trustee Hoisington is available. This measure requires 4 out of 5 board members to be present. • Accepted the resignation of Heather Jackson as Deputy Clerk effective February 9th, 2006 and appointed Deborah Sadowski as Deputy Clerk effective February 9th, 2006 at a rate of $8.75/hr. • Declared two Fire Department vehicles as surplus: a 1978 Ford Pumper and 1971 Chevrolet Panel Van Rescue Vehicle. Legal Notice and Bid Acceptance date to be announced. The next meeting of the Village Board will be March 28, 2006, the fourth Tuesday of the month due to Village elections being held on March 21, the third Tuesday. Highlights from the Angola Village Board Meeting by Alice Escott The Angola Village Board met on Tuesday, February 21, 2006. Ron McPeek, publisher of the Town Crier, was first to address the Board to let them know that the atmosphere on Main St. has changed since last month when he appeared before the Board regarding the number of children that had been hanging out in the Business District. McPeek has heard a number of comments from other business owners and residents about the change and thanked the police department for their handling of the situation before it became a problem. McPeek also informed the Board that he has installed several cameras in/on his building that are hopefully a deterrent to any problems beginning on Main Street. 12th District Erie County Legislator, Bob Reynolds was at the meeting as part of his accessibility to his constituents. He will be attending meetings in each Village and Town in his District on a regular basis to be informed of the things going on in each area. Reynolds also told the Board that his District office is located at 3 Buffalo St. in Hamburg and if there is anything the Trustees feel he should know about, or if they would like him to be at an event, they should contact his office in advance and he will do his best to accommodate them. Reynolds announced that one more H.E.A.P. Outreach would be held in Boston in March for anyone who is in need of financial assistance with their heating bills. Mr. McPeek questioned if "we are really reaching the people who need the help" because when he was in Eden on another matter during the recent H.E.A.P. Outreach, there was no one there at 2pm and the Outreach was open until 4pm. Reynolds explained that at an Outreach, they can only guarantee 80 people will be helped because of the involvement of some cases. If the cases are "easy", more people can and will be helped. Applicants are seen on a "first come, first served" basis. If you are in need of H.E.A.P. assistance, or have a question about the program, call Mr. Reynolds office at 649-2640 and they can direct your call. Mr. Reynolds was asked if the sharing of the sales tax was going to cause an increase in the property taxes. Reynolds responded that it is not the goal of the Legislators to raise property taxes. They would like to be able to chip away at the ¾ of a penny additional sales tax to remove that also. With 9 new legislators on the legislative board, they have a lot to learn, but are working hard to get as much knowledge as possible to be able to best represent the people in their districts. The legislators are also looking to the State for any additional funding that is available. Trustee Bill Houston told Mr. Reynolds that he would be in touch with him regarding the status of several issues that the Village had raised prior to Reynolds taking office. Mr. Reynolds said that he was lucky to have Christina Abt on his staff since she was in the office during the previous administration and had a handle on the issues that were carried over to the new legislator. Reynolds assured Mr. Houston that he could call his office and be brought up to speed. Trustee Bill Houston admonished the Buffalo News and the Sun to "look at facts when writing". In both papers, the reporting on the sharing of the sales tax led readers to believe that it was the be all and end all to all the local governments money problems when in fact the amount to be shared is not a lot of money. After years (July ’03, July ’04, February ’06) of resubmitting the application for a work crew from Collins Correctional Facility to come and help with clean-up jobs, the Collins Correctional supervisor said a crew would be available to work in the Village for 20 to 25 days this spring. The list of jobs they will be taking care of include the cleaning/clearing of the railroad bank of debris, the banks of Mill St park, the banks leading to the old trolley tracks and the area around the Village water tower fence. If there is enough time, the area behind the fire hall on South Main will also be cleaned. The USDA has been notified of a problem, when the creek waters are high, of the water encroaching on the Mill Street Park and have been asked to come out and determine what course of action is necessary to correct the problem before it becomes too large. Mayor Howard (Hub) Frawley announced that a Tri-Board work session was planned for April 11 at 7:30pm at the Lake Shore High School Media Center. The Village, Town and School Boards will meet to discuss common goals and areas that they can all work together for the benefit of the area residents. All are welcome to attend. Legislator Reynolds commented that the Hamburg Boards hold Tri-Board work sessions a couple time each year and find them very helpful. He wished our Tri-Board work session success. Trustee Mike Stockman reported that the Depot Committee was able to get the sign painted by the Lake Shore Art Club erected and thanked the Town Crier and the Sun for the coverage each gave to the project. The exposure has spurred new interest in the project. Trustee Jonica DiMartino provided the Board with the Angola Library’s Annual Report. She thanked all for their continued support of the library and asked Legislator Reynolds if the amount of fund raising a library branch was able to do would in turn affect the amount of support the County would give to that branch. Reynolds said he would take her concern back to the legislature. Mr. Stockman also noted that with many programs being cut from the Library because of funding shortages, the Community Education Department was putting some new programs in place in the Library as a cooperative effort with the Village, Library and Community Ed. In March, 3 free programs are being run as a trial. Each of the programs are currently full and additional programs are underconsideration. Mr. Stockman also asked if the viability of a Main St Development Corporation was looked at. A successful model is in operation in Jamestown and perhaps would be an asset to the Angola Main Street district. Pros and cons will be considered in a future discussion. The Centennial plaque that had been in front of the Post Office was removed when the Main Street revitalization project had begun because the original post had rotted. A new post is being fabricated and the plaque will be back in place this spring. The Board will meet on Saturday February 25, 2006 at 10 am for a Budget Workshop. In other matters, the Board • Approved a resolution supporting the Nickel Plate Railroad Depot Preservation Society’s application to New York State for a Main Street Grant in connection with locating the 1882 Nickel-Plate Railroad Depot on the lot at 27 North Main Street in the Village of Angola. • Approved, upon the recommendation of Police Chief Puckhaber, the appointment Matthew Stonitsch of the Village of Angola NY, to the Angola Police Department for the "purposes of training" effective April 25th, 2006 contingent of his passing the State Mandated Physical Agility Tests. • Approved the application for the request for use of Centennial Park facilities from Miguel Rivera for the purpose of conducting a wedding ceremony, on August 26th, 2006 at 3:00 - 4:00 PM all interested parties will be properly notified. • Approved the proposal from Don Gallo, Village Engineer for Engineering services for the Newton Street Waterline Replacement Project in an amount of $19,600.00 and for the Mayor to sign and execute said proposal. • Received and forwarded an application for a zoning change for the property located at 151 South Main Street owned by Sandra and Edward Brant, to the planning board for report and recommendation. • A donation from Mr. Drago to the Friends of the Village, Inc. for the Village to use to purchase a bench with a back for the business district revitalization has been received and the bench will be install this spring. • The Drug Task Force meeting will be rescheduled • Announced, Main Street Barber Shop will be moving in with Acute Cut & Nails as of May 1, 2006 The next meeting of the Angola Village Board will be Monday, March 6, 2006 at 7:30pm.
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