The Village of Angola held their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 7, 2007 at 7:30 pm. Trustees Stockman and Carlson were excused from this meeting. In the first order of business, the board approved the meeting and workshop minutes from April 16, 2007. The floor was then opened to visitors who had concerns for the board. A village resident addressed the board and thanked Mayor Frawley for attending an earlier school board meeting. She expressed her concern about the Village’s policy regarding sex offenders because she has been notified of a level one sex offender who currently resides in close proximity to her home and one of the local schools. Andrew Yusik, the Village Attorney, stated that he would look into what, if anything, could be done to notify area residents of the locations any future sex offenders may be residing at. Mr. Yusik informed the resident that there is currently some litigation pending in other parts of the State regarding what can be done to notify residents and local schools about the location of convicted sex offenders. There have been other laws that have been voted against because of the language. Trustee Wilson informed the resident that he had asked the police department to “keep an eye on” the situation. Trustee Houston said that he also asked, not only the police, but other local residents to help monitor the situation. Trustee Houston reported on communications and also various meetings he has attended and a few that he plans on attending in the near future. One of the Erie County Government meetings held in Elma on April 26th touched on Budget and College charge backs. He also reported that the temporary 1% sales tax imposed by the county raised approximately $12,000 in revenue and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that this will change in the near future. Trustees Wilson and Houston will attend a meeting later this summer in Boston concerning county help in the Midway Project which will assist local businesses improving their business. In other communications, Trustee Houston reported that there are 3 broken memorial stones on Main Street and new stones have been ordered to replace them. The village was able to purchase new benches and garbage receptacles with monies from a grant obtained by State Legislator Jack Quinn. Another grant from Senator Dale Volker’s office was able to purchase 4 new street lights for Commercial Street. He thanked the students from the Hoag School for the beautiful flowers that they had planted on Main Street. Indexing on paving and drainage problems has been completed and the process has been started to fix the problems. Nancy Shock from National Grid had 3 sections of broken concrete sidewalk replaced. Calendars from Nickel Plate are now on sale for 50% off and are available at the library and Town Hall. Trustee Houston would also like to remind everyone that the Friends of the Village are still collecting money for the hanging baskets that are hung during the summer months on the light poles on Main and Commercial Streets. Trustee Wilson reported that the Ethnic Food Festival held on April 22nd was a terrific success raising $3,300 for the library. There were 60 baskets for the Chinese auction and 40+ food suppliers participated. They are planning to hold the event again. He also stated that the street sweeping looks great and encouraged the village employees to keep up the good work. Some of the fire hydrants throughout the village need to be painted. Trustee Wilson expressed an interest in the new windmills that have been put up in the Woodlawn area. There has been a tremendous growth in these types of windmills and thought they were a good way to create energy. Mayor Frawley reported that at a recent Erie County Association of Towns meeting the Expand Project has 516 properties in the Town of Evans, 49 of which are located in the Village of Angola. Erie County Legislator Bob Reynolds believes that this may become a “sleeper problem” and thought that the towns needed representation. Mayor Frawley will chair this committee and keep a close eye on what the County plans to do with these properties. There has been a grant for clean up on some of these properties and there is a training organization in Buffalo that will provide some free labor for this purpose. The Mayor also wanted to remind the village residents that there is a “pooper scooper” ordinance and asked the residents to please be conscientious of their pets. There will be a Memorial Day Parade at 10:00 on May 28th. Line up will start at 9:30. Fire Commissioner Lynn Kaminski reported that the fire chief’s brakes had been repaired by Basil’s and that there was no charge. She will present Basil’s with a certificate of thanks. She also reported that two 6’ fire hooks, two 8’ fire hooks, ten lengths of hose, a 1-1/2” and 2-1/2” nozzle are needed and asked the board to approve the purchase of this equipment with funds that are available in this year’s budget. The board approved these purchases. Two bids were received for each of these items. OSHA will be mandating that hoses be replaced with larger diameters in the near future. She also wanted to thank Chuck Carlson for all of his work on the FEMA grant for the exhaust system. It was through his diligent work that they were able to learn that the oil water separator is not allowed by the FEMA grant. The firehouse has been cleaned and looks great. Old truck 6 has been refurbished and is now used as a rescue truck. Chuck LaBarbera of Code Enforcement stated that there currently is no ordinance on the books regarding the selling or installation of windmills. Village residents are reminded that before installing fences or putting up pools they must contact the code enforcement officer. If a new pool is installed or an existing pool is moved, it must have a pool alarm. Inflatable pools need permits before being put up and also need to have a pool alarm that must be wired to the house, extension cords are not acceptable. One notice will be issued and the next violation will result in a court hearing. On May 17th Trustees Carlson and Stockman will read a Proclamation at the Hoag School written by Mayor Frawley and Trustee Houston. There will be a 50’s themed sock hop at that event. Mayor Frawley and the other board members thank Linda Giancarlo for the cleaning of the offices. He also wished Trustee Wilson, Linda Giancarlo and Town of Evans Supervisor Robert Catalino a Happy Birthday.

In other matters the board:

• Approved the Data for the 2006 Firemen’s Service Award Program to Penflex, Inc.

• Approved the request from the Village Clerk-Treasurer, Linda Giancarlo, for the use of Centennial Park Facilities and the William G. Houston Gazebo on Tuesday August 7, 2007 form 7-9 pm for the Celebration of “National Night Out.”

• Approved the request and application from the Lake Shore Family Support Center/Senior High School, Ms. Heather Boncore, for an assemblage/parade on Saturday May 19, 2007 from 10-11 am for the Celebration of a “Family Fun Walk”. A 2 mile walk to start at the High School, up N. Main to Center, to Park St. to Sunset to Eagle Drive and back to the High School. Some participants will be riding bikes and scooters and skates.

• Approved Award Bid to E & R General Contracting, 38 St. David’s Drive, West Seneca, New York for the School Street/Maple Street Loop Waterline Project in the amount of $95,821.40 (ninety-fiv-thousand-eight-hundred-twenty-one dollars and forty cents), as advised by the Village Engineer and contingent upon approval from Erie County.

• Approved Legal Notice and Tax Warrant for Fiscal Year 2007 – 2008

• Declared May 2007 as Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month The next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will take place on May 21, 2007 at 7:30 pm.

Highlights from the Brant Town Board Meeting

By Daryl Gruka and Alice Escott

     The Brant Town Board held their meeting on Tuesday, May 8, 2007. All of the Board members were in attendance. A representative from the Erie County Health Department addressed the Board concerning a grant they have received from the EPA to do beach and stream surveys for sanitary conditions. Over the last 8 years, the beaches on Lake Erie have been closed after rainfalls of ½ inch. The beaches remained closed for 24 hours or until, after sampling, the health department indicated it was okay to reopen. It amounted to 20 to 30 percent of the time that the beaches were closed. In the process of the study, the Health Department hopes to find the possible sources of the water’s contamination – such as seepage from old or compromised septic systems, storm sewers and sanitary sewers. The Health Department is going to start this sampling work at the end of May and continue through Labor Day, collecting anywhere from 600 to 700 water samples from the lake, streams and creeks. In addition to using their own people, the Erie County Health Department is sub-contracting Great Lakes Laboratories, a part of Buffalo State College, to collect and test water samples. Any and all findings will be reported to the Department of Environmental Control (DEC). It is hoped the findings will help to eliminate the frequent closings of the beaches. The Public Hearing on Proposed Local Law #2 of 2007 concerning Land Use Regulation was held. A question was asked if the proposed law could be explained “in English”. Town Attorney Bill Trask clarified that the proposed law states that all land in the Town is to be used as permitted by zoning law and that the second part of the proposed law states that if the new use for the land is not listed in the zoning code for that property, a request for a variance or re-zoning would have to be made. It is not to be assumed that a non-listed use is permitted. After issuing a negative SEQR declaration, the Board adopted the Proposed Law as Local Law #1 of 2007. Supervisor Leonard Pero reassured a resident that his request for a meeting with the Code Officer would be arranged. The resident complained that he felt his concerns were being ignored as he has been trying to get them resolved for over a year. Supervisor Pero stated that “we are trying to clean up the Town and do things the right way”. The codes are being reviewed to see if there are laws that are being broken so that the proper steps can be followed to resolve his problems.

In other matters, the Board:

• Reported that construction on the Surfside Drive Water Project is slated to start on the May 9, 2007.

• At the Memorial Park, the new lights are in and the foundation for the Clock has been dug. The clock is scheduled to be installed around May 17. Discussion will be held on what shrubs/plants to be planted in the park. There was approximately $5519 left from grant money for the park. A gazebo from Concord Amish Village will be installed at the park also.

• Tabled the change to include a direct deposit option for Town payroll until the next meeting so that several questions about the new system could be answered.

• Announced that the Town Pool will be open on June 24 for Brant Summerfest July 2 and 3, CLOSED July 4 and 5, and open for the season on July 6 through August 17.

• Announced that the Recreation Program will run from July 9 through August 17, 2007. This year’s fees will be $55 for 1 child, $40 for the second child in the family, $30 for the third child and a total of $150 for 4 or more children. The fee for bus service will be $20. Registration is now taking place at the Town Clerk’s Office.

• Bids were accepted for work on the Senior Center/Community Building for Windows $4275; Appliances - $1798; Kitchen/Patio work - tabled

• Approved the expenditure of $2500 for the company supplying the playground equipment to come in and dig the holes and supervise the installation of the equipment by Town volunteers

• Put out to bid the sealing and striping of the tennis/basketball courts, install tennis court posts and install a new basketball pole. Bids to be opened on June 12, 2007 at 8pm.

• Tabled the updating of a section of sidewalk from the post office to Chiavetta’s Catering to look into the ADA requirements that might have to be met.

• Park gate will be closed at 10pm unless special arrangements are made in advance.

• Set a tentative date of July 21, 2007 for an Energy Fair

• Approved an intern “ride-along” with the Town Police pending receipt of all paper work (Insurance certificate and signed permissions)

• Memorial Day Service - May 28 at 9:00am in the Memorial Park

• Appointed Tish Brady to the Planning Board The next meeting will be Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 7:30pm in the Town Hall. All are invited.