The Evans Town Board met on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 for the annual re-organization meeting and the first regular meeting of 2008. All members were present. It was the first meeting for Supervisor Fran Pordum and Councilman Keith Dash.

The re-organization meeting is held at the beginning of each governing body’s new year to establish the rules of operation, make committee appointments and make fiscal designations for the coming year. Most rules, appointments and designations remain the same from year to year. Town Board meetings will be held on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, except in March when it will be the first Wednesday only and July and August when it will be the third Wednesday only. The meetings will begin at 7:00pm – 30 minutes earlier than in the past.

There will be a change to the Privilege of the Floor section of the meeting. Residents wishing to address the Board are asked to sign in before the meeting and indicate on the sign-in sheet their name, address and whether they wish to speak on an agenda item or another matter. When the meeting starts, after the Town Clerk takes Roll Call, she will pick up the sign-in sheet and give it to Supervisor Pordum. During the Privilege of the Floor, residents who have signed in will be able to address agenda items. Near the end of the meeting, the Board will recognize visitors – the residents who signed up to speak on non-agenda items. All speakers will be allowed up to 3 minutes. Items may be submitted to the Town Clerk to be placed on the agenda until 10am on the Monday before the Wednesday meeting. Meeting agendas will be available from the Town Clerk on Tuesday before the Wednesday meeting.

The Town Crier was designated the Official Town Paper with the Buffalo News and The Sun being used as needed for additional coverage.

Established a new Town of Evans Veterans Committee – chairman Anthony LaRusso.

Ron McPeek addressed the Board concerning their new Privilege of the Floor procedure. It was clarified that the first time residents spoke it would be on items that the Board would be addressing/taking action on later in the meeting. The second time would be for all other matters. "It is not really different than before." The new procedure allows for the agenda to be addressed early in the meeting and non-agenda items to be delayed until the formal agenda has been addressed. If someone wishes to speak who did not sign in, the Board may, at their discretion, allow additional speakers.

Councilman Mike Spence noted that the Ice Rink is up at the Town Park and will be open, weather permitting for Town residents to enjoy.

Councilman Paul Cooper stated that an ad will be in the Town Crier concerning the disposal of Christmas Trees (see ad page 2).

In other matters, the Board:

• Authorized cancellation of a penalty charge of $2.97 on a water account due to a clerical error in recording a payment of $29.70.

• Received and filed a letter from Pat Persinger

•Approved the following Licenses – Refreshment - Salvatore Aronica d/b/a Tubby’s Take Out; Refreshment and Amusement – George P. Williams d/b/a Super Freeze Drive-In; Refreshment, Amusement and Live Band – Richard Alberts d/b/a Mickey Rats Beach Club/Captain Kidds, Robert E. Jakubczak d/b/a Oversees Veterans of Evans, Inc., Lake Erie Beach Volunteer Fire Co, Inc, J.J. Parks Pub Inc d/b/a Castaways Bar & Grill.

The Board adjourned to their next meeting, January 16, 2008 at 7pm in memory of John Granville, Diplomat.

The Brant Town Board met for their annual re-organization meeting on Thursday, January 3, 2008. Boardmembers Dan Kujawinski and Vincent Fullone, Town Clerk Thea Ells and Town Justice Linda Crouse were sworn in and signed the official log as elected Town officials.

The meeting was opened with a moment of silence for Peace and for all who past in 2007. The new Board members were welcomed and the entire Board was introduced to the Public.

The re-organization meeting is held at the beginning of each governing body’s new year to establish the rules of operation, make committee appointments and make fiscal designations for the coming year. Most rules, appointments and designations remain the same from year to year. The Town Board meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of each month (except in November when the meeting will be on Wednesday November 12 because of Veterans Day) at 7:30pm in the Town Hall. A work session will be held 30 minutes prior to the meeting (and as needed, to be announced) for the Boardmembers to discuss any items necessary. Residents may also meet with Boardmembers at this time.

There will be a change to the Privilege of the Floor section of the meeting. PRIVILEGE of the Floor, according to the Associations of Towns of the State of New York Town Law Manual, Section 4-5, states "the public does not have a right to speak at a town board meeting except as provided by board rules." THEREFORE, all questions addressed to the town board must be submitted in writing to the Supervisor’s office, signed, dated, and received no later than 3:00 PM on the Thursday prior to the regular monthly meeting. The board will determine if a question: a) warrants a response in writing, thus will not be addressed at the board meeting; or b) will be added to the agenda and addressed at the board meeting. If the question is addressed, the author will be invited by the board to speak at the meeting and he or she shall state his or her name and their address for the record. A time limit of two to three minutes may be imposed. Councilman Dan Kujawinski asked for discussion on this idea before the Board voted. Kujawinski stated that this was a massive change to tradition in Brant where residents have been allowed to speak to the Board on any issue that the resident was concerned about without having to put it in writing. Supervisor Leonard Pero stated that communities all around the state are changing how they handle the Privilege of the Floor to make meetings more orderly, constructive and timely. Town Attorney John Grennell stated that it is legal for the Board to ask for residents to submit their questions to the Board in writing prior to the meeting. Councilman Jeff Gier stated that some streamlining was needed but people should be able to approach Board members. If there is an urgent matter a resident wishes to discuss at a Board Meeting that they were not able to get to the Supervisor’s office in writing before the agenda deadline, they may speak to a Boardmember prior to the meeting and the Boardmemeber will then be able to address the issue during the Boardmembers’ Reports section of the meeting. The new procedure for Privilege of the Floor was passed with Councilman Kujawinski voting nay.

The Town Crier is the Town’s Paper of Record, with the Buffalo News, The Sun and the Observer been used if additional coverage is needed. Councilman Kujawinski asked how more notification could be gotten to Brant residents living in the east end of Town. The Town Clerk will attempt to additionally post legal notices in the Angola, Brant, Farnham, North Collins and Irving Post Offices.

Councilman Kujawinski suggested that Town Mileage Logs also include an entry for the reason for the trip for mileage reimbursement. This is currently being done.

Michelle Browning was appointed secretary to the Supervisor/Bookeeper, to work 30 hours per week (5 days) at $13.88 per hour with a cap of $21,653.00. (Councilman Kujawinski voted nay.)

The Board

• Appointed Mike Felschow Chief of Police at an annual salary of $15,600. (Councilwoman Roseann Turner voted nay.)

• Approved the appointment of police officers with the stipulation that they are to be compensated for up to a maximum of 19.5 hours per week (in accord with Civil Service requirements)

• Appointed Supervisor Pero as Parks Commissioner - annual salary $1500 (Councilman Kijawinski voted nay.)

• Increased the refundable security deposit for the rental of Community/Recreation Buildings to $100.