10/27/2003 Town Board Meeting Minutes, Town of West Seneca, New York, USA

Supervisor Paul T. Clark called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with 30 seconds of silent prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Paul T. Clark	Supervisor
Christopher F. Osmanski	Councilman
Timothy M. Wroblewski	Councilman
Vincent J. Graber Jr.	Councilman
Craig J. Hicks	Councilman

Absent - None

Supervisor Clark read the Fire Prevention Code instructing the public where to exit in case of a fire or an emergency.

The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Stanley J. Mikulec, Florence C. Finaldi, George Masterson, Jr., Shirley M. Hintermier Burgess Berger, Bernadette J. Jacobs, James D. Farrell, Roger O. Pigeon, and William C. Schmidt.

· Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to approve Minutes #2003-15 of October 13, 2003.

1. Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, that proofs of publication and posting of legal notice: "OF A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE USE OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS" in the Town of West Seneca, be received and filed.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to open the public hearing.

Chief Gehen advised that the town was eligible for a 2003 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant award of $28,167. Along with that was a local match of $3130 for a total of $31,297. The funds would be allocated over a two-year period and Chief Gehen suggested continuation of various community policing efforts. This would include the Citizens Police Academy, bike patrol during the summer, and the Stop, Walk & Talk program. The remaining 60 percent would then be used to fund future technologies for the Police Department.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to close the public hearing.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to use 40 percent of Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funds for continuation of community policing programs to include the Citizens Police Academy, the bike patrol, and the Stop, Walk and Talk program, with the remaining 60 percent of funds to be used for the purchase of various new technologies that become available over the next two years.

2. Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, that proofs of publication and posting of legal notice: "OF A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE USE OF FEDERAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDS" in the Town of West Seneca, be received and filed.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to open the public hearing.

Supervisor Clark advised that block grant funds were available to each municipality across the country on an equal basis and in accordance with HUD guidelines, but this year there was a 20 percent reduction in block grant funds available. He explained that the Town of West Seneca received a lot less than the City of Buffalo because West Seneca was a town as opposed to an urban city that had more proven needs and a higher population. Every three to four years, the town opted to participate with other Western New York communities in a consortium that was administered by Erie County. The allocation for West Seneca was approximately $150,000 to $250,000 annually, but that amount was decreasing each year. The funds were placed in a county pool to be spent in four basic ways: 1) The County of Erie retained a little over 20 percent of the grant funds to administer the funds; 2) An economic development pool for job retention and as an incentive for companies to remain or locate in Western New York; 3) A housing program (HOME) along with a revolving loan portfolio for lower income individuals and tracts in certain low income areas of town for housing revitalization; 4) A fund based on competition for worthwhile and eligible community projects. Supervisor Clark advised that this public hearing was scheduled to consider eligible community projects such as infrastructure improvements and repairs in low to moderate income areas of town, handicap access projects, and youth and senior projects. The projects would then be entered into a competition for funds based on need, whether they adhered to HUD guidelines, if there was additional funding available, and other criteria. The limit per project was $90,000. Supervisor Clark suggested the following projects as recommended by Town Engineer George Montz: 1) $90,000 for reconstruction of 800 linear feet of sidewalks on Savona Street with a local match of $100,000; 2) $90,000 for reconstruction of 500 linear feet of sidewalks on Dorr Street with a local match of $30,000; 3) $90,000 for modifications at the Senior Citizens Center with a local match of $30,000.

Amy Carpenter, 406 Woodward Crescent, questioned if any HUD funds would be available for beautification of the town or the library.

Supervisor Clark responded that beautification of the town center did not meet HUD guidelines because the area did not fall within a low to moderate income census tract. The library also would not qualify for HUD funds; however, the handicap access doors and restrooms at the library did qualify as a past project.

Councilman Osmanski stated that the HUD restriction for low to moderate census tracts actually worked well for the town because they were generally in the city line area and older neighborhoods of the town. It allowed them to leverage the town's investment and get more money from the block grant to invest in the community. Many of these neighborhoods were stressed from the city moving out, and the town's investment enabled them to keep up the assessed value of those homes and add life back into the neighborhoods. When many of the streets were built, the engineering standards for drainage and the streets themselves were lower, so this was being upgraded.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to close the public hearing.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to submit the following projects to the Erie County Consortium for competition for community development block grant funds: 1) $90,000 for reconstruction of sidewalks on Savona Street with a town contribution of $100,000; 2) $90,000 for reconstruction of sidewalks on Dorr Street with a town contribution of $30,000; 3) $90,000 for modifications at the West Seneca Senior Citizens Center with a town contribution of $30,000 in in-kind goods and services, noting that the Advisory Board at the Senior Citizens Center was actively engaging a contribution of cash and in-kind services.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Wroblewski, to correct the appointment of Michael J. Shea from part-time Laborer to part-time Recreation Attendant at a rate of $5.45 per hour effective October 14, 2003 through May 31, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the disposal of one (1) Pitney Bowes postage machine (U570), noting that the lease has been completed and Pitney Bowes wanted to charge the town $45 to dispose of the machine.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to adopt the attached resolution taking exception to approval policies of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with respect to the town's responsibilities under State Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permits.

On the question, Councilman Osmanski suggested that copies of this resolution be forwarded to Senator Stachowski and Assemblyman Higgins.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to authorize payment of $11,168 to DLT Solutions for various software for the Engineering Department.

5. Highway Supt. re Acceptance of Mosside Loop, Thistle Ct, Taylor Dr, Taylor Ct & Connor Dr as town roads

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to accept Mosside Loop, Thistle Court, Taylor Drive, Taylor Court, and Connor Drive as town roads and add them to the town highway inventory.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to change the status of the following sanitation alternates from part-time seasonal to part-time effective November 3, 2003:

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Wroblewski, to authorize payment of the following vouchers for the Highway Department:

Penn Detroit Diesel (truck repairs)          $4869.60
Valley Tire Company (tires)          $1847.25
Miracle Recreation (playground parts & equip.)          $3227.85

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Wroblewski, to authorize the Supervisor to execute the amended 2003-2004 Buckle Up New York (BUNY) grant #PT-1574025, noting that the Town of West Seneca will receive $9000 to enforce safety restraint violation throughout various specified time frames during the grant period of October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Wroblewski, to approve budgetary transfer request in the amount of $3500 from Various Police Equipment Account #01.3120.0210 to Police Vehicles Account #01.3120.0208.

10. Comptroller re Resignation of Lindsey Schmidt as Acct. Clerk Mini Computer Operator, part-time

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to accept the resignation of Lindsey A. Schmidt and terminate her as part-time Account Clerk Mini Computer Operator effective October 29, 2003 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

11. Town Justices re Appointment of Sindy Reading as Senior Clerk Typist, full-time, temporary

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to appoint Sindy L. Reading as full-time temporary Clerk to the Town Justice effective October 29, 2003 at a rate of $29,163.79 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

Mark Stolarski, 65 Brian Lane, represented his father, Phil Stolarski Sr., 771 Indian Church Road, and stated that since the completion of the HUD project on Indian Church Road there was a problem with the paving on the side street known as Cambridge Avenue. The contractor who built the project and HUD had assured that they would use Indian Church Road for access during construction, but they used Cambridge Avenue instead. The road was demolished and the town did some paving, but it was never completely taken care of. Mr. Stolarski asked that the street be repaved properly.

Highway Supt. Pat Finnegan advised that Cambridge Avenue was not a dedicated road in the Town of West Seneca. There was a request from the residents to post the road as Cambridge Avenue because they were having problems with deliveries, but it was not a dedicated town road.

Mr. Stolarski stated that his father built Cambridge Avenue several years ago, and he suggested that it be closed if it was not a dedicated town road. Adelphia's warehouse was closed and Mr. Stolarski did not believe there was any need for the heavy tractor trailers to be there.

Councilman Osmanski noted that because Cambridge Avenue was not a town road did not mean it was not a town right-of-way. Cambridge Avenue was a paper street that was owned by the public.

Mark Stolarski, 65 Brian Lane, referred to the town ordinance concerning trailers parked on residential property and noted that Adelphia had eight trailers adjacent to their building on Indian Church Road. He understood that the property was sold a few years ago and questioned how long these temporary structures could remain on the property and why they were ever allowed to have them there. Mr. Stolarski also commented on the parking at Adelphia and stated that when the parking lot was extended, the course of Sister's Creek that ran behind the property was changed. This was an underground stream, but it was still designated as a creek and was protected by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Mr. Stolarski questioned why the town allowed this action and why Adelphia's trucks were allowed to park where they were visible from Cambridge Avenue and Indian Church Road.

Building Inspector Bill Czuprynski responded that the drainage plan was approved by the Engineering Department and the parking plan had also been approved. He thought that this area of Indian Church Road was zoned for manufacturing, which would allow certain things not permitted in other parts of the town.

Town Engineer George Montz was unaware of any creek relocation on Adelphia's property but would research this issue and report back to the board with his findings.

Mr. Stolarski stated that Sister's Creek was also brought up when the HUD project was being discussed and the neighbors had requested an environmental impact study at that time.

Mr. Stolarski responded that the creek was located in the back of the property on the southeast corner. There was a spring fed pond there that was part of the Meyer Road wetlands. The creek was re-routed 10 to 12 years ago when the parking lot was expanded.

Karen Lucachik, 61 Greenmeadow Drive, referred to an article dated May 17, 2002 concerning the Seneca Mall site. It stated that the Town Board agreed to get after Pyramid to clean up the site. They also talked about revising the Property Maintenance Ordinance with regard to clean ups and then decided that the town would clean up the mall site and maybe charge the owner. On June 11, 2002, Pyramid agreed to clean up the property, and finally, on August 14, 2003 the clean up was underway. Ms. Lucachik stated that she had seen a steam shovel at the site and it was pushing dirt around, but she did not believe the site was cleaned up.

Town Attorney Tim Greenan stated that at Councilman Wroblewski's insistence, and with pressure from the Town Attorney's office and Town Prosecutor, Pyramid removed hundreds of thousands of yards of stone and debris that was on the property. He thought that they had removed everything that could possibly be enforced by the town, and it was removed at an extreme cost to Pyramid.

Ms. Lucachik noted that at the entrance to the mall near Ridge Road there was always a pool of standing water. She thought that this was a good breeding ground for mosquitoes and suggested that this be taken care of.

Mr. Greenan responded that the town had enforced the ordinance with regard to stockpiling of material and debris on the property. Pyramid hired a contractor that scraped the surface of the property and removed all the debris, but he was not aware of any standing water on the site.

Ms. Lucachik commented that the property was still not an attractive site for the entrance to the town.

Councilman Osmanski agreed but stated that when they talked about cleaning up the site it involved cleaning up construction debris and basic property maintenance like cutting down any six-foot high weeds. Unfortunately, due to the zoning of the property they could not do much more enforcement than that.

Ms. Lucachik questioned if there was anything incorporated in the ordinance to prevent this from happening in the future with other developments.

Councilman Graber advised that the Seneca Mall property was zoned for manufacturing so they could not enforce certain things that they could if it were commercially zoned. Although a commercial zoning was all that was required for the Seneca Mall development, the property was never rezoned from manufacturing years ago.

Karen Lucachik, 61 Greenmeadow Drive, questioned the status of the proposed Wal-Mart. She understood that it was a done deal and that residents on Orchard Park Road had been offered exorbitant amounts of money for their houses. Ms. Lucachik hoped that the Town Board would be very careful in considering allowing Wal-Mart to locate in town. She noted that the citizens did not want Wal-Mart; they wanted to support the Southgate Plaza and other local businesses. Ms. Lucachik referred to an article in the October 6, 2003 issue of Business Week that commented on how Wal-Mart had destroyed communities and forced other businesses out. She did not want to see the increased traffic on Orchard Park Road or destruction of the beautiful homes.

Supervisor Clark stated that there was no Wal-Mart proposal before the town at this time.

Councilman Graber stated that the board members had heard the same rumors as the residents, but Wal-Mart would have to come before the Planning Board and Town Board prior to locating on Orchard Park Road. If that occurred, all West Seneca citizens would have an opportunity to state their position on it.

Ms. Lucachik questioned how the residents would be informed of a Wal-Mart proposal if one were submitted to the town.

Mr. Greenan stated that the property on Orchard Park Road was currently zoned for residential use and would have to be rezoned for commercial use for a Wal-Mart project. A rezoning application would have to be submitted to the Building Inspector's office and then forwarded to the Town Clerk's office. Town Clerk Patricia Wisniewski would then publish the request in the Buffalo News and notify any property owner within a 250-foot radius of the parcel to be rezoned. The Planning Board would probably meet two to four times before making a recommendation to the Town Board. The Town Board would then hold a public hearing to make a final determination on the project, and the public hearing would be open for public comments and opinions.

Ms. Lucachik questioned why Town Hall office hours and Town Board meeting dates and times were not listed in the Who's Who like the school district. /

Supervisor Clark responded that the Town Board meetings were somewhat less structured or pre-scheduled, but they were always available on the town's website or by calling the Town Hall.

Ms. Lucachik suggested that the Town Board meetings be published in the Buffalo News.

Amy Carpenter, 406 Woodward Crescent, stated that she had attended the town meeting regarding the Master Plan and it was indicated that there were many ordinances that were not included in the town code for West Seneca. These included things such as how properties needed to look and what types of building could take place in certain areas. She questioned if these items were being looked at and when the Master Plan would be presented to the Town Board.

Supervisor Clark responded that the Master Plan had not yet been presented to the Town Board and the board members were not actively involved with the consultants. This was done by design, but some board members had attended some of the meetings to maintain communications. The next part of the Master Plan would be to modernize some of the town ordinances such as the ordinance governing the parking of trailers and boats on residential property. There would also be some modernization to the base code that was in affect since the 1960's. Supervisor Clark expected this to happen within the next two to three months with possibly some town code and local law changes over the winter.

Ms. Carpenter questioned how the public would receive information on the Master Plan.

Councilman Osmanski responded that there was another steering committee meeting this week to go over the consultant's final draft submittal for final comment. This would then go back for revision and they were hoping to have their final draft form for the Town Board by the end of the year. Councilman Osmanski anticipated that some time in February they would be scheduling a public hearing where the final draft form would be presented to the public and comments would be permitted. This would be published in the Buffalo News and the West Seneca Bee along with flyers posted throughout the town at various locations.

Ms. Carpenter questioned if the public would know what was in the proposed Master Plan prior to the public hearing.

Councilman Osmanski advised that the public would have to attend the public hearing to find out what was included in the Master Plan, and the public would be allowed to comment at that time. Usually there would be a second public hearing or they would accept written or oral comments after the hearing up until a specified date. Upon completion, the draft version should be filed with the Town Clerk's office for review and it would also be on the consultant's, Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers, website.

Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to authorize payment of $3170 to Dualex Office Products, 2531 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY, for installation of the Inoculan AntiVirus 7.0 software for all workstations on the Town Hall network, including our remote locations, noting that the Youth Bureau obtained their own anti-virus software and is not included in this quote.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to adopt the attached resolution in opposition to Insurance Law Sections 3231(a) and 4317(a) and the rating methodology used for senior citizens that have Medicare coverage and supplemental coverage.

Supervisor Clark announced that the 2004 budget hearings were scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at the West Seneca Senior Citizens Center, 4620 Seneca Street, with the Special Districts budget at 7:00 P.M. and the Preliminary budget at 7:10 P.M.

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 P.M.

WEST SENECA TOWN OFFICES		TOWN BOARD PROCEEDINGS
1250 Union Road		Minutes #2003-16
West Seneca, NY 14224		October 27, 2003

WEST SENECA TOWN OFFICES		TOWN BOARD PROCEEDINGS
1250 Union Road		Minutes #2003-16
West Seneca, NY 14224		October 27, 2003
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Robert Garry	James Nicholas
Frank Giumpa	Philip Steffen
Robert Finnegan/td>	Kevin Nowicki
John Kelly	Mark LaPenta
John Melling	Robert Krautsack
Darryl Blackchief	Scott Funk
Mike Betti	Jason Krawczyk
William Brown