Island Dispatch, 1997-04-11

              Island  fT^vears As the voice of Grand Island" April 11,1997 650 20 Pages I 773-3515 j MARTY'S | TOWING,INC. J 1741 BASELINE ROAD I & Thnjway : • /Auto Repairs • Towing R;aC Service & Recover,- • • j Official Newspaper for the Town of Grand Island <fc the Grand Island School District (716) 773-7676 Vo/. 54 • No. 01 Launch Club commodore recognized by Joelle Gresock One of Grand Island's most historic clubs is getting ready to salute a leader. The Buffalo Launch Club, membered by more than 250 Western New York boating enthusiasts, is set to honor their 1997 commodore. Commodore James A. Baker will be the featured guest at Saturday's annual Commodore Ball as the club chief receives a salute from fellow members and club officials. The Ohio native has been an active member of the historic boating club since 1987 and was appointed to the Board of Directors a few years ago before being honored as commodore. This is the finest boating club in Western New York," Baker said. "I'm proud to be part of the Buffalo Launch Club and even more proud to be honored as commodore." Baker went through several leadership positions in the club before being appointed as commodore at the beginning of the year. A director for two years, Baker moved up the ranks as rear commodore and vice commodore before taking on his current position. A longtime boating enthusiast, Baker first began his love for the sport at age 10 when his father purchased a vessel. Since that time, he has been a boat owner himself. Wife Marianne and sons Justin and Shaun also enjoy participating in the sport and are active members of the Launch Club. "It is really a family oriented club," Baker said. "We all enjoy it" As commodore, Baker hopes to increase club membership in addition to making it a more recognizable fixture on Grand Island. He said that through scheduled activities throughout the year ahead, the Buffalo Launch Club and its members will reach out to the community. Started in 1903 by boating enthusiasts, the Buffalo Launch Club got its name due to the transportation requirements at the time, as no bridges connected Grand Island to the mainland. The full service boating club now has a growing enrollment that is lured by the club's facilities which include dining, bar and sporting emanates. Officers include: Commodore James A. Baker, Vice Commodore Barry B. Wood, Rear Commodore Thomas J. Filipski, Fleet Captain Peter E. Schwabl, Secretary Richard H. Sander and Treasurer Robert L. Eicher. Directors are John A. Bruno, David J. Burgio, Mark D. Hoey, William E. Hynes, Leonard Saran and Stephen C. Studley. Supervisor Pax to Seek Re-election Grand Island Supervisor James H. Pax announced that he will seek Republican and Conservative endorsement for a fourth term of office. He is presently serving his sixth year as supervisor and previously served as town councilman for 20 years. Pax, 59, said, "Under my administration and fiscal management the town enjoys a high financial rating of"A". It is my commitment to maintain, oversee and manage our local government in a professional and conservative manner and keep Grand Island on a true and sound course in the day to day operations of the town." Pax said he constantly worked toward the betterment of Grand Island with a definite concern for the taxpayer, and is committed to provide quality services at the lowest possible cost. "I am a strong supporter of both youth activities and senior citizen programs," he said. In leading town government Pax said, "My philosophy is simple: keep the residents informed, do what is best for the majority of our people, avoid giving in to special interest groups who have an agenda for their benefit and not our community as a whole." "There is no issue more important to me than insuring that we maintain the high quality of life we enjoy on Grand Island. To that end, we must control the growth of town government, but continue to expand our tax base in an orderly fashion. We must have planned growth that is compatible with our goal of keeping Grand Island as natural a setting as possible, while still preserving the open land and scenic beauty that is uniquely our own." Supervisor Pax received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Pax has been a permanent Island resident since 1963. Since 1941 he was one of Grand Island's Summer Residents. He is the father of four children and has four grandchildren. Town Center area designated by Christopher Caile Dr. Hiro Hata heading a U.B. student planning effort to develop design concepts for a Grand Island town center has designated a specific area within a larger area originally designated for the same purpose by the Town's 1994 Comprehensive Plan. "I gave my students two mandates," said Dr. Hata. "One was for student designs to cover the total area within Bedel to the north, Webb to the south, the power line easement to the east and the thru way to the west. But this is a large area, too large for a town population of 19,000 people, so I also gave students a specific location for the town center around the niangle of land where the town hall sits between Grand Island Boulevard, Whitehaven and Baseline roads." "We are creating a neighborhood concept, based on knowledge used to plan many towns. It is an old theory now called the 'New Urbanist Movement,'" said Hata. The most central area, about a quarter mile circle around town hall, includes the town hall, fire hall, park and police, but will also include housing, commercial and cultural facilities. This will be the most dense area, an area of human scale that takes only about five minutes to walk across. Surrounding this will be another extension, about a quarter mile wide around the first that will also have high density housing, but which is overall less dense that the core area. The exact boundaries of this second area will be adjusted and are flexible depending on land ownership and market potential. The area beyond these and still within the larger boun. Aries for the town center which were earmarked in the Comprehensive Plan, might also have a third level of density and serve as buffer to Continued on page 4