Island Dispatch, 1997-09-26

              Island DISPATCH  years f" A ——-_-__>—mmm wflj "As the voice of Grand Island" I SHOWCASE] I FAMILY RESTAURANTS 2352 Grand Island Blvd. ; • DINE IN TAKE OUT • NEW MENU • NEW HOURS OPEN EVERY DAY 7A.M.-MIDNIGHT 1775-32111 Official Newspaper for the Town of Grand Island & the Grand Island School District 24 Pages September 26,1997 650 Vol. 54 • No. 23 (716) 773-7676 Swanick announces property tax freeze Erie County Legislator Charles M. Swanick (Grand Island, Kenmore, Tonawanda) with fellow members of the Legislature and County Executive Dennis Gorski, announced a plan to freeze real property taxes at current levels for three fiscal years, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Legislator Swanick says that this agreement is critically important to the overall WNY economy for the next several years. He says that the progress made by the Legislature and the County Executive in erasing past debt and fiscal improprieties allows the County to take this bold step. "This, historic agreement to freeze property taxes at current levels will have a catalytic effect on business and job growth that will further bolster our local economy," said Swanick. "The Legislature and the County Executive have agreed to leave property taxes level as a means of showing other regions that Erie County is a excellent place to relocate a business to, and should allow the county to move boldly toward the 21st century," Swanick said. Swanick pointed out that with the three-year agreement, county property taxes, over a five-year period, would have risen only an average of three-quarters of one percent per year. Swanick says that this fact, along with the policy reforms enacted cooperatively by the Legislature and the County Executive, demonstrated that the County's fiscal situation is healthy and will continue to grow and prosper. "Advances made in the area of welfare reform, job attrition, Medicaid reform and the reduction of long-term debt have put Erie County in a very competitive fiscal situation," said Swanick. "Working with the County Executive, we have striven to make these reforms pay dividends for real property taxpayers, and we have paid those dividends by freezing the property tax levy," Swanick concluded. Swanick says that he expects the county Executive to present his tentative budget plan to the Legislature in late Oct. The Legislature must approve a final budget plan on or before the first Tuesday in December. PRAYING FOR OTHERS-On Wednesday, Sept. 17, Grand Island students joined hands and gathered around the flag pole located in front of the high school to take part in the Bth annual "See You at the Pole" day. The concept was born in the Spring of 1990 in Texas. A group of high school students gathered around their school flag pole to pray one morning. The concept of praying is to help keep schools across the U.S. safe. At 7 a.m., 65 Grand Island students participated and gathered around the high school's flag pole to pray. (Melvin E. Rupp III) Town board gets education on land use issues by Christopher Caile "I was pretty impressed with the Comprehensive Plan, but the zoning codes are very outdated as related to recent amendments to the State Statutes," said New York Planning Federation Speaker Joseph Catalano speaking before the town board in a special education meeting last Wednesday. The meeting had been scheduled following a town board workshop meeting on August 21 when discussing a request to remove special use permit restrictions on a nursery operation owned by Leo and Betty Hopkins of Ransom Road it was decided that board members needed more education about special use permits. Catalano, a municipal attorney and specialist in land use issues said the Comprehensive Plan is a very good effort and in his experience that is the heart. "If you get that going, that starts the momentum to get other regulatory Old Plaza photos sought The Grand Island Dispatch and Penny Saver is seeking old and historic photos of the Grand Island Plaza. There are prizes for submitting them. Bring them in and we will scan them to create an electronic image we can use and give them right back. You can also call Deanne Bartha at 773-7676. Your help will go a long way to make the Plaza's 40th anniversary and its Community Happening scheduled for Oct 4 a success. Sharpe camp infuriated over election antics by Christopher Caile Derogatory fliers delivered inside polling places to election inspectors on Primary Election Day as well an insulting, vulgar-language post result call to Councilman Jim Sharpe has angered his supporters who are still brewing over tactics used against their candidate two years ago when he ran for Supervisor. Talking about the flyers, an election inspector who wished not to be identified for fear she would lose her job, said, "We all got them. I think everyone of us got them. When we have an election the town's party chairman gives the committee people a list of names and phone numbers of their voters. This list comes from downtown. They were brought to our polling place by Scott Cooke (husband of Councilwoman Mary Cooke) and Candidate for Councilman Bruce Kaiser. In the back of this packet was a blue flyer." The flyer was a drawn representation of a ballot, and under the names of Kaiser and Cooke was written "Real Republican" and under Jim Sharpe's name was written "Republican Not." On the other side was a photo copy of a typed Poll Watcher's Certificate signed by Bob Davis, Erie County Republican Chairman. Across this at an angle were two lines with canceled written in between. These certificates allow those bearing them to enter polling places to get results after the polls are closed. continued on page 3 continued on page 7