Island Dispatch, 1997-10-17

              Island Dispatch Grand Island Memorial Library y _tX M.  j uAs the voice of Grand Is1™"1* L_ (716) 773-7676 October 17,1997 Vol. 54' No. 25 20 Pages Monday Nite Madness LARGE CHEESE PIZZA ♦TAX Official Newspaper for the Town of Grand Island & the Grand Island School District  650 Planning board faces criticism by Christopher Caile Brian McNaughton is livid. He's angry not about the Grand Island planning board decisions but about how they have tried to act, including not allowing him to voice opinions before the whole board. It started with a special Planning Board meeting held on Sept. 22 to consider a request by Bible Presbyterian Church to move the installation of a fence from a five foot setback to a one foot along the Schwegler property line. "There wasn't a quorum present since only three people attended but they still had a meeting and still voted on the issue and still made a recommendation to the town board, for approval and it was put on the town board meeting agenda" said McNaughton. He brought the issue to Supervisor James Pax. McNaughton claimed that Pax told him a fourth vote was called in, "which is illegal because he has to be present to hear the opposing people speak." According to McNaughton's notes, Pax then told him he was busy and asked if he could get back to him on the issue and said he would speak to the chairman of the Planning Board, Tom Nowak on the issue. McNaughton then called New York State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt's office and explained the problem to an assistant and sent him a copy of the notes. According to McNaughton the assistant said he would forward the notes to the District Attorney's office. When McNaughton called Pax again on Sept. 29 and according to McNaughton, Pax said he hadn't talked to Nowak but again said he was "very busy" and again asked if he (Pax) could get back to him. At the next town board meeting Pax asked that the Bible Presbyterian issue be tabled pending the next Planning Board meeting. McNaughton said Pax wasn't going to table the issue until he found out he had contacted Hoyt's office about the illegal meeting. The issue had been placed on the agenda and it would not have been placed on it if action had not been planned. He is letting his boys hold illegal meetings. You have to have a quorum present. It is part of the Sunshine laws." Then, according to McNaugton, in the Planning Board meeting on Oct. 13 residents were not allowed to speak before the board voted on the issue. "They started talking quietly among themselves. All of a sudden A BALE OF LAUGHS - This mighty scarecrow at the Grand Island Garden Center on Alvin Road merrily greets customers and smiles * passerbys. One of many seasonal decorations that grace the Island, the straw man looks to be over 20 feet tall. Business Expo '97 is huge success Last weekend's 6th Annual Business Expo/Taste of Grand Island was bigger than ever! With 823 people in attendance to support Grand Island's businesses, this Expo was a highly successful event. This year's event was held at the newly built and beautiful Bible Presbyterian Family Life Center on Love Rd. This year's Expo brought in 43 exhibitors. Door prizes were available from individual exhibitors. The Expo was sponsored by Niagara Frontier Publications, WUTV Fox 29, Adelptaia Cable, Independent Health, and Nau U-Girl Canvas. Awards that were given to individual exhibitors are as follows: Trust Pest Control - Most Informative Booth, Just Right Gift Baskets - Most Creative Booth, Grand Island Garden Center - Most Original Booth. Other winners include: Marcy Malecki - winner of a Nauti-Girl sweatshirt and Andrea Rogers - Grand Prize winner of two tickets to a Toronto Show of her choice. The following are winners of Circus tickets from the Island Dispatch: Four ticket winners - Barbara Kirsch, Tiffany Luescher, Mary McDonnell and Karen Conboy. Two ticket winners: Amanda Corrao, Gail Allen, Cathy Burke and Kathy Hyland. Winners of a free subscription to the Island Dispatch or free renewal are: Debbie Elmer, Chuck Malican, Sonia Kelly, Gary Smith, Christina Merrill, Douglas Hardman, Dorothy Roswell, Robert Bates, Gary Link and Debi Clark. PEOPLE PLACE TO BE - The Sixth Annual Business Expo/Taste of Grand Island attracted more than 800 people last Saturday. Isle Drainage program delayed by Christopher Caile During the public hearing on the proposed 1997 Drainage program held last Monday at the Grand Island town board meeting it quickly became evident that some residents felt left out. Although comments in the hearing by Island residents were supposed to be restricted to the program in question property owners on Tracey and Laurie Lanes which were located near one of the projected drainage projects, brought up their problems and asked for assistance. Part of the proposed 1997 Drainage program concerned construction of 1600 feet of ditch along the south end of Tracey Lane behind a row of homes boarding on vacant property owned by Town Justice Francis Pritchard. None of speakers objected to this part of the project projected to cost $11,000 of the total $43,000 which included two other projects. But residents had their own problems nearby which were not addressed by the projects proposed. There is a is a"V" shaped ditch, or swale, running along backyards between Tracey and Laurie Lanes that was designed to collect and drain off water from backyards into a nearby 12 inch storm sewer. Over the years this ditch has not been maintained and some neighbors have actually filled in their portions, stopping water flow altogether. Thus during rainy periods backyards flood. Pools are created that ruin vegetation and creep over lawns. Another similar problem is found continued on page 6 continued on page 5