Village of Corfu residents will not get the chance to participate in a public hearing on whether to dissolve their local government after the board of trustees voted 3 to 2 against holding a hearing Monday night.
Board trustees Al Graham, Ken Lauer and Jenny McMartin-Eck did not approve moving forward with the dissolution public hearing because they felt residents would be losing out -- on police protection, maintenance services, as well as village office, court and board services. Their main concern is that the needs of 700 Village residents would not be met by the Town of Pembroke.
Mayor Dave Bielec and Board Trustee Art Ianni were in favor of the motion to hold a public hearing because they wanted to give residents a chance to voice their opinion in an open forum.
The issue of whether to dissolve the village and combine with the Town of Pembroke has been going on for approximately a year. Then Pembroke Town Board met in March to discuss the nitty-gritty issues of dissolution.
The town board agreed to cover the cost for the village's streetlights but special districts would have to be created to address sidewalk repair and lawn waste pickup. Village repairs in the past have been completed by private contractors. For police coverage, board members discussed contracting with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Regarding the village's fund balance of $500,000, the board sought opinion from the state Comptroller's Office.
Next, a Dissolution Committee Meeting was held May 12th to discuss the requirements of the final plan. The committee is composed of village board trustees, town board members, and residents from Corfu and Pembroke. A representative from the New York State Department of State answered questions regarding the Dissolution Law.
As things stand, that's all moot now. (SEE BELOW)
Other topics discussed at yesterday's meeting included sewer plant updates, grant applications to fund redevelopment and a proposal for a village yard sale day.
Board Trustee Graham presented requirements that would allow the sewer pretreatment plant to move forward with the proposal to hook up two truck stops -- Travel Centers of America and Flying J. The plant requires smoke testing, dye testing, inspections, meetings, lab work and a permit to have the companies hook up to the plant. Graham also mentioned a grant proposal to make the sewer pretreatment plant larger by building another plant next to the existing one.
Lauer discussed applying for New York State grant funds to improve community development. Historical structures including the Union Hotel and Bowling Alley, recent tattoo parlor and the former Odd Fellows building are in need of repair. The government could take over the buildings or support private development. The revitalization effort would open up the possibility of creating parks, activities for youth and seniors and more downtown parking. The board approved a motion to have a grant writer work on the grant application that is due at the end of July.
Village residents proposed a community yard sale to the board of trustees. The board approved the yard sale days and will be asking private business owners to support the event as well. The yard sale will take place this summer on a weekend in August. Final details will be advertised in the Village of Corfu summer newsletter.
CORRECTION: (By Billie) I added the sentence "As things stand, that's all moot now." Village Board Trustee Al Graham pointed out in comments that that is not right. Citizens have recourse. They can petition to force a vote on village dissolution. I stand corrected and apologize for the error, which the writer of the story, our intern Traci Turner, had nothing to do with whatsoever.
"The government could take
"The government could take over the buildings or support private development. "
Mr. Lauer, you are the government. now what ?
Hire a grant writer ? do you have any idea of what goes into grant writing? if you think you can hire a writer and get one done in 6 weeks then you don't have any idea of what you are talking about.
Let the citizens of Corfu decide for themselves what they want.
First I would like to say
First I would like to say thank you to my fellow committee members, If you haven't been involved with one of these issues you have no idea of the time and effort it takes. Which leads me say that the Village board vote was not taken lightly. We had public meetings, We talked to residents in the stores and on the street and asked what they wanted.
For myself and Trustee Laurer and Eck it came down to this. We did not agree with the plan as it was and by voting yes we didn't want residents thinking we endorsed it knowing that if the residents really want to vote to dissolve they can start a petition to force a vote. It is not a moot point as stated above. So we did not feel we took it out of the citizens hands. I will say that so far the only negative comments ive heard so far are from people that don't live in the village. I am not saying everyone is happy but you cant make everyone happy.
Al I can understand how
Al I can understand how difficult an issue of village dissolution can be for a committee to deal with.
I can remember when the Village of Fillmore voted to dissolve and the Town take over the services the Village provided. It was not an easy process at all, as there were still many residents who wanted to keep the Village Government, mostly because of tradition, rather than consolidating services and reducing costs.
Good luck in your future endeavors on this issue.