[0:16] [clears throat]
Timson.
[0:19] [cough]
[0:27] Perfect.
[0:32] Okay.
[0:36] Okay.
[0:50] » [clears throat]
[1:02] » I'd like to welcome everybody to the
regular town board meeting. I please
[1:07] silence your cell phones.
>> [clears throat]
[1:15] » To the flag of the United States of
America to the stands, one nation under
[1:22] God, indivisible, liberty and justice
for all.
[1:35] » [clears throat and cough]
[1:38] » At this time, I ask for a moment of
silction, please.
[1:52] » Thank you very much. So, at the
beginning of this meeting, we have a
[1:56] public hearing on a local law. This will
be on a local law. Did anybody sign this
[2:01] sheet in regards to the public hearing?
Okay. So, um,
[2:12] please take notice that a public hearing
will be held by the town of Lon, Niagara
[2:16] County, New York on the 24th day of
August, 2026. Commened at 6:00 p.m. at
[2:21] the town hall 1375 Bridge, Leon, New
York, on the adoption of local law
[2:27] number 4, 2026. A local law imposing a
moratorum on [clears throat] placement,
[2:32] installation, use, storage, occupancy of
shipping containers within the town of
[2:36] Lewis, Hager County, New York. Said law
is intended to provide time for the town
[2:40] board of the town of Lewis to research
and adopt appropriate modifications to
[2:44] the town of Lewis comprehensive zoning
regulation. A complete text of this law
[2:49] is on file at the office of the town
clerk and is available for review by any
[2:52] interested person during business hours.
As such public hearing all persons
[2:56] interested who wish to be heard will be
heard
[3:00] is July 27th.
>> Thank you. Okay. I don't have anybody
[3:05] signed up to speak on the public
hearing. Does anybody wish to speak on
[3:09] the public hearing in regards to the
moratorum on storage sh
[3:24] All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries.
Um
[3:30] before we get into the agenda, our
highway superintendent as has asked me
[3:36] um if he would like to give a quick
statement to everybody. So
[3:42] Michael Weiss is our highway
superintendent.
[3:45] [clears throat]
Over the years, the highway department's
[3:49] approach to drainage maintenance has
largely been uh reactive rather than
[3:54] proactive due to limited staffing
efforts and primary focus on cleaning
[3:58] areas. Only after complaints
have we have been received. While this
[4:05] has addressed immediate concerns, it has
not provided our residents with a
[4:08] long-term solution to the growing
drainage and flooding challenges facing
[4:12] our community. Our current method of
operation is no longer sustainable.
[4:17] Aging infrastructure, changing weather
patterns, and years of deferred
[4:21] maintenance have placed an overwhelming
demand on our existing workforce. The
[4:25] dedication of my current employees has
allowed us to accomplish tremendous
[4:29] amount, but they cannot continue to meet
uh these increasing demands without
[4:35] additional support. Since taking the
role of highway superintendent, Mr.
[4:39] Broadick and I have spent countless
hours meeting with residents and
[4:42] visiting dage problem areas, inspecting
dig ditches and culverts and evaluating
[4:48] recurring flooding concerns throughout
our community. Doing so has provided
[4:52] valuable insight in both immediate needs
and long-term improvements required to
[4:56] better serve our residents. I completely
sympathize with our community's
[5:01] concerns. Taking action to resolve these
issues is top priority. I remain fully
[5:06] committed to finding a lasting solution
to our flooding issues. My goal is not
[5:11] only to simply respond to complaints,
but to develop a comprehensive drainage
[5:15] program that identifies problems before
they become emergencies, prioritize
[5:20] critical projects, and create a
primitive maintenance schedule that
[5:23] benefits every neighborhood. With that
being said, it needs to be understood
[5:29] that this is not a realistic overnight
uh solution to our problems, but a
[5:35] long-term ongoing project that will take
time to complete. While not every issue
[5:39] can be resolved immediately, every
concern should be received uh receive
[5:45] careful evaluation, honest
communication, and a plan moving
[5:48] forward. I plan to complete these
projects while remaining fisc fiscally
[5:53] responsible.
To effectively address our community's
[5:57] drainage needs, I recommend establishing
a drainage division as a part of our
[6:02] current highway department responsible
for routine inspection and maintenance
[6:06] of roadside ditches and off-road
ditches, culverts and drainage channels,
[6:11] preventative cleaning program rather
than a than a complaint driven response.
[6:16] flood mitigation planning and project
development, mapping and documenting
[6:20] drainage infrastructure, coordinating
drainage improvements with road
[6:24] projects,
uh responding effectively to emergency
[6:28] flooding events, maintaining regular
communication with residents regarding
[6:33] drainage concerns.
We're going to need equipment um
[6:37] especially for off-road ditching. Uh we
would be looking at an excavator, a tub
[6:42] grinder, and possibly an off-road dump
truck. Uh tub grinder would help us
[6:47] tremendously, but we wouldn't have to
try and haul everything out. It would
[6:50] save us time.
Uh if you're looking for a dedicated
[6:54] budget line
um for perforated pipe, drainage,
[6:59] gravel, crush stone, landscape fabric,
fabric, uh solid drain pipe, pipe
[7:05] contractor, uh connectors, coupling
elbows and end caps as needed, catch
[7:10] basins or drain inlets, uh top soil or
mulch to restore the areas. I'd also be
[7:16] looking to hire two or three man crew
for this. um we just don't have enough
[7:22] guys right now. [clears throat] The
staffing structure would allow for both
[7:26] routine maintenance and uh in response
by planning future infrastructure
[7:32] improvements along with help of our
current staff.
[7:36] We also need help from the community.
Residents also play an important role in
[7:40] maintaining our drainage system. I
respectfully ask everyone to help avoid
[7:44] it the placements of [clears throat]
brush leaves, grass clippings or other
[7:49] debris in roadways, roadside ditches and
drainage channels. These materials
[7:54] restrict water flow, clog culberts and
basins and contribute to localized
[7:59] flooding during heavy rainfall. By
working together, we can improve
[8:03] drainage performance throughout the
community. This is a long-term
[8:07] commitment. Approximately between 2014
12 and 2014, the highway superintendent
[8:13] at that time cut the drawing division. I
firmly believe we need to reinstate this
[8:18] division.
The proposal represents more than a
[8:22] creation of new drainage division. It
represents a long-term commitment to the
[8:26] residents of our community. My
objectives is to build a drainage
[8:29] program to protect homes, roadways, and
public infrastructure for years to come.
[8:34] By investing in a drainage division, uh
we
[8:39] dedicate personnel, equipment, and
proactive maintenance, we can move away
[8:44] from complaint driven system and move
toward one that prevents these events
[8:47] from happening before it occurs. While
these improvements will take time,
[8:51] planning and investment, I also commit
to working alongside with
[8:56] uh alongside this community employees
and current registration to develop long
[9:02] lasting solution that improve the
quality for everyone. I've only been in
[9:06] this position for a year. Unfortunately,
some of the drainage issues were not
[9:10] properly addressed by my predecessors.
Please bear with us while working. We
[9:14] work diligently to understand these
issues, develop solutions, and make
[9:18] necessary improvements. We appreciate
your patience and understanding as we
[9:23] work toward getting these issues
resolved.
[9:29] Steve and the town board have been
completely supportive of funding sol of
[9:33] finding solutions to finding these
issues and our full support of our
[9:37] highway department. I appreciate their
continued support and they're committed
[9:41] to working together to address these
issues. [clears throat] Thanks.
[9:50] » Okay. Agenda approval. Does anybody have
any
[10:00] approval as to
the
[10:04] motion? Second. All in favor? I opposed.
Motion carries. [clears throat]
[10:10] Res
[10:14] Nancy
49 392.
[10:22] [cough and clears throat]
[10:30] Can you hear me?
>> Yes.
[10:33] I'm here to talk about the
chronic severe flooding on.
[10:42] I have asked for help since I bought my
house in 1989.
[10:49] This has been going on for 37 years.
[11:03] On the east side of the street,
I am the lowest line home,
[11:09] so I get the brunt of the flooding.
My yard becomes a lake truly.
[11:18] It has rotted out the floor of my shop
or shed
[11:24] and the lower boards of the shed itself.
And of course,
[11:31] it's washed out by raised vegetable
garden
[11:36] and leaves behind a mess of mud, debris,
and stone strewn out into the street.
[11:45] This happens every time.
Every time we get a heavy rain or
[11:51] downpour, a deluge of [clears throat]
water flows down the escarment
[11:58] across a portion of Creek Road extension
just east of Hill
[12:06] and continues to pour down mostly my
side of Hill.
[12:13] The flood water is pouring down through
from the escarment
[12:19] to an open dirt ditch
plugged up with brush leaves grass
[12:27] clippings.
Shouldn't an effort be made and I hope
[12:33] can find
a solution
[12:36] to find the source of this poor dage on
top of the hill and
[12:44] I don't have too much.
I do thank supervisor Rodri for kindly
[12:51] stopping to talk with me several weeks
ago,
[12:56] but respectfully I cannot accept his
excuses for inaction.
[13:02] He says the Hojack Railroad has
jurisdiction
[13:08] and I have learned [clears throat] it
since our talk that the Hojack was sold
[13:13] years ago to Mr. Steve Muda. I don't
know.
[13:20] [clears throat]
>> I don't believe it's the whole it's not
[13:23] the whole
[13:27] south of Creek Road extension is owned
by Nager.
[13:32] So he did not buy that section.
>> Another excuse given by previous town
[13:39] officials for inaction was that Creek
Road extension is a state highway.
[13:46] and the town cannot interfere.
[13:51] Isn't it about time after flooding
properties for at least 37 years
[13:58] that the town step up to help residents
on road extension
[14:05] and build new court?
Of course, I'm not an engineer, but
[14:10] wouldn't you start
with this open ditch,
[14:15] find the source on top of the hill,
and corrected the drainage issue up
[14:22] there, try to contain the stitch.
What Mr. White said was
[14:30] very uplifting.
And of course he he talked about
[14:34] cleaning the necessity of cleaning rings
and catch basins. So [clears throat] I
[14:40] look forward to whatever can be done
to help us all. Thank you very much.
[14:47] » Thank you.
>> Can I just ask a quick question?
[14:51] [clears throat]
[14:54] » Did you have any sewer backup?
>> Did you have sewer?
[15:00] Just water in the basement. Okay. Thank
you. Um if uh I probably will ask that
[15:06] question of everybody when you get up.
Um I've got a map that I'm marking
[15:13] points on just so that I'm aware of
where we've actually had sewer backup
[15:19] and where it's just been water cooling.
Um I do have some areas already marked
[15:24] on the map, but that would be very
helpful. Thank you,
[15:29] » Linda Skelezo.
>> [clears throat]
[15:41] » Hello. Um, my name is Linda Scal. I
reside at 477 Creek Road.
[15:48] I came here tonight intending to demand
answers and express my anger over the
[15:52] fourth backup in my home in as many
years. The reality is I know I'm
[15:57] unlikely to receive a clear answer.
Instead, I would like to address a few
[16:01] other issues.
The first is a statement published on
[16:05] social media by the sewer department on
August 11. Quite frankly, the statement
[16:09] was rude, dismissive, and insensitive to
residents who had just cleaned raw
[16:13] sewage out of the basement, not once,
but twice in a 5day period.
[16:19] The statement begins by suggesting that
some residents do not understand the
[16:22] difference between storm water and
sanitary sewer. I can assure you we do
[16:26] after all these years.
The statement then went on to provide a
[16:30] list of things homeowners can do to
protect themselves. Eliminating basement
[16:34] bathrooms, installing backwater valves,
installing knife for gap gate style
[16:40] valves, updating plumbing systems, and
spending thousands of dollars to modify
[16:44] their homes.
Every one of these recommendations
[16:48] carries a significant cost. Some require
expensive construction and disruption to
[16:52] the property, and not one of them comes
with a guarantee.
[16:57] Most importantly, the statement failed
to explain what the town is doing.
[17:01] The sewer issues have been occurring for
more than 20 years here. Residents
[17:05] continue to experience backups,
flooding, property damage,
[17:10] financial hardships, emotional stress.
Yet, after decades of complaints,
[17:15] studies, projects, and promises, none of
us are are still dealing with
[17:19] [clears throat] the same problems.
The next thing in the statement, do this
[17:23] and you'll never have to call the town
again. As a taxpayer, I found that some
[17:29] I found that statement shocking. Is that
really the message this administration
[17:33] wants to send to its residents? Should
residents feel discouraged from calling
[17:38] the town for help?
The financial damage I have suffered now
[17:43] exceeds what I have originally paid for
my home. Let that sink in. But the
[17:47] financial impact is only part of the
story. The physical and emotional toll
[17:51] has been devastating. Cleaning raw
sewage is exhausting. It's hazardous. It
[17:57] exposes families to contamination and
health risk. I am an insulin dependent
[18:02] diabetic and I have legitimate concerns
about the health implications of living
[18:06] in and administering medication in a
home that was contaminated by sewage.
[18:12] Even after extensive cleaning, I still
have to question if my home is truly
[18:15] safe. Every weather forecast now causes
anxiety. Every heavy rain brings fear
[18:21] just like the other day. Weeks later, I
remained physically exhausted and
[18:25] mentally drained from this aftermath. No
resident should have to live like this.
[18:30] Residents deserve transparency and
accountability.
[18:33] After more than 20 years of reoccurring
sewer problems, residents deserve more
[18:37] than excess expensive suggestions and
social media posts telling them how they
[18:42] should protect themselves.
We deserve to know what is being done,
[18:46] what improvements are planned, what is
the timeline, what [clears throat]
[18:50] measurable results have been achieved,
and most importantly, what is being done
[18:54] to permanently address these issues.
Secondly, the backflow prevent program.
[19:00] The program should correctly identify
the equipment being installed. A
[19:04] backwater valve is not a backflow pre.
These are two very different devices
[19:08] that serve two different purposes, and
the grant document should use the proper
[19:12] terminology. the residents can clearly
understand what they're being funded and
[19:16] what they're installing in their home.
The eligibility requirements state the
[19:20] program is available to owner occupied
single family homes that are chronically
[19:24] burdened with sewer backups issues
relating to inflow and infiltration
[19:29] during sign significant rainfall events.
This raises several questions. How are
[19:35] these affected areas identified? Who
determines which property qualifies? Is
[19:40] there a map of this? and if so, is it
publicly available?
[19:44] Residents deserve transparency regarding
how the eligibility is determined.
[19:49] In addition, if the town's position is
that the sewer backups are caused by the
[19:53] inflow and implication and that water
keeps its own level as in that
[19:58] statement, what happens as more
homeowners install the pound recommended
[20:02] val? If sewage can no longer enter my
home, does the pressure and flow simply
[20:06] move elsewhere in the system?
Potentially affecting properties that
[20:10] have not historically experienced
backups. If affected areas have already
[20:14] been identified and these issues have
existed for more than 20 years,
[20:18] residents also deserve to know what
improvements have been made in the in
[20:22] the past, the root cause of the problems
rather than simply shifting the burden
[20:26] of protection on the individual.
Secondly, the liability and insurance
[20:31] requirements concern. The town is not
hiring the contractor, selecting the
[20:35] contractor, supervising the work, or
paying them. The homeowner is
[20:39] responsible for hiring and paying.
Therefore, it is reasonable for the town
[20:43] to disclaim responsibility for the
workmanship. But it is difficult to
[20:47] understand why homeowners are being
asked to indemnify the town and wave
[20:51] their rights through such broad
language.
[20:54] The agreement states, "The homeowner
hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the
[20:58] town of Lewon harmless against any and
all claims and further covenants not to
[21:02] sue the town of Lewon for any and all
claims." What exactly does that mean?
[21:07] Any and all claims? Does it apply to the
contractor's workmanship and
[21:11] installation of the valve or does it
extend to claims involving the the town
[21:16] sewer infrastructure?
If a homeowner installs a backwater
[21:20] valve through this program and later
experiences another sewer backup, does
[21:24] the town believe that the homeowner has
waved their right to pursue a claim
[21:27] against them? If not, then that
agreement should should be revised to
[21:31] clearly state that the release applies
only to the contractor.
[21:37] No matter how that language is
interpreted though, the practical
[21:40] concern remains the same. If I
experience another sewer backup caused
[21:44] by a known problem within the town sewer
and the backwater valve fails, the focus
[21:49] will admit it immediately shift to that
valve. The question will be who fail?
[21:53] What failed? Was it the town sewer or
was it your valve? The town can now
[21:57] point to the valve and the signed waiver
while the homeowner is left bearing that
[22:01] loss. Residents are being asked to
install equipment on their own property,
[22:06] hire and paint their own contractor, and
maintain this device for the life of
[22:10] their home
to indemnify the town in a green office
[22:15] sue in return and receive $2,500
reimbursement. It raises an important
[22:20] question. Is this program intended to
help the homeowner protect their home or
[22:23] does it effectively transfer the
responsibility for a known municipal
[22:27] infrastructure problem onto the property
owner?
[22:31] Finally, the process itself is
unnecessarily complicated. Homeowners
[22:35] dealing with recurring sewage backups
are already under significant stress.
[22:39] Requiring pre-insspections, approvals,
and additional administrative work steps
[22:44] before work can even begin only delays
the solution. The process should be
[22:49] really simple. Homeowner submits an
application, hires a qualified
[22:54] contractor,
backwater valve is installed, and the
[22:58] town performs final inspection, and then
you reverse. This is a reimbursement
[23:02] program, not a town construction
project. The focus should be on helping
[23:07] the residents quickly reduce the risk of
future sewer backups, particularly when
[23:11] those backups are tied to your known
limitations within the town sewer. I
[23:16] respectfully ask the board to revise
this program by correcting the
[23:19] terminology, clarifying the eligibility
criteria, and making affected area
[23:24] information publicly available,
[clears throat] narrowing the liability
[23:27] language to contractor related issues
only, removing unnecessary
[23:31] administrative burdens, and creating a
more straightforward process that truly
[23:35] serves the residences intended to help.
My [clears throat] issues began in 2017,
[23:42] just six weeks after purchasing my home.
After the first tour backup, I was told
[23:47] my lateral was a problem. Following that
advice and approximately $18,000 to
[23:53] excavate and replace the line,
lo and behold, the backups happened
[23:58] again. Suddenly, now we're told that it
wasn't the lateral. It was the problem
[24:02] is the town sewer infrastructure, and
we're working on it. Repairs are
[24:06] supposedly underway. Fast forward to
today, and I have now experienced three
[24:11] additional sewer left on August. After
calling the town in frustration, two
[24:16] town employees came to my home. One
pointed to the floor drain actively
[24:21] discharging raw sewage and stated that I
needed to hire a plumber and kept that
[24:25] drain. There's my problem is what he
said. I asked him whether I should kept
[24:30] the toilet too where it was flowing out
of or the shower, but I kept everything
[24:34] in my house because Steuart's family.
My husband has been a plumber for over
[24:40] 40 years. We understand plumbing. We
understand drainage and we understand
[24:43] the difference between a homeowner
problem and a municipal infrastructure
[24:47] failure.
What I witnessed that day was not
[24:50] problem solving. It was lane shifting. I
was also told that drains are not
[24:54] allowed in new construction and would
not pass an inspection. Which raises
[24:59] another question. If our sewer
infrastructure is already struggling
[25:02] under existing demand, are we properly
evaluating the impact of continued
[25:07] development on an AC sewer system? The
answer seems pretty obvious, but yet
[25:11] here we are to issuing a new build
permit, not just for homes, but condos
[25:16] and development.
Today, I have installed a backwater
[25:20] check valve and hopefully protects my
home in the future. But I am no longer
[25:23] standing here for myself. I am standing
here for residents who can't afford the
[25:27] thousands of dollars in plumbing
modifications. I am standing here for
[25:31] the elderly residents on fixing them.
And I'm standing here for young families
[25:35] that cannot absorb 10, 20, and $30,000
expenses to fix the system.
[25:41] I don't know if it is the intention of
this administration to make the town of
[25:44] Lewon an embarrassment, but
unfortunately that is the direction we
[25:47] are heading. There was a time when I
would tell people I lived in Lewon and
[25:51] the response was always, "What a
beautiful town." Today that response is
[25:55] shifted to is that the town with the
flooding problems? How's your sewers? We
[26:00] can compare it to Falls and L now
the two go hand in hand now. Think about
[26:05] that for many outside our community.
This is becoming what we are known for.
[26:10] Lewon deserves better. Our residents
deserve better. At some point we have to
[26:14] stop managing the symptoms and start
solving the problem. We have to ask
[26:18] ourselves whether the current approach
is working because after decades of
[26:22] issues, residents are still standing
here asking the same questions and
[26:26] telling the same story. When does it
end? When do we accepting temporary
[26:31] fixes and start demanding lasting
solutions
[26:34] because the reputation of this town, the
trust of its residents and the quality
[26:38] of let the families who live here depend
on it.
[26:42] The ability to flush a toilet, take a
shower, trust that sewage will safely be
[26:47] removed from your home is not a luxury.
It is one of the most basic services
[26:51] local government infrastructure is
intended to provide. New York state law
[26:55] recognizes the necessity of sewage
systems for the protection of public
[26:59] health and federal law recognizes the
importance of wastewater systems in
[27:03] preventing pollution and protecting the
community.
[27:06] Residents should not have to repeatedly
bear the financial, physical and
[27:10] emotional consequences of a known
recurring sewer failure. I am asking
[27:14] this board to remember that behind every
flooded basement is a family whose home
[27:19] health and peace of mind are being
[clears throat] affected. Thank you.
[27:23] Thank you,
[27:29] » Michael Hall.
>> That was my wife. You gave her enough
[27:33] time to speak. I'm good.
>> Okay. We're [clears throat] I mean, when
[27:37] a lot of people speak, we try to limit
it to 45 minutes. We're not going to do
[27:40] that tonight. Um Clayton Miller,
[27:47] » I was just gonna say thank you for
letting
[27:52] um
Just a few things. I I've read every
[27:56] single port that has spoken this since
great.
[28:05] So I would like to say that I have no
absolutely no doubt that every single
[28:09] one of you there
deeply
[28:15] and I 100% there to fix this issue.
I also think that public
[28:26] garbage
driving.
[28:34] I also think that in the same we are
probably past the point of the people in
[28:41] this room
fixing the issue.
[28:46] Let me give you a quick since you're
only five minutes. Don't worry,
[28:51] [clears throat] but a quick historical
anecdote. So when the Apollo 13 mission
[28:54] went to hell and hand for two straight
days, all the people at all the people
[29:00] on the show worked without sleeping to
fix the issue to get Apollo 13.
[29:07] They tried everything. They were
committed to it, but eventually after
[29:11] the second day, they say, "We need
help." So what did they do? They got on
[29:16] the phone. They called the best jet
propulsion specialist in the country.
[29:20] They called the best engineers and
tracked down the company that made
[29:24] thrusters for our team. that them making
the call and saying we need help is the
[29:31] reason Tom Hanks lives at the end public
um I I firmly believe that despite all
[29:39] of your best efforts everyone's best
efforts we need help from a firm or
[29:45] [clears throat] a person that at this
very moment is somewhere in another
[29:49] municipality
making corrections the same issues that
[29:54] we have it's not from a lack of
these people exist. So even if we don't
[29:59] hire or contract, I think the board
should put together an RFP for
[30:05] information from an outside company that
can potentially contract with and fix
[30:12] these issues. And I think part of asking
for help quite frankly is letting go
[30:19] ego. I think it's letting go hubris. No
offense, but every mostly people up
[30:26] there every year about election time
fixing Louis's infrastructure.
[30:31] Nothing's getting fixed. And a lot of
these issues go way past your
[30:36] administration, your term of service.
They go all the way back to 2018.
[30:42] I believe every time
any word associated with flooding
[30:47] drainage sewers happen in this town in
2008, it's on a spreadsheet. I put it
[30:52] online. 2,147
pounds since 2008.
[30:57] We are nowhere closer despite our best
efforts of being where we need to.
[31:06] It's okay to say that we need help. You
guys are all servants. Hart time job.
[31:12] I'm sure there's thous.
[31:17] The best thing servants can do is say
because my
[31:24] but a lot of people here's then you can
only push people so far.
[31:32] So
if you have a company come in and they
[31:37] have a viable long-term solution
they should be wide latitude wide
[31:43] authority to enact the
what you need. And as a community, we're
[31:50] all going to have to buckle up and get
our checkbooks out. And that's not your
[31:54] fault. These are things that should have
been done incrementally for a long time.
[31:58] But the second part of this conversation
that is coming is what it's going to
[32:03] cost all. But quite frankly, if we are a
community, we're going to have to we're
[32:09] gonna have to suck it up and help these
people up. So I'm probably over my
[32:14] » No, I'm not cutting anybody off.
[32:21] Tim Henderson.
[32:30] My name is Tim Henderson. I live in the
village of Houston
[32:35] and I was a licensed wastewater
treatment plant operator for almost 30
[32:41] years at our plants.
I was at a meeting here about a year ago
[32:49] and the crowd looks the same. Um, at
that time I questioned the allocation of
[32:57] $15,000
toward the engineering department to do
[33:02] a study of the flooding process.
Now, with the basement still flooding, I
[33:09] think the only people that benefited
were the engineers.
[33:13] Um during my time at the treatment
plant, my partner and I were assigned
[33:19] one summer and there was plenty of rain,
so we got pretty good idea of what was
[33:24] going on. Uh extensive
walkound survey of troubled areas.
[33:33] We found looked at just about every
manhole in the town and just about
[33:38] everyone was leaking.
Uh we die tested the parking lots at NU
[33:45] and we found that some of the roofs on
the dormitories were discharging right
[33:50] into the sewer system and you took it
seriously
[33:55] put uh $250,000
into a [clears throat]
[33:59] cleanup campaign and
they made things right.
[34:06] We also found
off of Bronson
[34:10] a manhole where some fish had taken the
manhole cover off. So, we were actually
[34:16] draining Fish Creek during a high flow.
Um, fellow operator and I made some
[34:23] suggestions,
but they were largely ignored. So, I'm
[34:28] just going to offer them again tonight.
Now, the water pollution control center
[34:35] serves approximately 27,000
residents.
[34:42] It's been estimated that each individual
contributes about 100 gallons a day.
[34:49] So, as you can see, um
I went to courts on the little math
[34:55] challenge.
But if you multiply
[34:59] 27,000 by 100,
[35:04] you're almost at capacity even on a
sunny day. I have been there during high
[35:10] flow events where the flows have uh
reached over 12 million.
[35:18] So I have a few suggestions.
One was the installation of a an
[35:25] automatic
um overflow line like an intercept on
[35:32] the line that comes in to the treatment
plant.
[35:36] [clears throat] And at a certain level
when it flow got so high it would
[35:40] automatically
uh take over the flow and and go into
[35:45] the alcohol line
before it even gets to the treatment
[35:51] plant.
Uh there's a large area behind the
[35:56] treatment plant which would probably
accommodate a third overflow retention
[36:02] facility.
Um, you can apply to the DDC for a
[36:06] waiver uh to bypass the village closed
the requirements. Right now, you can't
[36:15] bypass
until it gets to a certain level
[36:24] that you know this system is is
critical.
[36:28] uh increase in the scheduling for
clearing lines including
[36:33] village lines off center streets that uh
consistently flood with grease from the
[36:39] restaurants.
Uh possibly sleeves in some of the the
[36:45] older areas that would help with the
INI.
[36:50] And uh
if these fail, I guess the last resort
[36:56] would be an adjustment to affected homes
uh in their taxes that would reflect,
[37:04] you know, what their cleanup costs have
been.
[37:07] Um many homes now pay more in cleanups
than they do in taxes. And homeowners
[37:15] uh shouldn't live in fear of a rain
event.
[37:20] many that I know
actually have some form of PTSD.
[37:25] So, I wish you all well and I hope you
take it as seriously as everybody else
[37:32] that is affected.
[37:36] » Did you experience uh any storage back
up in the basement?
[37:40] » No, but I uh submitted a letter to my
friend Eva.
[37:44] » Yep. I know she did, but um I just
wanted to um I was one of the lucky
[37:49] ones.
>> Okay. Okay. You're also on a boat too,
[37:52] right?
>> No.
[37:53] » You're on. Okay. Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
[37:57] » Rick Flores,
[38:02] » I'm going to make mine quick. I I
appreciate Mr. Wise coming up with
[38:07] saying that u there was a lack of uh
transparency and in the highway and he's
[38:14] only been there a year. So, what can you
expect from me here? But my story starts
[38:19] back in 2002.
I built my house in 2002 and from 2002
[38:24] to 2008.
I had a lot of water problems. I was
[38:29] going through some pumps like it's king.
Okay. In 2008 finally uh the town came
[38:35] up. Uh Bob Nobles used to work for the
water department and he implied that I
[38:40] built my house on
artisian well. There was no electric.
[38:48] There was a town being leaked somewhere,
but they never found it. What they did
[38:54] was put two dams [clears throat] in
front of my house to offset the storm
[38:59] water coming into my house.
From 2008 to 2024, I was fortunate.
[39:05] Nothing happened, but there was a lot of
new builds in our area. Legacy, uh,
[39:12] North Bridge, there's a lot of town
homes. So there's a lot of additional
[39:16] water coming, you know, in our area.
Just this recent one on the 20 um
[39:24] what was it? The 26 I believe um
we had the water coming down from Upper
[39:32] Mountain. Actually, somebody said, not
upper mount, correction, Mountain View,
[39:36] that there was somebody pumping water
right down the highway. All right.
[39:42] Sanitary water. Some people say, "Well,
no, that's sewer water." But the U
[39:46] manholes say sanitary.
I can tell you this. I'm tired of having
[39:53] sanitary water come up from my toilet in
my basement.
[39:58] I have a new home, fairly new home. The
infrastructure in that area, this should
[40:04] never happen. [clears throat] The s the
sewer and the sanitary are two separate
[40:09] entities. Why Why are we having that in
uh issue with uh
[40:17] excuse me infiltration between the storm
and the sanitary. That's a big problem.
[40:24] And what we do have is we have a problem
with one uh part of the town saying,
[40:30] "Well, that's sewer's problem." Or they
the sewer guys will say, "No, that's
[40:35] that's a that's a storm sewer, not the
sanitary sew." And then we hear about
[40:40] how the town will not allow us to clean.
I mean, the state won't allow us to
[40:44] clean the ditches because of muscles.
We're just tired of hearing that. We
[40:50] want you guys to work together and find
a solution because homeowners like
[40:54] myself, [clears throat] there's seven
home owners in in our area and they're
[40:59] very new homes and seven of them got
flooded basement with sanitary sewer.
[41:06] That should not happen. How would you
like your grandkids to be playing in
[41:10] your cellar when you had that happen? I
have grandson. I don't want that to
[41:15] happen. And mine is send not once,
twice, within one week.
[41:21] » Where?
>> Uh 4692
[41:25] Stacy Drive.
>> Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
[41:30] [applause]
[41:34] So, I received a letter from Eva
Nicholas. I want to read it into the
[41:38] record. Um, statement regarding the
recent sewer backup. I'm Eva Nicholas
[41:42] and I live at 903 Onidita Street in the
village of Lewon. I'll be out of town
[41:46] for this important meeting, but I write
this statement because I too experienced
[41:50] raw sewage flooding into my basement
during the last two storm events. My
[41:54] damages are substantial, several
thousand dollars so far, and other than
[41:58] pure rainy days. As long as I've lived
here, I never experienced any water
[42:02] problems in my basement until after the
clearing of acres of green space pines
[42:06] and that land was replaced with new
buildings, parking lots, driveways,
[42:10] brick, concrete, asphalt, and water has
no place to go. I wonder if the impact
[42:14] on sewer systems were carefully
evaluated before all that development
[42:18] was approved. Relentless expansion
shouldn't come at the expense of
[42:21] longtime residents and you shouldn't
have to deal with the consequences or
[42:25] the expense of poor planning and
overdevelopment in historic sign even
[42:32] the record. Um, Sharon Bland.
[42:41] » Hi, I'm Sharon Bland. I'm a fourth
generation res. [clears throat]
[42:48] Yes, on river road. [clears throat] Um,
I'm for action group. We've got over 300
[42:54] active homeowners that have experienced
damages in our community. But obviously,
[42:58] this is a Niagara County problem. Um, I
want to issue a brief rebuttal to some
[43:03] statements made by Mr. Weiss and Mr.
Ritter, which were incredibly
[43:06] insensessive, suggesting that we don't
know the difference between sewer water
[43:10] in our basement and storm water, which
of course we do. We don't put stuff in
[43:14] the ditches. Mother Nature puts stuff in
the ditches. And state law requires the
[43:18] town and the county and the state to
maintain their rights of play. Now, I've
[43:22] lived here long enough that I can say,
as other residents have said, nobody's
[43:26] maintaining our ditches. I've been
contacting you for 40 years. My
[43:30] grandmother broke her leg in the ditch.
My mother broke her arm in the ditch and
[43:34] I'm still trying to maintain the ditch.
Now I contacted Mr. Weiss in February
[43:38] and respectfully requested help when we
had flooding then and I got kiss. I
[43:43] filed notice of clay. Now I have 7 to
15,000 of damage, a huge crack in my
[43:48] basement, sewer water, flies, all kinds
of fun. The storm system was not
[43:53] working. I notified them in February.
There's a problem. I got nothing now.
[44:00] We're not supposed to be reactive. We're
supposed to be proactive. We've been
[44:03] paying tax dollars for decades and
decades to clean our ditches. So before
[44:09] you decide to allocate hundreds of
thousands of dollars to new department,
[44:13] new employees, where did our
infrastructure dollars go? Why are our
[44:17] ditches not being maintained? Why is the
state not enforcing it? And when are the
[44:21] county and the state going to step in
and help residents? Because this is a
[44:25] fiasco. There are hundreds of people
with hundreds of thousands of dollars in
[44:29] damages.
After I received no response from Mr.
[44:34] Weiss, I filed three more notices of
claim.
[44:37] As of today, I've filed a foil request
for all of the infrastructure records in
[44:42] order to audit the town of Lewon and to
find out where our money has gone. I've
[44:46] also issued a letter to all Niagara
County mayors, supervisors, and
[44:51] townships to ask them to take part in
programs that exist to help us create
[44:56] our infrastructure. There's government
money out there, and all we have to do
[45:00] is apply for it. Um, we've had a 350%
increase in our assessments. Now, we
[45:06] paid money for infrastructure and our
property values are predicated on things
[45:10] like storm water and sewer and now
radioactive waste runoff that we need to
[45:15] be very concerned about. Um, before one
penny gets spent in additional
[45:20] departments and personnel and equipment,
we want town meetings. We want
[45:24] accountability. We want to have these
conversations because there are many,
[45:28] many, many people affected. We want no
more band-aids. Now, there's two
[45:32] programs out there that already exist.
the clean water revolving state fund
[45:36] which provides grant monies low interest
loan 7%. There's also another one that
[45:40] turns out everybody's availing except us
called the New York State Resilient
[45:44] Watershed Grant Program and it's funded
by the Environmental Bond Act and
[45:49] basically we need to get a resilient New
York flood study or have a DEC approved
[45:53] comparable study. Then we can apply for
all kinds of improvements. They've
[45:57] already got it up on Bill Creek in
County um up at at Tom and Niagara and
[46:02] all kinds of surrounding areas. I've got
a map here that shows that a whole bunch
[46:06] of municipalities in our area are
already included except us. Um there's
[46:11] all kinds of money and help to do what
we need to do. Um we need volunteers to
[46:18] be included so that we can clean up
areas if we don't have enough personnel.
[46:22] We got to fix this before spring. We're
going to have a huge problem in the
[46:25] spring. It's going to be a heck of a lot
worse than it is right now. So, I'm
[46:29] asking the town to please look into
programs that would help us. I'm asking
[46:34] all the supervisors and mayors in the
various cities and towns in Iber County
[46:38] to register their damages. There's a
website to do this that the states put
[46:43] forth. I've got a petition on
change.org. I'm trying to get Governor
[46:47] Hokll to answer. I'm getting a little
bit of blowback there because of course
[46:50] they don't want to take responsibility
for their part of our problems. I know
[46:54] this isn't all you. I've lived here a
long time. These problems have existed
[46:58] forever. But it doesn't matter what came
before. It matters what we do tomorrow.
[47:03] We have to fix these issues. Our
property values are going to depreciate
[47:06] if we don't fix these issues. We are in
the equivalent of a basin. We are
[47:11] becoming a sort of an effective flood
zone. When you call for flood insurance,
[47:16] it's double the cost of your homeowners
and it only covers 250,000 which won't
[47:20] cover most of us. So that's a bad one.
You can't even fix the problem if you
[47:25] want to throw money at it. Um, we're
also, I think, being victimized by local
[47:29] providers that are fixing cracks in our
basement. I went to multiple homes whose
[47:34] basement walls cave in. It is
disgusting. It is a health issue.
[47:40] It's just appalling. I've never seen
anything like it and I've seen of it.
[47:43] But I'll tell you what, we've got to fix
the problem before it gets worse. And we
[47:48] have to also pay attention to the fixes
that people are putting in because I put
[47:53] a fix in too and that fix failed and
other people's fixes failed and now
[47:57] there's people with the races caving in
that can't live in their house and
[48:00] that's because those fixes are not
fixing the outside they're just putting
[48:04] a band-aid on the inside. So my theme
for the day is no more bandaids. Please
[48:08] help us find permanent solutions. We
deserve that. Thank you. It's Cheryl,
[48:14] right?
[48:18] Um, do you have that website? Because I
think isn't it through FEMA? It's like
[48:24] » I bet I can give you a piece of paper
that's got it all laid out. That would
[48:27] be wonderful because I think it would be
very helpful if we put that on our town
[48:31] website so that at least we can get that
cataloged. So if we are able to apply
[48:36] for any federal money, FEMA money,
>> then um that kind of gets aggregated
[48:41] together. Right. And and I'm also trying
to get people to put a sign out in front
[48:45] of their house that they're a flood
victim because people were
[48:48] misunderstanding when I was trying to
gather names together because there's
[48:52] thresholds and I'm not understanding
completely if it's a property threshold
[48:55] or a money threshold or both.
>> But people are like, "Oh, no, no. Um,
[48:59] you know, my sump pump didn't work." I'm
like, "It doesn't really matter. What
[49:03] matters is that if you've had water
damage, we can't meet the threshold
[49:07] unless we know about you."
>> Yeah. I believe that it is a monetary
[49:10] threshold, but I'm not positive. I think
it's like 38 million somewhere around
[49:15] that point.
>> Yeah, I talked to somebody um but
[49:17] Governor Huffle referred me to of all
places, Homeland Security's emergency
[49:22] response team. Yeah.
>> And apparently the city, I think the
[49:26] county has to have 1.3 million and the
state has to have something like 39.
[49:32] » Yeah, it's like 38 or 39 million.
>> But then he also told me that FEMA
[49:36] doesn't cover private people. Now, this
is the first time I've heard this. And I
[49:39] mean, we all know FEMA from Baton Rouge
and and Louisiana and all that. I'm not
[49:44] sure what he's talking about there, but
I do know that there's funds out there
[49:47] that we can apply for. And they've done
it locally in smaller communities than
[49:51] our Somerset. Um, if they can do it, we
can do it. And [clears throat] maybe
[49:56] that would get us to our destination
quicker.
[49:57] » Okay. Because that would be so very
helpful.
[49:59] » I absolutely.
>> So, thank you very much.
[50:03] Sharon Shar, could could you email me
that map, please?
[50:07] » Yes. Okay. I could probably just give
you the sheet of paper.
[50:11] » Oh,
>> it's very interesting. It shows up the
[50:13] townships that have already. So,
basically, we've had over 50 um events
[50:19] in this area already that are considered
right now.
[50:22] » I think it's like um I believe it's it
and that's I don't know if I'm going to
[50:26] say it right. It's a life grant. Um
there's a couple of other grants that
[50:30] were uh could possibly go for but I do
know that we have to get our ducks in a
[50:38] row as far as to like with Mike. It's a
fabulous start. We now have to develop
[50:43] some type of plan that we can now
present in that grant application.
[50:48] » Right.
>> So
[50:49] » I would be more than willing to
volunteer to finance. I'd be happy to
[50:53] help you with that. I'm sure there's
lots of other people that could too
[50:55] because they wrote massive amounts of
paperwork.
[50:59] Okay. Thank you so much.
[51:05] » Thank you everybody for speaking. Really
appreciate it. Um
[51:12] moving on right now to our approval of
meet minutes from the regular town board
[51:18] meeting on July 27.
[clears throat]
[51:22] I reviewed them meeting minutes and I
make a motion to make acceptance
[51:26] presented. We have a motion, a second.
All in favor?
[51:32] » Motion carries abstract claims.
>> I move to approve the regular abstract
[51:38] claims 2602317
through 2602462.
[51:45] [clears throat] Recommend payment. This
is an amended amount in which you have
[51:50] recommend payment in the amount of
$525,358
[51:55] plus a post audit in the amount of
$16,590.
[52:02] A second a motion and a second. All in
favor?
[52:07] » I oppos
[52:26] clerk's office.
>> The postage machine is up. We need to
[52:31] approve to extend the lease and have the
town clerk sign the lease with any votes
[52:35] for another 60 months that $1735
a month
[52:44] is moving forward.
[52:50] » Second motion second all in favor
motion car.
[52:58] So recently we put out bits for cleaning
key fobs for the doors. It's 25 inside
[53:03] doors and two outside doors. Um at town
hall we did receive three bids for that
[53:10] from maximum security in the amount of
$57,500.
[53:14] One from security 101 $51,750
and from technical solutions 23,856.
[53:24] I'm requesting approval to accept the
low bid from technical solutions in the
[53:28] amount of $23,856.
[53:32] I'll make that motion.
>> Second motion in a second. All in favor?
[53:37] » I
[53:40] think
[53:47] this was going to come out,
I believe.
[53:52] » H97. So, So I will make a motion that
supervisor sign the contract with
[53:58] technical solutions for the money to
come out of H97.
[54:03] » Second motion second. All in favor I
[54:09] » just need
a motion
[54:13] supervisor that conception
[54:21] just mentioned that
>> I didn't know that that's my guess for
[54:26] the town clerk to sign
the town clerk to sign.
[54:31] » [clears throat]
>> And I will second that. We have a motion
[54:33] to second. All in favor? I opposed.
Motion carried.
[54:38] » And lastly, the uniform and M contract
through vestice is up in December of
[54:42] this year. We'd like to get head start
on for a smooth transition. We'd like to
[54:47] go ahead and start obtaining some bids
for that. Now
[54:51] board approval to go out to bed for
uniforms and
[54:55] need a motion for that.
>> To go out to bed. Yes,
[54:58] » I'll make that motion to go out.
[55:03] motion a second. All in favor
[55:11] on the agenda.
Anything
[55:15] you want to add?
[55:20] [clears throat]
>> Michael,
[55:22] we have been out
some of the areas
[55:28] [clears throat] pretty going on right
now.
[55:33] So it's taking some time
[55:39] out. Um this is where talking
[55:45] other than that we've been working
alongside with the waste water treatment
[55:49] plant with the camera and the sewer jet
storm drains and camera and stuff to see
[55:54] if we can find any problem.
[56:00] Now, Mike, I just had a question with
how your proposed with the um two
[56:04] additional individuals.
I understand that they're they're summer
[56:09] work, but now in the winter, would they
be put to work to develop projects or
[56:16] would they be um brought in as far as
with snow removal and other winter
[56:21] maintenance or how would they be
strategically? As long as we don't have
[56:27] six feet of snow on the ground, we can
continue.
[56:30] We can clear ditches, we can cut down
trees, we can clear those areas out. I
[56:36] mean, it's something that we continue
year round.
[56:39] » Okay. Okay. So, they would just
>> Yeah. Just because it's snowing or it's
[56:43] cold out doesn't mean we have to stop,
>> but also just to answer your question,
[56:48] they would be available if you couldn't
be town.
[56:52] » Okay. Well, that's just what um you
know, just to be able to wrap my head
[56:56] around um what they actually would be
doing. I know
[57:01] » a lot of work ahead of us, but um I just
want to know if they would be utilized
[57:05] in
the capacity to um you maybe run a drone
[57:11] like you had done in some areas to look
at or you know as far as to help.
[57:17] » Oh yeah, absolutely.
>> So as far as your proposal
[57:23] You want from my understand you want to
add two highway department workers MEOS.
[57:29] » Yes.
>> You want to discuss that real quick?
[57:33] » Sure.
>> Go ahead.
[57:35] » Yeah. If you look at they add two MEOs
to our department um solely for the
[57:40] reason [clears throat] but as we said
you know they will be utilized in the
[57:44] highway department for whatever reason
[57:50] it would
it's a start
[57:54] it's definitely a start
>> so after talking like
[57:58] two crew members
>> and adding a third from within the um
[58:05] that's where we would start. So, um I
think what Mike's looking for is a
[58:09] motion to approve two new hires, any
hires for the town highway department.
[58:14] They would be part of the ditching crew
within the town highway department. So,
[58:18] they would be a town highway worker who
would be just doing ditches. I mean, the
[58:22] goal is to do ditching, but they would
be available to do other things.
[58:29] Yeah, the primary focus is going to be
cleaning the kitchen with a preventative
[58:33] maintenance program.
>> Absolutely propritoring the dishes
[58:36] » to get us back to a situation where
we're not struggling to spend months to
[58:41] clean out a dish. It would be very quick
to go through and be able to just scoop
[58:47] that ditch out at some point.
>> Okay. So, basically, it's it's it is
[58:51] developing a ditch commission. We're
just going to call it a ditch commission
[58:54] piece. A ditch voice or ditch division.
Um and then they would be responsible
[59:01] for like a rotating basis once
everything does get to where we would
[59:07] like it. Then there would be a
rotational schedule [clears throat] that
[59:11] they would uh develop and maintain each
year.
[59:14] » Basically basically when we finish this
project we're just going to
[59:19] » Okay. And then that um I'm going to
assume that the ditch division would
[59:23] then need to be its own budget line as
you had mentioned. So if you're looking
[59:27] for a budget line for equipment and
supplies for the pitching, I don't think
[59:35] we we would be able to do a separate
budget line for the actual employees.
[59:40] » Yeah, I'm just thinking of like, you
know, like being able to subsection it
[59:44] out as like a division as to where it
doesn't go into the general highway
[59:50] budget, but then it actually gets the
money gets put in that division
[59:55] » for Yes. for the for the equipment or
supplies.
[59:59] » Yes.
[1:00:03] » No, that's fine. I'm just talking for
the um you know equipment and whatever
[1:00:09] materials are needed, but I guess that
would be question also.
[1:00:13] » Yes.
>> So, okay.
[1:00:15] » Okay. So, um you want to make that
motion? [clears throat]
[1:00:19] » I if nobody else wants to make it. Yes,
I will. I will make that motion to um
[1:00:24] hire two additional people at the
highway department for the um sole
[1:00:30] purpose of
becoming members of the ditch division.
[1:00:36] » Again, I would stay away from sole
purpose. Okay. Yeah. So, I guess not
[1:00:41] sole purpose, but their their main char
[1:00:46] but we can
>> as as MEOs within the highway department
[1:00:50] for the purpose of being additionally
approved.
[1:00:53] » Yes.
>> You mentioned some additional equipment.
[1:00:57] Do you have enough quick? Can we do this
one first? Let's do this one first. We
[1:01:01] have a motion. We have a second.
>> Okay. Motion a second. All in favor?
[1:01:06] » I motion. Okay. Go ahead.
>> So my question was you mentioned some
[1:01:11] additional equipment with with these two
not there. Do you have enough equipment
[1:01:17] currently for them to be productive?
>> We we do. Yes, but there is ideally
[1:01:23] equipment that you would prefer to see
which would make this go a lot faster
[1:01:30] as a discussed proposal like a tough
grinder. That way we could actually just
[1:01:36] take care of all the trees and
everything right on property and it
[1:01:39] would go back to the earth compared to
it takes us 10 times longer to pull all
[1:01:44] the trees out
because you can't just cut down a tree.
[1:01:51] » Now would that be included then in this
year's budget line? Are you going to
[1:01:56] amend um you know for next year's budget
to include that?
[1:02:02] » Yeah. I don't have that.
>> Okay. So, I was going to say that might
[1:02:05] be um you know some things we look at
for next year.
[1:02:12] Mike and I discussed some work on that.
So, state we can try and find time. So,
[1:02:17] we we definitely talked about it. Um so,
we felt like getting two people hired
[1:02:22] tonight was the first equipment.
>> It's going to take us some time to find
[1:02:26] the right people.
>> Yeah. It's not it's not like we have
[1:02:30] people lined up to start working
tomorrow. It's gonna take time to get
[1:02:34] the word out.
[1:02:39] » Water,
anything you'd like to say?
[1:02:42] » Well, um we had about uh almost 10
inches of rain in five days. If it was
[1:02:49] snow, it would be 8 ft.
It's a lot to deal with. I feel for all
[1:02:55] the people that talked today and it's uh
you know it's hard to hear uh talked to
[1:03:01] all of the people that spoke here today
and hundreds of other people um
[1:03:07] when we have flooding issues and the
ditches are flooded um there's no way to
[1:03:12] keep the water out of the sanitary
sewer. Um and it's going to back into
[1:03:17] low
uh residences. Um, I didn't mean to
[1:03:22] offend anybody by putting uh what I put
out on uh Facebook. It's just there are
[1:03:28] some people that do absolutely nothing
to try to protect themselves but just
[1:03:35] call and complain. So, um trying to help
out everybody that we can and we'll
[1:03:41] continue to try to do our best.
>> Thank you. Um Bob Lander from GHB
[1:03:46] couldn't be here, but he sent his storm
water expert. Tammy, is there anything
[1:03:51] you'd like to add?
>> Um I think we just felt it was important
[1:03:54] to have someone from GH here uh to
listen and and hear everything that has
[1:03:59] happened especially for those specific
events. And we will continue to work
[1:04:03] with the town. We've already had some
meetings with the supervisor, council
[1:04:07] member, and highway department. Um we've
already talked about some options and
[1:04:11] we'll continue to work.
>> Um can is there get a hard copy of
[1:04:15] report or a hard copy of uh the drainage
study that was [clears throat]
[1:04:20] farms. Um I do have it online but I
would prefer to be able to have
[1:04:24] something I can go through and capture
notes off of. Thank you.
[1:04:30] » So with that since we're on engineering
um you know we know the town that we
[1:04:36] have areas that have problems they're
historical problems um some go back 60
[1:04:41] 70 years.
The big question mark is Lewis Town
[1:04:45] Park.
That neighborhood is only like Mr.
[1:04:50] Flores said, I believe he built his
house in 2002.
[1:04:55] And he was in phase 8. He was the last
house in phase 8. So that neighborhood's
[1:04:59] been going in since the 80s. I know
that's a long time ago, but it's
[1:05:04] relatively new compared to
Dage. So
[1:05:10] that neighborhood highway sewer has been
out there for the last two days coming
[1:05:16] Friday trying [clears throat] to do some
camera work.
[1:05:20] Uh sewer jet using the sewer jet to
clean out um pipes and everything like
[1:05:25] that. It's a mystery right now what's
going on in Moosetown Park. So um what
[1:05:31] we did at Morgan Farms is we did a
topographical we did um basically as
[1:05:38] built drawings current asbuilt drawings.
So what we're going to do and I'm going
[1:05:41] to make a motion tonight is that the
town is requesting a proposal from GHD
[1:05:46] to investigate the drainage issues
Lewistown Park phase 8 and nine Harry
[1:05:52] Court Stacy Drive Raymond Sarah and
Lauren Court. This effort will include
[1:05:58] necessary topographic and boundary
survey storm water modeling concept and
[1:06:02] final design of the storm water infra
infrastructure improvements. So, I'm
[1:06:07] gonna I'm gonna make that motion to ask
them for an RFP for that.
[1:06:12] So, we have a motion in a second.
>> Can I ask a question?
[1:06:15] » Sure.
>> Um I my question is,
[1:06:21] you know, we we recognize that we have
the infiltration issues. We've been
[1:06:27] dealing with it for years. So, I I mean,
I'm curious as to the corporate
[1:06:33] structure of GHD.
Are they prepared to give us the
[1:06:37] resources that that we need and do you
have the people on staff that can that
[1:06:42] that can get us answers in a relatively
short period of time?
[1:06:46] » Absolutely. GHD has a hall's office, a
Buffalo office. We have a very large
[1:06:52] office out of the Sier area. Uh we share
resources all the time. We work together
[1:06:57] as a larger team. Uh we have thousands
of employees. Um even some of the early
[1:07:02] work we have done right now has not just
been from our local staff. It has been
[1:07:06] shared across our offices to find the
best technical staff to work on what is
[1:07:12] needed. So we have a system of many
systems in place to ensure that we
[1:07:17] constantly have the right staff and the
available staff to work on our project.
[1:07:22] So this will be no different. We will
commit to what is needed to get this
[1:07:26] done and to get it done in good in a
reasonable amount of time because this
[1:07:31] cannot linger as we heard tonight. It
cannot be a slowm moving item. It has to
[1:07:38] » do we have even a rough time estimate
before we
[1:07:42] » I don't right now but we will get that
together quickly following this
[1:07:47] resolution.
>> Is this something that we can get
[1:07:49] updates monthly?
>> Absolutely.
[1:07:52] » And addressing
Typically, Mr. Landon would be here and
[1:07:56] provide updates. Um, that's moving
forward with Mr.
[1:08:00] » So, what we're asking for is proposal on
what they're going to do with cost and
[1:08:05] everything like that. Then moving
forward once we decide if we're going to
[1:08:09] do that and moving forward, we will work
with GHD.
[1:08:13] » Um, I do have another question. Um, just
as far I know it's just only a request
[1:08:18] for proposal. Um, I know that GHD has
been involved in other engineers
[1:08:23] projects and is currently involved in a
project in Tananda with that sewer for
[1:08:28] installing I think sewer liners. But now
I'm wondering as far as after we do all
[1:08:34] of these studies and we've got all of
this information now is G uh GHD uh
[1:08:41] capable of developing an action plan for
us that we then can take and use in
[1:08:49] these applications for assistance.
You're looking for something more of a
[1:08:55] master planning or more of a what to do
when something occurs?
[1:08:59] » Well, no. I just feel like we've got
these studies like we've got study of
[1:09:03] Morgan Farms. We're going to do a study
of um I can't remember the name. We got
[1:09:08] the Pure Court Raymond Drive area. Then
we're going to do a study here. And
[1:09:12] we're going to
What do we do with that study? Like we
[1:09:16] need to have a consolidated
like, okay, so this is what's going on
[1:09:21] here. these are the problems we have
identified. This is what we can write
[1:09:25] our grant applications off of or this is
what we can utilize to implement. So I
[1:09:31] just I just feel like we're we're in a
disconnect with the information that
[1:09:36] we're getting and the applicability of
that information.
[1:09:40] So the the best format would be to start
putting again more of an overall picture
[1:09:47] of the town. Um focus then bringing that
focus areas and areas of interest and
[1:09:53] then like you said study can focus on an
area but then that needs an action plan
[1:09:59] to then what we will do to improve the
infrastructure and or repair or modify
[1:10:04] or whatever the plan is after that. So
this first proposal starts that process
[1:10:09] with one area but we need to put
comprehensive list together of all the
[1:10:14] areas of interest and start prioritizing
and planning ahead and we can start
[1:10:19] working on that I think now that we've
had some of these conversations um and
[1:10:23] try to work out the best picture so all
the board members can understand and our
[1:10:26] department heads can understand what to
do moving forward.
[1:10:29] » Now are there any other historical
studies that GHD has already done? I
[1:10:34] mean, and if they've already done them
in the village, if they've already done
[1:10:38] them, you know, out uh Creek Road, if
they [clears throat]
[1:10:43] under other comprehensive historical
studies,
[1:10:47] there are other drainage studies that
we've done for local municipalities area
[1:10:52] county
specific
[1:10:55] » specifically. Not that comes to mind,
but I have to double check with Mr.
[1:10:59] because obviously being a resident he's
involved in what goes on here and often
[1:11:04] handles it more directly himself. So I
don't want to speak outside of what his
[1:11:09] level of knowledge out outweighs.
>> Okay. Not that's just a question for
[1:11:13] [clears throat]
[cough]
[1:11:15] about three years. Just that we do have
that historical.
[1:11:23] We have a motion and a second. Any more
questions?
[1:11:28] All in favor?
>> I oppos. Motion carries. Thank you. Um I
[1:11:34] would also like to acknowledge before
they stand up and leave, we invited uh
[1:11:39] our legislature. So um Irene Myers is
our our legislature to the north and
[1:11:45] Mike Cassell is our legislator from to
the south basically divided by 104
[1:11:50] closely 104. There's some area. So I
appreciate you being here. they they
[1:11:55] understood that um the county has some
issues in this and that it's it's a
[1:12:00] bigger picture of how we can solve
resolve some of these issues. It may
[1:12:04] need the county may need the state.
Obviously, we have state groups, we have
[1:12:08] county groups. So, I appreciate you guys
coming.
[1:12:10] » No, it was our pleasure meeting. Um
county is going to be getting together.
[1:12:16] Uh Ari and I only had conversations with
the chairman of our infrastructure and
[1:12:21] facilities committee. Uh so, Rest
assured, we will be talking and coming
[1:12:26] up with a plan on how to lend some
support to the effort.
[1:12:30] » And just so everybody knows, Mike
Cassell was a victim of major flooding
[1:12:34] as well.
>> I definitely feel the pain of people
[1:12:37] here. Uh flooded in both events, July
26, 27th, and August
[1:12:43] » with
[snorts]
[1:12:46] the address.
[1:12:50] » Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate
it. And we did spend some money to do
[1:12:55] some of those competitive things.
>> Okay. [clears throat] So, which are you
[1:12:58] closer down towards library?
>> Right down the road from the library.
[1:13:02] » Okay. Thank you very much.
>> And I'd also like to acknowledge the
[1:13:05] mayor of Lewon, Dan Cota, for coming out
to the meeting as well. I would like to
[1:13:09] thank the mayor of Lewon for getting his
guys out and doing the ditch cleaning on
[1:13:14] my street and the crap on
and also the ditch between the parkway
[1:13:24] and the quad trail. I know that you're
looking to work with the DEC to get the
[1:13:28] permits you need to get that cooled out.
We should have that permit in the next
[1:13:32] 14 days. And if there is a need and
we're talking on the county level, uh we
[1:13:38] need all the towns to work together. We
don't want something that the town of
[1:13:41] Louiswis does that negatively impacts
the town of Niagara or vice versa. So,
[1:13:46] you know, we need to work with soil and
water within our our county, you know,
[1:13:50] people. So, you know, we Niagara if we
did anything to get the water out here,
[1:13:55] it would affect the town of Porter,
which is also
[1:13:57] » we don't want
>> everything goes north. So some goes west
[1:14:02] into the river, but everything kind of
between the creeks goes north.
[1:14:05] » And I know sometimes the DEC is not the
easiest agency to work with. So I mean
[1:14:11] their application process pretty
burdensome. If there's a need for some
[1:14:16] assistance with doing these
applications,
[1:14:18] we can help with the county.
>> So our our ditches next to the parkway,
[1:14:22] which is on both the east and the west
side, is a big source of where our water
[1:14:27] goes.
>> Permanent was signed. It's owned by New
[1:14:30] York parks. We have a lease with New
York parks for our trail, our bike path
[1:14:35] to, you know, operate that area drainage
on our bike path. But the ditches are
[1:14:39] part of New York State Parks. They
signed a permit application which Mr.
[1:14:44] Cota started with them and they signed
it Friday. So I got I got an email on
[1:14:50] that. So the ball's rolling. We'll see.
and and numerous phone calls I believe
[1:14:56] from council
governor's office directly um along with
[1:15:03] mayorota
uh to seek their assistance on the other
[1:15:07] uh areas that we have issue as far creek
fish creek and um Gil Creek that's it
[1:15:14] right so um hopefully that we can
establish that communication there and
[1:15:20] get their assistance with the DEC for
those creeks and then also to be able to
[1:15:25] possibly get pointed towards some type
of, you know, grant program or something
[1:15:30] that we can apply for to get as far as
monetary.
[1:15:35] » Thank you very much.
>> Thank you. Yes, thank you for having us
[1:15:38] and um like legislator Christelle said
that uh we're going to be
[1:15:45] um putting in much effort into trying to
look at the big picture of everything.
[1:15:50] Um as we all our weather pattern is
changing. So
[1:15:54] » yeah, I think we have 42 we've had 42
inches of rain to date,
[1:16:00] » which is well well above average in this
area. So thank you.
[1:16:05] » Well, again, thanks to Michael, thanks
Mayor.
[1:16:12] I totally 100% agree.
>> I can tell you from supervisors meeting
[1:16:17] across the county, every every town is
dealing with this. Every town is dealing
[1:16:21] with DC. Every town is dealing with
flooding. Every town is dealing with
[1:16:26] drink issues. So, thanks. And so, we'll
take a cover up. You've been to the
[1:16:30] meetings with the uh with the DOT and
the towns and the county and the state
[1:16:35] and DPC. [clears throat]
So, I appreciate it.
[1:16:38] » Thank you.
>> And I was going to say if you have any
[1:16:40] more
app,
[1:16:48] » Tim, last but not least, Tim Smith. Oh.
Uh, thank you, sir. Uh, we just finished
[1:16:53] up our camp season, uh, preparing for
our next season, which I don't want to
[1:16:58] bring up any of those events. I still
like to enjoy the last two weeks of
[1:17:01] summer, but follow us on Facebook and,
uh, the town website. We got plenty of
[1:17:05] events coming up for the fall and the
winter time. So, yeah, a lot of adult
[1:17:08] events, too, not just kids. So,
[clears throat] that's a big aspect of
[1:17:12] our recreation department as well.
Jackie, no, I'm sorry. You're you'll be
[1:17:16] last. Jackie's online. Jackie, it's
minor surgery and attention. You there,
[1:17:23] Jackie?
[1:17:27] » You're on mute if you're there. There
you are.
[1:17:30] » Y
>> I'm here.
[1:17:34] So, so go ahead.
[1:17:39] » Previously, I submitted eight budget
revisions
[1:17:43] for the board to review. And tonight I
ask for those budget revisions to be
[1:17:48] approved.
>> I went over them with Jackie this
[1:17:51] morning. I'll make a motion to accept.
I'll second that motion. Motion a
[1:17:57] second. All in favor?
>> I opposed. Motion carried. Jackie,
[1:18:02] anything else you'd like to add?
>> Uh, no. I will sit down with Mike to
[1:18:09] figure out the uh the new ditch division
funding requirements.
[1:18:15] get that all put together.
>> Okay. Thank you very much.
[1:18:20] We'll talk to you soon.
[1:18:24] » Okay. Nothing under old pending
business. Nothing under new business
[1:18:28] under my leazison report. Um
[1:18:33] Leah, are you here?
[1:18:39] » She's in hospital.
>> Oh, okay. So, can you step up to the
[1:18:43] microphone?
I'm sorry. What's your first name again?
[1:18:48] » Gina Maria Marino.
>> Gina.
[1:18:50] » So, Gina came to me with her with her
sister and talked about a break in their
[1:18:56] um water line. Um there's water and
sewer. Um it was a water line break. Her
[1:19:03] average bill is I
>> Yeah, I got it right here. I was going
[1:19:09] to run through this real quick. Real
quick. Bear with me. Uh, her most
[1:19:13] expensive bill on here was in 23 at $112
and it was 60 61 61 61 61 62 62 706 62
[1:19:24] and $5,729.
[1:19:27] So that's a long shower.
So explain explain to us what happened.
[1:19:33] » Um, my sister has health issues.
She was in hospital and
[1:19:41] had a water break in the bathroom
upstairs.
[1:19:46] It ran for two
days and then it was two subs and then
[1:19:54] um I had another neighbor check in on
Florida and it's been flown in every
[1:20:01] month for the last six months to try to
get this sorted out. I'm on a plan
[1:20:07] and I like she had a new meter put on
and everything. There's no way this was
[1:20:13] just a normal.
>> I think if you remember our
[1:20:15] conversation, you had the work done.
>> I did.
[1:20:18] » And I I asked for like a work order
on my phone that I'm not allowed to
[1:20:26] because my phone had to be shut off.
>> Oh,
[1:20:29] » that's why I I brought everything
digital. I came up with Well,
[1:20:33] » give me
We'll do
[1:20:36] a meeting
>> either a meeting or if you can email
[1:20:39] them to
>> I can do all the
[1:20:40] » okay and we'll figure out
water we'll figure sewer water I'll have
[1:20:46] your phone number um
>> please
[1:20:48] » do me a favor write down your
[1:21:07] And then what we'll do in our next
meeting, you wouldn't need to be here. I
[1:21:10] can present
[1:21:18] » I will call you tomorrow.
Okay,
[1:21:22] » I hope your sister feels better.
[1:21:31] » So, um, we just settled.
Um,
[1:21:36] I believe it's been completely
finalized. Um, we know what the numbers
[1:21:41] are going to be. And what we've done in
the past is we have matched our court
[1:21:46] officers with our part-time police
officers per their contract.
[1:21:52] And what I would like to do is um
basically approve the court officers
[1:21:59] making as much as equal to the part-time
officer's pay within within the town
[1:22:05] highway per town police contract.
So I have I don't have those numbers in
[1:22:11] front of me. I have the contract you
want to look at them. But um it's a
[1:22:15] situation. It's a product basically of
minimum wage going up and everybody's
[1:22:19] salaries going up. So we approved the
police contract I believe at the last
[1:22:22] meeting and I would ask that we approve
the court officer's pay moving forward
[1:22:29] um from Hold on a second.
What was the date again? Was it was
[1:22:35] today right?
>> Yeah.
[1:22:41] It'll be today to coincide with the new
with the payroll period. So I would ask
[1:22:45] that the court officers pay would
increase equal to the part-time police
[1:22:49] officers paying their contract. Yeah,
I'll make that motion. I'll second.
[1:22:54] » All in favor?
>> I opposed
[1:22:58] motion.
Um legal
[1:23:03] you have a resolution in front of you
relative to an undertaking with the
[1:23:07] state. Obviously uh town does work
within the rights of way of state of New
[1:23:14] York etc. And basically what this is is
a understanding uh that of what the town
[1:23:21] will do andifying the state for that
type of work. So this is just
[1:23:26] [clears throat]
basically a reaffirmation of what the
[1:23:30] town did I believe 10 years ago. It's a
longer term relationship. I think the
[1:23:35] last one was 2005.
Okay. without reading the whole thing.
[1:23:39] Um, it's town list town board resolution
authorizing the execution of new
[1:23:43] undertaking of New York City Department
of Transportation. Now, therefore, be it
[1:23:46] resolved town board and town hereby
approves and authorizes town to enter
[1:23:51] into the New York State DOT undertaking
presented to town board attached here to
[1:23:55] exhibit A. Town supervisor is hereby
authorized and directed on behalf of the
[1:23:59] town to execute the undertaking attached
as exhibit A and to deliver the executed
[1:24:04] undertaking
to New York State Department of
[1:24:07] Transportation together with a copy of
the instant resolution and any other
[1:24:11] documents reasonably required by New
York State DOT to process and accept the
[1:24:15] undertaking. The undertaking attached is
exhibit A is incorporated into and made
[1:24:19] a part of this resolution. This
resolution will take effect immediately
[1:24:23] upon it adoption. So you need a vote on
to resolve to enter into it and then a
[1:24:29] vote to authorize supervisor to sign the
actual undertaking attachment.
[1:24:35] Okay. Can I get a motion? I'll make that
motion.
[1:24:40] » Second motion to second. All in favor? I
motion carried and a motion for
[1:24:51] second. Motion second. All in favor? I
motion.
[1:24:57] » Some months ago, um town board
authorized me to negotiate
[1:25:03] um with the owner of
parcel of property on Slement
[1:25:08] [clears throat] Road and Garlo. There's
some issues with respect to the traffic
[1:25:12] patterns there. Uh also some complaints
of the neighbors as to uh whether it met
[1:25:18] code numbers of American violations
coming from the manager's office. we've
[1:25:22] reached uh an agreement with that um
with that individual and I have supplied
[1:25:28] and that is attached to your agenda a
contract purchase contract for the
[1:25:34] amount of $60,000 for that particular
lot. Um we are holding uh several deeds
[1:25:42] and documents in escro pending vote
today.
[1:25:46] So
we're all aware of this. So what it is,
[1:25:50] just so everybody else knows, there's
the old red and white building, the
[1:25:53] corner of Carlo 31, which has been in
court for since I started here in 2007
[1:25:59] » and it's changed ownership and it's been
kicked out of the court because of that
[1:26:03] and brought back into the court. We've
had promises, oh, we're going to clean
[1:26:05] the building up, which it was cleaned
up, but the building needs to be
[1:26:08] condemned and it is condemned.
>> It is condemned. So um so it's a
[1:26:13] two-fold process. when we were had the
opportunity to purchase it. Also, if
[1:26:18] anybody that's driven south on Garlo and
hit 31, it's an awkward intersection.
[1:26:24] The intention is to line up Garlo on the
on the north side with Garlo on the
[1:26:29] south side so you're not facing
kind of a a south east angle. We're
[1:26:37] going to to line it up. So, that's the
real intention of getting the property.
[1:26:42] Um, the other is to demolish that
building and clean that property up. So,
[1:26:47] I would ask for a motion. And also, we
received a $50,000 grant from
[1:26:53] Assemblyman Morinell that could be used
to obtain this property. It's one of the
[1:26:57] parameters of using the grant and one of
them is to obtain property. So, with
[1:27:02] that, I would ask for a motion to uh
approve the purchase of that property
[1:27:07] for $60,000
>> plus closing costs. Closing cost.
[1:27:12] Exactly.
>> Wouldn't you figure another
[1:27:15] » $1,500 to $2,000 at most?
>> Where the remainder come from?
[1:27:21] » Um H97 our infrastructure.
>> Jackie Jackie now are you there?
[1:27:30] » Was that how I understood it? It was
going to be through the um our H97
[1:27:36] infrastructure fund.
>> Yes.
[1:27:38] » Okay. Thank you. So
It would be a total of basically $62,000
[1:27:45] up to $62,000.
>> Motion
[1:27:50] second.
>> All in favor?
[1:27:56] » Motion and also authorized
[1:28:05] contract.
All
[1:28:07] » in favor? I oppos.
I know we had some
[1:28:19] engineering. We've already taken care of
that. We've already taken the budget
[1:28:22] provisions. Councilman Bird report
police fires. I have a letter here from
[1:28:28] Officer Buzzio.
Please accept this letter as formal
[1:28:32] notification that I am resigning from my
position as a police officer with the
[1:28:35] Louis police department effective August
31st 20126.
[1:28:40] Leaving the Louis in police team was a
very deep and well thoughtout decision.
[1:28:43] I have had an extraordinarily rewarding
time in serving this community alongside
[1:28:48] some of the finest individuals I ever
known. My co-workers here have truly
[1:28:52] become like family to me and the
camaraderie, memories, and invaluable
[1:28:56] professional lessons I've gained are
things I will carry with me throughout
[1:28:58] the rest of my career. I am deeply
grateful for the opportunity,
[1:29:02] mentorship, and support provided to me
during my tenure police. Prior to my
[1:29:06] departure, I will ensure all my open
reports are finalized and assist in
[1:29:10] making the transition as smooth as
possible. I wish you and the entire
[1:29:13] Louis Police Department continued safety
and success. I make a motion to with
[1:29:20] regrets accept Mr. Buzzio or officer
Buzzio's resation.
[1:29:26] Motion a second. All in favor?
>> I
[1:29:31] [clears throat] wish the best.
>> I'm requesting a motion to hire two
[1:29:37] full-time positions to fill up coming
vacancies. One is Paul Neville with a
[1:29:42] start date of September 7th, 2026 to
replace vacancy created by the
[1:29:48] resignation of M officer Michael Buzzio
who is leaving on August 31st 2026
[1:29:56] and also for the hiring of Dylan
Loganich
[1:30:01] okay sorry thank you with the start date
there's a bunch of change in the start
[1:30:07] date September 8th 2026 [clears throat]
to replace the vacancy created by
[1:30:11] Anthony Nicolleti when he retires on
September 25th
[1:30:16] Both hireers are from the civil service
list. They need to attend the Niagara
[1:30:18] County law enforcement academy which
starts on September 8th.
[1:30:25] We have a motion to second. Any
questions? All in favor?
[1:30:29] » I opposed.
[1:30:34] » The only other thing that I have is the
historical association Lewon. are
[1:30:38] holding their annual
Lew in Jeopardy Wednesday September 16th
[1:30:44] at Fellow Winery
looking for good entertainment time and
[1:30:50] learn something about your community.
It's always a well dependent.
[1:30:55] Okay, thank you very much. Councilman
Memorial. The first thing on my agenda,
[1:31:01] we had an agreement for transferring
street lights from Buffalo Street in San
[1:31:07] back back in September 23rd, 2024.
I worked with National Grid. Our highway
[1:31:14] supervisor at the time said there was a
lot of issues with them lights with
[1:31:18] wiring. Parts aren't available anymore.
There's timers that have to be set for
[1:31:24] daylight savings time. and he said if we
could turn them over national grid let
[1:31:28] them maintain them replace what has to
be replaced the wiring infrastructure
[1:31:33] also needed love and attention so this
was approved and everything but I got a
[1:31:39] contact from national grid that they
can't find or something happened in
[1:31:43] between with we need the supervisor to
sign the agreement for the transfer of
[1:31:48] the street lights national grid that's
all this is it's uh something that was
[1:31:52] approved on September 23rd 2044
just need supervisor signature.
[1:31:59] » I'll make a motion that supervisor sign
>> with attorney approval.
[1:32:07] So we have a motion and a second. All in
favor? I [clears throat]
[1:32:11] oppos.
[1:32:15] And then I have school forgiveness.
These are people that need to replace
[1:32:20] the liner, put new pools in, and they're
asking to have the sewer part of their
[1:32:26] build um
the first one is John Jerus 510
[1:32:33] Riverdale Avenue. He has a $8231 sewer
portion. I make a motion credit that
[1:32:45] a motion second. All in favor? I post
>> and all of these have been already
[1:32:52] [clears throat]
reviewed by our
[1:32:56] 823.
>> Yes. Okay. That was already all these
[1:32:59] were approved by Jeff. Okay. The second
one is Shell Fortuna 5268 Lewon Road
[1:33:11] for $188.54.
[1:33:17] Motion a second. All in favor?
>> I motion carried. The third one is for
[1:33:24] Kate Mesa at 603 Park Lane.
S forgiveness $43.56.
[1:33:45] Motion, a second. All in favor?
>> I opposed. And that's all
[1:33:49] [clears throat] I got.
Um
[1:33:53] Councilman.
[1:33:57] » Um yes. First of all is that I do
believe that the library received the um
[1:34:03] study from their building. I have not
reviewed that yet, but um I did see a
[1:34:10] email from Fred Queso as far as I think
they have engineering study done of the
[1:34:16] building. Also want to remind everybody
that the senior center is going to be
[1:34:20] closed the week of Columbus indigenous
day so we can [clears throat] actually
[1:34:23] knock out the remainder of the kitchen
[cough] and the women's bathroom. And
[1:34:29] also I just want to say to everybody who
came here this evening, thank you very
[1:34:34] much. I um can relate to what you have
gone through because I too at a point in
[1:34:39] my life had to sewer back up and it is
it it's horrible and it's it's difficult
[1:34:45] to go through and uh difficult to clean
up. But I will say that um I believe
[1:34:52] that Jeff has been doing a very good job
with what he has been given and being
[1:34:58] inundated with all that water. Um, as as
you think of a sewer system, it's kind
[1:35:04] of like our blood vessels. It's supposed
to be a closed system and remain a
[1:35:08] closed system and somehow we just keep
getting water that breaches that closed
[1:35:16] system. So, I take it upon myself as a
charge and I believe the rest of this
[1:35:21] board does that it is our responsibility
to find a solution to this. And I think
[1:35:30] with all the steps that we have taken
tonight, I'm hoping that a solution is
[1:35:35] going to be found. And then also too, we
were two days away, right Jeff? Two days
[1:35:40] away from connecting the big sewer line
project and the end groomment. Two days
[1:35:45] away. And I believe that that probably
would have helped mitigate. But again,
[1:35:52] just know that we all are trying to wrap
our heads around this. And
[1:35:58] um at least I know from my perspective,
I'm starting to collect information and
[1:36:04] starting to funnel in that data into
something workable that we can use to
[1:36:09] create a plan to move forward. So thank
you very much for being here.
[1:36:13] » And I want to add to that. I went
through mine. I didn't touch base on it.
[1:36:19] So the thing I would extend to everybody
and I tell this to everybody just the
[1:36:24] town is a phone call away. Obviously, we
can't go in and do town work inside
[1:36:28] people's homes, but what we can do is we
can visit your homes. Myself, highway
[1:36:34] superintendent, um some of his highway
workers, uh Ryan Titler from the sewer
[1:36:39] plant, we've gone in and we've actually
helped, not physically, but with some
[1:36:45] suggestions that have actually helped
people out. Um we're always available to
[1:36:49] do that. We've and again, I'm not trying
to blame the homeless. We know we have
[1:36:53] issues, but we found some pumps that
were pumping into pipes that were
[1:36:57] completely clogged. Um we found where um
some pumps weren't connected to our
[1:37:05] infrastructure. Um and we found where
even our backflow preventor has helped
[1:37:12] people um discover other issues when
they want to put them in. We're willing
[1:37:16] to come out and try and do whatever.
Even um Ed Zimmerman and Tim Masters
[1:37:20] from the building inspector's office um
they're a wealth of knowledge as well.
[1:37:24] they'll come out and we'll visit any
house. Um, again, we're not allow we're
[1:37:29] not allowed to do work. Um, you know,
the backlog for better program is to
[1:37:33] help people out. Um, we can't do the
work. The intent of the document wasn't
[1:37:39] to to hold the town not liable for any
and all. It's basically the backflow pre
[1:37:45] because there is maintenance on a
backflow pre that once it gets
[1:37:47] installed, there are requirements that
it needs to be cleaned. There's certain
[1:37:52] aspects of it. So, it was to cover the
town in case it was put in faulty or if
[1:37:57] there the maintenance wasn't done by the
homeowner, but it was not designed to
[1:38:02] basically pay you people off for $2,500
to resolve the town of every issue we've
[1:38:06] ever had in your house. And legally, I
talked with Alice today, it wouldn't
[1:38:12] relieve the town from any and all um
flooding issues or anything if the town
[1:38:16] was involved. Um the backflow pretor
program to me was a lowhanging fruit to
[1:38:23] get some type of a resolution
immediately for people that were having
[1:38:26] problems. Um and I promise you we are
going to continue to look at it. We're
[1:38:31] we've always supported the highway
department. Um this board from 2016 on
[1:38:37] the changes and everything has always
supported the highway department. I
[1:38:40] don't believe we've ever told the
highway department no when it comes to
[1:38:44] purchasing equipment, obviously
manpower. Um, so we'll we'll we'll
[1:38:49] continue to plug away and um you can
call me. I mean, I'm available even if
[1:38:56] you didn't like my excuses, but uh but
um I I will come to anybody's house.
[1:39:02] I'll return any phone call. So, please
reach out to me. So with that, um, also
[1:39:06] I want to give a quick update on our
lower river road park because I know it
[1:39:10] was a frustrating process. Um, we
basically stopped the relationship with
[1:39:17] the lowest bidder who bid on our lower
park. [clears throat] If anybody's
[1:39:20] driven down there, it's beautiful and
it's going to get better. Um, he was
[1:39:24] supposed to be done, the contract was
supposed to be done last December. It
[1:39:28] was into February. We had weather that
was decent. He wasn't showing up. So, we
[1:39:32] called in his performance bond. It did
not cost the town any money um any more
[1:39:39] money by him being kicked off the job
site. He had a performance bond. We
[1:39:42] called in that performance bond. The
company who uh wrote the performance
[1:39:47] bond put the job back out to bid. I'm
happy to say that A1 Landscape was the
[1:39:52] winner of that bid. They are the ones
that originally built our first pavilion
[1:39:56] down there. So, what they're going to be
doing next is they're going to be
[1:39:59] finishing the pavilion that's down
there, which also includes a 120 foot
[1:40:04] fishing pier that runs parallel to the
ground with a kayak launch. Um, it's
[1:40:09] it's going to also be ADA compliant with
a ramp. Um, it's going to be beautiful.
[1:40:13] It's it's the whole totality of the
project is 950,000. That's what this
[1:40:18] board approved. So, it's not a pavilion
that costs $950,000. It is a project
[1:40:24] that includes a pavilion for $950,000.
And also Ed Zimmerman's not here. Um he
[1:40:30] updated us on the bathroom that's going
in the outall building. One of the
[1:40:33] biggest complaints or one of the
complaints was we didn't have a bathroom
[1:40:36] that's closer to the pavilions. We're
putting in a full men's and women's
[1:40:40] bathroom in the outall building. It's
all greenway money. It's all N River
[1:40:44] Greenway money. It's been approved by
the N River Greenway. It's money that
[1:40:47] can only be used for those type of
projects. It can't be used to fix
[1:40:51] flooding. I wish it could because that's
where we would focus it to but it it
[1:40:56] can't be. It has to be for parks,
recreation trails, um some uh
[1:41:03] invasive species type things which we
haven't really done yet um right now on
[1:41:09] it. But it also can help our waterfront
and um I talked to the uh fishermen, the
[1:41:15] captains. They would like to see some
improvements down at the waterfront even
[1:41:18] in the village. I I'll talk to Dan
eventually about that. So, those are the
[1:41:23] projects that are going. I just want to
update everybody on the lower project
[1:41:26] and um and I I appreciate everybody
coming tonight um and and promise to
[1:41:33] support the highway department in their
endeavors with the drainage. So, with
[1:41:37] that, um I would ask for um upcoming
board. Well, does anybody else want to
[1:41:42] say anything before we close? Does
anybody want to say anything?
[1:41:46] » Mr. Newman,
>> I just I missed the public hearing on
[1:41:49] the the storage containers.
>> Okay.
[1:41:51] » I just hope we can come to a resolution
where we don't have to outright ban them
[1:41:55] from our title.
>> The intention isn't to ban them from I I
[1:41:59] think I talked to
>> Yeah, I emailed you.
[1:42:01] » Yeah. I mean certain areas, but it's
just we don't want a free-for-all
[1:42:05] either, right?
>> That you know, that's the intent,
[1:42:07] » right? I understand like residential are
>> we can slap some paint on them and make
[1:42:14] » Yeah.
I appreciate it. Um, upcoming boards,
[1:42:19] commission meetings, historic
preservation, I don't know if they're
[1:42:22] still having a September 8th meeting.
It'll be posted on our [cough] do zoning
[1:42:26] board September 10th at 6 p.m. Town
Board work session September 14th at 6
[1:42:31] p.m. I will not be in attendance. I'll
ask Deputy Supervisor Conrad meeting. I
[1:42:37] My in-laws are having their 60th wedding
anniversary, so I will be in the state
[1:42:40] of North Carolina. I just want to put
that out there. Um, planning board is
[1:42:44] September 17th at 6:30 p.m. and our
regular town board meeting is September
[1:42:49] 28th at 6 PM. With that, I would ask for
a motion to appear.
[1:42:54] Motion second.
>> All in favor?
[1:42:57] » I
appear. Thank you everybody.