by Judith Radford
On October 30 at 6 pm, the Grafton Town Board held the first of four public hearings. All members of the Town Board were present with the exception of Marie Claus. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Allison Kirchner called the meeting to order and asked for any comments from the public on Local Law #1 of 2008. This is a law under Grafton Town Code, Section 100-9 to amend the dollar amount for non-emergency demolition work from $5,000 to $20,000. There was no comment, and the public hearing was adjourned at 6:04 pm.
At 6:15 pm, the second public hearing was called to order. This was about Local Law #2 of 2008 which amends Town Code Section 125 to provide that the Building Inspector issue Certificates of Occupancy. According to Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo, the Town code states, “The Town Clerk issues Certificates of Occupancy.” He went on to say that over the years, the administrative practice was for the Code Enforcement Officer to issue the certificates even though the Code states they will be issued by the Town Clerk. He said the practice was neither right nor wrong and certificates issued previously were absolutely correct. Ferlazzo said the purpose of the amendment is to allow practice to match the Town Code.
Some residents seemed perplexed as to why the code needed to be changed. Melissa Laware stood and read a letter addressed to the Board questioning the need for the change. Resident Shelley Bedford asked what the procedure was for requesting a certificate of occupancy. Ferlazzo responded that all requests go through the Code Enforcement Officer. Another resident, David Buckley, said, “Is that the procedure that’s been followed?” Again Ferlazzo responded that the administrative procedure currently being followed is that the certificates are approved and issued by the Code Enforcement Officer. He reiterated that this amendment was being added so that the process being followed matches the Town Code. He noted there was nothing illegal or incorrect being done and all previously issued certificates are absolutely valid. Another resident, Dawn Pierre, said, “So this local law is just to follow the current practice?” Ferlazzo responded in the affirmative and said the only thing being changed is the methodology. There were no more comments and the public hearing adjourned at 6:29 pm.
At 6:30 pm, the third public hearing was called to order. This was about Local Law #3 of 2008 which is a law to allow Cold War Veterans a limited County tax exemption effective March 1, 2008, for the 2010 tax rolls. This is basically a limited exemption from real property taxes for residential real property owned by veterans who rendered military service to the United States during the “cold war” and their surviving spouses pursuant to Section 458-b of the Real Property Tax Law and to establish a maximum exemption amounts. This law, in its entirety, can be read at the Town Clerk’s Office. Public comment brought David Buckley to ask, “How does this law benefit the Town Board?” Supervisor Kirchner responded that this law only benefits veterans of the cold war. Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo responded to Darrell Pierre who asked if each town has to pass this law. Ferlazzo said, yes. There was no further public comment and the public hearing adjourned at 6:40 pm.
At 6:45 pm, the fourth and final public hearing of the evening was called to order regarding the Grafton 2009 Preliminary Budget. Councilwoman Barb Messenger said she wanted to state that she was feeling a little uncomfortable about the budget in that it asks for a tax increase and also for a small raise for Board members. Supervisor Kirchner responded that the bulk of the increase is due to the economy and the increase in pay for the Board members equals less than $100 per person per year.
She also informed everyone that there was a bridge failure on Johnson Road which called for the road to be closed for a time. She said the bridge has been temporarily repaired with it only being available for light duty. She went on to say that further repair is necessary and will be very expensive. There was no public comment. A complete copy of the preliminary budget is available at the Town Hall. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 pm.