Grafton Planning Board Action – Shock And Sadness

by Kieron Kramer
There was a sense of sadness and shock at the Grafton Planning Board meeting on Monday, February 25, because of the death Friday of Town Supervisor Ray Darling. Handwritten on the bottom of the agenda was the adjournment “In memory of Supervisor Ray L. Darling 1944-2013.” [private]Two Town Board members attended the Planning Board meeting, Rick Ungaro, who comes to almost every meeting, and Mike Crandall, who had driven his daughter, Jessica Crandall, to the meeting. She is the Planning Board Secretary.
Neither Town Board member knew what the next step would be for the Town Board to reconstitute itself. They both indicated that it would be up to Deputy Supervisor Marie Claus to decide whether an appointment would be made to fill the empty Board seat or how the position of Supervisor will eventually be filled. In the meantime, as Deputy Supervisor, Claus will be in charge and will, presumably, get legal advice from Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo about the applicable NY State General Municipal law.
A Fish Story?
Only a few residents attended the meeting. One of them was Cathy Goyer who asked if there was any news on the fish farm which was proposed last month to be located at the now unutilized Grafton Elementary School property. Planning Board Chairman Tom Withcuskey had hoped that the developer would attend this meeting and present some paperwork, like a signed contract with the Berlin School District which has been trying to sell the property. Last month Withcuskey, after consultation with Ferlazzo, had announced that he would accept the site plan review application and schedule a public hearing if the developer presented a signed contract to show his good faith. He wanted to speed up the process because there is a short timeline for the developer to get the project started. The agenda for Monday’s meeting stated under new business, “Tentative – Change of Use – Grafton Elementary School to Fish Farm.”
In answer to Goyer’s question, Withcuskey said that the developer was “waiting for some paperwork” but “he did not pass any paperwork to me.” There was no old business and no new business scheduled, other than the possible fish farm, so the meeting lasted five minutes, adjourning at 7:05 pm.
After the meeting Withcuskey said that the developer had met again with the School District’s realtor at the site on Wednesday, February 20. He said that the developer has also been in touch with the Fish and Wildlife Service to determine if there is enough room on the property for the fish farm buildings. There is a stream at the back of the property so perhaps Fish and Wildlife will determine that a stream and fish can’t mix. Withcuskey’s impression is that the real estate agent got back in touch with the School District after the meeting with the developer. Although Withcuskey said that there “is no news from the School Board,” he is still optimistic that the project will move forward.[/private]