Grafton Trail Riders Variance Fails

by Alex Brooks
The Grafton Town Board held a Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 28, to consider a variance for the Grafton Trail Riders Club concerning overnight camping in travel trailers. Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins read a resolution which appeared to be the same one offered two weeks ago at the regular meeting, and it failed by the same vote as it did two weeks before. Marie Claus, Rick Ungaro and Mike Crandall voted against it, and Higgins and Barbara Messenger voted in favor.
Tom Withcuskey asked if he could speak. He expressed impatience at the continuing impasse. “Enough’s enough,” he said. He said he and others have been working on this resolution since January. Withcuskey said he was the coordinator of the effort, with input from the Grafton Trail Riders, the Town Attorney and the Supervisor.
Councilman Rick Ungaro then offered his own version which was substantially similar but confined the overnight camping to just the one weekend in September known as the Over the Mountain weekend. Higgins asked him if the Town Attorney had seen this version of the resolution, and Ungaro said no.
Ungaro made a motion to pass his resolution, and Mike Crandall seconded it, but Supervisor Higgins said they could not vote on it until the Town Attorney had seen it, and he made a motion instead to adjourn the meeting, which was approved.
Marie Claus complained that she was not consulted or notified about the Special Meeting. She only knew about it because she read a notice in The Eastwick Press. She asked that the Supervisor and the Town Clerk contact all Board members when a Special meeting is scheduled.
With nothing accomplished, everyone filed out of the meeting room. There were knots of people in corners of the building and out in the parking lot expressing frustration.