by Alex Brooks
Much of the Grafton Town Meeting was taken up by discussion of whether the Town should support an application for grant funding by the Friends of the Dyken Pond Center to pay for the purchase of an additional parcel to be held for the use and benefit of the Center. The property comprises 56 acres and has a pond on it called “Newcomb Pond.”
[private] They said it will enhance recreational opportunities available at Dyken Pond and enhance educational opportunities there, for both kids and adults. They said they will be extending existing trails onto that property, but nothing will be built on it. They said The Friends do not have any further plans for land acquisition after they complete this purchase. The Friends plan to make a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the Town each year, as they do with their previous acquisition, a parcel they call “Otter Cove.”
Barbara Messenger said she generally viewed land preservation favorably, but she felt more facts needed to be presented. She therefore did not want to vote on the matter at this meeting. Rick Ungaro asked a series of questions about the benefit to Grafton, the possible impacts to the neighborhood of this purchase, the opinions of neighbors about it, and the financial ability of the Friends group to continue paying the PILOT. Although Planning Board chairman Tom Withcuskey said this purchase did not need Planning Board approval, Supervisor Frank Higgins suggested that the Friends group make a presentation to the Planning Board, so they can gather relevant information and make a recommendation to the Town Board about supporting the grant application. The Board agreed, and this is scheduled to happen at the Planning Board meeting on Monday, June 15.
At public comment time Rick Goyer, who lives on Madonna Lake Road a mile and a half from the Dyken Pond Center, spoke against supporting the purchase. He is concerned about the loss of revenue from taking parcels off the tax rolls, but is also more generally concerned about “the constant quest to take private land and make it public.” He feels that private land is always better taken care of, and is offended by the notion that land must be protected from private landowners. He also spoke about increased traffic on the road near his house and about trespassing on a parcel of land he owns near there, both of which he felt was related to the many visitors to the Dyken Pond facility. But he concluded by saying he is not knocking the Dyken Pond Center – he feels the work they do is valuable, but he is not in favor of expansion.
Unauthorized Invoice
Supervisor Frank Higgins brought to the Board an invoice from a company called “Minorities and Success” with an address in Torrance, California for a “Compliance Package” related to Affirmative Action and Diversity, which includes “unlimited job posting for 12 months.” and access to advisory documents. The invoice was for $1,795.
It seemed to indicate that the purchase had been made by Cathy Goyer, but it also listed her as the Supervisor of the Town.
Goyer said that organization did call her and she spoke with them, but when they mentioned the fee, she told them she couldn’t approve a purchase and if the Town were to purchase services from them, it would have to be approved by the Town Board. Goyer said she never signed anything or agreed to purchase anything. After consulting with the Town Bookkeeper, she decided the Town did not need anything from this company and did not correspond with them further.
Goyer’s advice was the same as that of Supervisor Frank Higgins – to have the Town Attorney call these people and advise them that the Town has not agreed to purchase anything from them, and demand that they stop sending invoices.
Dogs
Supervisor Higgins said he had received communication from Creekside Kennel saying that they would discontinue providing shelter services for dogs after June 30. Higgins said he thought this was because dogs were euthanized by court order, and the people at Creekside Kennel objected to this. In any case, the Town needs to find a new facility to keep any dogs that the Dog Officer may pick up, and they asked Dog Control Officer Jay Goyer to research what options are available.
Higgins also said he had received a letter from NYS Ag & Markets saying they had rated Grafton’s Dog Shelter services “unsatisfactory” because intake and disposition records were inadequate and redeemed dogs were not relicensed before release. Goyer was mystified by this, since he had not met with anyone from Ag & Markets. He said he would call the person who wrote the letter and see what they wanted.
Good News
Supervisor Higgins announced two small pieces of good new for the Town. One was that the equalization rate has been raised to 9.0, which helps the Town taxpayers in situations where taxation includes several towns, such as school taxes and County taxes.
The other item was that the Town filed paperwork which resulted in recovery of $357 from the State Comptroller’s office.
Historical Mosaic
The Grafton Library asked permission from the Town to install a historical mosaic in front of the Post Office. A grant from the Arts Center of the Capital Region will fund the project, to be led by artist Tamara DeMartino. The concept is to create a mosaic collage of Grafton’s historical roots. [/private]