Well, this report is a little upsetting! It reflects what happens when “politics” gets in the way of what is best for the Town. [Sound familiar, Library?] The Conservation Board, of ALL Boards should never be the target of politics - but somehow, things that were never issues when there wasn’t an election going on are, all of a sudden, big issues. [Like there aren’t any REAL issues to address.] Kurtis has already stated his opinion on this site regarding not cutting the C. Board for the sake of $2400 in order to keep the board productive and operational. We know how Breslawski stands. I can think of a lot of places where a lot more than $2400 can be saved and really make sense. For starters, why do some Town Officials wear more than one hat and get paid to do both jobs simultaneously. Same hours of the day, double pay. When the rest of us have two jobs with two descriptions we work one job, leave and then go to the next job. Separate hours for separate jobs. [And don’t forget they get raises for each of their simultaneous jobs every year also.] Basically if you and I did our second jobs at the site, and on the time of, our REAL jobs, it would get written up in our evaluations. But I don’t have a government job and there is a lot of government waste going on. [Right here in River City!] Anyway - the Monthly Conservation Board Report: In case you missed it, here is what happened at the September 23 Hamlin Conservation Board meeting. This C Board meeting was not quite like the usual Conservation Board meetings. When there are seven members, the clerk, and the Town Board liaison present, it never seemed to matter much whether or not guests were present. But when the membership is down to 5 people because the Town Board has not advertised for the two openings, and one of those remaining 5 members has been excused, it just doesn’t seem like you are at a Conservation Board meeting. [Background: A couple of months ago, two members of the C Board retired. It is customary for the TB to quickly advertise the openings and schedule interviews. Before that could happen however, a TB member (a former C Board member no less) suggested that the TB consider leaving the C Board membership at 5 to save $2400 a year. But no decision either way has been made yet.] On top of that, for the first time in a long time, there were two guests present who came to observe the meeting. All this member of the C Board could think was, “They are not going to see much of a meeting tonight!” [More background: When a Town Board meeting is over, there are usually 6 or 7 people still sitting in the audience section of the meeting room. Other people who showed up to speak in the Public Forum or observe special presentations have left at their leisure throughout the meeting. At the end of a Planning Board meeting the audience section may contain 4 or 5 people and a couple of them are usually the last ones to have had business before that Board. At the end of a Zoning Board meeting, if there has been any business to conduct at all, the room looks about the same as it does at the conclusion of a PB meeting. The Conservation Board, however, has no “customers” or policy to make. They are simply an advisory Board set up to assist the other Boards and that never seems to attract much of an audience.] In spite of the unusual atmosphere, the meeting began as it always does with reports of what happened at the three other Board meetings that took place in September. The liaison to the PB told about the “straw vote” that was taken before the real motion was voted upon (legally questionable) and the liaison to the Zoning Board told about the application for a variance of 3 acres so that a house on two acres could be built where zoning called for five acres. The liaison to the Town Board had a little more to talk about and some of it was just as controversial. The Town Board report covered the refusal of a Resolution of Appreciation issued last month to a former PB member and the Town’s inability to pay one of the monthly bills in the pile because the State Comptroller had determined that the bill was for campaign material purchased by a Town official (not the Supervisor). The Town Attorney has been instructed to look further into the matter. The liaison to the TB also mentioned that, during the meeting, he personally requested the Town Board to keep the C Board membership at 7 and added a couple of new thoughts on the subject. The effort counted for nothing. Rather than make a decision based on all the input from the entire Conservation Board, a second former C Board member - now a TB member - made a motion to “meet with the C Board to discuss the matter” some more! There was no one there to report on the meeting of the State Fish Advisory Board and the Monroe County Environmental Management Committee liaison was unable to attend their meeting. But the Chairman of the CB was able to report on the coastal cleanup that took place last weekend at Hamlin Beach. Over 400 pounds of debris was picked up (mostly plastic) and carted away by volunteers! The CB liaison to the State Park gave his report that included the latest updates on the Park’s plans to improve the landscape of the former CCC and POW camp on Moscow Road. Before the C Board adjourned for the evening, the four members present agreed to meet with the Town Board the fifth Monday of this month (an extra Monday) and asked their TB liaison to set up the meeting. I’l report here on the outcome of that meeting.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 18:17:54 +0000
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