Porter Board hears on cleanups, church restoration

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 19, 2004

The town of Porter Board discussed a new town-wide cleanup initiative at its June 14 meeting.

The goal of the cleanup effort is to ensure compliance with town laws regarding maintenance and care of properties. Some violations of code would include improper storage of unlicensed vehicles or boats, overgrown weeds and brush, and dilapidated buildings.

Town Supervisor Merton Wiepert said councilmen have traveled around the town in an effort to identify properties in need of care. Violators will receive written notice and given time to meet town code.

Also at the meeting, Mary Ellen Aureli, parishioner at St. John's Episcopal Church in Youngstown, thanked the board for considering a letter of support of the on-going restoration project at the church, located at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets.

Aureli said the church has applied for a matching grant administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation that would fund exterior restoration work. Applications for the grant require a municipal endorsement from the town.

If approved by the NYSOPRHP, the grant would range between $3,000 and $16,000. Aureli said the church, which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, has 19 stained glass windows, nine in need of restoration work. Two windows remain to be restored, Aureli said, with plans to install ventilated protective coverings on the windows to replace Plexiglas covers.

"Many of the windows in the church are original," Aureli said. "The church was built in 1878."

Funds raised would also allow the congregation to hire a preservation architect to survey the building. The church received a $4,000 grant from the New York Landmark Conservancy and raised $37,000 from the congregation through pledges and fund-raisers.

The council passed a resolution of support by a 5-0 vote.

CWM News

Richard Sturges, general manager of CWM Chemical Services on Balmer Road, notified the board of two projects at the facility. The first is a cap of RMU-1, the present landfill.

The second project is an upgrade to the surface water system. Rainwater that falls on closed landfills is collected, tested, and discharged off-site, he said. A $500,000 upgrade will increase the storage capacity of the system and would require excavation of 4 acres, pending review by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Documents related to the work will be made available to the public at the Youngstown and Ransomville libraries and at town hall.

On a side note, Sturges told the board that the 14th annual CWM charity golf tournament will be played Saturday, July 10, at the Niagara County Golf Course in Lockport. CWM will donate money raised from this year's event to the public libraries in Youngstown and Ransomville.

William Smith, Porter building inspector, speaking on behalf of the trustees of the William McLaughlin Free Library of Ransomville, said the town of Wilson no longer helps to fund the library, so the money from CWM is appreciated. Money would go toward new shelving, Smith said.

According to Sturges, the golf tournament has raised more than $97,000 since 1991. Last year, 118 golfers took part in the event, helping to raise $21,000 for the Birds of Prey Center at the Buffalo Audubon Society.