Hearing set on land sale for golf course

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, December 3, 2005

The Town of Lewiston Board will hold a public hearing regarding sale of land to Old Creek Development for the proposed 18-hole golf course.

The Town Board met with attorney Michael Dowd of Old Creek Development regarding the long-planned golf course prior to its regular board meeting on Nov. 28.

Later, during the meeting, the board voted to enter executive session for 10 minutes to discuss the matter. When they returned to regular session, the five board members voted unanimously to authorize Town Supervisor Fred Newlin to pursue negotiations to sell 10.88 acres, part of Lewistowne Park, to Old Creek Development for $147,000.

Newlin Pursued Sale

Newlin said he had actively pursued sale of the land so the town could seek private investment in the golf course.

“I’m glad to say we’ve seen a significant amount of progress on that front,” Newlin said. “The advantages to the town are clear. It relieves the town of a burden in the future of maintaining a park that could be 200 or more acres.”

Private investment would allow the course to remain on the tax rolls, he said.

“And frankly, I think private interests can fund this course to a much higher figure than could the Town of Lewiston,” Newlin added. “I think we’ll wind up with a much better golf course.”

Hearing is Dec. 12

The board voted 5-0 to set a public hearing for Monday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m., prior to its next work session, to hear public comment on the issue.

The town has already spent more than $100,000 in engineering costs associated with the golf course. Sale of the land will cover those costs.

Recouping Most Fees

“That money will be used to, one, pay for the value of the land, and recoup the vast majority, if not all of the fees the town has expended by prior board when it comes to engineering and other ancillary expenses,” Newlin said.

Councilman James Langlois reminded that those within 500 feet of the project should receive written notice from the town of the public hearing.

The course is planned for land bounded by Pletcher and Creek roads and the Robert Moses Parkway.

CWM Leachate Discussed

In other developments at the meeting, the board discussed accepting leachate from CWM Chemical Services on Balmer Road in the Town of Porter at its Water Pollution Control Center.

Langlois said accepting CWM outflow, which the hazardous waste landfill already sends to the Niagara River by permit, would generate approximately $100,000 in revenue for the district, resulting in lower sewer rates. CWM is restricted by its permit from sending water to the river during certain months of the year. Sending the water to the Water Pollution Control Center could take place year-round.

‘Strong Win-Win’

Langlois called the plan a “strong win-win situation” for both the town and CWM. Newlin, however, said he is hesitant to expose the plant to flows from CWM, the only hazardous waste landfill in the Northeast.

WPCC Administrator Tim Lockhart favored accepting the water from CWM, which is already tested at CWM, as a revenue source, adding: “We’re not opposed to industry.” Extra revenue would offset expenses for infrastructure upgrades to the WPCC, he said.

‘A Safety Net’

Town Board member Dan Kilmer also called sending the discharge to the WPCC where it is further tested, rather than directly to the river, “a safety net,” and noted that the discharge CWM sends to the river is cleaner than assumed because of pretesting CWM conducts.

“I would rather accept this than some of the flows from our current customers,” Lockhart said in agreement.

“If you want to accept this as a revenue source, we need to put a pretreatment plan in place to accept that,” Lockhart said. “If you do not want it as a revenue source, I still need to see some other avenues for some of these flows that are coming in that are subject to categorical pretreatment standards, which are federal regulations.”

Amalgams from dental offices or discharges from hospitals need pretreatment plans as well. The board voted 3-2, with Newlin and Ceretto voting “no,” to finish pretreatment studies. The board also voted 3-2, with Kilmer and Langlois voting “no,” to table a motion by Langlois that would allow Lockhart to enter negotiations with CWM on the matter.

Budget Overview

Newlin gave a final overview of the 2006 town budget, which was passed unanimously following a budget session on Nov. 17. The board cut spending by half a million dollars from the 2005 level, Newlin said.

Additionally, the town tax is eliminated, the town is fully funding snow removal and the brush pickup, and staff levels in all major departments (water, sewer and highway) remain at current levels.

Bonus Money is ‘Gravy’

Newlin said New York Power Authority signing bonus money, which he called “gravy to the town’s current revenues,” was not included in the budget, but is expected within the next 30 days.

Newlin also noted the town’s baseball program was “a matter of some campaign concern,” but was “certainly not privatized.”

Newlin personally thanked Councilmen Langlois, Johnson, and Kilmer for their assistance in creating the budget, pointedly leaving out Councilman John Ceretto. Following a budget hearing on Nov. 17, and after Ceretto had left, Kilmer noted that Ceretto had not even opened a copy of his budget during the session.

Dispute on Paving Costs

Kilmer and Ceretto disagreed on another issue related to Kilmer’s efforts to receive documents from Highway Superintendent Steve Reiter pertaining to paving costs. Kilmer said he filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to force Reiter to provide cost data on paving projects.

Ceretto said he spoke with Reiter on the matter and said Reiter would feel more comfortable to fulfill the FOIL request if the board as a whole requests it.

“Mr. Reiter’s in no position to give me an ultimatum,” Kilmer said. “I’m simply trying to do a study on a construction project. All he’s doing is being obstinate and sticking it in my side on my way out.”

Ceretto’s motion to make a board’s request for the documents was passed 3-2, with Langlois and Kilmer voting against.

“You’re telling me I have to get permission from you,” Kilmer told Newlin. “You’re telling the highway superintendent that he has leverage over a Town Board.”

FOIL Request Clarified

Town Clerk Carol Brandon said a request for a FOIL could be made by any private individual, not just a board member. The government has five days to respond, by either providing the information or denying the information with a reason why.

“But we are required by law to respond, Brandon said. “Mr. Kilmer is correct. Anybody can request it.”

Langlois said Kilmer’s response should have been responded to, and the motion set a precedent “where anybody can kiss us off by saying, ‘Wait, get the board to order it.’

I think Mr. Ceretto is expressing his interest as a board member to see the same documents,” Newlin said. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”

Private Contractors Used

Earlier this year at a board meeting, Kilmer said the town hires private contractors to go above and beyond the 4 to 5 miles of road town crews complete per year. A memo from Reiter to the town board from Oct. 24 stated that the town saved $80,916 on paving done on roads near the Reservoir. Ceretto said overall Reiter’s work would save $65,000, “a tremendous savings and valuable to the residents of our area.”

Kilmer said the $65,000 is eaten up in town payroll, and Reiter’s crews are using cheaper paving materials to save $10,000 to $15,000 in costs.

“It’s almost a wash,” Kilmer said, “but what didn’t get done by our highway crews for two and a half months because they’re paving. Something is not being done when we add this magnitude of work for the highway department.”

“The savings look good on paper, but you’ve got to look at the way this plays out, and it’s playing out not to be a cost savings.”