Village of Lewiston: Board makes appointments for 2011-12

Niagara Sunday Fliers returning

by Joshua Maloni

When Terry Collesano was elected mayor in 2010, he made it a point to shuffle the Village of Lewiston appointments (including changes in municipal attorney, zoning officer and building inspector).

There was no such action at this week's annual organization meeting. The appointments were routine and expected.

The Board of Trustees appointed the following to a one-year term of office:

•Deputy mayor - Bruce Sutherland;

•Deputy clerk - Amy Salada;

•Deputy treasurer and budget officer - Karen Goodman;

Attorney Edward Jesella was re-appointed to serve as the village's counsel. Clerk/Treasurer Anne Welch was appointed registrar, while Salada will serve as deputy registrar.

•Zoning Board of Appeals chairman - John Ritter;

•Historic Preservation/Planning Commission chairman - David Giusiana;

•Parks, Recreation Conservation Board chairman - Jerry Mosey;

•Historian - Pam Hauth;

•Fire inspector - Blair McEvoy;

•Building inspector - Kenneth Candella;

•Zoning officer - William Brodie;

•Village of Lewiston police commissioner - Alfred Soluri;

•HPC/Planning and ZBA clerk - Melody Griffith.

The residency requirement was waived for Department of Public Works Superintendent Bryan Meigs and laborers Robert Crewe, Richard Hess, Thomas Krell and William Justyk.

The following were appointed until 2013:

HPC members Giusiana, Kenneth Slaugenhoupt, David Maslen, Jamie Symmonds and Loretta Frankovitch; and Mosey, Maureen Castiglione, Nicholas Conde, Beth Kraft, Denise Mess and Colleen Swavy to the Parks Board, with Town of Lewiston Councilman Mike Marra a liaison.

The Lewiston-Porter Sentinel was named the official newspaper in the Village of Lewiston.

Trustees will hold regular monthly meetings at the Red Brick Municipal Building at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month except February (held then on the third Tuesday). Work sessions will take place at the same time/location on the first Monday of each month from October to May and on the first Tuesday in September.

Niagara Sunday Fliers seek Lewiston return

Joe Macaluso, representing the Niagara Sunday Fliers, asked the board to allow his group to return to the upper plateau. The model airplane organization utilized the grounds from 2000 until the summer of 2008, when they were asked to leave so as to not interfere with bird nesting.

"(Mayor Richard Soluri) approached our flying club and asked if we would use the plateau to fly airplanes. He was looking to have activity there," Macaluso said. "Of course, we thought this was pretty nice. We had a field to fly in (Reservoir Park), but there were times that we needed an auxiliary field, because our primary field was being used by Little League baseball players and other organized sports teams."

He said there were no problems in the first eight years - partly because of the Niagara Sunday Fliers' strict rules; model enthusiasts were required to obtain a permit and $3 million worth of insurance. However, Macaluso said that, in 2008, a bird watcher opined the airplanes could interfere with nesting.

Macaluso sought the advice of the Buffalo Ornithological Society. He was told there are no nesting birds in that field, as youth sports, rock concerts and fireworks don't make for a serene setting. If, by chance, there was nesting, it would be over by the first part of June, when the Niagara Sunday Fliers would be in action.

Collesano said the village and the fliers had "a very good relationship in the past." However, the board is looking into using the plateau as a spot for an indoor recreation center or outdoor skating rink.

Trustees approved use of the plateau until such time as the village receives a development deal worth pursuing.

The Niagara Sunday Fliers also run programs on Grand Island and in Newfane. The model airplanes are about one pound or less, and their radio frequency is set so as to not interfere with public safety or aviation channels.