Kiwanis Club of Lewiston spreads holiday cheer, donates $400 for holiday skating event at Dwyer Ice Arena

Town of Lewiston approves 54 Development PUD; Caso named Lewiston Public Library trustee

By Terry Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

The Town of Lewiston is teaming with the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston to present a holiday ice-skating event, open to the entire River Region, from noon until 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at Niagara University’s Dwyer Ice Arena.

Former Assemblyman John Ceretto Sr., now president of Kiwanis, visited last week’s Town Board session with some pre-Christmas holiday cheer, as he presented a $400 club donation to board members to fund the event.

“On Dec. 30, there will be a Town of Lewiston Recreation ice-skating day at Dwyer area, and Kiwanis is going to pay for the entire two hours,” Town Supervisor Steve Broderick said. “It will be free to the public. We’ll have Kiwanis representatives there; the Town of Lewiston and Kathy (Cvijetinovic) our recreation director will be there. It will be a fun day – two days before the first of the year.”

Ceretto said, “I want to thank Steve Broderick; it was his idea that we offer the skating.”

The town’s holiday ice-skating continues at Dwyer until Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. For more information, visit www.lewistonsports.com, or the Recreation Department’s page on Facebook.

Moving on, the board gave its approval to a new local law to rezone, which sets the stage for the next large-scale housing development. The action follows last month’s public hearing on a proposal by David Giusiana of 54 Development for a 168-unit apartment project on Washington Drive. Upon declaring itself as lead agency and issuing a negative declaration on the State Environment Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the board OK’d the zoning change from R-1 (single-family residential) to planned unit development multifamily residential.

“The town’s Planning Board has considered the concept plan and recommends approval,” said Town Board member John Jacoby as he presented the motion. “… The Town Board … considered the project and reviewed the EAF and all comments … to determine whether the project will have a significant effect on the environment. … The Town Board determined there would be no environmental impacts with respect to the project.”

Soon after, the board unanimously approved the PUD without comment.

In other news from the session:

•The town said the long-awaited request by Willco Auto for site plan approval on its Ward Road property was again on hold as the matter remained tied up in court.

•Following approval of 11 budget revisions by town Finance/Budget Officer Jacqueline Agnello, the Town Board announced its final audit meeting for 2022 would be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29. The board’s reorganizational meeting and work session is set for 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.

•Code Enforcement Officer Tim Masters said the pavilion at the town’s new Lower River Road Park was 99% structurally complete.

“It turned out really beautiful,” Broderick said of the facility, as work at the riverside park continues toward completion.

•Broderick said the town is pursuing a forest management plan on its new Camp Stonehaven property in Pekin, which it purchased from the Boy Scouts.

“As part of our DEC grant for Camp Stonehaven, we have to do a forest management plan,” he said.

Broderick said the town retained Future Forest Consulting of Naples, New York, to pursue the study, and that the board is considering a public information meeting about the plan for the Jan. 9 session.

“It would be a public information meeting where people could speak on behalf of Camp Stonehaven and what we plan on doing … which is really nothing,” he said. “We want to make it a preserve and have people enjoy it in its nature state. We don’t plan on building any buildings; we don’t plan on doing any general maintenance; it will be left in its natural state.”

•The Town Board approved the reappointment of member Dominic Balasone to the Board of Assessment Review for the period of Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2027.

•Jacoby announced the appointment of Fred Caso as a new trustee with the Lewiston Public Library. Caso, who formerly served as vice president of community relations at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, takes over the position from long-time library trustee Margaret Salada, who resigned. Caso will serve the remainder of Salada’s current term, which runs to Sept. 30, 2023.

•Melinda Olick, coordinator of the Lewiston Senior Center, announced a New Year’s Eve party will take place Friday, Dec. 30 – one of many activities offered for River Region residents at the center.

She also noted a Blue Cross Blue Shield representative would be visiting the center in January to address any insurance questions from seniors.