Previous Letters
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Paid Fire Company Personnel - April 2024
The Grand Island Fire Co. has a long proud history of serving islanders. They are also called for mutual aid in the Tonawandas and Kenmore when requested. Unfortunately for some time now the department has trouble responding to calls due to lack of available manpower. Perhaps this is the time the fire company consider going to a paid driver setup. This would require one paid driver on duty for 24/7. He would have to be an EMT and able to drive any of the equipment out first. He or she could respond immediately allowing the volunteers to go right to the scene. If another call comes at the same time, volunteers can go to the hall to get additional equipment. Hopefully before they try to change to a fire district, they can accomplish this to help serve islanders.Dave Dombrowski
Neighbor Foundation Thank You - April 2024
The Neighbors Foundation was the recipient of a very generous $30,000 donation from the Ron Stanke foundation. Ron was a longtime Island resident who passed away in 2022. During his life, Ron was a generous contributor to many worthy causes, including the Grand Island Neighbors Foundation. The Neighbors Foundation would like to thank the Ron Stanke Foundation for continuing Ron’s charitable work in a way that will help us provide confidential food assistance to our Island Neighbors in need. For more information on the Neighbors Foundation, provide a donation, or request assistance, please visit our website at http://www.gineighbors.org, or call us at 716-775-7998.Sincerely,
David Conboy - President, Grand Island Neighbors Foundation
Open Letter to Supervisor Marston - April 2024
Lack of Transparency Regarding Golfside Development
On January 26, 2024, I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the town seeking all documents related to the rezoning request for GolfSide Development LLC (Property across from the old Radisson Hotel) and associated with the illegal dumping of road millings on that same property by the town.
I did receive some documents but was notified that an unspecified number of documents were withheld and that if I wanted to appeal this decision, I must submit appeals to Supervisor Marston who manages such requests. I submitted an appeal on March 7th, 2024. I could not fathom any justification for why the Town would withhold information on these subjects – what are they seeking to keep from the public?
The catalyst for this information request was a resident complaint I received on October 13, 2023, regarding the dumping of many truckloads of town road millings on the Golfside LLC Property. I requested code enforcement to investigate. This Code Enforcement investigation resulted in a notice of violation being sent on October 17, 2023, to the property owner that required resolution within 30 days.
On October 31, 2023, I was informed by e-mail that Code Enforcement was instructed to stand down and not enforce the code related to the violation observed. That e-mail includes the following statements: “As it turns out the property owner has actually done a favor for the town by allowing the Highway contractors to dump this material on this site. This resulted in a very significant savings I’m being told”. Apparently, if the town benefits, Town Code violations can be ignored. The town can pick and choose when enforcement is applied setting a dangerous precedent to resident’s rights.
This deal has placed the Town in a conflicted position of accepting a significant cost saving “favor” from a property owner who is seeking a highly unpopular rezoning – what is expected in return from the town? The resulting selective code enforcement makes a bad situation even worse – I know of several property owners that are currently having the same violation enforced.
I met with the Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) who said he was told to stand down and not enforce compliance with town codes by Highway Superintendent Crawford and Supervisor Marston. The CEO said he was fully aware of the conflict of interest associated with this situation and was concerned about inconsistent code enforcement. The officer was extremely uncomfortable with the situation and felt his “hands were dirty” as a result, but that he really had no choice but to stand down as instructed.
How was such a highly inappropriate deal struck without Town Board approval and full public transparency first, those involved were fully aware of the rezoning controversy. Crawford and Marston were in a closed non-public meeting with the property owner soon after the enforcement letter was received, I was informed of this when I met with the above noted code enforcement officer.
At the December 22, 2023, regular town board meeting, I put forth a motion that was seconded by Councilman Christian Bahleda instructing the Code Enforcement Office to “Enforce Town Codes fairly and consistently without exception including Golfside Development”. This motion passed unanimously. The public is owed full transparency through release of the withheld documents (except personal contact information). Supervisor Marston, you own this decision, please reconsider full release.
Mike Madigan
Residential Reassessment Project Boondoggle - April 2024
The Town Board is apparently prepared to authorize another residential property reassessment project for 2024. This would be the third since 2015 with the last one completed three years ago. Note that councilmembers Dan Kilmer and Tom Digati both pledged last year during their election campaigns to propose a modified schedule for these costly island wide property reassessments and determine a more appropriate frequency.I just watched a February 2021 residential reassessment project video that is still available on the Town website. The sales pitch was given by Joseph Emminger, president of the town’s reassessment contractor and the Town of Tonawanda Supervisor since 2015.
Emminger says reassessments done more frequently will avoid inequities and is the way a Town can ensure the tax burden will be distributed equally and fairly among all taxpayers. Emminger points out that some Grand Island property owners are subsidizing other property owners, and the tax rolls get "out of wack" without annual reassessment projects.
Emminger gives attractive examples as to how your tax bill would decrease as your assessment increases, and how your tax bill would stay the same even when the tax levy increases. Emminger provides a third highly improbable example showing how your tax bill will increase when: the tax levy increases, your assessment decreases and the total value of the town decreases. Apparently, this happens when your property and the Town is falling into disrepair. Emminger goes on to present a hypothetical where the assessment on a residential property went up $15,000 and the taxes went down over $240.
I understand Emmingers’ contract with the Town of Grand Island for the reassessment would be on the order of $125,000. The Town’s total cost also includes the cost of managing the reassessment project, the cost of defending against challenges of the new assessments, and others.
Note that of the 28 towns in Erie County, only four others have an equal aged or younger reassessment than Grand Island. Ignoring the benefits touted by Emminger, Tonawanda has not completed a reassessment project in 38 years, none during his tenure. According to Emminger then, Grand Island residents are now and have been paying an unfair/greater amount of county tax, inequitably benefiting his Town and most others in Erie County based on their infrequent reassessments.
We should all be asking our elected officials how we even got to the point some are prepared to authorize this costly reassessment project when two of the four voting members pledged to determine a more appropriate frequency.
Jim Daigler
Our South Grand Island Bridges Are In Need Of Critical Repairs NOW! - March 2024
In last week’s Town Board meeting, I spoke about a report published by the NY State Thruway Authority to obtain approval on a grant for the rehabilitation of the South Grand Island Bridges (https://www.thruway.ny.gov/oursystem/bridge-investment-grants/sgib-grant-application.pdf). This report states that the last time a "comprehensive and intensively detailed state-of-repair examination" of both bridge structures was conducted was November of 2020. During this inspection, they identified:5,653 linear feet of “Poor” and 31 linear feet of “Severe” condition-rated steel elements
195 fracture-critical steel gusset plates rated in “Poor” condition
25 fracture-critical pin and hanger assemblies rated in “Poor” condition
31 bearings rated in “Poor” condition
14,838 square feet of sidewalk rated in “Poor” condition
They went on to say that "Failure of one component of a fracture-critical primary support system can result in bridge closure or a catastrophic collapse. Some of the members on these structures are similar in design to the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge that collapsed in Minnesota in August 2007. Other critical condition issues could lead to lane or load restrictions, which would severely impact mobility and freight along I-190."
This morning’s tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore should remind us all of what a critical role our Grand Island bridges play in providing a lifeline to the mainland. We depend on these bridges for our safety and livelihoods and this report states that our bridges "are at risk of falling into poor condition within the next 3 years." And that was over 3 years ago!
For the same reason that the Beaver Island Overpass was deemed a critical issue, our bridges should be repaired NOW. I am urging all Grand Island residents to send an email/letter to our elected representatives in order to bring awareness and pressure for these long overdue repairs.
Cathy Rayhill
Town Board’s High Cube Fullfillment Center Warehouse Update
Six months ago on August 28, 2023 Town Councilmember Mike Madigan proposed a six month moratorium on Applications, Approvals, and/or Construction of Warehouses and Distribution Centers to gather all the stakeholders, including most importantly disenfranchised Town residents, to sort out the concerns regarding the very unpopular High Cube Fulfillment Center Warehouse (HCFCW) ,and develop a protective zoning code. Before the August 28 meeting, Mr. Bahleda, in collaboration with Mr. Marston and Mr. Digati, but not Mr. Madigan, developed what he called a “no more delay, let’s act” plan to appease concerned residents. The triumvirate proposed, and gave the impression of strongly supporting, a local law to amend the code to remove warehouse and distribution centers, but not mini storage facilities, as of right in M-1. The triumvirate proposed to allow them by special use permit, but “…only if they are limited in size to 300,000 square feet….”.
At the September 18, 2023 Pubic Hearing many residents that were against the HCFCW on Long Road spoke up in favor of limiting the size of these facilities by amending the Zoning Code for the M-1 district. Some speakers even praised the board for what they thought was a change that would disallow the HCFCW.
I publicly questioned then whether the building area limits would apply to Aquest’s proposed HCFCW. It seemed illogical the proposal to limit warehouses and distribution centers to 300,000 square feet or less would be presented at the same meeting where the Town Board improperly deemed the DEIS for the 1,000,000 plus square foot HCFCW complete.
At the September 18, 2023 public hearing on the proposed zoning law change, Mr. Marston stated that “..we are going in a good direction..”…let’s “..put a more stringent limit and make it island wide and make it stick.” Mr. Marston took the position that even 100,000 square feet was too big, suggesting that a 65,000 square foot limit be proposed for the entire Island, not just M-1.
Of course, all that talk was before the November 7 election in a Town where the warehouse was a huge issue for the voters.
Fast forward to present day. The August 28, 2023 “no more delay, let’s act” plan was rejected by the Planning Board, the Town Board has yet to make a motion for its approval, and the HCFCW PROJECT IS MOVING FORWARD?. At the February 13, 2024 Planning Board meeting (link below) Mr. Marston, now the elected Supervisor, stated simply that the 1,000,000 plus square foot HCFCW can be approved under incentive zoning, or what the Planning Board chairman calls “Pay to Play”.
What happened to the more stringent Island wide limit proposed before the election?
Does anyone besides me feel like they have been played, again, by our elected officials??
Jim Daigler
Planning Board Video from February 13, 2024 note 57-105 minutes
This is a critical time in the potential approval process . . .
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Western New York crime victims have the Sheriff's office on their side - February 2024
On April 23, 1982, President Ronald Reagan established the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime. Later that year, members concluded that "innocent victims of crime have been overlooked." As we sit here 44 years later, I can’t help but think little has changed. Problems with bail reform policy have not helped the situation. To the victims, including those impacted by property crimes: I hear you. I empathize with you. And I stand with you.For too long, I have had concerns about the increase in car thefts across our county. In the town of Grand Island, my deputies have responded to six reports of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (UUMV) since Jan. 1. That number represents six individuals who felt, and still feel, violated. It represents six individuals who no longer feel safe. This also puts us on pace for about 50 UUMV calls in Grand Island this year. There were 18 in 2022 and 16 in 2023.
Clarence, the most populous town we patrol, is on pace to have about 40 UUMV calls this year, exceeding 28 in 2023. I am increasingly concerned that each one of these cases could lead to a serious injury or death.
My deputies are on alert. We will continue to patrol your neighborhoods. But you should also know that when we make arrests, we often have no choice but to release these suspects back into the community. It’s equally important to know that there are simple actions you can take to protect yourself. Lock your vehicles and keep your keys with you.
I believe that we can work together to achieve common sense legislation to combat this. In Monroe County, Sheriff Todd Baxter has spearheaded the Consortium for Safe Communities. The group – which includes members of law enforcement, clergy, the legal community, government and the business community – successfully advocated for removal of the "Least Restrictive Means" standard for bail in 2023. Now, the group’s members are calling for additional steps, including the addition of a "Risk of Public Safety" standard and a "Repeat Offender" standard.
I wholeheartedly endorse the efforts of the Consortium for Safe Communities and look forward to expanding upon the group’s efforts here in Erie County. Many of the measures associated with bail reform were called for. But it is time to address the remainder of its deficiencies.
Sheriff Garcia
To the Grand People of Grand Island - January 2024
The Neighbors Foundation of Grand Island was happy to have brightened the holiday season for 152 Families, totaling 241 adults and 153 children on the Island.Whether it was an envelope of gift cards, bagged canned goods, peanut butter & jelly jars, we did NOT do it ourselves! Generous Island Neighbors contributed food, turkeys and financial gifts, so the Foundation could provide donated food, Tops gift cards, Target gift cards for children and teens, and other help such as donated pizzas from Say Cheese. Churches, organizations, and local companies helped with major support, and individuals came through with donations, both small and large. Whatever the amount, we greatly appreciate your financial contributions, as well as food and other donated supplies to replenish our pantry. And special thanks to the administrators, staff, parents, teachers and students at the Grand Island Schools and others who helped us with very generous donations - and assistance in organizing, sorting and packing food bags for our clients.
To acknowledge the help we received, the Neighbors Foundation will be placing a listing of all our donors and workers on http://www.Isledegrande.com and the local Island Dispatch website, www.wnypapers.com. Thank you to all the donors and helpers listed in that summary – you made the 2023 Holiday Season happier for your Island Neighbors.
On behalf of the Neighbors Foundation, we wish all a happy and healthy 2024. With your generosity, we look forward to continuing to assist our valued Neighbors. To donate and support the Neighbors Foundation, please visit our website at GINeighbors.org. For confidential food assistance, call (716) 775-7998.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors!!
David Conboy, President
Neighbors Foundation of Grand Island, Inc.
