Lewiston Town Board sends 5/4 President's Park question to Ethics Board

Open house set at wastewater treatment plant

By Terry Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Commenting online? The Town of Lewiston is listening.

Recapping the Lewiston Town Board’s July 28 regular meeting, two hot topics brewing in the community – new development and infrastructure concerns – are getting the board’s attention.

Coming off the Town Board’s May approval of a negative declaration and concept plan to developer Joe Giusiana for the 5/4 President’s Park planned unit development on Creek Road, chatter has continued to grow.

The project has spurred community discussion on the potential to add up to 210 new units to an existing series of 168 apartments in complexes off Creek Road. However, this proposal remains far from breaking ground. Ongoing concerns include the project’s overall impacts to neighbors, including the 3F Sportsmen’s Club; concerns about increased traffic on Creek Road; and potential impact to the town’s sewer infrastructure and the wastewater treatment plant.

On Monday, Supervisor Steve Broderick turned his focus to new questions related to the PUD project and a potential conflict of interest. He called for an investigation into the matter by the town’s Ethics Board.

“At the beginning of July, I received an email – actually the Ethics Board received an email from a resident – he was concerned about a possible conflict of interest … with our Planning Board,” Broderick said. “Basically, the complaint is that Bill Burg, who is the head of the Planning Board, owns a building material supply company. The complaint was that he possibly could profit from (the) President’s Park development.”

Broderick read a brief letter to the town submitted by Burke: “I’m proud of the work we do on the Planning Board. Here’s my statement on the ethics question regarding President’s Park. I have not solicited any business on any project that has come before the board, especially one that is controversial as President’s Park. I have not done business with 5/4 Development.”

Burke’s letter continued, “I have made no attempt to do business or supply products for President’s Park. I have no financial interest or benefit from President’s Park. Therefore, there’s no violation of the ethical standard that I promised to uphold.”

Broderick said, “I want to say that I’ve known Bill for a long time. Bill is an upstanding individual and I believe (what) he says in this. But I also believe that we have an independent board that we can utilize to look into the situation.”

He presented a resolution, “To have this matter examined by our Board of Ethics.”

Councilman John Jacoby immediately announced his support: “I think it’s a great influence of action (by the Town Board). (If) we make the decision independent of the Ethics Board, it makes it look bad. Send it to the ethics people; it’s what they do.”

Town Board members concurred. The motion was unanimously passed.

Following board approval in May, Councilman Rob Morreale provided an update on the proposed 5/4 President’s Park.

“This is a concept plan that we’re accepting right now,” he said. “There’s going to be traffic studies. It’s going to be sewer studies, and I’m going to be very stringent in looking at the auto study done in July. Obviously, I want it done when the school’s in session, or when the golf course is open. I’m going to be looking at the sewer study.”

Sewage treatment plant

Move evidence of the town’s listening came in remarks by Jeff Ritter, superintendent of the Town of Lewiston Water Pollution Control Center.

“It’s recently come to my attention that there’s a lot of misinformation and speculation of the sewage treatment plant (on) social media,” he said. “That being the case, we’d love to answer some of the questions and concerns, but also show the plant’s (operational) processes.”

Ritter went on to announce plans for an open house to inform and explain the WPCC operations. Open to town residents, as well as those from the WPCC’s tri-community service area (Town and Village of Lewiston, Town of Porter and Village of Youngstown), the informational event will be held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday Aug. 23.

The WPCC is located at 501 Pletcher Road, adjacent to Pletcher Road Town Park. For more information on the open house, contact Ritter at 716-754-8291 or email jritter@townoflewiston.us.

Other news

•The town received an overall positive report on the state of its finances from Nick Patronik, CPA, manager at Drescher & Malecki LLP, which oversees the firm’s auditing services for governmental and nonprofit entities in New York.

“We did not come across any concerns, and I’m happy to report we’re going to be reporting unmodified auditing, which is the best,” Patronik said.

From an operational standpoint, Patronik said the town saw a roughly $200,000 decrease in main revenues in its operational fund, which was countered by an increase from various sources in its expenditure funding. Included in the category were increases in governmental support, a significant increase in “recreation adventures” spending, and overall town employee salary increases.

Patronik said the town maintained an available fund balance of $1.1 million in its general fund as of Dec. 31, 2014. He went on to report a favorable fund balance increase of $24,000 in the town’s highway fund; fund balance decreases in the town’s waterfront account that was offset by expenditures for capital improvements; and fund balance decreases in the sewer account, which were again offset by “large transfers” for capital improvements.

•The town announced it has reached an agreement with the Lewiston-Porter School District to acquire a building on the Creek Road campus for the Lewiston Police Department. The LPD is headquartered in front of the old administration building.

Broderick presented a board resolution to accept the building transfer and a shared services agreement between the two entities. He said Lew-Port had a referendum before district residents in its May school budget/board vote. That measure was approved, and the school district agreed to oversee all current and future renovations associated with the building.

“This resolution shall take effect immediately,” Broderick said as he presented the intermunicipal transfer and shared services agreement for board vote. “We have a legal description, lands to be conveyed by the Lewiston-Porter School District available for review.”

•Jacoby presented a resolution, approved by the board, for the promotion of LPD officer Maria Battista to the rank of captain, and for part-time officer John Wisto to assume full-time status. Both actions took effect immediately following board approval.