Tonight (2020-10-19) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls Board of Trustees.
Unlike the last few meetings, this one was at the Ambulance Facility. Necessary as the Town Board was at the Community Center. I would have liked it if that group had met last week, despite it being Columbus Day, but such is life.
Acoustics at the Ambulance Facility were a bit loud. Based on past visits, I think it’s an effect of the room. Although I suppose it could have been people compensating for being muzzled. On that note, there was much more consistency in the hiding of faces. Rules were clearly posted and everyone followed them (or at least seemed to). The focus is clearly on covering the face, as distance seems mentioned as an afterthought. Which is ironic, as I could have gone the whole meeting easily 6 feet from another person, if only security had stood just a few feet closer to the entrance.
For those of you that haven’t noticed, I object to this medical theater. For a variety of reasons, I think mandatory masking does considerably more harm then it’s supposed good. But enough of that, on to the meeting topics.
The largest single item was probably the Fire Department Building Committee’s report. Long story short, they think a new building is needed. Not a castle, they were very clear on that point. But something larger that could more effectively provide the functions needed. While it’s too early in the process to have too many details nailed down, they do have a preferred location.
Apparently this is also a secret location, at least for now. From discussion, I would guess it is in the downtown portion of the Village, not already owned by a municipality, larger then the current lot, likely a single property, and at least willing to discuss selling. I would imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to look at a map and produce a few educated guesses for the location. Can’t be too many that would qualify.
It is expected, that once construction starts, it would take ~6 months to build the new fire department. As for when that would be, the predictions were less clear. From the sounds of it, at least a year, more likely 2. Time will tell.
Three local laws regarding the Conservation Board were passed tonight, after their public hearings. The first two were mostly to reorganize that group to more closely match the Zoning Board model used by the Village. The third created a new section of code called “Trees”. As with all too many laws, a literal reading of it would be a nightmare (watering your lawn becomes fine-able if it hits a tree). Yet in discussion, it won’t change what is actually being done. The driving force seems to be to join ‘Tree City USA‘. A nice enough idea, but I’m of the opinion that the less government around the better for everyone. Including the trees.
Next Summer’s Summer Rec program may or may not be happening. There is concern about how many kids will sign up, and what the costs would look like at certain attendance numbers. No conclusions tonight, but I expect we’ll be seeing this topic a number of times before anything is decided.
Halloween is up to the parents to decide. Which is how it should be. It says something about how far we have fallen that the topic even came up. Parents should act in what they decide are their children’s best interests. If they decide the benefits of socializing and interacting with the community outweigh the drawbacks? So be it. If they decide the risks are too great? Such calls are the right of a parent to make. This is the nature of a free society.
Sometime in the next few weeks the long awaited Village Newsletter should arrive. By the sounds of it they are down to finalizing a few details and it’s off to the printers, followed by the post office. So soon…
Demand for hand sanitizing in bathrooms at Village parks is high. So high that theft is suspected. Sounds like another case of ‘why we can’t have nice things’. From discussion, I would expect the bathrooms to be closed for the foreseeable future. As winter is approaching, it may become a non-issue.
Wolfsberger Park will be the topic of discussion at the next Zoning Board meeting. Unfortunately, you (and I) can’t attend. Due to an inability to find a place to host the expected turn out, the meeting will be streamed online. I’m all for taking advantage of tools when available, but I think that a large enough place could be found for at least some people to show up. If only so that the office staff doesn’t have to produce a transcript, in order to be in compliance with the governor’s order on ‘public meetings’ that are only online (unless he’s changed his mind, again). Having said that, I’m hoping the project packet is put online before the meeting. While most of these meetings work well through a purely audio medium, being able to look at maps goes along way with this sort of project.
The Ontario Storm Sewer project is expected to be done by the end of this week, which should end the detour. The storm sewer improvements are done, and probably full of water. All that is left is the more cosmetic details, sidewalks being mentioned.
Tichenor Furniture has been closed down, due to being declare unsafe by the Code Enforcement Officer. As such, it must now be ‘made safe‘. The expected cost for doing so is ~$51k, which would in turn become a lien on the property. It was a rather somber mood, and I’m sure everyone involved would be thrilled to find any other option. Yet leaving it as is until it collapses was deemed too great a risk. Not something I can be critical of, sometimes all options are bad.
On a happier note, between 11AM and 1PM on Halloween (10-31) there will be a Pumpkin Hunt. Appears to be starting at Pinehurst, but as the Village is involved, likely goes through the Village Hall at some point. As usual, excuses to walk around the Village are welcome. Who knows, they might even be giving out candy.
And a Village Election will be coming around early next year. Expect an official announcement in the Sentinel before too long. Likely overshadowed be the national election, but the Mayor and two trustees have terms ending in April. So if you are interested in any of those positions (or know someone that is), now would be the time to start planning.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the October 19, 2020 meeting of the Honeoye Falls Board of Trustees.
Agenda was not available anywhere I could find. Perhaps it will be on the Village’s website in the future, perhaps not…