The evening of 2026-04-13 was a meeting of the Mendon Town Board.
Surprisingly large crowd for this one. A number of scouts, likely after their merit badge. And a number of residents complaining about activity at 3808 Rush Mendon Rd. But also some other people that I can’t directly attach to a reason for being there. In fact, so many people we needed to grab chairs from the court room next door. But as the court room wasn’t being used at this time, not an issue.
By all accounts, the owner of 3808 Rush Mendon Rd has been ignoring the Town Code and developing his land. I won’t claim to know all the details, but the main concerns were around building a road at early hours and renting out parking space for tractor trailer trucks. In any case, Joe (Supervisor) confirmed Corey (CEO) is looking into it. We’ll see how it turns out.
While listening to the residents complain, I was reminded it is an election year. I would hope there are better topics out there. Because un-permitted construction seems a silly thing to become a campaign issue. Yet we certainly are a silly people. At times? Or all the time?
Sharps drop off coming to the Town Clerk‘s office. No date said, so ‘soon‘. If you, like me, aren’t too clear on what ‘sharps‘ are, apparently they are sharp medical items. Needles and other stabby bits. Nice to collect and dispose of these. And seems to fit in with the other services offered in the Clerk’s office.
If you see a pothole, call 1-800-POT-HOLE (768-4653). Apparently, that’s the best way to get them fixed.
A few years back there was debate on if the Town even needed a Buildings and Grounds department. Well tonight they hired more staff for it. I can’t say it’s the first time, as it appears to be seasonal staff. But I found the shift over time entertaining. Time seems to have settled that debate. As it tends to with most, eventually.
Climate Smart Communities Task Force (CSCTF) was back on the Agenda, to get their group size increased to 11. All I’ll say on that is that, from what I’ve observed, there are two kinds of groups. One exists to deliberate and reach a decision, but not actually do the work. The other exists to tackle a problem, but not actually decide what needs doing. Deliberation groups become less efficient as the body count increases. See Congress. Problem tackling groups can always use more bodies to throw at the problem. See an army. Which is this? Because I’m not sure they know.
But that wasn’t why I even mentioned the CSCTF. I mention it because of a particular word that stood out in the motion. “consent”. In context, the “Town Board consented to the creation of the CSC Task Force”. Which is to say, the Town Board didn’t create the CSCTF. They gave permission for the CSCTF to come into existence. It’s probably nothing. It might be a legal terminology that I just haven’t seen before. Or it might actually mean something. Words can be funny that way.
There were a number of items tabled. Mostly around policy changes and updates, as more information was desired and time to digest. While sooner can be better then later, there is value in doing due diligence. Discussion was had, and it sounds like there is a plan on what needs to be done to approve (or not) at a future meeting.
And there was an interesting comment made during the Community Engagement Advisory Committee potential letter to the Sentinel. The letter request was retracted, but that wasn’t the interesting part. No, the interesting part was when the lawyer said they should take the discussion offline. Now, I won’t claim to know all the details here. But from where I was sitting, the conversation appeared to be heading in a direction that could easily be taken out of context. And if so, would have elected officials saying things that could be interpreted very badly. Again, out of context, making it sound worse then was meant (hopefully). So good on the lawyer for stepping in.
This Board did something I’ve seen the school do a few times, which I don’t like. They approved an action, that was under the personnel category. So very few details were given. Fair enough, it’s understandable nearly all details should be kept confidential. But the taxpayers should at least have a ballpark, or a not to exceed number, as they will foot the bill. So I asked that question and got an answer: Covered by insurance. So not zero, but also not a new expense. Which, for a personnel issue, I think is a fair amount of disclosure to the public. So I applaud the Board for getting me that answer right then and there.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the April 13, 2026 meeting of the Mendon Town Board.