5-B   COMMUNICATIONS

1.   Supervisor Clark re Support of Senate & Assembly Bills to increase speed limit on Route 400

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to adopt the attached resolution in support of Senator Dale Volker's Bill #S.3089 and Assembly Member Brian Higgins' Bill #A.6976 amending the Vehicle and Traffic Law to permit an increase in the speed limit to 65 mph on Route 400 south of Union Road, Rte. 277 exit, to the end of the expressway in the Town of Aurora.

*APPENDICES*

2.   Supervisor Clark re Retirement of Robert Reichert as Auto Mechanic Crew Chief

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to accept the retirement of Robert A. Reichert and terminate him as Auto Mechanic Crew Chief effective March 31, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Mr. Reichert completed 36 years of service with the Town of West Seneca.

5-B    COMMUNICATIONS

3.   Supervisor Clark re Reappointment of Robert Rigby to Board of Assessment Review

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to reappoint Robert Rigby to the Board of Assessment Review for a five-year term effective October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2008.

4.   Deputy Town Attorney re Amendment to Traffic Ordinance - removal of no parking on Barnsdale Ave.

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to schedule a public hearing for April 12, 2004 at 7:30 P.M. to amend the Traffic Ordinance by removing the no parking restriction on Barnsdale Avenue, §115-9A(7).

5.   Town Engineer re Bid award for Sanitary Sewer Repair contract

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to award the Sanitary Sewer Repair contract, Job No. S-0401, to Nichols, Long & Moore Construction Corporation, 149 Gunnville Road, Lancaster, NY 14086, at their low unit-item contract amount of $83,780 and authorize the Supervisor to sign the contract documents.

6.   Town Engineer re Title transfer mapping for Leydecker Road Reconstruction project

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to award the title transfer mapping for the Leydecker Road Reconstruction Project, Job No. L-0404, to URS Consultants, 640 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, at their low proposal amount of $8750.

7.   Highway Supt. re Appointment of Andrew Fragale as part-time Laborer (Car Washer)

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to appoint Andrew Fragale as part-time Laborer (Car Washer) at a rate of $6.50 per hour effective March 15, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

8.   Highway Supt. re Bid award for lease of two 4-wheel drive vehicles

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to award the bid for the lease of two 4-wheel drive vehicles to Gillogly Chevrolet, 1777 Union Road, at their low bid price of $386.48 per month for 48 months.

5-B    COMMUNICATIONS

9.   Highway Supt. re Purchases requiring Town Board approval

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize payment of the following vouchers for the Highway Department:

10.   Chief Gehen re Military leave of absence for Officer Jeffrey Coia

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to grant a military leave of absence for Police Officer Jeffrey Coia effective April 9, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Officer Coia's Army National Guard unit was ordered to active duty for a period not to exceed 545 days to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

11.   Chief Gehen re Extension of military leave of absence for Officer Timothy Pratt

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to extend the military leave of absence granted to Police Officer Timothy Pratt from March 24, 2004 through August 31, 2004 and extend his present medical coverage for his family during this period and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Officer Pratt's Coast Guard unit will continue on active duty during this period.

12.   Chief Gehen re Resignation of Clark Reinard as part-time Public Safety Dispatcher

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to accept the resignation of Clark Reinard and terminate him as part-time Public Safety Dispatcher effective March 15, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

13.   Chief Gehen re Purchase of ammunition

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the purchase of various ammunition from Allian Techsystems Inc., 2299 Snake River Avenue, Lewiston, ID 83501, under New York State contract #00314-RA for a total cost of $4621.35.

5-B    COMMUNICATIONS

14.   Chief Gehen re Purchase of web server

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the purchase of one (1) ProLiant ML350 G3 Web/E-mail server from Alternative Information Systems, 489 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, under New York State contract #PT58036 at a cost of $3228.00, noting that comparative pricing was also obtained from IBM ($4330) and Dell ($4169.90), and further note that 75 percent of this purchase ($2421) will come from the 2002 COPS MORE grant and 25 percent from the 2002 police equipment bond.

15.   Chief Gehen re Attendance of Officer Robert Bebak at School Resource Officer/Leadership Program

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize Officer Robert Bebak to attend the School Resource Officer/Leadership program in Rochester, New York, March 29 - April 2, 2004 at a total cost not to exceed $300.

16.   Chief Gehen re Attendance of Capt. Daniel Denz and Lt. James Loga at MAGLOCLEN conference

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize Captain Daniel Denz and Lieutenant James Loga to attend the annual MAGLOCLEN conference in Cleveland, Ohio, April 5 - 9, 2004 at a cost not to exceed $300.

17.   Town Clerk re Purchase requiring Town Board approval

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize payment of $1777.45 to Choice One OnLine, Inc., 295 Main Street, Suite 200, Buffalo, NY 14203, to cover the cost of Web site enhancements, email list management, Vital Statistics database, and Domain Name registration annual fee.

18.   Town Clerk re Southgate Plaza amusement license

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to grant an amusement license to Southgate Plaza Inc., for their annual spring carnival to be held May 28-31, 2004.

19.   Town Justices re Termination of Sindy Reading as Temporary Clerk to the Town Justices

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to terminate Sindy Reading as Clerk to the Town Justice Temporary effective January 9, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

5-B    COMMUNICATIONS

20.   Town Justices re Termination of Jodie Wysocki as part-time Clerk

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to terminate Jodie Wysocki as part-time Clerk effective January 30, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

21.   Youth Director re Status change for Diane Kilijanski to part-time seasonal

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to change the status of Diane Kilijanski from part-time to part-time seasonal effective April 5 - May 31, 2004 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.

22.   Youth Director re Rate increase for Diane Kilijanski

Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to grant a rate increase to $7.40 per hour for Diane Kilijanski retroactive to December 21, 2003 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Ms. Kilijanski completed the 1400 hours required for this increase.

5-C    REPORTS

PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS

PUBLIC HEARING TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED ON SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER STUDY

Supervisor Clark advised that a draft copy of the report on the study at the West Seneca Senior Citizens Center would be completed shortly. A public hearing was tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 8, 2004 at 11:15 A.M at the senior citizens center to review the report. The consultant would be present at the public hearing to layout the results of their findings and recommendations, and the public would also have an opportunity to ask questions.

PAYMENT TO BIEL'S MICROFILM FOR BUILDING & PLUMBING DEPT. RECORDS

Motion by Councilman Hicks, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize payment of $2910.28 to Biel's Microfilm, 1201 Indian Church Road, for microfilming Building & Plumbing Department records.

PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS

HAZARDOUS SITUATION AT HILLCREST HEIGHTS & TRANSIT ROAD

Councilman Graber referred to Town Engineer George Montz letters received from Hillcrest Heights residents regarding road reconstruction completed by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). The residents felt the reconstruction created a hazardous situation for them as they exited their development onto Transit Road due to the elevation. Councilman Graber requested that Mr. Montz contact Mike Harmon, Manager of Hillcrest Heights Homeowner's Association, to review the situation and then contact the NYSDOT for a resolution to the problem.

GAS LIGHT CONVERSION FEASIBILITY STUDY CONTRACT PROPOSAL

Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to accept the contract proposal from Siemens Building Technologies for performance of a feasibility study for the gas street light conversion at a cost of $21,500.

On the question, Councilman Graber advised that a portion of everyone's electric bill went to New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) and into a fund that provided grant money for various energy saving measures. The feasibility study took longer than anticipated because NYSERDA was creating a grant specifically for this project. In the past, they had never provided money for a study on converting from natural gas lighting to electric lighting. All their past grants were related to removal from electric, but they understood that this was a potential major energy savings. A lot of money was unnecessarily being spent on natural gas when the same service could be provided much cheaper with electric. The town was receiving $6,000 from NYSERDA to help offset the cost of the feasibility study as well as $10,000 from the county through County Legislator Timothy Wroblewski. Property owners in the gas lighting districts would be responsible for the remainder of the cost of the study. Siemens indicated that they should be done with the feasibility study in six weeks. Along with the study they would also be engineering the entire conversion. Councilman Graber intended to have a streamlined version of the feasibility study and various pictures of the new standards and lights for each property owner in the gas lighting district so the residents could discuss it with each other before any decision was made to proceed. He estimated that the number of lights would be reduced from 400 to 270 and the construction techniques used would have the least amount of impact on the residents as possible. Councilman Graber noted that they planned to use the latest technology in lighting, and he understood that NYSERDA would likely provide additional funds for the difference in the cost of the lights. The total project cost was anticipated to be less than $750,000 and paid off by the residents of the districts through a bond. Presently the residents paid $130,000 each year for the natural gas lights. Councilman Graber was confident that the feasibility study would reduce their cost and provide them with new technology lighting.

Supervisor Clark commended Councilman Graber and Councilman Hicks for their work on this project. He thought that in the long run the project would be economically well worth it and provide better lighting for the residents.

Councilman Graber noted that the reason the project was moving forward was because the residents wanted something done. They were tired of the natural gas lights providing little light or being out, the long delays in having them fixed, and the high cost of maintaining them. The town decided to have the feasibility study done and give the residents their choice. If 51 percent of the residents of the gas light districts wanted the change to electric, the project would proceed. Councilman Graber further noted that the Town Board was not pushing the project, they were only responding to the needs of the residents who were looking for a cheaper alternative.

PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS

WORK AT SENECA RIDGE PLAZA

Councilman Osmanski questioned if Building Inspector William Czuprynski had heard anything more from Benderson Development on the Seneca Ridge Plaza.

Mr. Czuprynski responded that they were working on it today.

STATUS OF ICE RETENTION STRUCTURE

Councilman Osmanski questioned if Town Attorney Tim Greenan had any update on the ice retention structure. He had received various correspondence, including one from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) accepting the final survey information and a note from the Army Corps of Engineers outlining some concerns that the town get the bidding out by a certain date.

Mr. Greenan stated that they were working on completing acquisition of the parcels, and he thought that by next week he would be meeting with counsel on that matter. Mr. Greenan hoped to be able to give the Town Board a complete report on the status of the ice control structure by the next board meeting.

TOWN BOARD MEETINGS SCHEDULED

Supervisor Clark announced the Town Board meetings scheduled for the second quarter of 2004 as follows:

ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 P.M.

PATRICIA C. WISNIEWSKI, RMC/CMC
TOWN CLERK