You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
5 minutes 50 seconds - Chris Austin (dog control officer) says there is a discrepancy with the bill from the SPCA. Apparently there were a couple of incidents recently when the SPCA came out in spite of the fact that they no longer have a contract for dog control in Ulysses. They are still the animal cruelty investigators for the county, that is not the responsibility of Chris Austin? I'd like to know more about the details of these incidents. There appears to be a big difference between Chris Austins version of the story and the SPCA's version.
Chris implies that his relationship with the SPCA is not the greatest. He said that he's gotten into the habit of taking the dogs to his own kennel for 5 days, instead of the SPCA. Did the Town Board approve this change? Chris states here that Abigail Smith is not the director of the SPCA. If you go to http://www.lansingstar.com/content/view/3961/294/ you will see how wrong Chris is.
It seems irresponsible for Ulysses to refuse to support the SPCA. The residents of Ulysses have thousands of pets, and we benefit from the services of the SPCA. We ought to pay for it. The SPCA has had to double the price of their dog control contract, but this is just an indication of how low it was before. The new price brings them into line with the national average of four to six dollars per capita per year. Using a private dog control officer like Chris Austin can save Ulysses tax payers a couple of bucks per year, but we then are responsible for the budget shortfalls at the SPCA. Our SPCA is one of the best. They are available 24/7. They have vets on the staff. They are supported by 165 volunteers. It seems odd that our Town would refuse to fund them, in a year when they are reducing the Town of Ulysses tax levy.
0-42-0 Marsha discusses the upcoming Winter Festival. Go to http://www.tburgfestivaloflights.com/
0-52-0 Rod Ferintino says "no way" to funding the stream watch program that is run by http://communityscience.org/ Sounds like something we ought to support to me.
1-00-20 Rod says he doesn't want to put money aside for the action plan to implement the comprehensive plan. (is Rod missing the fundamental concept of communities organizing to protect and improve the commons?)
1-02-00 Rod says he doesn't want to put money aside for an audit of the Town's books.
1-11-14 - Liz Thomas seems to think that the budget process is somewhat less than ideal. There is a discussion of this here. Liz reads her resolution for improving the process into the record dispite Doug Austic's objections.
1-36-00 Jason Fulton gives a Fire Dept report. Referring to third party billing Jason says - "It's more when it's going to happen now, they're not going to push the issue now, but it's still ready to go whenever it's needed" I've written about this at the previous post.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Village Board Meeting 11/11/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I read a statement at the first public comment period. I usually set my recorder in front of Tammy Morse (Village Clerk) She apparently didn't turn it on until I had started my statement,
It's been awhile since I have been here to encourage the board to stand for justice, and much has changed. The Bush administration's economic policies have resulted in bringing us the most threatening collapse since the Great Depression, and they used this crisis (as they use all crises) to advance their agenda, this time by transferring our taxpayer dollars (and the taxes of future generations) to the wealthiest 1/10th of one percent , who happen, in this case to be the CEO's of the very institutions that are responsible, along with the Bush Administration, for this collapse. The one trillion dollar bailout package is the greatest theft in history, and they are stealing from all of us, including the local governments of Trumansburg, and Ulysses, and our schools, and health care for our elderly, and our poor.
The election of Barack Obama changes how you should look at this movement of those who seek justice, accountability, and the restoration of the rule of law. Some of you mistakenly thought that this was merely partisan politics. The fact that he has been elected and we are still asking for justice, proves this wrong. Some of you felt that seeking impeachment would threaten the success of the Democrats in the election. This is now a moot point.
I admit that it is unlikely that Nancy Pelosi will allow the House to begin impeachment before inauguration, but her action is not the measure of the worth of your action. You should act so that history will record that you saw the gross crimes of the Bush Administration, and the harm being done to your constituents, and you objected. By remaining silent in the face of these crimes, you ensure that others will attempt the same crimes later.
Is there any member of this board who values the rule of law, and our Constitution, enough to make a motion to pass the resolution to encourage our representatives in Washington to investigate the possibility of impeaching Bush and Cheney?
As usual my statement invoked no response. Oh well.
One disappointing bit of news from the meeting is that the purchase of the old telephone company building by the Village, for use as a community center has apparently fallen through.
The Board approved the purchase of a new defibrillator for the ambulance. Trustee John Hrubos commented that because of expensive purchases like this, the concept of going to third party billing was really a question of when and not if. This got under my skin, but I held my peace until the second public comment period near the end of the meeting.
This is at about the 2 hr, 56 min mark. John defended his "when and not if" comment by complaining about the ever increasing cost of the equipment as if it is spiraling out of control, which it is not. The defibrillator will be fully covered by the allowance in the budget for equipment upkeep and replacement. The increase in the cost of the EMS service, is roughly equal to the rate of inflation. It is far from the crisis that they make it out to be.
Chris Thomas said (in order to get me to shut up) "But Allen, truthfully, you have to hear everything the board is saying, and one thing the board said is that the 'when' includes that tipping point when the symposium is 75% in favor of going to billing because the costs have escalated so much" That's on the record. I was listening, and the board hadn't said that, but I'm glad to have that on the record now. The public will never be 75% in favor of privatizing this important aspect of our community.
Sadly, Jason, our Fire Chief, left after hearing John's "when and not if" comment, and went across the street to the ongoing Town Board Meeting, and reported that the Village Board considered the privatization scheme merely a question of "when". Jason and fellow proprivatizer Rod Ferentino, commiserated with each other over what a shame it was that they had failed to tap into the pool of dirty money from the private for profit health care industry. Rod Ferentino commented months ago on the "paradigm shift" that he saw occurring, that was causing a low response rate from the volunteers. That paradigm shift has apparently vanished. The response rate is way up, and Bangs has had to come out hardly at all. This is thanks to the fact that we beat back the attempt to privatize, and to the work of Jim Mason.
Thank you Jim, and thank you EMS volunteers!
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I read a statement at the first public comment period. I usually set my recorder in front of Tammy Morse (Village Clerk) She apparently didn't turn it on until I had started my statement,
It's been awhile since I have been here to encourage the board to stand for justice, and much has changed. The Bush administration's economic policies have resulted in bringing us the most threatening collapse since the Great Depression, and they used this crisis (as they use all crises) to advance their agenda, this time by transferring our taxpayer dollars (and the taxes of future generations) to the wealthiest 1/10th of one percent , who happen, in this case to be the CEO's of the very institutions that are responsible, along with the Bush Administration, for this collapse. The one trillion dollar bailout package is the greatest theft in history, and they are stealing from all of us, including the local governments of Trumansburg, and Ulysses, and our schools, and health care for our elderly, and our poor.
The election of Barack Obama changes how you should look at this movement of those who seek justice, accountability, and the restoration of the rule of law. Some of you mistakenly thought that this was merely partisan politics. The fact that he has been elected and we are still asking for justice, proves this wrong. Some of you felt that seeking impeachment would threaten the success of the Democrats in the election. This is now a moot point.
I admit that it is unlikely that Nancy Pelosi will allow the House to begin impeachment before inauguration, but her action is not the measure of the worth of your action. You should act so that history will record that you saw the gross crimes of the Bush Administration, and the harm being done to your constituents, and you objected. By remaining silent in the face of these crimes, you ensure that others will attempt the same crimes later.
Is there any member of this board who values the rule of law, and our Constitution, enough to make a motion to pass the resolution to encourage our representatives in Washington to investigate the possibility of impeaching Bush and Cheney?
As usual my statement invoked no response. Oh well.
One disappointing bit of news from the meeting is that the purchase of the old telephone company building by the Village, for use as a community center has apparently fallen through.
The Board approved the purchase of a new defibrillator for the ambulance. Trustee John Hrubos commented that because of expensive purchases like this, the concept of going to third party billing was really a question of when and not if. This got under my skin, but I held my peace until the second public comment period near the end of the meeting.
This is at about the 2 hr, 56 min mark. John defended his "when and not if" comment by complaining about the ever increasing cost of the equipment as if it is spiraling out of control, which it is not. The defibrillator will be fully covered by the allowance in the budget for equipment upkeep and replacement. The increase in the cost of the EMS service, is roughly equal to the rate of inflation. It is far from the crisis that they make it out to be.
Chris Thomas said (in order to get me to shut up) "But Allen, truthfully, you have to hear everything the board is saying, and one thing the board said is that the 'when' includes that tipping point when the symposium is 75% in favor of going to billing because the costs have escalated so much" That's on the record. I was listening, and the board hadn't said that, but I'm glad to have that on the record now. The public will never be 75% in favor of privatizing this important aspect of our community.
Sadly, Jason, our Fire Chief, left after hearing John's "when and not if" comment, and went across the street to the ongoing Town Board Meeting, and reported that the Village Board considered the privatization scheme merely a question of "when". Jason and fellow proprivatizer Rod Ferentino, commiserated with each other over what a shame it was that they had failed to tap into the pool of dirty money from the private for profit health care industry. Rod Ferentino commented months ago on the "paradigm shift" that he saw occurring, that was causing a low response rate from the volunteers. That paradigm shift has apparently vanished. The response rate is way up, and Bangs has had to come out hardly at all. This is thanks to the fact that we beat back the attempt to privatize, and to the work of Jim Mason.
Thank you Jim, and thank you EMS volunteers!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Back to Democracy Candidate Forum 10/16/08
Tom Schlee
Charles Wolff
Last night Back To Democracy held a Candidate Forum at the Trumansburg Fire Hall, in order to inform the public about an important race which will be decided on the November 4th ballot. The incumbent Ulysses Town Justice Tom Schlee, is being challenged by a local attorney, Charles Wolff.
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Charles Wolff vs Tom Schlee for Ulysses Town Justice
I was initially disappointed to hear that Charles Wolff (a registered Democrat) was seeking the Republican Party's nomination, because it has always been my opinion that a relatively uninformed public will defer to party affiliation before taking the time to study a candidate's position on the issues. If the various political parties strictly enforced adherence to party platforms, and if these parties never allowed members of other parties to run on their ballot lines, then it would be nearly treason for candidates to cross party lines, but that is not our present situation. Since we have representatives locally and nationally whose values sometimes contradict the platforms of the parties that helped get them into office, we as voters are required to look a little closer at candidates, than simple party affiliation.
An odd conflict exists within NY State Law. Judicial candidates are not supposed to be partisan, yet they are essentially required to seek the support of political parties. Mr. Wolff has been criticized for lack of "loyalty to the Democratic Party". I believe Mr. Wolff is driven by principals which he considers more important than party loyalty. (I know I am)
I was at the Ulysses Democratic Party meetings when Charles Wolff and Tom Schlee explained their reasons for wanting the position, and described their experience and qualifications. I was impressed by Tom Schlee, and I think he would make a good Justice. But Charles Wolff is clearly the better qualified of the two, and would make a great Justice. Charles Wolff is a licensed attorney with thousands of hours of courtroom experience, he is a member of the NY Bar, and a graduate of law school. Tom Schlee is none of these things. I don't understand how voters can ignore this huge difference between the candidates. The New York State Unified Court System is trying to put more attorneys on local benches. (in fact new NYSUCS rules will soon give defendants the right to have their cases heard before a judge that is an attorney) This is why Charles Wolff is running. He explained this at the Democratic Caucus when he was seeking the Democratic Party nomination, but there were a lot of old friends of Tom Schlee in the room, and he got the nomination. Charles Wolff saw the likelihood of this outcome months ago, and asked for the nominations of other parties. Should we hold this against him? Is party loyalty the most important factor here?
Tom Schlee was a friend of our much loved, recently deceased, Justice Christine Springer, and he uses this to great effect in his campaigning. This is true, but he neglects to mention that Charles Wolff was also a friend of hers and it was at her suggestion that he joined the Tompkins County Assigned Counsel Program whereby he often provides services to clients who can't afford expensive services, for greatly reduced cost, or no cost.
I have always voted Democratic. This will be the first time that I have ever voted on the Republican line. I wish that our world were simpler, because I know that it's hard for voters to find the time to educate themselves fully before voting, but it is my hope that many voters will make the effort. Obviously, there are other extremely important races to be decided on the ballot in November, but most of us have already made up our minds how we will vote on the presidential race. Please take the time to go to Charles Wolff's website www.podunklaw.com where you will find more information on this important campaign.
An odd conflict exists within NY State Law. Judicial candidates are not supposed to be partisan, yet they are essentially required to seek the support of political parties. Mr. Wolff has been criticized for lack of "loyalty to the Democratic Party". I believe Mr. Wolff is driven by principals which he considers more important than party loyalty. (I know I am)
I was at the Ulysses Democratic Party meetings when Charles Wolff and Tom Schlee explained their reasons for wanting the position, and described their experience and qualifications. I was impressed by Tom Schlee, and I think he would make a good Justice. But Charles Wolff is clearly the better qualified of the two, and would make a great Justice. Charles Wolff is a licensed attorney with thousands of hours of courtroom experience, he is a member of the NY Bar, and a graduate of law school. Tom Schlee is none of these things. I don't understand how voters can ignore this huge difference between the candidates. The New York State Unified Court System is trying to put more attorneys on local benches. (in fact new NYSUCS rules will soon give defendants the right to have their cases heard before a judge that is an attorney) This is why Charles Wolff is running. He explained this at the Democratic Caucus when he was seeking the Democratic Party nomination, but there were a lot of old friends of Tom Schlee in the room, and he got the nomination. Charles Wolff saw the likelihood of this outcome months ago, and asked for the nominations of other parties. Should we hold this against him? Is party loyalty the most important factor here?
Tom Schlee was a friend of our much loved, recently deceased, Justice Christine Springer, and he uses this to great effect in his campaigning. This is true, but he neglects to mention that Charles Wolff was also a friend of hers and it was at her suggestion that he joined the Tompkins County Assigned Counsel Program whereby he often provides services to clients who can't afford expensive services, for greatly reduced cost, or no cost.
I have always voted Democratic. This will be the first time that I have ever voted on the Republican line. I wish that our world were simpler, because I know that it's hard for voters to find the time to educate themselves fully before voting, but it is my hope that many voters will make the effort. Obviously, there are other extremely important races to be decided on the ballot in November, but most of us have already made up our minds how we will vote on the presidential race. Please take the time to go to Charles Wolff's website www.podunklaw.com where you will find more information on this important campaign.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Eric Massa talk in Ithaca September 19th
I just got home from the event described below. Eric Massa will be a fantastic Congressman for the 29th if we help him defeat Randy Kuhl (Rubber Stamp Randy) If you missed this event, don't despair, I recorded it for you.
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
The race between Massa and Kuhl is being reported as one of the closest in the country. Please consider contributing.
0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds - begins with someone introducing Michael Thomas
0-0-56 - Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton introduces Eric Massa
0-5-14 - Eric Massa
0-12-40 - Michael Thomas - I was actually expecting to hear about how great the rebuilding of Afghanistan was going. This is not at all what I heard. Give a listen.
0-33-05 - Eric jumps in to begin the question and answer session
0-45-28 - My question for Eric - and his excellent answer
Here is the invitation, which describes the event,
Allen,
I write today to remind you about our event in Ithaca this Friday, September 19th (please see the invitation below). My longtime friend and colleague Lieutenant Commander Michael Thomas, who recently returned from a year long deployment in Afghanistan as an Executive Officer for a US Provincial Reconstruction Team, will be joining us for an evening to discuss his experiences and share his first hand insights into the reconstruction efforts in that troubled region. This promises to be a very interesting discussion, and I would be honored it you would consider joining us for this great event. In addition to Lt. Commander Thomas' presentation, I will be giving a brief update regarding the race, and would love to take any questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Eric Massa
CDR, US Navy (ret.)
Adelaide Park Gomer
Invites you to join her for an evening with
Recently Returned Afghanistan Veteran
Lt. Commander Michael Thomas, USNR
“The Ground Truth in Afghanistan”
For a presentation, discussion, & reception to benefit
Eric Massa’s
2008 Campaign for Congress in New York’s 29th District
Friday, September 19th, 2008
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the home of
Adelaide Park Gomer
513 Wyckoff Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
Co-Host $250-$500 Sponsor $100 Individual $50
Please use the enclosed envelop, contribute online at www.actblue.com/page/massa2008, or bring attached form to the event!
Lieutenant Commander Michael A. Thomas, USNR recently returned from a year long deployment to western Afghanistan, where he served as the Executive Officer of one of twelve US Provincial Reconstruction Teams. Born in Washington, DC, he grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government, History, Economics, and Philosophy. In 1995, Lieutenant Commander Thomas graduated from the Yale Law School and entered Naval Officer Candidate School in Pensacola Florida, where he received his Commission later that year. Lieutenant Commander Thomas’s operational experience includes combat tours in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. During his service in the military, Lt. Commander Thomas received the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal. Lt. Commander Michael Thomas is married to the former Karen L. Dickey of Millinocket, Maine. They currently reside in Milford, Connect
Eric Massa, a Naval Academy graduate (class of ’81), is a 24-year retired Naval Commander. While in the Navy, Eric was involved in several global conflicts including Beirut and Desert Storm. His capstone military assignment was serving as the Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Wes Clark during the Bosnian conflict. In addition to his career as a military officer, Eric has worked for a high tech firm in the automotive environmental division, as a health care advocate while in the military, and as a professional staff member serving the House Armed Services Committee. With no primary and a seasoned staff, Massa’s campaign has the full support of the DCCC (Red to Blue), as well as the State and local Democratic Party. Thus far, Massa has out raised his opponent Republican Randy Kuhl, and the DCCC recently announced an early TV buy of $1.5 million in the Rochester media market, the largest TV buy in the country by the DCCC. In addition, the NY Times recently recognized NY-29 as one of the closest races in the nation (G.O.P in House at Risk in Northeast, 8-14-2008). The 2008 Massa for Campaign has tremendous momentum and is poised for victory in November. Eric Massa lives in Corning, New York with his wife of 20 years, Beverly, and their two teenage children, Justin and Alexandra.
Contributions or gifts to Eric Massa for Congress are not tax deductible. We may accept contributions from an individual totaling up to $2,300 per election; $4,600 per election cycle. Federal PAC’s may contribute up to $5,000 per election; $10,000 per cycle. Federal law prohibits contributions to the campaign from corporations, labor organizations and national banks; from any person contributing another person’s funds; from foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status; from federal government contractors. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle.
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
The race between Massa and Kuhl is being reported as one of the closest in the country. Please consider contributing.
0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds - begins with someone introducing Michael Thomas
0-0-56 - Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton introduces Eric Massa
0-5-14 - Eric Massa
0-12-40 - Michael Thomas - I was actually expecting to hear about how great the rebuilding of Afghanistan was going. This is not at all what I heard. Give a listen.
0-33-05 - Eric jumps in to begin the question and answer session
0-45-28 - My question for Eric - and his excellent answer
Here is the invitation, which describes the event,
Allen,
I write today to remind you about our event in Ithaca this Friday, September 19th (please see the invitation below). My longtime friend and colleague Lieutenant Commander Michael Thomas, who recently returned from a year long deployment in Afghanistan as an Executive Officer for a US Provincial Reconstruction Team, will be joining us for an evening to discuss his experiences and share his first hand insights into the reconstruction efforts in that troubled region. This promises to be a very interesting discussion, and I would be honored it you would consider joining us for this great event. In addition to Lt. Commander Thomas' presentation, I will be giving a brief update regarding the race, and would love to take any questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Eric Massa
CDR, US Navy (ret.)
Adelaide Park Gomer
Invites you to join her for an evening with
Recently Returned Afghanistan Veteran
Lt. Commander Michael Thomas, USNR
“The Ground Truth in Afghanistan”
For a presentation, discussion, & reception to benefit
Eric Massa’s
2008 Campaign for Congress in New York’s 29th District
Friday, September 19th, 2008
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the home of
Adelaide Park Gomer
513 Wyckoff Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
Co-Host $250-$500 Sponsor $100 Individual $50
Please use the enclosed envelop, contribute online at www.actblue.com/page/massa2008, or bring attached form to the event!
Lieutenant Commander Michael A. Thomas, USNR recently returned from a year long deployment to western Afghanistan, where he served as the Executive Officer of one of twelve US Provincial Reconstruction Teams. Born in Washington, DC, he grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government, History, Economics, and Philosophy. In 1995, Lieutenant Commander Thomas graduated from the Yale Law School and entered Naval Officer Candidate School in Pensacola Florida, where he received his Commission later that year. Lieutenant Commander Thomas’s operational experience includes combat tours in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. During his service in the military, Lt. Commander Thomas received the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal. Lt. Commander Michael Thomas is married to the former Karen L. Dickey of Millinocket, Maine. They currently reside in Milford, Connect
Eric Massa, a Naval Academy graduate (class of ’81), is a 24-year retired Naval Commander. While in the Navy, Eric was involved in several global conflicts including Beirut and Desert Storm. His capstone military assignment was serving as the Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Wes Clark during the Bosnian conflict. In addition to his career as a military officer, Eric has worked for a high tech firm in the automotive environmental division, as a health care advocate while in the military, and as a professional staff member serving the House Armed Services Committee. With no primary and a seasoned staff, Massa’s campaign has the full support of the DCCC (Red to Blue), as well as the State and local Democratic Party. Thus far, Massa has out raised his opponent Republican Randy Kuhl, and the DCCC recently announced an early TV buy of $1.5 million in the Rochester media market, the largest TV buy in the country by the DCCC. In addition, the NY Times recently recognized NY-29 as one of the closest races in the nation (G.O.P in House at Risk in Northeast, 8-14-2008). The 2008 Massa for Campaign has tremendous momentum and is poised for victory in November. Eric Massa lives in Corning, New York with his wife of 20 years, Beverly, and their two teenage children, Justin and Alexandra.
Contributions or gifts to Eric Massa for Congress are not tax deductible. We may accept contributions from an individual totaling up to $2,300 per election; $4,600 per election cycle. Federal PAC’s may contribute up to $5,000 per election; $10,000 per cycle. Federal law prohibits contributions to the campaign from corporations, labor organizations and national banks; from any person contributing another person’s funds; from foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status; from federal government contractors. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Town Board Meeting 9/9/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll add some notes soon
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll add some notes soon
Village Board Meeting 9/8/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll add some notes soon
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll add some notes soon
Fire/EMS Budget Meeting 9/4/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll post some notes soon
Here's the link to the mp3 file
I'll post some notes soon
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Town Board Meeting 8/12/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
0 hours 2 mins 20 sec Sue Poelvorde on the Town''s Comprehensive Plan. It should be ready for the Board to consider approval in October or November
0-9-40 Chris Thomas says that the Village is going to hold off on the idea of going to EMS billing. And mentions the extra paid shifts on Friday and Saturday nights. And mentions his plan to draft a contract between the Village and the Fire Company.
(For more on the EMS issues, see the 8/11 Village Board meeting audio and notes below)
Chris mentions that the Village has offered $41, 113 for the old telephone company building..$30,000, for the building and the rest for asbestos abatement. He said that there has been an anonymous contribution of $30,000 and another for $1000.
0-12-40 Jim Meeker - Highway Superintendent's report
Town Clerk's report
0-15-10 Lucia Tyler reports from her attending the Environment Management Council meeting. There was a presentation about an Ash Borer which is expected to decimate our Ash trees soon. There is now a regulation which prohibits bringing firewood into State Parks in order to slow or stop this insect.
0-22-00 Discussion of wind generators, and regulations, and noise ordinances.
0-43-22 Lucia Tyler mentions my letter that I gave her just before this meeting. Here is the text,
I spoke with Abigail Smith, the director of the SPCA today. She said that the council of governments requested proposals for dog control to be sent to them by 8/15. Abigail is working on this and will have it to COG on time. She would like to provide comprehensive services to all of the townships in the county and be supported accordingly (currently Ulysses and Groton are the only hold outs) .
When we stopped contracting for dog control with the SPCA, we began to get a free ride for the other services that they provide, such as animal cruelty investigations, picking up stray cats, free spaying and neutering, and animal adoptions.
Apparently Chris Austin has been doing a good job, and saving tax payer dollars, but this is not the only issue. We want the SPCA to be there for many reasons, and it is irresponsible to withhold funds from them.
Abigail would request that before entering contracts that would take us into 2009, that towns would wait and review the proposal that will be available at the COG on 8/15, and if there are any questions, to ask for a meeting with her.
In July, the SPCA took in a stray dog that was brought in by a resident of Trumansburg. They will be billing for that impound, but it's interesting to note that Chris Austin wasn't called--the woman just brought the dog in. He stayed there for 11 days, and was adopted out. The point is that the SPCA is there, fully staffed, providing even the services they are not reimbursed for.
After Lucia Tyler synopsized my letter, Doug Austic's immediate response was that all of these services that the SPCA provides beyond dog control, are not required by the Department of Agriculture and Markets. We, funded the SPCA for many years, in spite of it not being required by Ag and Markets. We used to feel that it was the responsible thing to do. We stopped when there was a large increase in the contract cost. The cost after the increase, however, is not out of line with that paid for similar services around the state and the country. The question is do we want to shoulder our responsibility to pay for these services. If we do, it will be a very small percentage of our tax bill. Rod Ferrentino said that I should talk to the SPCA, because Abigail Smith came to a meeting a few months ago, and didn't advocate for the SPCA very aggressively. I have talked to her however, and she would like to have comprehensive contracts with all of the towns in the county, in the interests of the animal's well being and the long term financial viability of the SPCA.
The town will soon be working on their budget for next year so it would be a good time to discuss whether or not we will contract with the SPCA again.
0-50-00 discussion of escaped buffalo roaming around Ulysses! Someone suggested that a real Town Board would get together and herd the buffalo back onto the owners property. If you see 'em, contact the DEC.
1-00-00 discussion of the ethics involved in members of the board receiving gifts such as Grassroots tickets.
1-07-45 Doug says they have a $400,000 rehabilitation grant and they can't get rid of it because federal rules say you can't touch a building that has lead based paint.
1-21-00 discussion about support for the Black Diamond Trail. Jim Meeker says that he thinks the town could handle installation of culvert pipes, but the BDT folks should come up with the pipe.
Here's the link to the mp3 file
0 hours 2 mins 20 sec Sue Poelvorde on the Town''s Comprehensive Plan. It should be ready for the Board to consider approval in October or November
0-9-40 Chris Thomas says that the Village is going to hold off on the idea of going to EMS billing. And mentions the extra paid shifts on Friday and Saturday nights. And mentions his plan to draft a contract between the Village and the Fire Company.
(For more on the EMS issues, see the 8/11 Village Board meeting audio and notes below)
Chris mentions that the Village has offered $41, 113 for the old telephone company building..$30,000, for the building and the rest for asbestos abatement. He said that there has been an anonymous contribution of $30,000 and another for $1000.
0-12-40 Jim Meeker - Highway Superintendent's report
Town Clerk's report
0-15-10 Lucia Tyler reports from her attending the Environment Management Council meeting. There was a presentation about an Ash Borer which is expected to decimate our Ash trees soon. There is now a regulation which prohibits bringing firewood into State Parks in order to slow or stop this insect.
0-22-00 Discussion of wind generators, and regulations, and noise ordinances.
0-43-22 Lucia Tyler mentions my letter that I gave her just before this meeting. Here is the text,
I spoke with Abigail Smith, the director of the SPCA today. She said that the council of governments requested proposals for dog control to be sent to them by 8/15. Abigail is working on this and will have it to COG on time. She would like to provide comprehensive services to all of the townships in the county and be supported accordingly (currently Ulysses and Groton are the only hold outs) .
When we stopped contracting for dog control with the SPCA, we began to get a free ride for the other services that they provide, such as animal cruelty investigations, picking up stray cats, free spaying and neutering, and animal adoptions.
Apparently Chris Austin has been doing a good job, and saving tax payer dollars, but this is not the only issue. We want the SPCA to be there for many reasons, and it is irresponsible to withhold funds from them.
Abigail would request that before entering contracts that would take us into 2009, that towns would wait and review the proposal that will be available at the COG on 8/15, and if there are any questions, to ask for a meeting with her.
In July, the SPCA took in a stray dog that was brought in by a resident of Trumansburg. They will be billing for that impound, but it's interesting to note that Chris Austin wasn't called--the woman just brought the dog in. He stayed there for 11 days, and was adopted out. The point is that the SPCA is there, fully staffed, providing even the services they are not reimbursed for.
After Lucia Tyler synopsized my letter, Doug Austic's immediate response was that all of these services that the SPCA provides beyond dog control, are not required by the Department of Agriculture and Markets. We, funded the SPCA for many years, in spite of it not being required by Ag and Markets. We used to feel that it was the responsible thing to do. We stopped when there was a large increase in the contract cost. The cost after the increase, however, is not out of line with that paid for similar services around the state and the country. The question is do we want to shoulder our responsibility to pay for these services. If we do, it will be a very small percentage of our tax bill. Rod Ferrentino said that I should talk to the SPCA, because Abigail Smith came to a meeting a few months ago, and didn't advocate for the SPCA very aggressively. I have talked to her however, and she would like to have comprehensive contracts with all of the towns in the county, in the interests of the animal's well being and the long term financial viability of the SPCA.
The town will soon be working on their budget for next year so it would be a good time to discuss whether or not we will contract with the SPCA again.
0-50-00 discussion of escaped buffalo roaming around Ulysses! Someone suggested that a real Town Board would get together and herd the buffalo back onto the owners property. If you see 'em, contact the DEC.
1-00-00 discussion of the ethics involved in members of the board receiving gifts such as Grassroots tickets.
1-07-45 Doug says they have a $400,000 rehabilitation grant and they can't get rid of it because federal rules say you can't touch a building that has lead based paint.
1-21-00 discussion about support for the Black Diamond Trail. Jim Meeker says that he thinks the town could handle installation of culvert pipes, but the BDT folks should come up with the pipe.
Village Board Meeting 8/11/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
here's a link to the mp3 file
0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds - I arrived with the meeting in progress. First public comment period. Tom Prisloe and Tim Johnson spoke in favor of a 4 way stop sign at Congress St. and Seneca Rd. and possibly also at Washington St. and Seneca Rd. in order to promote safety and slow people down. Chris Thomas lives on that intersection, and he made a motion to install the signs. This passed unanimously.
0-12-25 - my public comment - Pulitzer prize winning author Ron Suskind's new book The Way of The World http://www.ronsuskind.com/thewayoftheworld/ came out last week, and reveals the existence of a forged letter that was written at the insistence of the White House, in the fall of 2003, after the invasion of Iraq, when they were embarrassed at their failure to find WMD. They had this forgery written in the hand of Sadam's former intelligence chief, and dated fall of 2001. This letter was supposed to be provide proof that Sadam was receiving shipments of yellow cake uranium from Niger, and that the mastermind of the 9/11 attack was trained in Iraq. This letter was reported on in the major papers, and provided cover for the administration's ongoing slaughter in Iraq. When over 4000 Americans and 1 million Iraqis die based on fabricated evidence to justify war, the fabricators are guilty of murder, and high crimes and misdemeanors. These crimes have implications all over the world, including our little village. It is irresponsible to continue to fail to pass the resolution to encourage investigation of these crimes.
0-13-25 Ron McLean wants to know what and when something will be done about the tractor trailers hauling garbage up to Seneca Meadows. Marty Petrovic says that progress is being made (at the DOT) towards regulations that might prohibit the use of 96 for this traffic.
0-17-57 reports from representatives.
Ed Hetherington first (hard to hear)
Bruce Vann DPW
Jason Fulton - Fire Department
Tammy Morse - Village Clerk
Tammy McMillen
(Tammy Morse said that the Village Office will be close the Friday before Labor Day
0-43-41 reports from commissioners,
Chris Thomas - Fire and EMS - Chris reports that lately we've been having trouble getting a full compliment of volunteers for the nigh time shift, so we are adding two paid (per Diem) shifts 6pm - midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, in hope that the volunteers will be better able to handle the remaining shifts.
Debbie Nottke - community liaison - farmer's market is growing.. It has grown from 24 to 36 vendors this year
1-9-34 correspondence
Sally Baines? re bricks Main St. Project
1-17-30 Tom Ferritti - police report
1-31-43 Chris Bond 5K run - street closures Sunday October 19th -
1-37-58 Fire and EMS budget 2008 - $319,000 2009 - there is a proposed $25,000 increase.
1-47-50 This exchange puzzles me,
John Hrubos - "So, after that public meeting where all the volunteers got up and said that they want to be volunteers, and it was revealed that we have something like 32 qualified human beings, the bottom line is we are exactly where we where before..."
Chris Thomas "No, it's actually gotten worse, in that we have two or three volunteers leaving....."
John Hrubos "So the whole notion of we shouldn't go with the paid for service because it would affect the volunteers is a mute point because we don't have any volunteers"
Chris Thomas " I've said that from the beginning"
I understand that we have a problem covering all of the overnight shifts with volunteers, but it seems to me that Chris and John should acknowledge the value of the coverage that we do have. Chris says that in the first 6 months of this year 42% of overnight calls went to Bangs. That means 58% of them were answered by the volunteers. We should work to increase that percentage, via recruitment and incentives, and thank the volunteers for their good work.
2-01-00 Chris says that we have had a verbal agreement with the Fire Company for 40 years, and that we should now go to a written contract. The Village pays for equipment and training, and the facility, and so, they would like a written contract with performance standards. Does this mean that if the volunteers don't answer a call, that the Village might sue the Fire Company? I don't know, maybe a contract is a good idea, to formalize what the Village expects in return for their investment, but it seems odd that a company that relies upon volunteers, might face retribution if they didn't live up to expectations.
2-02-20 Chris says that there have been times lately, when an EMT is there ready to go, and nobody shows up to drive the ambulance. He says that it's pretty clear where this is headed. It's not clear to me. Is he referring to going to 24/7 paid staff, or shutting down our ambulance service and letting Bangs answer all calls?
2-08-00 Jim Mason asks some good questions, and Jason answers them. Apparently there are several levels of training. EMT,ALS, etc. The state says that to answer a call you need and EMS, and a driver minimum? An EMT needs 200 hours of training?
2-12-00 Ron McLean says that this is too big a job for the Village Board and the Fire Chief, and that he and Jim Mason are willing to help. Chris says yeah but....... John says no, no, take the help. Good idea.
2-22-00 Jim Mason says that the Board is concentrating primarily on the financial aspects of the EMS service, and they probably should be, but we have to look at the bigger picture and ask what is happening that is making volunteers turn away. I hope that he and Ron and Chris and Jason etc, can form a committee and study this. I have my own theories. Chris has mentioned that it is largely the fact that many people are having to work longer and longer hours to make ends meet and are too tired to volunteer. This is certainly part of it. I think another aspect is the leadership of our country. After 9/11 Bush told us to go shopping, he didn't ask for any sacrifice. We are fighting the "global war on terror" by borrowing the money from future generations. Cheney tells us that Reagan proved that deficits don't matter. How long has it been since you heard a President say something like "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" Reagan said "the most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm hear to help". We are about to elect a new president who could be the kind of inspirational leader that can make a big difference in our attitude about civic responsibility and service. He will need to be pushed by the grassroots if this is to happen. This isn't going to be easy, but the kind of spirit that inspires people to serve the community as a volunteer is the kind of spirit that will turn this country around. Accepting that privatization is inevitable is the kind of spirit that will keep us on this course towards collapse of a social safety net.
2-22-30 Chris says that he wanted to use some of the funds from billing to offer retirement benefits, and tax credits and college tuition assistance to volunteers. Let's remember that if we had gone to billing we would have collected funds from cost shifting. This would have been funny money. I am willing to accept the concept that our ambulance service is going to cost us more in taxes largely as a result of increased training requirements. It would be wise to spend tax payer dollars on these incentives that Chris wanted to fund with funny money, because that would be cheaper than paying for 24/7 paid staff.
2-24-00 Rordan says that there are two separate issues here. The Board has fiduciary responsibility to manage budgets and departments efficiently, but deeper philosophical questions of why people do or don't volunteer is outside of their responsibilities. Is this true? Is it too much too ask of our trustees to look at the big picture and act as civic leaders?
2-25-00 Marty asks if we want the Task Force to reconvene to study all this. Jason says that he would like to be taken off of it. John says he wants a completely new task force with new eyes and ears. Rordan says that it should be citizens only (?)
2-30-00 Chris says that this is a problem all over, not just in Trumansburg and that State Senators and Congressman were looking at ways to address the problem, but that it wasn't working. These efforts have just begun, they take time. Let's not be so pessimistic.
2-41-00 Chris says that the board could have just gone ahead and gone to billing and to hell with all you naysayers. (basically) He says that he was trying (with billing) to find a way to maintain the service without losing it to a fully private company where the Village would lose control over quality of care. He said that he wished that the volunteers could see that, but, well , they didn't. I think he is unaware that the volunteers see things differently than he does, and that they think that there are other ways of maintaining the company in it's present form.
2-45-00 John says that the Village should start charging groups who use the Fire Hall, and that it's unfair to ask the volunteers to clean the floor after these events. Hold on there John. I have been to many Back to Democracy events in the Fire Hall, and I have cleaned the floor myself several times. I don't think we are leaving a mess, and most of us that come to these meetings, pay taxes in the Fire District. I consider the Fire Hall to be a part of the commons. I think would be a mistake to charge. If we use a small amount of extra electricity, or paper products or whatever, then raise my taxes 10 cents a year.
2-50-00 Chris says, again, that it is absolutely imperative to move to a written contract. It seems a little ironic, that we would look for ways to increase volunteerism and retention while at the same time say that we are going to crack down on them for not performing to our expectations.
2-51-40 Marty asks Jason if he is willing to take responsibility for this committee that may or may not involve Jim Mason and Ron McLean. Jason says "I don't want to have anything to do with it" Marty says will kind of put it back in your court. Sounds like a great team.
2-56-20 I (Allen) say to Marty - I don't know why you want to throw it into Jason's court, you should move to form the committee here and now, while you've got Ron and Jim who are willing to be a part of it. Jim says there's a problem with that because there has been a lot of information collected over many months and he doesn't want to have to start from scratch.... Jim said that he would like to start by meeting with Jason and discussing all this.
3-00-00 Bills to pay.......
3-11-00 John Hrubos said that he would like to pursue getting the health department to release the village from the moratorium on extending the water mains. Good idea.
3-12-50 public comment period #2 I ask John about the proposed 24 unit development that he mentioned earlier. He said it was possibly going to be between Pennsylvania Avenue and South Street. Steve Bauman (sp?) possible developer. He is a partner with John Rancich (sp?) who is looking into the Carrowmoor development on Rt. 79 near Ithaca. http://www.carrowmoor.com/
3-14-00 Jaime Saine (Free Press) asks if the Village is no longer going to pursue third party billing and Chris said that's right (basically)
3-16-50 John Hrubos makes a motion to adjourn into executive session to discuss a personnel issue. I asked Tammy Morse the next day what that was all about and she said she was not at liberty to discuss that at this time. That's a cliffhanger folks, stay tuned until next month.......
here's a link to the mp3 file
0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds - I arrived with the meeting in progress. First public comment period. Tom Prisloe and Tim Johnson spoke in favor of a 4 way stop sign at Congress St. and Seneca Rd. and possibly also at Washington St. and Seneca Rd. in order to promote safety and slow people down. Chris Thomas lives on that intersection, and he made a motion to install the signs. This passed unanimously.
0-12-25 - my public comment - Pulitzer prize winning author Ron Suskind's new book The Way of The World http://www.ronsuskind.com/thewayoftheworld/ came out last week, and reveals the existence of a forged letter that was written at the insistence of the White House, in the fall of 2003, after the invasion of Iraq, when they were embarrassed at their failure to find WMD. They had this forgery written in the hand of Sadam's former intelligence chief, and dated fall of 2001. This letter was supposed to be provide proof that Sadam was receiving shipments of yellow cake uranium from Niger, and that the mastermind of the 9/11 attack was trained in Iraq. This letter was reported on in the major papers, and provided cover for the administration's ongoing slaughter in Iraq. When over 4000 Americans and 1 million Iraqis die based on fabricated evidence to justify war, the fabricators are guilty of murder, and high crimes and misdemeanors. These crimes have implications all over the world, including our little village. It is irresponsible to continue to fail to pass the resolution to encourage investigation of these crimes.
0-13-25 Ron McLean wants to know what and when something will be done about the tractor trailers hauling garbage up to Seneca Meadows. Marty Petrovic says that progress is being made (at the DOT) towards regulations that might prohibit the use of 96 for this traffic.
0-17-57 reports from representatives.
Ed Hetherington first (hard to hear)
Bruce Vann DPW
Jason Fulton - Fire Department
Tammy Morse - Village Clerk
Tammy McMillen
(Tammy Morse said that the Village Office will be close the Friday before Labor Day
0-43-41 reports from commissioners,
Chris Thomas - Fire and EMS - Chris reports that lately we've been having trouble getting a full compliment of volunteers for the nigh time shift, so we are adding two paid (per Diem) shifts 6pm - midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, in hope that the volunteers will be better able to handle the remaining shifts.
Debbie Nottke - community liaison - farmer's market is growing.. It has grown from 24 to 36 vendors this year
1-9-34 correspondence
Sally Baines? re bricks Main St. Project
1-17-30 Tom Ferritti - police report
1-31-43 Chris Bond 5K run - street closures Sunday October 19th -
1-37-58 Fire and EMS budget 2008 - $319,000 2009 - there is a proposed $25,000 increase.
1-47-50 This exchange puzzles me,
John Hrubos - "So, after that public meeting where all the volunteers got up and said that they want to be volunteers, and it was revealed that we have something like 32 qualified human beings, the bottom line is we are exactly where we where before..."
Chris Thomas "No, it's actually gotten worse, in that we have two or three volunteers leaving....."
John Hrubos "So the whole notion of we shouldn't go with the paid for service because it would affect the volunteers is a mute point because we don't have any volunteers"
Chris Thomas " I've said that from the beginning"
I understand that we have a problem covering all of the overnight shifts with volunteers, but it seems to me that Chris and John should acknowledge the value of the coverage that we do have. Chris says that in the first 6 months of this year 42% of overnight calls went to Bangs. That means 58% of them were answered by the volunteers. We should work to increase that percentage, via recruitment and incentives, and thank the volunteers for their good work.
2-01-00 Chris says that we have had a verbal agreement with the Fire Company for 40 years, and that we should now go to a written contract. The Village pays for equipment and training, and the facility, and so, they would like a written contract with performance standards. Does this mean that if the volunteers don't answer a call, that the Village might sue the Fire Company? I don't know, maybe a contract is a good idea, to formalize what the Village expects in return for their investment, but it seems odd that a company that relies upon volunteers, might face retribution if they didn't live up to expectations.
2-02-20 Chris says that there have been times lately, when an EMT is there ready to go, and nobody shows up to drive the ambulance. He says that it's pretty clear where this is headed. It's not clear to me. Is he referring to going to 24/7 paid staff, or shutting down our ambulance service and letting Bangs answer all calls?
2-08-00 Jim Mason asks some good questions, and Jason answers them. Apparently there are several levels of training. EMT,ALS, etc. The state says that to answer a call you need and EMS, and a driver minimum? An EMT needs 200 hours of training?
2-12-00 Ron McLean says that this is too big a job for the Village Board and the Fire Chief, and that he and Jim Mason are willing to help. Chris says yeah but....... John says no, no, take the help. Good idea.
2-22-00 Jim Mason says that the Board is concentrating primarily on the financial aspects of the EMS service, and they probably should be, but we have to look at the bigger picture and ask what is happening that is making volunteers turn away. I hope that he and Ron and Chris and Jason etc, can form a committee and study this. I have my own theories. Chris has mentioned that it is largely the fact that many people are having to work longer and longer hours to make ends meet and are too tired to volunteer. This is certainly part of it. I think another aspect is the leadership of our country. After 9/11 Bush told us to go shopping, he didn't ask for any sacrifice. We are fighting the "global war on terror" by borrowing the money from future generations. Cheney tells us that Reagan proved that deficits don't matter. How long has it been since you heard a President say something like "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" Reagan said "the most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm hear to help". We are about to elect a new president who could be the kind of inspirational leader that can make a big difference in our attitude about civic responsibility and service. He will need to be pushed by the grassroots if this is to happen. This isn't going to be easy, but the kind of spirit that inspires people to serve the community as a volunteer is the kind of spirit that will turn this country around. Accepting that privatization is inevitable is the kind of spirit that will keep us on this course towards collapse of a social safety net.
2-22-30 Chris says that he wanted to use some of the funds from billing to offer retirement benefits, and tax credits and college tuition assistance to volunteers. Let's remember that if we had gone to billing we would have collected funds from cost shifting. This would have been funny money. I am willing to accept the concept that our ambulance service is going to cost us more in taxes largely as a result of increased training requirements. It would be wise to spend tax payer dollars on these incentives that Chris wanted to fund with funny money, because that would be cheaper than paying for 24/7 paid staff.
2-24-00 Rordan says that there are two separate issues here. The Board has fiduciary responsibility to manage budgets and departments efficiently, but deeper philosophical questions of why people do or don't volunteer is outside of their responsibilities. Is this true? Is it too much too ask of our trustees to look at the big picture and act as civic leaders?
2-25-00 Marty asks if we want the Task Force to reconvene to study all this. Jason says that he would like to be taken off of it. John says he wants a completely new task force with new eyes and ears. Rordan says that it should be citizens only (?)
2-30-00 Chris says that this is a problem all over, not just in Trumansburg and that State Senators and Congressman were looking at ways to address the problem, but that it wasn't working. These efforts have just begun, they take time. Let's not be so pessimistic.
2-41-00 Chris says that the board could have just gone ahead and gone to billing and to hell with all you naysayers. (basically) He says that he was trying (with billing) to find a way to maintain the service without losing it to a fully private company where the Village would lose control over quality of care. He said that he wished that the volunteers could see that, but, well , they didn't. I think he is unaware that the volunteers see things differently than he does, and that they think that there are other ways of maintaining the company in it's present form.
2-45-00 John says that the Village should start charging groups who use the Fire Hall, and that it's unfair to ask the volunteers to clean the floor after these events. Hold on there John. I have been to many Back to Democracy events in the Fire Hall, and I have cleaned the floor myself several times. I don't think we are leaving a mess, and most of us that come to these meetings, pay taxes in the Fire District. I consider the Fire Hall to be a part of the commons. I think would be a mistake to charge. If we use a small amount of extra electricity, or paper products or whatever, then raise my taxes 10 cents a year.
2-50-00 Chris says, again, that it is absolutely imperative to move to a written contract. It seems a little ironic, that we would look for ways to increase volunteerism and retention while at the same time say that we are going to crack down on them for not performing to our expectations.
2-51-40 Marty asks Jason if he is willing to take responsibility for this committee that may or may not involve Jim Mason and Ron McLean. Jason says "I don't want to have anything to do with it" Marty says will kind of put it back in your court. Sounds like a great team.
2-56-20 I (Allen) say to Marty - I don't know why you want to throw it into Jason's court, you should move to form the committee here and now, while you've got Ron and Jim who are willing to be a part of it. Jim says there's a problem with that because there has been a lot of information collected over many months and he doesn't want to have to start from scratch.... Jim said that he would like to start by meeting with Jason and discussing all this.
3-00-00 Bills to pay.......
3-11-00 John Hrubos said that he would like to pursue getting the health department to release the village from the moratorium on extending the water mains. Good idea.
3-12-50 public comment period #2 I ask John about the proposed 24 unit development that he mentioned earlier. He said it was possibly going to be between Pennsylvania Avenue and South Street. Steve Bauman (sp?) possible developer. He is a partner with John Rancich (sp?) who is looking into the Carrowmoor development on Rt. 79 near Ithaca. http://www.carrowmoor.com/
3-14-00 Jaime Saine (Free Press) asks if the Village is no longer going to pursue third party billing and Chris said that's right (basically)
3-16-50 John Hrubos makes a motion to adjourn into executive session to discuss a personnel issue. I asked Tammy Morse the next day what that was all about and she said she was not at liberty to discuss that at this time. That's a cliffhanger folks, stay tuned until next month.......
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Village Board Meeting 7/14/08
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's a LINK TO THE AUDIO MP3 FILE
0 hours - 0 minutes - 0 seconds All board members present except John Hrubos. The meeting started with an executive session, which means they kick the audience out for, in this case, about 15 minutes. It was a very nice night though, and Chief Ferritti entertained Liz Thomas and I with the story of his having to shoot the rabid fox that would not let go of the 9 year old girl on Prospect Street! Yikes!
0-03-0 first public comment period. I, Allen Carstensen, attempt to get the board members to proclaim where they stand on the ambulance privatization issue.
This is from our Ulysses Democratic Party Platform,
Our local governments should be committed to taking all actions necessary to maintain and enhance the quality of life for residents of the town, while managing programs in an efficient and fiscally responsible manner.
I would argue that risking the lives of the residents for the questionable tax break of $25/resident is contrary to the intent of the platform.
then there's this
Transparency of our governmental process is essential to maintain a democratic society, as are informed voters. Elected officials must encourage open discussion and information sharing regarding all public matters, both among themselves and with the citizenry.
I would argue that keeping their positions on the ambulance issue secret until the 11th hour does not encourage open discussion, and is contrary to the intent of the platform. An advantage of politics at the level of a small village or town, is that citizens can participate directly by talking to their representatives. Unfortunately, after many months of considering this plan, very few have declared their intentions, and therefore, citizen participation is discouraged.
After my appeal, Mayor Petrovic said he's still analyzing. Debbie Nottke said that she continues to get lots of phone calls, and is also still weighing both sides. We all know where Chris Thomas stands. Rordan Hart remained mum. Hrubos wasn't there. Not much progress.
0-06-30 Ron McLean - Whig St. Asks where this privatization scheme stands, what the schedule for a decision is, and when will the community get a chance to participate in the form of a committee as suggested during the public hearing. Chris Thomas ignores the idea of a citizen panel, and says that there will be a "full board discussion" of the issue during the August meeting. I ask "You have mentioned in the past, the possibility of voting on it in August. Are you now thinking that this is too early?" Chris dodges the question.
0-08-30 Jim Mason Larchmont Drive - former member of the Fire Department and an EMT. ''I'm still concerned, why we are not making the best use of the volunteers that we have. We have more certified EMT's and Paramedics in the Fire Company today, than there has been in the history of the company. Why are they not willing to respond?" (he is referring to the high percentage of calls that are deferred to Bangs during the overnight shift.) "Why are we paying for training for people to get their paramedic certification, and then go to work for Bangs Ambulance Service, not the Village of Trumansburg? This is not fair, it's not fair to our taxpayers, and they should be bound by contract to work in Trumansburg, if we are going to pay for the training" "Your point #8 in FAQ - Village website- states there aren't enough trained volunteers, I don't think that's true, I think we are just not using them right. There's got to be a reason why people are not willing to respond. Is it burn out? Are we wearing them down with what we used to call nuisance calls? The kind of calls where if it were our kids we would have taken them in the car, but today we call the ambulance? So we don't stop to think, the public doesn't stop to think, that when we call the ambulance, we are disrupting a lot of people's lives, and maybe there's some public education that needs to be brought forth so people can stop and think, do I really need this, is it a true emergency, or can I deal with it and take responsibility for it myself? Those are things I think we need to discuss. I'd be willing to meet with the board and talk through these things if my background and my experience could be of any use to you. I spent 16 years as a county legislator, and I chaired it for 4 years, and I chaired the public safety commission for 11 years, and I worked with the fire, and ems personnel all over the county, very closely on a day to day basis"
Mayor Petrovic says "That's a very good offer to help" I agree, and if I were on the board I would propose a resolution to form a committee with Mr. Mason as it's chair that would be composed of several board members, and volunteers, and citizens, and the meetings would be open to the public. The structure of the public hearing, and these Village Board meetings, is not conducive to a back and forth discussion, that is needed to resolve our differences.
Mr. Mason's point about the nuisance calls, is a good point, but I get the impression, from talking to several of the volunteers, that there are a very small number of people, that are abusing the system. They may not be playing with a full deck. They may be hard to reach with a public information campaign. I don't think they are parents that are calling the ambulance when a kid falls off his bike. It's more like they are uneducated, uninformed medicaid patients with chronic medical problems such as diabetes. I think there are several ways of dealing with this problem, and I think Mr. Mason is correct that it needs to be dealt with for the moral of the volunteers. Who would want to be called out in the middle of the night for the same handful of people that are abusing the system? This is not what the volunteers signed up for.
0-12-00 Liz Thomas speaks in favor of forming a committee with representatives from the Town and Village Boards, and EMS people, and residents from both sides of the issue, to study the proposed billing plan further.
Liz mentioned that the August TB meeting will consider a contract with the SPCA. We currently are (I think) the only town in the county to refuse to contract with the SPCA for dog control, in spite of the fact that we benefit from their animal cruelty services and their adoption services etc.
For more information from Liz, here's a link to her latest "Informing Ulysses"
The Comprehensive Plan is nearing completion. Links to the draft can be found here. Now is the time for input. Soon it will be too late.
0-28-10 Ed Hetherington -building inspector - hard to hear
0-31-06 Tom Ferretti's Police report
0-36-16 Jason Fulton's Fire Dept report
0-43-0 Tammy Morse - clerk's report
0-47-28 Tammy McMillan - treasurer's report
0-50-30 Mayor Petrovic's report
0-56-30 Fire and EMS - Chris Thomas
1-10-43 Community liaison - Debbie Nottke
1-15-50 correspondence - Auble water and sewer bill / Save A Lot for rent or sale
Mayor Petrovic mentions the possibility of incentivizing business to use the Save A Lot building. I think we should incentivize Byrne Dairy to buy or rent it.
1-33-50 Discussion of purchase of the Telephone Company Building. I'm writing this a couple weeks after the meeting. The latest news in the Free Press is that the board has voted to go ahead with the purchase.
1-44-39 extending zoning moratorium on the Auble property
1-55-24 zoning revision committee - Sarah Adams is interested in serving - two residents are needed. Marty and Chris from the board will serve. Tim Hamiltion and Bob Brown from the ZBA will serve. They will interview for the two resident spots.
2-04-50 Paying bills
2-10-40 Second public comment period. From yours truly. I got out my calculator and figured out that it would take 333 years for the potential savings from going to ambulance billing, to equal what I personally am going to have to pay for the Iraq War. I find it ironic that we are trying so hard to save so little, when the elephant in the room is the criminality of the Bush administration.
2-16-40 Geoffrey Hart's comment. He objects to my continuing effort to get the Board to pass a resolution to encourage our representatives to investigate impeachment of Bush and Cheney. He claims that I have contradicted myself and therefore shouldn't be taken seriously. He quotes my blog (trumansburgimpeachment.blogspot.com) of July 07 "The impeachment of a president tends to be a partisan issue, but it shouldn't be"
then a month later "Pelosi said that the American people turned against Congressional Republicans in the 90's for impeaching Clinton, so she worries that they would judge her Democratic Party harshly if she were to allow impeachment to proceed now. She underestimates us. We realized that the impeachment of Clinton was purely political. The Republicans saw the opportunity to capitalize on a sex scandal to promote their political agenda. The impeachment of Bush and Cheney is necessary to protect against serious abuse of power and the subversion of constitutional government. "
then at a Village Board meeting in November - " One last item for Trustees Thomas and Hrubos. You are Democrats. Here's an important memo if you want your party to succeed. Nine attempts have been made to impeach a president in US history. None of these attempts actually resulted in removal of a president from office. They were very important none the less. In all nine instances the party that attempted to impeach, either held or increased it's majority in Congress, and every time that an opposition party attempted to impeach, they took the presidency at the next election. If you don't believe that impeachment can possibly succeed in the time we have left, that is not a reason to ignore your oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. Stand up for justice. The rewards are great for you and your party and the country."
Mr. Hart says I'm clearly invoking party loyalty in the most recent of these three quotes and finds this a huge contradiction, and says that I have forfeited my right to be taken seriously.
I try to defend myself and Chris Thomas interrupts and suggests we take it outside. Which we do. I find no contradiction in the three quotes that Mr. Hart took the time to find. In the last one, I am appealing to Thomas and Hrubos to stand up for justice, and the Constitution, and the Democratic Party, all at the same time. In an ideal world, there is no conflict in doing all at the same time, because the goals of the Democratic Party align nicely with justice and the Constitution. The same can not be said of the Republican Party, whose goals align nicely with Corporate control, increasing the wealth of the rich, and expanding the American empire. The Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for partisan reasons. They felt that they could accomplish their goals faster with complete fascists like Bush and Cheney, and they were right. The Democrats should impeach Bush and Cheney on behalf of we the people. To be perfectly honest, the Democratic Party often disgusts me. I am not a partisan. I am a Democrat, because they are by far, the lesser of two evils, and the way the game is rigged, they are our only realistic hope until we can get campaign finance reform and fair elections.
2-20-50 Meeting is adjourned, and Mr. Hart and I continue our discussion, first inside, and then outside in the parking lot. I wrote to Mr. Hart, and he said that he does not object to my posting this.
At one point Mr. Hart says, in defense of Bush's warrantless surveillance program, that FDR did the same thing during WW2. I was skeptical. I wrote this later and sent it to him -
I've tried to find info on FDR infringing on our Fourth Amendment rights during WW2, and I've not found much. There may have been an increase in government surveillance of citizens, but it wasn't codified. Bush, with his "Fisa Amendments Act" and the "Patriot Act" and the "Military Commissions Act", has actually passed legislation which takes habeas corpus and posse comitatus away, and legalizes warrant-less surveillance.
FDR never suspended habeas corpus, even when under attack by very powerful armies, that would make our current adversaries look like amateurs. James Madison never suspended habeas corpus even when the British Navy (the most powerful military force in the world at the time) sailed across the Atlantic, came ashore, marched to Washington, and burned down the White House. Benjamin Franklin said "They who would give up essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
If you could document illegal FDR spying, I'd like to see that, but even more interesting would be if you could show that it helped us win the war. I'll bet that what helped us win the war, much more than any domestic spying, would be the decency that was characteristic of FDR's administration, and completely lacking in the Bush Administration. Bush condones torture. Many German soldiers surrendered to US troops in WW2, because we had a reputation for good treatment of prisoners. America had a reputation as a beacon of liberty then, and now the world fears and distrusts and hates us for torturing prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and Bagram. (Not to mention incinerating thousands of their loved ones)
We know what happens when a population is manipulated by fear tactics to "give up essential liberty for temporary security". This is exactly what happened to the good Germans in the 30's.
At one point Mr. Hart says that the NY Times recently wrote that no amount of recounting would have changed the results in Florida in 2000. I said please send that to me, because I have heard just the opposite. http://www.bushwatch.com/gorebush.htm
Then Mr. Hart gets all religious on me. I'm out of my element here, but I think I'm seeing more fundamental contradictions than Mr. Hart was accusing me of during the meeting. He claims that the Muslims are trying to take over the world, I say chill out, he says the Koran is terribly violent, I say so is the Bible, he admits the Old Testament is a bit harsh, but when Jesus came along he said we (father, son, holy ghost) are introducing a new covenant, a covenant of love, a covenant which has no prescriptions for punishment, except excommunication. He says if you're a Christian you follow the laws of Christ. Love your neighbor, be good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you.... OK. This sounds good. But Mr. Hart is an advocate for continuing the horrific killing of Muslims in the Middle East. He excuses this contradiction by saying the Muslims are trying to kill us, and we are acting in self defense. This seems absurd if you look at the score card. Islam 3000 on 9/11, and 5000 US soldiers since then, VS America - 1 million dead Muslims and 4 million refugees! Our imperialistic wars are bankrupting us, while we increase the incidents of terrorism worldwide. Christ had a much better idea. He would advocate for more humanitarian aid, and development aid, and honoring our commitment to the United Nations Millennium Goals. This would be far more effective in reducing terrorism, and far less expensive at the same time. It's just common sense.
Here's a LINK TO THE AUDIO MP3 FILE
0 hours - 0 minutes - 0 seconds All board members present except John Hrubos. The meeting started with an executive session, which means they kick the audience out for, in this case, about 15 minutes. It was a very nice night though, and Chief Ferritti entertained Liz Thomas and I with the story of his having to shoot the rabid fox that would not let go of the 9 year old girl on Prospect Street! Yikes!
0-03-0 first public comment period. I, Allen Carstensen, attempt to get the board members to proclaim where they stand on the ambulance privatization issue.
This is from our Ulysses Democratic Party Platform,
Our local governments should be committed to taking all actions necessary to maintain and enhance the quality of life for residents of the town, while managing programs in an efficient and fiscally responsible manner.
I would argue that risking the lives of the residents for the questionable tax break of $25/resident is contrary to the intent of the platform.
then there's this
Transparency of our governmental process is essential to maintain a democratic society, as are informed voters. Elected officials must encourage open discussion and information sharing regarding all public matters, both among themselves and with the citizenry.
I would argue that keeping their positions on the ambulance issue secret until the 11th hour does not encourage open discussion, and is contrary to the intent of the platform. An advantage of politics at the level of a small village or town, is that citizens can participate directly by talking to their representatives. Unfortunately, after many months of considering this plan, very few have declared their intentions, and therefore, citizen participation is discouraged.
After my appeal, Mayor Petrovic said he's still analyzing. Debbie Nottke said that she continues to get lots of phone calls, and is also still weighing both sides. We all know where Chris Thomas stands. Rordan Hart remained mum. Hrubos wasn't there. Not much progress.
0-06-30 Ron McLean - Whig St. Asks where this privatization scheme stands, what the schedule for a decision is, and when will the community get a chance to participate in the form of a committee as suggested during the public hearing. Chris Thomas ignores the idea of a citizen panel, and says that there will be a "full board discussion" of the issue during the August meeting. I ask "You have mentioned in the past, the possibility of voting on it in August. Are you now thinking that this is too early?" Chris dodges the question.
0-08-30 Jim Mason Larchmont Drive - former member of the Fire Department and an EMT. ''I'm still concerned, why we are not making the best use of the volunteers that we have. We have more certified EMT's and Paramedics in the Fire Company today, than there has been in the history of the company. Why are they not willing to respond?" (he is referring to the high percentage of calls that are deferred to Bangs during the overnight shift.) "Why are we paying for training for people to get their paramedic certification, and then go to work for Bangs Ambulance Service, not the Village of Trumansburg? This is not fair, it's not fair to our taxpayers, and they should be bound by contract to work in Trumansburg, if we are going to pay for the training" "Your point #8 in FAQ - Village website- states there aren't enough trained volunteers, I don't think that's true, I think we are just not using them right. There's got to be a reason why people are not willing to respond. Is it burn out? Are we wearing them down with what we used to call nuisance calls? The kind of calls where if it were our kids we would have taken them in the car, but today we call the ambulance? So we don't stop to think, the public doesn't stop to think, that when we call the ambulance, we are disrupting a lot of people's lives, and maybe there's some public education that needs to be brought forth so people can stop and think, do I really need this, is it a true emergency, or can I deal with it and take responsibility for it myself? Those are things I think we need to discuss. I'd be willing to meet with the board and talk through these things if my background and my experience could be of any use to you. I spent 16 years as a county legislator, and I chaired it for 4 years, and I chaired the public safety commission for 11 years, and I worked with the fire, and ems personnel all over the county, very closely on a day to day basis"
Mayor Petrovic says "That's a very good offer to help" I agree, and if I were on the board I would propose a resolution to form a committee with Mr. Mason as it's chair that would be composed of several board members, and volunteers, and citizens, and the meetings would be open to the public. The structure of the public hearing, and these Village Board meetings, is not conducive to a back and forth discussion, that is needed to resolve our differences.
Mr. Mason's point about the nuisance calls, is a good point, but I get the impression, from talking to several of the volunteers, that there are a very small number of people, that are abusing the system. They may not be playing with a full deck. They may be hard to reach with a public information campaign. I don't think they are parents that are calling the ambulance when a kid falls off his bike. It's more like they are uneducated, uninformed medicaid patients with chronic medical problems such as diabetes. I think there are several ways of dealing with this problem, and I think Mr. Mason is correct that it needs to be dealt with for the moral of the volunteers. Who would want to be called out in the middle of the night for the same handful of people that are abusing the system? This is not what the volunteers signed up for.
0-12-00 Liz Thomas speaks in favor of forming a committee with representatives from the Town and Village Boards, and EMS people, and residents from both sides of the issue, to study the proposed billing plan further.
Liz mentioned that the August TB meeting will consider a contract with the SPCA. We currently are (I think) the only town in the county to refuse to contract with the SPCA for dog control, in spite of the fact that we benefit from their animal cruelty services and their adoption services etc.
For more information from Liz, here's a link to her latest "Informing Ulysses"
The Comprehensive Plan is nearing completion. Links to the draft can be found here. Now is the time for input. Soon it will be too late.
0-28-10 Ed Hetherington -building inspector - hard to hear
0-31-06 Tom Ferretti's Police report
0-36-16 Jason Fulton's Fire Dept report
0-43-0 Tammy Morse - clerk's report
0-47-28 Tammy McMillan - treasurer's report
0-50-30 Mayor Petrovic's report
0-56-30 Fire and EMS - Chris Thomas
1-10-43 Community liaison - Debbie Nottke
1-15-50 correspondence - Auble water and sewer bill / Save A Lot for rent or sale
Mayor Petrovic mentions the possibility of incentivizing business to use the Save A Lot building. I think we should incentivize Byrne Dairy to buy or rent it.
1-33-50 Discussion of purchase of the Telephone Company Building. I'm writing this a couple weeks after the meeting. The latest news in the Free Press is that the board has voted to go ahead with the purchase.
1-44-39 extending zoning moratorium on the Auble property
1-55-24 zoning revision committee - Sarah Adams is interested in serving - two residents are needed. Marty and Chris from the board will serve. Tim Hamiltion and Bob Brown from the ZBA will serve. They will interview for the two resident spots.
2-04-50 Paying bills
2-10-40 Second public comment period. From yours truly. I got out my calculator and figured out that it would take 333 years for the potential savings from going to ambulance billing, to equal what I personally am going to have to pay for the Iraq War. I find it ironic that we are trying so hard to save so little, when the elephant in the room is the criminality of the Bush administration.
2-16-40 Geoffrey Hart's comment. He objects to my continuing effort to get the Board to pass a resolution to encourage our representatives to investigate impeachment of Bush and Cheney. He claims that I have contradicted myself and therefore shouldn't be taken seriously. He quotes my blog (trumansburgimpeachment.blogspot.com) of July 07 "The impeachment of a president tends to be a partisan issue, but it shouldn't be"
then a month later "Pelosi said that the American people turned against Congressional Republicans in the 90's for impeaching Clinton, so she worries that they would judge her Democratic Party harshly if she were to allow impeachment to proceed now. She underestimates us. We realized that the impeachment of Clinton was purely political. The Republicans saw the opportunity to capitalize on a sex scandal to promote their political agenda. The impeachment of Bush and Cheney is necessary to protect against serious abuse of power and the subversion of constitutional government. "
then at a Village Board meeting in November - " One last item for Trustees Thomas and Hrubos. You are Democrats. Here's an important memo if you want your party to succeed. Nine attempts have been made to impeach a president in US history. None of these attempts actually resulted in removal of a president from office. They were very important none the less. In all nine instances the party that attempted to impeach, either held or increased it's majority in Congress, and every time that an opposition party attempted to impeach, they took the presidency at the next election. If you don't believe that impeachment can possibly succeed in the time we have left, that is not a reason to ignore your oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. Stand up for justice. The rewards are great for you and your party and the country."
Mr. Hart says I'm clearly invoking party loyalty in the most recent of these three quotes and finds this a huge contradiction, and says that I have forfeited my right to be taken seriously.
I try to defend myself and Chris Thomas interrupts and suggests we take it outside. Which we do. I find no contradiction in the three quotes that Mr. Hart took the time to find. In the last one, I am appealing to Thomas and Hrubos to stand up for justice, and the Constitution, and the Democratic Party, all at the same time. In an ideal world, there is no conflict in doing all at the same time, because the goals of the Democratic Party align nicely with justice and the Constitution. The same can not be said of the Republican Party, whose goals align nicely with Corporate control, increasing the wealth of the rich, and expanding the American empire. The Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for partisan reasons. They felt that they could accomplish their goals faster with complete fascists like Bush and Cheney, and they were right. The Democrats should impeach Bush and Cheney on behalf of we the people. To be perfectly honest, the Democratic Party often disgusts me. I am not a partisan. I am a Democrat, because they are by far, the lesser of two evils, and the way the game is rigged, they are our only realistic hope until we can get campaign finance reform and fair elections.
2-20-50 Meeting is adjourned, and Mr. Hart and I continue our discussion, first inside, and then outside in the parking lot. I wrote to Mr. Hart, and he said that he does not object to my posting this.
At one point Mr. Hart says, in defense of Bush's warrantless surveillance program, that FDR did the same thing during WW2. I was skeptical. I wrote this later and sent it to him -
I've tried to find info on FDR infringing on our Fourth Amendment rights during WW2, and I've not found much. There may have been an increase in government surveillance of citizens, but it wasn't codified. Bush, with his "Fisa Amendments Act" and the "Patriot Act" and the "Military Commissions Act", has actually passed legislation which takes habeas corpus and posse comitatus away, and legalizes warrant-less surveillance.
FDR never suspended habeas corpus, even when under attack by very powerful armies, that would make our current adversaries look like amateurs. James Madison never suspended habeas corpus even when the British Navy (the most powerful military force in the world at the time) sailed across the Atlantic, came ashore, marched to Washington, and burned down the White House. Benjamin Franklin said "They who would give up essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
If you could document illegal FDR spying, I'd like to see that, but even more interesting would be if you could show that it helped us win the war. I'll bet that what helped us win the war, much more than any domestic spying, would be the decency that was characteristic of FDR's administration, and completely lacking in the Bush Administration. Bush condones torture. Many German soldiers surrendered to US troops in WW2, because we had a reputation for good treatment of prisoners. America had a reputation as a beacon of liberty then, and now the world fears and distrusts and hates us for torturing prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and Bagram. (Not to mention incinerating thousands of their loved ones)
We know what happens when a population is manipulated by fear tactics to "give up essential liberty for temporary security". This is exactly what happened to the good Germans in the 30's.
At one point Mr. Hart says that the NY Times recently wrote that no amount of recounting would have changed the results in Florida in 2000. I said please send that to me, because I have heard just the opposite. http://www.bushwatch.com/gorebush.htm
Then Mr. Hart gets all religious on me. I'm out of my element here, but I think I'm seeing more fundamental contradictions than Mr. Hart was accusing me of during the meeting. He claims that the Muslims are trying to take over the world, I say chill out, he says the Koran is terribly violent, I say so is the Bible, he admits the Old Testament is a bit harsh, but when Jesus came along he said we (father, son, holy ghost) are introducing a new covenant, a covenant of love, a covenant which has no prescriptions for punishment, except excommunication. He says if you're a Christian you follow the laws of Christ. Love your neighbor, be good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you.... OK. This sounds good. But Mr. Hart is an advocate for continuing the horrific killing of Muslims in the Middle East. He excuses this contradiction by saying the Muslims are trying to kill us, and we are acting in self defense. This seems absurd if you look at the score card. Islam 3000 on 9/11, and 5000 US soldiers since then, VS America - 1 million dead Muslims and 4 million refugees! Our imperialistic wars are bankrupting us, while we increase the incidents of terrorism worldwide. Christ had a much better idea. He would advocate for more humanitarian aid, and development aid, and honoring our commitment to the United Nations Millennium Goals. This would be far more effective in reducing terrorism, and far less expensive at the same time. It's just common sense.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Town Board Meeting 7/8/08
I'll try to get the list of people present later.
There was a long discussion about parking and camping around the Grassroots Festival, an exciting statement by Sue Polvorde, and important discussion on the Ambulance/EMS privatization issue. Please go to my other blog trumansburgambulance.blogspot.com for more on this.
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the audio link
There was a long discussion about parking and camping around the Grassroots Festival, an exciting statement by Sue Polvorde, and important discussion on the Ambulance/EMS privatization issue. Please go to my other blog trumansburgambulance.blogspot.com for more on this.
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's the audio link
0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds (o-0-o) - discussion about fee increase for dog licenses
0-16-0 - local law #2 traffic law - long discussion of parking and camping on Rabbit Run Road.
0-43-12 - planning board report
0-44-15 - Sue Polvorde Comprehensive Plan Report, and she reads a statement about inappropriate behavior of Supervisor Austic at the last meeting
0-49-33 - Geoffrey Hart wonders why Doug Austic tolerates criticism! (reminds me of a famous quote from George Bush "this would be a lot easier if it was a dictatorship, just as long as I'm the dictator" and it makes me wonder why the Village Board rules for public comment periods say that people should not direct criticism toward particular board members. Isn't that a violation of our 1st amendment rights?) Fortunately, Austic says it doesn't bother him.
0-49-53 - Highway Superintendents report.
0-50-50 - Town Clerk report
0-51-57 - Operating statement, Dick Coogan's report
0-53-10 - Water Advisory Board appointments
1-05-02 - Back to local law 2 about Rabbit Run. Liz Thomas argues in favor of the Board having a say in what roads are marked in what way, in-order to avoid a scenario where our community will be perceived as unwelcoming to the Grassroots Festival.
1-18-40 - They pass a resolution to post Rabbit Run
1-20-08 - Ambulance issue. Liz Thomas introduces the resolution below for discussion (not for voting because it would need to be made available earlier)
Town of Ulysses Resolution Regarding Funding of the Village of Trumansburg Ambulance/EMS Service.
Whereas, the Town of Ulysses has been notified of the recommendation of the Village of Trumansburg's EMS Task Force, to begin a policy of billing all recipients of ambulatory care provided by the Village of Trumansburg's ambulance/EMS service in order to recover funds from insured residents and,
Whereas, the Town of Ulysses provides a large share of the funds for the operation of the Village of Trumansburg's ambulance/EMS service and,
Whereas, the Village of Trumansburg has requested a letter or resolution expressing support or opposition to this plan and,
Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of some of our constituents and,
Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan would move us in a direction opposite to the wishes of many of our constituents and,
Whereas, it is unclear where the recovered insurance funds will be dedicated, whether to a retirement fund for Fire Department volunteers or to a tax break for residents, and if so, the amount.
Whereas, a switch to billing for ambulance/EMS services may cause health insurance companies to raise premiums paid by our constituents and,
Whereas, many volunteers on the EMS/ambulance service are not in support of billing for ambulance services and have stated this change would negatively impact their willingness to serve and,
Whereas, billing for ambulance services could negatively impact the level of donations to the ambulance service.
Therefore, be it hereby resolved that this board stands in opposition to the current plan to hire a third party billing company to bill all recipients of ambulatory care provided by the Trumansburg ambulance/EMS service unless those who have no insurance are guaranteed EMS/ambulance service at no charge and,
Further, be it resolved that this board feels that the funds that the Town of Ulysses provides to the Village of Trumansburg for the ambulance/EMS service are well spent, and we wish to continue to guarantee service to all residents in need of emergency free of charge other than the payments made through taxes.
Finally, be it resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Village of Trumansburg.
1-28-29 - Doug Austic " I think there are a couple of things in your resolution that probably are not true"
Rod Ferentino "Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of some of our constituents - That's not true - at all - ok - you can't say that - I don't agree with that at all. "
This is key. If Rod truly doesn't believe that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of his constituents, then he isn't listening to the nine volunteers that spoke up at the public hearing. He later admits that in his first hand experience (He is a volunteer himself) more than half of potential recipients of care, are leery of accepting care now, because of a fear of big bills. The average citizen is unaware of the billing policies for our ambulance. They don't realize that they pay for it with their taxes, and that there is no charge for the care. The volunteers that spoke at the hearing said that if we go to billing, they will no longer be able to say, as they do now, that there will be no charge. "please don't tie our hands like that" one of them said. If we tie their hands - a life could be lost. Further, if we go to billing, it will be reported in the papers, and someone will realize one day soon, that if they call 911 when they are having chest pains, that they will get a bill, and they won't make the call. If they then die, the Village will never even know, that they are responsible for the death. This is obvious, and obviously the most important issue here. I don't know why we bother arguing about all of the small stuff surrounding this issue. If we accept this reality, the argument should be over.
1-34-00 - Chris Thomas again states that when Bangs comes up here, that the recipient has to pay Bangs on top of having to pay their private insurance premiums. Uh, if they've got insurance then the insurance company should pay Bangs, right?
1-35-22 - Rod Ferrinto objects to "Whereas, a switch to billing for ambulance/EMS services may cause health insurance companies to raise premiums paid by our constituents" Rod says there is no evidence of this. Chris Thomas also likes to make this argument. At the public hearing Chris said,
"And the argument that the money collected from these insurance companies will immediately and entirely be billed back to our community in the form of premiums, is a red herring not backed up by the least bit of information or research, but instead by loosely connected circumstances."
Well, Chris, nobody said "immediately and entirely", but yes, they will largely, and eventually be billed back to us. Here's some research for you; William McGuire is the CEO of United Health, one of the largest HMO's in the country. He makes 8 million/year plus bonuses, and has amassed 1.6 billion in stock options, one of the largest stock option fortunes in history. Bill gets around in a private jet. Let's look at some business basics. Bill has to balance income, expenses, and profit. If expenses go up (more people billing him) he has a tough choice to make. He can either raise income (premiums), or cut profit. Based on a quick look at his net worth, I think I know which one he has been choosing. Chris can obfuscate with talk about this account and that account and actuarial tables, but I'm not buying it. If we start billing, premiums will go up. There is no free lunch.
1-36-30 - Rod objects to "Whereas, many volunteers on the EMS/ambulance service are not in support of billing for ambulance services and have stated this change would negatively impact their willingness to serve" Rod objects, in spite of the fact that many of the volunteers at the public hearing stated exactly that. Norm Hummel said, at the public hearing that he would quit. Rod said "Norm's not going to quit" I'm not sure Rod is the best listener. He thinks that volunteerism might actually go up under this plan. I've talked to many of the volunteers, and Rod is the only one to hold this opinion.
1-43-12 - Doug Austic "what I'm saying is, the insurance companies are not going to reduce their premiums to the people in the town of Ulysses because they don't have to pay for the ambulance." It would take a great deal of research to know exactly how much every insurance company is charging and exactly how they each arrive at how they charge for what they charge. I'm afraid I don't have the time for that research, but it seems obvious to me that the insurance companies have large quantities of data on all of the residents of our fire district, including frequency of payments to ambulance companies. This data is easily sorted by zip code, so it would seem obvious that our premiums should be based upon these payments plus the profit margins for the various companies. If my assumptions are correct, then how could increased ambulance payments by these companies not result in increased premiums? They sure as hell won't take it out of their profits.
1-43-50 - Rod Ferentino's paradigm shift theory. Maybe he's got a point here about a national trend of decreasing volunteerism. He says that it's largely to do with increased training time required of the volunteers. Perhaps we should consider paying the volunteers for their time and expenses to get this training. I think this trend away from volunteerism also has to do with a selfishness that has been growing in the national consciousness for many years. How long has it been since you've heard a president say "Ask not, what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" ? Instead we now have a president that, after 9/11, tells us to go shopping, and thinks we can fight oil wars and put the tab on future generations. This could be changing soon. There is hope. Rod says that volunteerism will continue to fall and that we will soon have to go to a paid staff 24/7 and that this will cost us a lot. Leadership like this is not helping.
1-47-25 - Rod says that the Town of Covert is supportive of billing and the Town of Hector is opposed.
1-48-00 - Chris Thomas says that he will not support billing if the Town of Ulysses doesn't support it. Then he says that this move to paid 24/7 and billing is inevitable and that as an owner of a business, he knows how important it is to foresee these crisis points, because if it happens in the middle of a budget year, it's going to hurt us severely in the pocket book. This sounds like scare tactics to me. I disagree that this is inevitable, and even if we did have a "crisis point" next week, and the cost of the ambulance service doubled overnight, we are talking about the average tax payer having to pay $60/year/person instead of the current $30/year/person. That's not a crisis. We should continue to pay for the service through our taxes, and we should provide incentives to volunteers through our taxes, and we should stop electing Libertarians that want to privatize our community services.
1-53-00 - Other old business? Code ethics, gifts, .....
2-00-38 - Public comments - I speak briefly here and I said that at the public meeting 18 people spoke against billing and 9 spoke in favor. I didn't have my notes. It was actually 18 to 7 not 18 to 9. Of those who spoke in favor, some of them seem to have fallen for Chris Thomas's trick of saying that people without insurance will not be harmed because the village will adopt a policy of "non aggressive billing"
In favor - 7
Chris Thomas - Trustee responsible for all this
Geri Stevenson - fell for the trick
Renee Carver - fell for the trick
Geoffrey Hart - neoconservative
Justine Kolb - wife of Chris Thomas, fell for the trick
Ben Curtis - Independence Party
Didn't catch the name - Searsburg Rd
Opposed 18
Norm Hummel - volunteer paramedic
Allen Carstensen - author of this blog
Bob Howarth - Cornell professor
Rany Haas - volunteer fire and ems
Ron McLean - former fire volunteer
Mary Anne Archangeli - significant other of a volunteer
Michelle Paollilo - EMS volunteer
Robert Lodder - Prospect Street
Peter Meskill - Sheriff
Patricia Bonzall - Pennsylvania Ave
Barry Bines - Cayuga St
Jim Mason - volunteer fire fighter
Jackie Wright - volunteer and president of the Fire Company
Didn't catch the name - Swamp College Road
Deloris Something - Ulysses
Tammy Ward - volunteer
Charle Heath - volunteer
Ruth Kahn Rt 227
Not really clear
Deloris Higareda?
Blair Obrien?
2-05-50 - Doug Austic, again claims my $30/person is wrong. He said that he got a call from a guy who claims that he is paying $700/year for the ambulances service. It's based on assessment. Fine, I get it. Let's look at it that way.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Ulysses-New-York.html
at this site you learn that the median value of a house in Ulysses is $130,000
The portion of the tax bill for residents of Ulysses for the ambulance is 57 cents/thousand of assessment.
130 x .57 = $74.10 per household. The average household has 2.6 people living there
$74.10 divided by 2.6 people = $28.50 / person
To base our policies on sympathy for the poor guy that's paying $700 while living in a mansion, would seem a little too Bush like. We're not like that here in Ulysses are we? It's called progressive taxation. The rich are supposed to pay more. That's a good thing. Some rich people realize this and don't mind paying more. Others don't. You can please some of the people all of the time, and you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. (Bush has a different version)
2-09-10 - Liz let's us know that the rest of the meeting is going to be boring, going over bills.
Town of Ulysses Resolution Regarding Funding of the Village of Trumansburg Ambulance/EMS Service.
Whereas, the Town of Ulysses has been notified of the recommendation of the Village of Trumansburg's EMS Task Force, to begin a policy of billing all recipients of ambulatory care provided by the Village of Trumansburg's ambulance/EMS service in order to recover funds from insured residents and,
Whereas, the Town of Ulysses provides a large share of the funds for the operation of the Village of Trumansburg's ambulance/EMS service and,
Whereas, the Village of Trumansburg has requested a letter or resolution expressing support or opposition to this plan and,
Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of some of our constituents and,
Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan would move us in a direction opposite to the wishes of many of our constituents and,
Whereas, it is unclear where the recovered insurance funds will be dedicated, whether to a retirement fund for Fire Department volunteers or to a tax break for residents, and if so, the amount.
Whereas, a switch to billing for ambulance/EMS services may cause health insurance companies to raise premiums paid by our constituents and,
Whereas, many volunteers on the EMS/ambulance service are not in support of billing for ambulance services and have stated this change would negatively impact their willingness to serve and,
Whereas, billing for ambulance services could negatively impact the level of donations to the ambulance service.
Therefore, be it hereby resolved that this board stands in opposition to the current plan to hire a third party billing company to bill all recipients of ambulatory care provided by the Trumansburg ambulance/EMS service unless those who have no insurance are guaranteed EMS/ambulance service at no charge and,
Further, be it resolved that this board feels that the funds that the Town of Ulysses provides to the Village of Trumansburg for the ambulance/EMS service are well spent, and we wish to continue to guarantee service to all residents in need of emergency free of charge other than the payments made through taxes.
Finally, be it resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Village of Trumansburg.
1-28-29 - Doug Austic " I think there are a couple of things in your resolution that probably are not true"
Rod Ferentino "Whereas, it is the opinion of this board that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of some of our constituents - That's not true - at all - ok - you can't say that - I don't agree with that at all. "
This is key. If Rod truly doesn't believe that this plan could endanger the health and welfare of his constituents, then he isn't listening to the nine volunteers that spoke up at the public hearing. He later admits that in his first hand experience (He is a volunteer himself) more than half of potential recipients of care, are leery of accepting care now, because of a fear of big bills. The average citizen is unaware of the billing policies for our ambulance. They don't realize that they pay for it with their taxes, and that there is no charge for the care. The volunteers that spoke at the hearing said that if we go to billing, they will no longer be able to say, as they do now, that there will be no charge. "please don't tie our hands like that" one of them said. If we tie their hands - a life could be lost. Further, if we go to billing, it will be reported in the papers, and someone will realize one day soon, that if they call 911 when they are having chest pains, that they will get a bill, and they won't make the call. If they then die, the Village will never even know, that they are responsible for the death. This is obvious, and obviously the most important issue here. I don't know why we bother arguing about all of the small stuff surrounding this issue. If we accept this reality, the argument should be over.
1-34-00 - Chris Thomas again states that when Bangs comes up here, that the recipient has to pay Bangs on top of having to pay their private insurance premiums. Uh, if they've got insurance then the insurance company should pay Bangs, right?
1-35-22 - Rod Ferrinto objects to "Whereas, a switch to billing for ambulance/EMS services may cause health insurance companies to raise premiums paid by our constituents" Rod says there is no evidence of this. Chris Thomas also likes to make this argument. At the public hearing Chris said,
"And the argument that the money collected from these insurance companies will immediately and entirely be billed back to our community in the form of premiums, is a red herring not backed up by the least bit of information or research, but instead by loosely connected circumstances."
Well, Chris, nobody said "immediately and entirely", but yes, they will largely, and eventually be billed back to us. Here's some research for you; William McGuire is the CEO of United Health, one of the largest HMO's in the country. He makes 8 million/year plus bonuses, and has amassed 1.6 billion in stock options, one of the largest stock option fortunes in history. Bill gets around in a private jet. Let's look at some business basics. Bill has to balance income, expenses, and profit. If expenses go up (more people billing him) he has a tough choice to make. He can either raise income (premiums), or cut profit. Based on a quick look at his net worth, I think I know which one he has been choosing. Chris can obfuscate with talk about this account and that account and actuarial tables, but I'm not buying it. If we start billing, premiums will go up. There is no free lunch.
1-36-30 - Rod objects to "Whereas, many volunteers on the EMS/ambulance service are not in support of billing for ambulance services and have stated this change would negatively impact their willingness to serve" Rod objects, in spite of the fact that many of the volunteers at the public hearing stated exactly that. Norm Hummel said, at the public hearing that he would quit. Rod said "Norm's not going to quit" I'm not sure Rod is the best listener. He thinks that volunteerism might actually go up under this plan. I've talked to many of the volunteers, and Rod is the only one to hold this opinion.
1-43-12 - Doug Austic "what I'm saying is, the insurance companies are not going to reduce their premiums to the people in the town of Ulysses because they don't have to pay for the ambulance." It would take a great deal of research to know exactly how much every insurance company is charging and exactly how they each arrive at how they charge for what they charge. I'm afraid I don't have the time for that research, but it seems obvious to me that the insurance companies have large quantities of data on all of the residents of our fire district, including frequency of payments to ambulance companies. This data is easily sorted by zip code, so it would seem obvious that our premiums should be based upon these payments plus the profit margins for the various companies. If my assumptions are correct, then how could increased ambulance payments by these companies not result in increased premiums? They sure as hell won't take it out of their profits.
1-43-50 - Rod Ferentino's paradigm shift theory. Maybe he's got a point here about a national trend of decreasing volunteerism. He says that it's largely to do with increased training time required of the volunteers. Perhaps we should consider paying the volunteers for their time and expenses to get this training. I think this trend away from volunteerism also has to do with a selfishness that has been growing in the national consciousness for many years. How long has it been since you've heard a president say "Ask not, what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" ? Instead we now have a president that, after 9/11, tells us to go shopping, and thinks we can fight oil wars and put the tab on future generations. This could be changing soon. There is hope. Rod says that volunteerism will continue to fall and that we will soon have to go to a paid staff 24/7 and that this will cost us a lot. Leadership like this is not helping.
1-47-25 - Rod says that the Town of Covert is supportive of billing and the Town of Hector is opposed.
1-48-00 - Chris Thomas says that he will not support billing if the Town of Ulysses doesn't support it. Then he says that this move to paid 24/7 and billing is inevitable and that as an owner of a business, he knows how important it is to foresee these crisis points, because if it happens in the middle of a budget year, it's going to hurt us severely in the pocket book. This sounds like scare tactics to me. I disagree that this is inevitable, and even if we did have a "crisis point" next week, and the cost of the ambulance service doubled overnight, we are talking about the average tax payer having to pay $60/year/person instead of the current $30/year/person. That's not a crisis. We should continue to pay for the service through our taxes, and we should provide incentives to volunteers through our taxes, and we should stop electing Libertarians that want to privatize our community services.
1-53-00 - Other old business? Code ethics, gifts, .....
2-00-38 - Public comments - I speak briefly here and I said that at the public meeting 18 people spoke against billing and 9 spoke in favor. I didn't have my notes. It was actually 18 to 7 not 18 to 9. Of those who spoke in favor, some of them seem to have fallen for Chris Thomas's trick of saying that people without insurance will not be harmed because the village will adopt a policy of "non aggressive billing"
In favor - 7
Chris Thomas - Trustee responsible for all this
Geri Stevenson - fell for the trick
Renee Carver - fell for the trick
Geoffrey Hart - neoconservative
Justine Kolb - wife of Chris Thomas, fell for the trick
Ben Curtis - Independence Party
Didn't catch the name - Searsburg Rd
Opposed 18
Norm Hummel - volunteer paramedic
Allen Carstensen - author of this blog
Bob Howarth - Cornell professor
Rany Haas - volunteer fire and ems
Ron McLean - former fire volunteer
Mary Anne Archangeli - significant other of a volunteer
Michelle Paollilo - EMS volunteer
Robert Lodder - Prospect Street
Peter Meskill - Sheriff
Patricia Bonzall - Pennsylvania Ave
Barry Bines - Cayuga St
Jim Mason - volunteer fire fighter
Jackie Wright - volunteer and president of the Fire Company
Didn't catch the name - Swamp College Road
Deloris Something - Ulysses
Tammy Ward - volunteer
Charle Heath - volunteer
Ruth Kahn Rt 227
Not really clear
Deloris Higareda?
Blair Obrien?
2-05-50 - Doug Austic, again claims my $30/person is wrong. He said that he got a call from a guy who claims that he is paying $700/year for the ambulances service. It's based on assessment. Fine, I get it. Let's look at it that way.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Ulysses-New-York.html
at this site you learn that the median value of a house in Ulysses is $130,000
The portion of the tax bill for residents of Ulysses for the ambulance is 57 cents/thousand of assessment.
130 x .57 = $74.10 per household. The average household has 2.6 people living there
$74.10 divided by 2.6 people = $28.50 / person
To base our policies on sympathy for the poor guy that's paying $700 while living in a mansion, would seem a little too Bush like. We're not like that here in Ulysses are we? It's called progressive taxation. The rich are supposed to pay more. That's a good thing. Some rich people realize this and don't mind paying more. Others don't. You can please some of the people all of the time, and you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. (Bush has a different version)
2-09-10 - Liz let's us know that the rest of the meeting is going to be boring, going over bills.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
PUBLIC HEARING -- SITE PLAN for PROPOSED BYRNE DAIRY PROJECT
Paula Hoorigan has written an important letter about this project. Get it HERE
You will see a link to an mp3 file of the meeting below. If you click on the link, you can listen from within your browser, but there is usually a way to move this mp3 file to your desktop. In Firefox, you wait for the whole file to move to the browser, (a minute or two) then you go - File - Save Page As..... and you can put it anywhere you want. The advantage is that you can then listen with other programs (Real Player, Itunes etc.) which allow you to adjust equalizer settings and they give you a time counter. With the time counter and my notes below, you can jump to the part that interests you.
Here's a LINK to the audio.
0 hours - 0 minutes - 0 seconds - start of meeting - Bill Connor speaks does the introduction and speaks about the purpose and format of the meeting
0-05-00 Bill turns it over to Christian Brunelle who manages the Byrne Dairy Stores
0-12-50 Sarah Adams speaks in favor of making changes to Bryne's plan, to bring it into line with the Comprehensive Plan,
As the plan currently is proposed the store would be open 24 hours a day. There would be 8 gas pumps, parking for 20 cars, extensive lighting, a double-sided backlit sign and approx. 25,000 sq. ft of asphalt.
The TC Planning Dept expressed concern that “the lighting proposed for this project is far greater than existing level of lighting emanated by the neighboring properties” and also recommends that the canopy design be revised to mimic the peaks of the building”. So far neither the Planning Board or Sonbyrne Sales has responded to these recommendations.
The “intent” of the Site Plan Review ordinance is :
“Preserving and enhancing neighborhood character”
“Achieving compatibility with adjacent development”
“Mitigating potentially negative impacts on traffic, parking, drainage, the landscape and similar environmental concerns”
“Improving the deign, function, aesthetics and safety of development projects and the overall visual and aesthetic quality of the village”
There are alternative ways to configure this project that would go a long way to mitigate its impacts. These include requiring hours of operation similar to those of all other businesses in the village; moving the building to the front of the site and placing the gas pumps behind the building; reducing the number of parking spaces and accompanying number of lights.
0-16-42 Geoffrey Hart speaks in favor of building it as currently drawn, and he calls it "modern architecture" "some people like Gothic, I happen to like Modern". I'm not sure that this is exactly what architects refer to as "modern architecture"
0-20-18 Don Scott, owner of Ron Don's, speaks in favor of the current design and says we have more important things to do than wasting our time on non issues like this. Okey Dokey, if he likes it, then considering other peoples opinions, is a waste of time.
0-21-40 Vicki Romanoff,
More later.........
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