Sharing Village and Town Resources

At the last VB meeting, Mayor Robb briefly mentioned the idea of sharing services with the Town.  He highlighted the possibility of consolidating snow removal between the two entities.  I was going to wait to bring this topic up when both the Mayor and Town Supervisor Martha Millett were ready to start some serious discussions, probably around the first of the year.  But the way I look at it.......why wait????

Actually I was doing some shopping at a local hardware store, when Town Councilman Dale Hunneyman brought up this subject of sharing services.  TC Hunneyman suggested sharing/consolidating zoning, planning boards and possibly the position of DPW Super.  HMmmmm,  I am open to this concept, the question I have for the rest of you.........Are you ready for this change?  If we do not start thinking creatively and with open minds, our community is doomed to be crushed with increasing taxes and a reduction of services.  TC Hunneyman encouraged me to start attending the Town Meetings.  Here is an invitation for the rest of you, directly from the Town web site:

Town Board Meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. at the Town of Alexandria Municipal Building on Old Goose Bay Road. The public is always welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings.

Local Political Signs

All sorts of political signs line the roads .  Here is the first one I have seen for Village Trustee.

Addie Jenne Russell For Assembly

Addie Russell

Addie speaks to the group.

Click the above link for the audio

Darrel Aubertine

Darrel says a few words at todays River Roast

click the above link for the audio

Another Sign

This one should be replaced.  Do we have enough cash in the sign budget to purchase a new one of these?
This sign has been replaced with a new one.  Looks Great.........Thanks

School Zone

Beware, the 15 mph school zone is larger than you might realize.  The speed zone changes from 30 mph to 15 mph on Walton St at the entrance to the School Bus garage and ends just past the intersection of Walton and Bolton.  All of Bolton is 15 mph as well as Cornwall.  The 15 mph School Speed Limit is enforced 24/7/365.

Maybe some nice looking high visibility signs might be a good idea.

Something that might attract a drivers attention and remind them that they are entering a school zone.  I realize that flashing yellow lights over the signs might not be in the budget this year, but new signs would be helpful in reminding local and out of town mortorist that they are driving in a school zone.

Retort

The topic of the parking meters has drifted below newer topics.  My friend Curmudgeon made this retort to an anonymous said comment

Anonymous said...

"be nice to the tourists"
Alexandria Bay locals and owners are probably the most hostile people I've ever met in a tourist town. They wonder why all the people with lots of money avoid the town like a virus..
September 8, 2008 11:29 AM


Curmudgeon replied:
to anon...where and when exactly, do you observe all this hostility? I'm in the village 12 hours every day, and know most of the "locals and owners" and I gotta tell you, I don't see the hostility.
Can you give an example?
Who are the, people "with lots of money?" Where do they go? Do you mean celebrities or just run-of-the-mill rich folks?
Do you have something to say? Feel free to air you gripe.
I'm going to ask the blogmeister to start a new thread on this topic, see where you want to go with it. I want you to help the hostiles make our village, "The Aspen of the East."

cur
September 11, 2008 4:41 PM

Help, I fell and..................

A letter was written by a tourist who fell on a sidewalk in the village.  The person described the location as being in front of a pizza place at the corner of Church St.  It was an oddly written letter describing his/her fall on a trecherous sidewalk.  They asked that the sidewalk be fixed before someone else got hurt.  While listening to the Mayor read this letter, an image of a location came to my mind.  I was not the only one who had this little revelation.  I automatically assumed that it was the sidewalk in front of Slice of the Bay.  But as it turned out it was the sidewalk in front of the Korner.  Later in the meeting Trustee Sweet asked that Roger Jobson [Village DPW Supt.] have his men repair the sidewalk in front of Slice of the Bay.  Evidently they damaged it when looking for a non-existent water shut off earlier this spring.

Old Chamber Building

The VB set a cap for advertising the sale of this property at $500.00.  The VB wants to try and sell this property without a realtor.  The parcel will be advertised in area papers from here to Rochester.  In addition the ads will be placed on the Village website and on Craiglist.  Good luck............just hire a realtor.  Save the 500 hundred bucks and put it towards road salt or hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and beer at the next few VB meetings.  Maybe some more of the D or R candidates might show up to the meetings.  BTW some of the usual spectators were absent tonight,  where were you?

1 Market Street

The Village now has posession of the deed to this parcel which is also known as the Odd Fellows building site.  First order of business is to replace the sidewalk and then to do some grading to the foundation.  What will be done with that property?   That will be discussed in future VB meetings. 

Parking Lot?  Skate Board Park? Small Park?  Sell it?  TBD

Parking Meters

I could not believe what I saw today!  I have always known that the meters were free on Sunday's.  But I never knew that the meters were active on american holidays.  The 2 most prominent holidays that I am concerned about are 4th of July and Labor day.  The 4th is a give away since the Village shuts down all of the meters on Church St and makes them No parking- tow away zones for the evening fire works.  At the last VB meeting the board voted unanimously to extend the monitoring of the meters till Sept 15th which is a 2 week extension.  Since we have this extension, the Village could certainly over look the Monday Labor day holiday and give the meters and the staff that patrol them the whole day off.

 If you click on the picture of the meter it will zoom to a larger image, you will notice that the days for meter exception are Sundays and Holidays.  Holidays has been scratched off with a sharpie marker.  How about this........ Parking enforced with the exception of Sundays and all Holidays.............both American and Canadian Holidays..... Instead of calling it Holidays it could be called Tourist Appreciation Days.

pg

Thoughts?  Comments??

Trampling in the Goose Poop

sales said...

So during the entire Pirate Days event visitors to our town got to trample in goose poop. Way to go Village Board.. way to go !!
August 13, 2008 7:34 AM

click picture for larger version

Not only did they trample in it but sat in it and put their hands on it and ate their pizza or subs, shook hands with people, touched door knobs, wiped their hands on their clothes, Basically you can say that our guests, the tourists took a little of Abay Hospitatlity home with them......

pg

Highlights VB Meeting 8/12/08

1. Sorry Kids.  If you are going to set up a stand to sell anything, you should be on your own private property.
2. O.T. was approved over the weekend by Trustee Roy for extra garbage removal.  I should have mentioned that the Doggy Doo containers need to be emptied of TRASH and poop.
3. Goose Poop on Casino Island will be hosed off by the ABAY FD towards the end of the week.  Other measures for Goose Management were discussed including chemical deterrents and nuisance license.
4. Water is being turned on late at night at the Village Golf Course.  The fairways have been flooded with 1000's of gallons of water.  VPD is aware of this mischievous act and keeping the area under surveillance.
5. Estimates for Power service to one side of the Village main dock.  Lots of generators on the docks and boats over the summer.  Cost vs revenue will be compared.
6. Refunds for property tax adjustments are appearing at the Village offices. WDT
7. T.I.B.A. 70 YEAR CELEBRATION, with a fire works display @ dusk on Saturday 8/16/08

Abay Water Rates & Redwood

The following link is to the article in today's WDT. I did not think the Town of Abay or the Village of Redwood would just accept the rate change as the Mayor stated at the last VB meeting. The water that the mayor swam in and drank courtesy of Pirate Bill Johnston was just a harbinger of things to come.

Water Rate Debate

Brown's Corners

I recieved the email below in response to the following link: http://newzjunky.com/police/coplog080804jcso.htm

"Here is a potential topic for discussion.... There was a a man/woman that was killed last night by browns corners due to a hit and run. The victim was not yet identified. I have lived on that road my entire life and have seen manay walking down that road in the middle of the night, I actually have been guilty of this myself on a few occasions and was always criticized for it. I was always told "someone someday is going to get hit." Well unfortunately it has finally happened. Maybe this will change something around here... there are too many bars and it is too large of a party town not to have access to more taxis, maybe that is the cause of more DWI's in our area.....i dunno, just a thought"

Thoughts or Comments?

This is a new news item: added 11:10 pm on 8/4/08

The driver responsible for the hit and run has been arrested

http://newzjunky.com/police/coplog080804jcso2.htm