Published: June 03, 2009 10:37 am      

ORLEANS: County hosts successful town hall meeting

MEDINA — In the spirit of a traditional town hall meeting, the Orleans County Legislature opened its doors and fielded questions from county residents Tuesday. More than 75 people met at the Orleans County Cooperative Extension trolley building to ask questions of the legislators and get an update on all the county projects and happenings in their town.

Board Chairman Henry Smith Jr., started off the night with a prayer and a joke, before turning to serious matters at hand. “A majority of our time here will be taking questions and listening to concerns,” Smith said. “As many of you know, New York state is in a crisis. We’re weathering the perfect storm with a tough economic environment, coupled with a state budget crisis. ... I want to make it clear how Orleans County will conduct its business in accordance with state regulations.”

Smith proceeded to introduce each legislator, sans George Bower, who was not able to make it, and explain to the public which committees they served on. The legislators, in turn, spoke briefly about projects and advancements they had made, and plans they have for the future of Orleans County.

Then Smith opened up the floor to questions from the general public, while Don Calhoun, from the Arc of Orleans, served as moderator for the event.

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Below are a sampling of questions asked by Orleans County residents, and the corresponding answers from the public officials.

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QUESTION: I’ve asked you have at least one of two Legislature meetings be held in the evening so more citizens can participate. I’d like to have you address that. Secondarily, this work is classified as a part-time job. Have you considered eliminating in-county mileage reimbursement, or full coverage health care?

SMITH: In terms of the meeting here tonight, a couple years ago we tried having meetings for a few months where one meeting was a late meeting for three months. The participation wasn’t any different than having it at our regular time. (As far as reimbursement goes), I stopped personally because I wanted to give back to the county. We as a board will discuss making this a policy.

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QUESTION: What can the county do to encourage small governments to continue to consolidate. I think one of our major problems is we have 14 municipalities, not including the county government. What can we do to fix this?

LEGISLATOR LYNNE JOHNSON: I support what you said and I know in my district, Lyndonville and Yates are actively looking at consolidating. Medina, Shelby and Ridgeway are looking, as well. We need more people like you to encourage it at a town level; we can’t do it as a county. We need it to come from within, and we can’t dictate that.

LEGISLATOR GARY KENT: One of the things Smith’s leadership has brought is a number of meetings. The main thing the county Legislature can do is try to create a climate and give encouragement toward that end, and I think that’s happening. Kendall and Holley have been developing a relationship. Another move to consolidation has come from Lyndonville School District, which has approached the Medina district, and they’ve had talks about sharing transportation and special education collaboration.

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QUESTION: What efforts have you made to bring industry to this county?

LEGISLATOR KENNETH RUSH: We have always got a least a half-dozen companies we’re working with. Our biggest problem is with Genesee County, because they have Thruway access and more housing.

LEGISLATOR DAVID CALLARD: The hope is there now to get the power allocation to bring these manufacturing companies here. With Google, we would have had hundreds of higher-paying jobs, and it’s very disappointing.

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QUESTION: I keep hearing about wind energy and I hear nothing but negativity. Does the Legislature have any feelings on this?

KENT: There are probably places in the county where it may work, but for the most part, I don’t know if it’s necessary advantageous to cover the whole county with wind turbines. I think the key is it’s a town decision — we can provide some guidance, but the town needs to make sure they get a good package, because the people of that town will pay a price for bringing turbines in.

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QUESTION: Are there any plans to extend Route 531 past Brockport?

SMITH: When it was first engineered, they planned it bring it out through the county. But from what I understand, the state Department of Transportation just finished a study that says it should end where it does currently; the dollars are just not there to make it happen, nor is the traffic. (To help change the DOT’s mind) you can contact your state representative and start a letter-writing campaign to energize this project.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER CHUCK NESBITT: All the records are available at the state DOT regional office. They’re public records, and what they’ve contended to at this point is the traffic patterns don’t warrant the hundreds of dollars that could require to extend that road.