• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Eastwick Press Info
  • Contact Us

The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

  • Community Calendar
  • School News
  • Sports Outdoors
  • Obituaries
  • Letters & Comments
  • Church Directory

Letter To The Editor – Before We Move Forward

July 20, 2012 By eastwickpress

To the editor:
I would like the residents of Grafton to know that before proceeding with the phase 1 environmental review for Grafton elementary school, I believe this phase 1 environmental report will require Town Board approval due to its cost, which is surely going to exceed the $500 Town spending limit. The Board should know the cost of this phase 1 environmental review up front and PRIOR to any action being taken.
The Town Board should also have an estimate for legal fees and legal services that would include cost to date and going forward with the costs in the testing phase, the negotiation phase and the actual acquisition of the property phase, if it happens. The Town Board should see these costs broken out individually and added to the total cost before voting to spend our taxpayers’ dollars in regards to this matter.
The Board should also have a formal report from its existing appointed committee signed by ALL its committee members. It should detail its findings and conclusions and should include ALL financial data that they have collected and analyzed. To date there has been no such formal report given to the Board or the taxpayers.
All these costs need to be made public and published before any Board action is taken. The majority of my constituents with whom I have been in communication are opposed to the acquisition of this property so this letter is written on their behalf. Their feeling is that the Board needs to be fully informed of all the ramifications, and particularly the financial commitments involved in acquiring this property, before making any decisions or taking any votes on this matter.
There is no logical way for the Town to pursue this acquisition until the Town finances are known and that will not occur until the Comptroller’s Office completes its upcoming audit and reports back its findings.
In closing I’d like to say that I fear there would be a backlash against the Town Board if this is done without sufficient citizen input.
Sincerely, Rick Ungaro
Grafton Town Councilman
Madonna Lake Road
Cropseyville

Filed Under: Grafton, Letters & Comments, Local News

Primary Sidebar

    Archives

        Footer

        Local News

        Brunswick Town Board Highlights

        by Denise Wright The March 13th Brunswick Town Board meeting was filled with conversation and resulted in the passing of two resolutions. During the Building and Codes report, 25 building property inspections and 22 follow-up complaints were reported for the month of February. The State Uniform Code Administration Compliance Report has been prepared. The historian […]

        March 21st, 2025 Edition

        View this week’s entire newspaper: You must be logged in to view this article.

        Stephentown Board Highlights

        by Denise Wright The Stephentown Board’s St. Patrick’s Day meeting began with a moment of silence to honor former town board member Gerry Robinson. Robinson focused on “improving local service opportunities, protecting Stephentown’s unique rural environment, and increasing local jobs and amenities by encouraging economic development appropriate to the size, atmosphere, and well-being of our […]

        School News

        Berlin School Board Appoints New Superintendent

        Submitted by BCSD Communications The Berlin Central School District Board of Education selected Mr. Kenneth Rizzo to be its next superintendent of schools, effective July 1st. Mr. Rizzo was unanimously appointed by the board at its meeting on March 6th. You must be logged in to view this article.

        Wildcats Compete at the New York State Indoor Track Championships 

        Hoosick Falls CSD Indoor Track Submitted by HFCSD Communications The Wildcats put forth a great effort at the New York State Indoor Track Championships on March 8th. The girls 4×400, consisting of Emma Waugh, Mihaly Blake, Ava Salvsevold, and Erin Conety, had a huge upset in their race. Going in as the underdogs, the girls […]

        Winter Scholar Athletes and Varsity Teams

        Brunswick CSD Submitted by Brunswick CSD Communications Brunswick CSD is proud to announce its winter Scholar Athlete sports teams for the 2024-2025 season. The school fielded seven varsity teams, including Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball, Boys Wrestling, Competitive Cheerleading, Unified Bowling, Boys Indoor Track, and Girls Indoor Track. In addition to the exciting lineup of winter […]

        Copyright © Eastwick Press · All Rights Reserved · Site by Brainspiral Technologies