Letter To The Editor – A Reply To Mrs. Catherine Goyer

To the Editor:
Mrs. Goyer presented a dismal picture of our Town website in last week’s issue of the Eastwick Press. Unfortunately she did not tell the whole story, so here is the rest of the story.
After being appointed supervisor in late March, I was informed by Town Board Member Rick Ungaro (in May) that he no longer wished to participate in maintaining the existing Town website. The Secretary to the Supervisor, Mr. Joseph Allain, volunteered to step up and fill the vacancy created by Mr. Ungaro. In short order it was determined that any updates to the existing site needed to be passed through the owner of the website. (It should be noted here that the website Mr. Ungaro set up was not owned by the Town, hence the $500 set-up fee and ongoing monthly charges.) This third party involvement caused needless delays in postings and resulted in continuing expense to the Town.
Mr. Allain approached me about creating a new website that could be controlled from the Town offices, I discussed the idea with the Board members individually and received no negative feedback. I then told Mr. Allain to proceed with the project. In less than a week he set up a new website. The cost to the Town was merely his time, no set-up fee and no update or monthly fees. This website is now maintained by Mr. Allain. Postings can be made immediately without involving or waiting for a third party action.
This new website is a work in progress. Mr. Allain is currently awaiting the Town Board minutes which he will post when he receives them from the Town Clerk. The changeover of the website was announced at the August Town Board meeting and again there was no negative feedback from any Board member.
The new website is located at www.townofgraftonnny.org.
Please visit the site, inspect it and call the Town Hall to give Mr. Allain any suggestions you may have for it; please remember it is still a work in progress.
I must also address the quote that Mrs. Goyer used when she wrote that I said, “It will be looked at when we have the time.” She failed to mention the rest of the sentence which was “We are very busy right now straightening out the mess left by the previous administration.” I believe that most of our Townspeople are aware of the numerous problems left over from that administration.
I would like to ask Mrs. Goyer to turn all her wonderful energy away from negativity to productive projects thus aiding in moving the Town forward. Cathy can be a very capable force, and she could be a real asset to the Town and our people. C’mon Cathy, let the chip fall off your shoulder and work as part of the team.
Thank You,
Frank Higgins
Supervisor, Town of Grafton