December 16, 2008 meeting

Police Promotion
The Town Board approved the appointment of Guilderland Police Officer Roger Ginder to the position of Sergeant (4-0, Councilman Redlich recused himself). Congratulations to Sgt. Ginder and his family.

To make the selection process more open and inclusive, Councilman Grimm asked that the minority party have a representative on the police review board. The Board interviews candidates and makes recommendations for appointments. Supervisor Runion refused to allow any minority representation on the police review board.

State of Emergency Notification
Due to the ice storm, Supervisor Runion declared a town "state of emergency" on Friday, December 12th. Since many Guilderland residents were not aware of the state of emergency declaration, Councilman Grimm made the following suggestions to improve public communication the next time a state of emergency occurs:

- Notify the Town Board when a State of Emergency is declared
- Place the Declaration notification on the town's cable TV channel and explain what it means to residents
- Send notice by e-mail to all those residents who have signed up for town e-mails for various departments
- Place the addresses of the town shelters on the town's website throughout the emergency.

Though those without power couldn't receive electronic communication, many who had power could get the message out to friends and relatives.

September 2nd Town Board Meeting:

Police officer Manny Shulman was appointed to the permanent position of Technical First Sergeant in the Guilderland Police department.

The Board voted to place several stop signs in the Covington Woods subdivision. The homeowners association president there, Jerold Nadel, spoke in favor of the signs.

An attempt to name a street was delayed once again because one of the interested parties did not attend the meeting.

June 17th Board Meeting

Several items of interest were discussed:

1- Walgreen's Tax Break
In Executive Session, the Board voted 3-2 to approve a $540,000 reduction in the tax assessment for the Walgreens Drug Store on the corner of Route 155 & 20. The deal was negotiated by Town Attorney Richard Sherwood without input from the Town Board. Board members Mark Grimm and Warren Redlich voted "No" on the deal. Ken Runuion, Pat Slavik, and Paul Pastore all voted "Yes." The tax break costs the Guilderland School District alone over $10,000 a year in revenue.

2- Cox Appointment
Lt. Curtis Cox was promoted to Captain of the police department with a 5-0 board vote.
Family and friends were on hand to wish him well. Congratulations to Captain Cox. Concerns were raised about the late notice provided by the supervisor for the ceremonies for both Captain Cox and Chief Lawlor.

The hiring process in Guilderland received further scrutiny --- some jobs are filled with only one applicant for the position.

3- West End Water Bid Approved
A construction bid to extend water to west end residents was approved unanimously. The bid accepted was two million dollars less than expected. The overall project cost is $5.36 million, not $7.37 million. Though the cost is much less than expected, the amount to be charged to west end residents tapping into the system did not change. The tap-in fee remains at $1,750 and the yearly payment is $575 for debt service and water usage.

4- Grant Applications
Grant applications were unanimously approved for sidewalk construction on Carman Road and for renovations at Tawasentha Park.
The price tag of the sidewalk construction is $860,000 and the application to the state Department of Transportation is for $688,000 (the grant is 80/20 percent state-town split). If approved by the state, the town would pay the balance.
The other grant seeks $107,500 from the state Office of Parks and Recreation for a $215,000 project to rehab and upgrade the Guilderland Performing Arts Center at Tawasentha Park. This application is a 50/50 state-town split.

There is no way to determine now if the grants will be approved.

5- Town Assessments
The Town Assessor, Carol Wysomski, spoke at the public comment period, insisting there was nothing wrong with the Town's assessment process. Councilmen Grimm and Redlich challenged that viewpoint.

June 3rd Board Meeting

Acting Chief Carol Lawlor was named the permanent police chief by the Town Board following a healthy debate. Warren Redlich and Mark Grimm congratulated Chief Lawlor and pledged to work with her to make Guilderland a safer community for all its residents and businesses.

May 6th Town Board Meeting

The three finalists for the police chief opening were interviewed prior to, and after, the Town Board meeting. A decision should come soon.

Several residents spoke about concerns involving a proposed development on 41 acres at 17 School Road near Guilderland High School. They said flooding was already a big problem in their basements and wanted to ensure the development doesn't add to the problem. The initial approval for the development was delayed by the Board, pending more study by the developer.

A former summer employee at the Western Turnpike golf course spoke at public comment period complaining he was not re-hired this summer. John Adamovich said he was told there was "a new policy" that only Guilderland residents can work there now. Supervisor Runion said there is a "preference" given town employees but there is no residency requirement. Runion said he made the cut in order to save money. Mark Grimm and Warren Redlich said they should have been informed about the supervisor's actions.

March 18th Town Board Meeting

The meeting highlight was the discussion concerning the best approach for choosing our next police chief. Mark Grimm felt an open discussion on what direction the Guilderland police department should take and what qualities we most seek in a new chief was warranted. Mr. Grimm said the following qualities would be among his top priorities for the next chief:

- Leadership --- the ability to bring officers together to maximize productivity and morale

- Tech Savvy --- embracing technology to take advantages of the latest breakthroughs to reduce crime

- Quantification --- having someone who places emphasis on tracking results to so we can evaluate how well we are doing and shift our strategically shift resources into the highest priority areas.

There was also a discussion on the feasibility of closed captioning for board meetings. The decision to solicit input from residents to see how much need there is in the Town for such an endeavor was unanimously agreed to.

February 12th Town Board Meeting

Warren Redlich and Mark Grimm attempted to place the controversial "assessment process" on the agenda. The request was denied.

The Board was presented with only one candidate for a new police officer position, requiring an up or down vote. The candidate was presented to the Board just two business days prior to the vote. The process needs to be improved so more than one candidate can be considered.

The appointment involving a police sergeant promotion was made more complicated because phone numbers for the applicants were not provided. Board members need the numbers to conduct a thorough investigation of the applicants.

Mr. Grimm also raised a concern that a part-time court attendant was hired even though he was the only applicant for the position. Having just one candidate for a position is a poor hiring practice.