Senior Center Vote & New FOI Documents.

We found out last night at the Town Board meeting, that the referendum for the Senior Center will be Feb. 24th at Town Hall 9am until 8pm.

This is your chance to let it be known that you would like more information on this subject from your elected officials.

Please make the effort to vote on this. It is important. Tell your friends, and your enemies. Tell everyone, since I'm sure literature in your mailbox will NOT be a plenty for this vote.

I just received an interesting FOI request & documents that show more money being paid to Tim Poley regarding the Senior Center Move to King's Park. The interesting part is on the Purchase Order and Claim Voucher under Description
it says "temporary relocation of the Senior Center from Pinegrove Ave." and the word "temporary" is X'd out.

Why is "temporary" X'd out? Is it now being considered "permanent"?

Here are the documents that were requested on 12/29/08:

CDBG Performance Profiles New York

The profiles include the following information for each grantee:

	Available program funds, including program income
	Expenditures by major program categories
	Timeliness ratio for entitlement communities
	Program targeting, including the use of NRSAs and CDFIs
	For activities that provide direct benefits to individuals, the number of beneficiaries served by race/ethnicity group and by income level
	Accomplishments achieved during the program year

Here are Irondequoit's numbers for Program Year 8/1/2007 to 7/31/2008



Irondequoit Program Year 8/1/2006 to 7/31/2007



Irondequoit Program Year 8/1/2005 to 7/31/2006




You can access more information on any county in New York State, including Monroe through this link.

I believe a resident of Irondequoit has called/written to the CDBG office to inquire about the "rule" that anything funded for a lease through CDBG has to have a lease of 15 years - I will try to find any wording that states this on the site and refer you to a link when I find out.


Here is the link to more CDBG reports. Some files are in PDF format, and some are in an excel format. If you don't have excel, you can download an Excel Viewer here.


CDBG Expenditures & Accomplishments:

The Office of Community Planning and Development has developed profiles that show how each entitlement community expended CDBG funds during its most recently completed program year. These profiles provide information on grantee expenditures by the type of activity carried out. Since CDBG funds may be used for a wide variety of housing, community and economic development activities, the use of those funds may be identified in these profiles by as many as 90 different categories (matrix codes) depending on how an entitlement community has chosen to use its funds to meet local needs. With these profiles, you can quickly and easily become more informed on how CDBG funds are being spent by any one of the entitlement grantees to which funds are awarded or at the national level.

PDF's - Irondequoit Expenditures:

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2007 TO 07/31/2008

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2006 TO 07/31/2007

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2005 TO 07/31/2006

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2004 TO 07/31/2005

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2003 TO 07/31/2004

Use of CDBG Funds by IRONDEQUOIT, NY FROM 08/01/2002 TO 07/31/2003

These profiles provide information on grantee accomplishments by the type of activity carried out. The accomplishments appearing in these profiles were reported by grantees in the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). Profiles for grantees will vary, grantees have flexibility in determining the housing, economic and community development activities they carry out with CDBG funds.

Excel- Irondequoit CDBG Accomplishment Data:

Click on the excel link next to Irondequoit for each program year.

Letters & Guest Essay to Irondequoit Post Re: Senior Center

Lonsberry on Medley.......

Bob Lonsberry had written a blog on January 7th with his opinion on the Medley Centre Project. Make sure to read some of the comments following the blog.

" And at a time when New York is collapsing financially, when every single penny of tax money is precious, how can anybody possibly put this place on rich-people welfare? “Development money” is nothing but welfare for fat cats.

And we're tired of that.

If this project is such a great idea, if it is such a sure-fire hit, then let it pay for itself. Let it go forward without a taxpayer subsidy. Let it borrow the money it needs from banks, instead of from the taxpayers, and let it pay its share of property tax just like everybody else."

Boo yah, Bob!

Medley/P.I.L.O.T. e-mails

Please start at the bottom e-mail and read up.






These are recent e-mails about the P.I.L.O.T. with regards to the Medley project-(that are not private btw-you can FOI request e-mails from elected officials as they are public information. I, however, block out private citizens names, and what appears to be "private" e-mail addresses of elected officials, as well as some e-mail addresses of people who were copied in on this e-mail. But, this information is "foilable" if you wanted to FOIL it).

It seems that the P.I.L.O.T. information "will be released in a final form when we receive it from our Attorney."

Final form? It'll already be done and over with and decided upon with no public input?

But, wait......the Supervisor says that: "The public can comment, as always, thru e-mail, phone, and regular mail or during the public comment portion of any Town Board Meeting."

Hey! That's GREAT! Irondequoit residents are welcome to comment on something that they haven't even seen yet, and won't see until it's all said and done and in it's "FINAL" form.

How fortunate you must feel to be able to voice your opinions AFTER it's in it's FINAL form!

Here are some questions I have:

Why can't the residents have a say in the P.I.L.O.T. agreement BEFORE it goes to the attorneys?

Why are residents in the condos going to enjoy P.I.L.O.T. tax breaks when resident Joe Schmoe on Whitlock Rd. can't get a P.I.L.O.T. tax break?

Irondequoit has two school districts, yet, only EISD is losing revenue from taxes with these P.I.L.O.T. tax breaks......are only East Irondequoit residents going to patronize this project? It seems to me that the EISD has been shafted a couple of times already by this developer - is the third time a charm?

Does anyone actually believe that C.O.M.I.D.A. handing out P.I.L.O.T. tax breaks to a developer for 10, 15, or 30 years DOESN'T affect taxes? If an agreement is in place for a developer to pay LESS than what they would normally pay for their property taxes......who do you think makes up for that lost revenue?

Yes, my dears, you. YOUR property taxes go up, YOUR school budgets go up, OUR sales taxes go up, OUR county suggests intercepting money meant for school districts.........

The County can't even balance their budget....claiming they needed to intercept money for school districts in Monroe County with that whole F.A.I.R. plan thing....but they're handing out tax breaks to everyone left and right, aren't they?

Did you know "businesses" like Nazareth College, and The Harley School, get C.O.M.I.D.A. tax breaks? Even Wegmans gets them.

Take a look at all of the projects approved by COMIDA.

Remember this the next time they want to raise YOUR property taxes, or YOUR school budgets, or YOUR sales taxes.

Stick out your hand and tell them to give you a break for once.

Medley discussed on WCMF

Mo from WCMF gives his opinion on why the Town doesn't care about it's citizens.

After the "deer story" from Racin' Randy, Mo gives his opinion, and a caller to the show named "Sam" who is a property owner in Irondequoit gives his opinion.

I guess Mo and Sam don't want the Supervisor to be successful either? lol

NEWPORT WORKSHOP MEETING!!!

ATTENTION:

On Monday, January 12th at 7 pm at the Irondequoit Town Hall (1280 Titus Ave,585-336-6034), a workshop on the Newport Project will take place.

If you are interested in a workshop that doesn't have to be advertised, doesn't have to have an agenda, will not be recorded by minutes, or recorded on video....then please show up to see what's goin' on!

Open government means open doors. It is your right as a taxpayer to be there.




:)

Sneak in the library?!?!

Remember back on December 7th, I had put up the FOI requests that took over 21 business days to get a denial, or the actual information.......and upon speaking to the "foiler", the Supervisor told this person that they "didn't understand Government"? Remember that?............


After that posting there were some back and forth e-mails between the Supervisor and the "foiler" about the FOI request etc. On December 23rd, Supervisor Heyman sent an e-mail that had the following statement: " I am sending you the packet we have as an attachment. Nothing has been finalized or decided, what I am sending is proposed no approved, tentative budget, (additional funding options have not been explored) floor plans, term sheets and my comments to questions. This is all we have. We did not and have not spent any significant time or money knowing that there would be a signature campaign and an attempt to block this temporary project."

Here are the e-mails:





In the above e-mail it states that as of 12/18/08 "There has been no discussion or agreement with anyone about selling Pinegrove at this time."
On 1/12/09 the D&C has an articlethat the West Irondequoit School District is interested in purchasing Pinegrove. "Spang said the West Irondequoit Central School District, which used to own the Pinegrove building when it was a school, has expressed interest in the site."

So, either they knew the WISD was interested, or this was something that "just" came up. How convenient that the WISD would be interested in purchasing Pinegrove all of a sudden......that would mean there would be NO reason to upgrade/renovate Pinegrove, a building the Town now owns, and they would HAVE to move to King's Park.

Here are the rest of the e-mails:







This is the attachment she sent (1st 4 pages, and the other 7 after the fold).

Please pay attention to page 4, the one with the red arrows pointing to the words:
"Sneak in the library - Currently the Library Board has not brought any formalized plan to the Town Board for consideration."

Say what?

Is it a joke? A slip-up? What exactly does that mean, anyways?







Please click on "read more below the fold" to see the other 7 pages in the attachment.

Ellie Haefner - Rep-re-sent-ing at the Town Meeting

Pay close attention to what Ellie says at the 2:38 mark of the video.

A SENIOR is saying this. Not the "small group of people" that Supervisor Heyman would have you believe. Supervisor Heyman has been quoted in the paper as saying that Community Development Block Grant funds CAN'T be used for Pinegrove. That is a lie...........




Link to the above PDF Document.

She also has been saying that she'd "hate to have the Seniors suffer, because a few people don't want her to be successful."

Sorry Supervisor Heyman, as much as you'd like it to be, this isn't about YOU. Please get over yourself and start doing what's best for the TOWN and not your investor friends from Boston.

How many times do the residents have to remind her of this? It's not a "small group of people" out to get her, although she tries to spin it that way to garner support. People want the right to voice their opinions on this, and be INVOLVED in the process.....not blindly following what the majority Democrat Board decides is best for the community.

She's talked the talk about community involvement and "bringing solutions to the table"....well.....start walking the walk and involve the community in the process, and not leave it up to an all Democrat board to decide.

Be honest and tell the people what the plan is, if they have one. Stop playing "the victim" and make it out like a few people are just being negative. LISTEN to the voices of the seniors, since THEY are the ones directly affected by this move.

Let the people have their say on the matter. Hold a Public Input session, separate from the regular Town Board meetings. Gauge the community "mood" on it.

In February, she made the recommendation to NOT go forward with plans to consolidate the two libraries at King's Park, along with a new Gym, and a Senior Center. She was quoted as saying: "Recent estimates for leasing relocation space for our libraries, senior center and construction of a new gym totaled $43.2 million." And: "No one understands more clearly than I that high taxes are a major concern for all of us."

She is now going ahead with just the Senior Center move. Next will be a Community Center, maybe the new Gym. After that will be the Libraries.

Breaking it down into small bits so the project doesn't seem as overwhelming to the taxpayer, who WILL fund this in the long run.

$43.2 million all at once? Or a couple million over the next 10 years to do what was voted down in the first place, a Town Campus with consolidated libraries, a Senior Center, and a Community Center.

THAT, my friends, is an agenda. An agenda you voiced opposition to already. Yet, your elected officials feel differently, and are going to ram this one down your throats.

Enjoy your asphalt jungle at King's Park, with lease money going to investors in Boston, who are not re-investing that rent money into Irondequoit.

Hey, at least you get to vote on it now, thanks to a large group of unique individuals who dedicated their time to go door to door to give you your RIGHT to vote on it, which was promised by your elected Supervisor in a previous Town Meeting. One thousand, nine hundred, and fifty two (1,952) signed that petition to force a referendum. Obviously, there is more than a "small group of people" who want the right to vote on it.

Supervisor Heyman is quoted in this article as saying: "I'd hate to have seniors suffer," she said about the petition drive and potential vote, "because some people don't want me to be successful."

YOUR RIGHT to PETITION YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE is seen by her as "people don't want her to be successful."

HER words. Your right to vote has been reduced to and dismissed as a "vendetta" - a spin of epic proportions.

Don't let the spin out of Town Hall deter you from exercising your RIGHT to vote on a matter that WILL end up costing taxpayers in the long run. The Supervisor herself expressed concern over taxpayer monies funding King's Park in this press release. "Recent estimates for leasing relocation space for our libraries, senior center and construction of a new gym totaled $43.2 million. Even if the Town issued 30-year bonds, we felt the cost was too high, particularly given uncertainties over the economy. No one understands more clearly than I that high taxes are a major concern for all of us."

The King's Park move, all at once, or in bits and pieces, is going to cost taxpayer money. Do you want to invest your tax dollars with investors from Boston, or put that money back into your community via a building that the Town owns?

Voice your concerns at meetings, and make your vote count!!!!! It's your RIGHT!!!

Richard Barone at I-Town Board Meeting 12/16/08


My guess is that the current grant money that has been redirected to fund the "temporary" move to King's Park HAS to be used, or they will be denied future CDBG funds. According to the CDBG site:

Requirements

To receive its annual CDBG entitlement grant, a grantee must develop and submit to HUD its Consolidated Plan, (which is a jurisdiction's comprehensive planning document and application for funding under the following Community Planning and Development formula grant programs: CDBG, HOME Investment Partnerships, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG). In its Consolidated Plan, the jurisdiction must identify its goals for these programs as well as for housing programs. The goals will serve as the criteria against which HUD will evaluate a jurisdiction's Plan and its performance under the Plan. Also, the Consolidated Plan must include several required certifications, including that not less than 70% of the CDBG funds received, over a one, two or three year period specified by the grantee, will be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons, and that the grantee will affirmatively further fair housing. HUD will approve a Consolidated Plan submission unless the Plan (or a portion of it) is inconsistent with the purposes of the National Affordable Housing Act or is substantially incomplete.

Following approval, the Department will make a full grant award unless the Secretary has made a determination that the grantee:

* has failed to carry out its CDBG-assisted activities in a timely manner;
* has failed to carry out those activities and its certifications in accordance with the requirements and the primary objectives of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and with other applicable laws; or
* lacks a continuing capacity to carry out its CDBG-assisted activities in a timely manner.

Citizen Participation

A grantee must develop and follow a detailed plan which provides for, and encourages, citizen participation and which emphasizes participation by persons of low- or moderate-income, particularly residents of predominantly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, slum or blighted areas, and areas in which the grantee proposes to use CDBG funds. The plan must:

* provide citizens with reasonable and timely access to local meetings, information, and records related to the grantee's proposed and actual use of funds;
* provide for public hearings to obtain citizen views and to respond to proposals and questions at all stages of the community development program, including at least the development of needs, the review of proposed activities, and review of program performance;
* provide for timely written answers to written complaints and grievances;
* and identify how the needs of non-English speaking residents will be met in the case of public hearings where a significant number of non-English speaking residents can be reasonably expected to participate.

Latest FOI Requests......

The first page is the denial for information regarding the $400,000 improvements/repairs to the Town, and the 2nd page is the actual FOI request. According to the Comptroller, John Bovenzi (he denied the FOI request) this information is "not maintained by this agency". That is odd......

The 3rd page is a request for information regarding King's Park. It's been over 21 business days since the FOI request, and by law, a denial or the information must be given within that time period. When asked, "Supervisor Heyman gave no denial no information on that one. She said she's been busy." the person who submitted the foil said, "she was told that it's been over 21 business days which is the FOI law." Supervisor Heyman told the person who submitted the FOI request, that they "don't understand government."

Nice.

Guest Essay 12/4 I-Post

King's Park vs. Pinegrove for Senior Center

These 3 pages are of a hand out from the last Town Board meeting. Supervisor Heyman, during the meeting, said this handout would go up on the town website. That was 12 days ago and as of this afternoon, it still wasn't up. (Update: It is on the Town website-you can read more about that below the fold...)

At last months Town board meeting, the board members voted unanimously to lease King's Park and put the senior center in there. They would borrow Community Block Grant funds for this move. The first year it would cost around $250,000 for the lease and $251,069. to move and improve King's Park - a building the Town doesn't own (Total over a half a million). The Town would still own and maintain Pinegrove. The lease/move/improvements would cost over 1 million dollars (from grants, which costs taxpayers from NY State as a whole instead of just Irondequoit taxpayers) in 3 years still not owning the building at King's Park. This supposedly is a temporary move with a 5 year lease. Way back when King's Park was cropping up in discussions Supervisor Heyman and board members always promised a referendum (vote) on this subject from the residents. There wasn't one.

Political activists in the town have taken matters into their own hands and are gathering 1,000 signatures in 30 days from when the resolution passed to petition a vote. A permissive referendum.

Please click on each page to view the numbers.









Town Website
Click "news and events", then click "major development projects", then click "King's Park senior center" and then at the bottom of that page is the link to the handout pages that are posted.

Or, click here to go directly to the page.

DPW 2006 Salary & Overtime

General Improvements at Town Hall

This information has been submitted for FOIL again, due to the lack of detail in this current foil. We hope to have a more detailed item list of what this $400,000. is being used for.