First, the Warbler wishes to apologize for lack of posts lately. As most of us know, it's a busy time of year with graduation and proms - our kids drive us nuts sometimes don't they?
Anyway, while catching up on some of the town council meeting minutes, I came across this little gem from last week:
http://www.townofwilmington.org/minutes/towncouncil/towncouncilminutes.html
(Oh, by the way, I urge all residents to read all the minutes posted on the town website: http://www.townofwilmington.org/minutes.php)
Let me draw your attention to the second to last order of business,
"It was decided that building lots which are half the required size or more
cannot be refused from the pre-existing code of 1988, if it meets the set
backs and septic requirements."
Uh, excuse me.... Who was it that "decided" this? Was there a town vote on this that I
missed out on? This was apparently discussed at the "town council workshop". We all know
who is behind this, don't we? (see the title of this post). She is some piece of work isn't she?
She must have a ton of 1/2 acre properties on her sell-sheets that need unloading... and how
better to do it, than to quickly pass a "town council directive" that usurps the authority of
the Zoning Board of Appeals. Basically, it says: "to hell with you ZBA and town residents, any
lot that I have to sell that's on 1/2 acre, but less than 1 acre, is immediately allowed to be built upon."
Folks: these zoning ordinances are in the books for a reason. It was decide long ago that if your lot is on less than an acre, you can't build on it unless you go before the ZBA. But wait, Leona comes along, and voila! we can now build on undersize lots without ZBA approval. In fact, if you read the directive, it says: "It was decided that building lots which are half the required size"...
HALF THE REQUIRED SIZE. REQUIRED SIZE. If something is "required", doesn't that mean... IT'S REQUIRED? How can you circumvent something that is "required". Apparently, all Leona has to do is have her cronies on the Town Council do it for her. Very nice, isn't it?
Could this have been her motive to get on the town council - it's kind of self-serving if you ask the Warbler.
What do you think? I think all of the Warbler's followers and town residents want to know what the hell is going on here?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Water is wet, and Money is green...
We all know by now that Wilmington has about $200,000 left over from the water grant project, and they have to use it or lose it.
Some background information:
Many of the water meters that have been installed throughout Wilmington have transmitters on them... these were the meters that were installed during the big "meter push" 6 or 7 years ago.
We all remember how well the meter installations went now, don't we?
1) plumbing nightmares trying to shut water off that wasn't turned off in years (or ever)
2) the plumbers wouldn't/couldn't do the installations for the fee the town allocated
3) never got them up and running.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone on the board kept us informed of the status of the water meters? All the residences with transmitters installed and paid for are sitting unused because they are now outdated or not compatible with the newer installs (software wise). Does this constitute some sort of joke? Who is going to pay for new software updates and maintenance?
The Warbler agrees that we should all pay for water based on usage.
It would seem that hiring one or two part time meter readers might be a better system in the long run - the town would not have to pay benefits (recall that only part-time town board and town officials get benefits). Another alternative may be if The Bear gets a tase of the honey he could fit it into his very very busy schedule. (camps, house sitting, fishing licenses, etc.).
It seems we don't have anywhere else in the water that system attention, right?
In the words of our very own Supervisor, it would be our last chance to get grant monies for the water system updates unless Whiteface was added to the water district. So, if that was true, then this could be the last money we could get from the state as far as grants or low/no interest loans to fix our water system. Is this how we should spend the last money we have left?
Back to the $200,000 in surplus... During the town meetings for adding Whiteface to the water district, the Warbler remembers that "due to delays in getting various approvals", there was a substantial rise in the costs of materials and labor. The Warbler also remembers how all the updates to Rt. 86, Quaker Mt. Rd., Bonnieview and Haselton all kept getting cut. It finally reached a point where they said they could only do half of what they originally were going to do. Guess what... all of a sudden, they got everything fixed and even went further out on Haselton than they originally intended. In addition, the entire water main on Juniper Hill was replaced - and there was no town meeting discussions about that. Now, we have $200,000 left over! What the hell is going on down there on Community Center Circle? Does anyone know what they're doing down there?
What actually happens if the town doesn't spend that $200,000 ? Do we have $200,000 less to pay back (bonds, loans)? or to we just lose a $200,000 "gift" from the state?
Does anybody know?
Some background information:
Many of the water meters that have been installed throughout Wilmington have transmitters on them... these were the meters that were installed during the big "meter push" 6 or 7 years ago.
We all remember how well the meter installations went now, don't we?
1) plumbing nightmares trying to shut water off that wasn't turned off in years (or ever)
2) the plumbers wouldn't/couldn't do the installations for the fee the town allocated
3) never got them up and running.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone on the board kept us informed of the status of the water meters? All the residences with transmitters installed and paid for are sitting unused because they are now outdated or not compatible with the newer installs (software wise). Does this constitute some sort of joke? Who is going to pay for new software updates and maintenance?
The Warbler agrees that we should all pay for water based on usage.
It would seem that hiring one or two part time meter readers might be a better system in the long run - the town would not have to pay benefits (recall that only part-time town board and town officials get benefits). Another alternative may be if The Bear gets a tase of the honey he could fit it into his very very busy schedule. (camps, house sitting, fishing licenses, etc.).
It seems we don't have anywhere else in the water that system attention, right?
In the words of our very own Supervisor, it would be our last chance to get grant monies for the water system updates unless Whiteface was added to the water district. So, if that was true, then this could be the last money we could get from the state as far as grants or low/no interest loans to fix our water system. Is this how we should spend the last money we have left?
Back to the $200,000 in surplus... During the town meetings for adding Whiteface to the water district, the Warbler remembers that "due to delays in getting various approvals", there was a substantial rise in the costs of materials and labor. The Warbler also remembers how all the updates to Rt. 86, Quaker Mt. Rd., Bonnieview and Haselton all kept getting cut. It finally reached a point where they said they could only do half of what they originally were going to do. Guess what... all of a sudden, they got everything fixed and even went further out on Haselton than they originally intended. In addition, the entire water main on Juniper Hill was replaced - and there was no town meeting discussions about that. Now, we have $200,000 left over! What the hell is going on down there on Community Center Circle? Does anyone know what they're doing down there?
What actually happens if the town doesn't spend that $200,000 ? Do we have $200,000 less to pay back (bonds, loans)? or to we just lose a $200,000 "gift" from the state?
Does anybody know?
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