Warner Republicans react to survey.

THE SUPERVISOR’S “STATE OF THE TOWN” ADDRESS
January 2004
Another year has passed.
Where does the time go? I wish all residents the happiest and healthiest New Year ever. I just wanted to update you on a couple of projects.
The Comprehensive Master Plan Committee has been meeting since last January every third Tuesday of the month. Their charge has been to review the Comprehensive Master Plan, review all zoning codes, review developmental requests and to look at open space, do we as a town want to protect some of our agricultural land from development and if so where and at what cost. The committee mailed out 3400 questionnaires and received 911 back approximately 27% return, which is well above the normal return of 5-10%. The committee has the 52 questionnaire complied with all the answers as well as comments in a 260 page report. This will be one of our greatest resources to aid us in our task. The committee is in the process of reviewing all the information when it has been completed we will have an advertised informational meeting to review the answers with the public. We thank everyone who took the time to answer the questions. We will keep you informed of the process.
Construction has begun on Hamlin Kendall water district #1 ext.#6. The project should be completed by April. The application process is continuing on the Wiler Road Rt. 18 district with Clarkson. Construction should begin early spring.
Especially in these fiscally tight times and as we have in the past 4 years, we will continue to explore more ways to generate revenue for the Town and to continually keep expenses down.
Austin F. Warner, III, Supervisor, Town of Hamlin

Can you believe this?

Thank you Mr. Supervisor for the thoughtful, thorough “State of the Town” address.

What were the accomplishments of local government in 2003?

None apparently. The Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Rewrite Committee has been meeting for over a year with nothing to share with the taxpayers. The committee meetings are still closed to the public. Once again, Austin Warner brags about something he should be ashamed of.

Mr. Supervisor: Barring the public from an important public policy discussion is a disgrace. Don’t try to cover it up or put a positive spin on it. It is wrong, plain and simple. Excluding the tax-payers from the review of zoning and planning is something you, and all the members of the committee, should be deeply ashamed about.

Next on the Supervisor’s list is the town survey. It’s interesting that Mr. Warner wrote so glowingly about this project. He did so because he wrote it in January! By February, the results were in- and they aren’t pretty. Publicity promoting the survey has all but vanished from public view because the results were so devastatingly critical of the administration!

There are twenty eight pages of public “comment” and much of it is highly critical of local government. The public speaks most clearly here about what it wants Hamlin to be. Residents recognize that the motives of the administration, and it’s cronyism, threatens the town’s future. They are hopping mad about it.

(http://www.hamlinny.org/Support_Boards/master_plan_committee.html Click on “Additional Comments”)

The results from the questionnaire are also a disaster. The town was determined to “do this our way” and shows it. Supervisor Warner would not fund an expert to design the survey, so the results are a mish-mash of meaningless numbers. Some questions have responses which add up to 100%, others add up to 184% or 212% or whatever. There is no key, no qualifiers, no explanation. The data is meaningless, it is useless.

Warner and his cronies tried to shape the questionnaire to produce the results they wanted- and it backfired. The data is so wildly confusing that anyone, promoting any issue, will find both positive and negative data available for their position.

The questionnaire results are useless, they give no insight into the community. They show only that there is a diversity of opinion.

We knew that.

Finally, The Supervisor cites two new water districts. One under way and one “pending.” As everyone knows, it is the residents who create waterlines, not the Supervisor. Austin Warner’s contribution is an introductory schmoozing meeting to describe the application process. It is strictly PR. The plan goes ahead because the residents push for it. Warner takes credit for it anyway.

There you have it Hamlin, the accomplishments of an entire year: A important committee, which is closed to the public and has produced no results; A failed survey whose greatest feature is an indictment of the incompetence of the administration; and one new waterline.

2003- it was a fine year for local government! They didn’t accomplish a damn thing except to embarrass themselves.

Once again.

The Pretend Garage being used as a warehouse.

Country Lawyerin'

As reported below, the affront to Town Law, know as the “House-Disguised-as-a-Garage” is alive and well!

The latest episode has the Zoning Board struggling to find a way to maintain the status quo, no matter how many local laws are violated or malicious precedents are set.

Austin Warner, apparently suffering a lingering hang-over from being harangued by the builder, has directed the new Building Inspector to cobble together a rationale to permit the illegal structure to remain.

The BI obediently dug up a completely irrelevant document and tried to apply it to the matter. He found a definition of a “residence” in the NYS Building Codes. During the ZB meeting, the BI claimed that, “this is the only definition of a house I could find.” The code describes a completed residence with items such as electrical outlets, heat runs, etc.

The Supervisor, Chairman of the Zoning Board (Norm Baas) and the BI all hoped that this illogical, bogus reasoning would allow them to permit the house to remain, regardless of what laws are violated, and the detrimental zoning precedents that it sets.

They just don’t want to confront the builder and make him conform.

In an effort to help Charlie Welch, the support board attorney, here is what is wrong with the argument offered by the Building Inspector: The definition is irrelevant and cannot be used to void local law.

In other words, Mr. Welch, the structure is in violation of Hamlin Zoning Law and the NYS Building Code definitions are not empowered to overrule those laws. Capiche?

Similarly, the reasoning used by the previous BI when he granted the completed structure a new “garage” permit is equally faulty. If a structure is in violation “as is,” the act of issuing a different permit will not void or invalidate those violations. A new permit cannot be used as a cure. Comprehendo?

Further, a Building Inspector is not empowered to grant variances! It’s that simple. When Larry Gurrslin granted a new permit for the completed structure, ignoring the numerous code violations, he was wrong and the permit was not valid.

Gurrslin had previously issued a Stop-Work Order on the building because it broke so many laws (for example: set-backs, two principle structures, non-conformance to plan, etc.) After taking a pummeling from Warner, he strategized, that maybe the structure could be allowed if he issued a new permit based on revised drawings of the completed building. Sorry! Wrong.

The BI cannot grant permission for something which is in violation. Only the Zoning Board can grant variances to the local law.

It is astonishing that our town counsel did not, has not, grasped this fundamental concept. If they had, this problem would not exist today.

Now the new BI is attempting to do the very same thing, and town counsel is standing by, apparently bewildered, letting it happen.

Let me reinforce the concept: If a structure is in violation of local zoning law, a Building Inspector is not empowered to void that law, either by issuing a revised permit or by hiding behind an irrelevant definition from an unrelated source.

The builder badgered the Supervisor, the Supervisor badgered the Building Inspectors, but that doesn’t change the facts. The structure is a two-story residence, not a garage, and that is proven by the Town’s definitions in Hamlin Zoning Law.

That the structure on Wautoma Beach Road was, and is, in violation was proven by the Stop-Work Order. Those violations cannot be cured by unauthorized “interpretive” decisions of the Building Inspector. Building Inspectors don’t have such power. The only cures are a variance or conformance.

One can only wonder what the Town Attorneys will say to a Supreme Court Judge about these events. It should be very entertaining to listen to the court’s response!

Join me at the Hamlin Zoning Board!

Just Another "Good Guy"

Can there be any doubt that Hamlin is the low-water mark for local government in Monroe County? For confirmation, one needs only look at the Chairman of our Zoning Board, Norm Baas.

Baas, who claims to have been on the ZB for about 25 years, epitomizes the laziness and incompetence of the Warner administration.

At Monday night’s ZB meeting the continuing saga of the “House pretending to be a Garage” entered it’s EIGHT MONTH of discussion! The problem, as a whole, has existed since 2001! The neighbors who have fought to get the town to enforce our zoning codes, cornered the ZB into a public hearing on the issue.

In anticipation, they sent each board member several documents to help them prepare for the meeting. Included were letters from the Town Attorney specifying the powers of the Building Inspector to enforce the code, letters from the Building Inspector to the owner directing him to cease all work on the project since it was in violation, etc.- altogether there were about eight pages.

Norm Baas didn’t bother to read them. None, nada, not a single page!

Is that clear? The Chairman of the Zoning Board didn’t bother to read the correspondence relevant to an important hearing he was conducting.

Do you know what he gave as his excuse? He said,” I only received these on Saturday, and didn’t have time to read them.”

Unbelievable. Truly, the low-water mark for “responsible” local government!

Norm Baas had eight pages of text to read, and two and one half days to read them, and he claims he “didn’t have time.”

But, it gets worse.

As the meeting began Baas proclaimed that he was “so unfamiliar with the whole process,” and “"how difficult it was to be in the position of making this type of decision."

A Zoning Board member for “twenty five years” and he doesn’t know what to do in a public hearing for a request for enforcement!

How many more decades does Norm Baas get before he learns his job? How many more decades does Norm Baas get before he accepts the responsibilities of his title?

The worst part of this pitiful scene however, was the tone used by Mr. Baas. In a sickening display of self-indulgence Baas made his remarks in the tone of a child who had been put upon, or like a long-suffering wife. He whined! His attitude was “Don’t you feel sorry for me? I have such a big burden!” It was disgusting. (And, it’s all captured on video tope if you’d like to see it!)

Imagine a person in the private sector doing the same thing! Picture an employee arriving at a meeting he was responsible to conduct and stating "I didn't have time to read the documents," and whining that he was "uncomfortable making a decision."

Goodbye!

Attending Hamlin Zoning Board meetings is like being in the movie “Ground Hog Day.” Every meeting seems like the first. The Board doesn’t remember the details of issues it discussed in the past, it doesn’t remember resolutions it has made, it doesn’t remember town laws and zoning codes. It is in a constant state of befuddlement.

That is the leadership style of Norm Baas, the "Chairman." A guy who can’t bother reading documents prior to a hearing, a guy who has served for twenty five years and still doesn’t understand what his duties are, or how they work, a guy who whines about his “burden.”

Can’t you just hear the Supervisor blustering to Baas’ defense- “Norm’s a nice guy!” Just like Jim Breslawski, it’s Warner’s excuse for everything. They may be illegal or grossly incompetent in their duties but, “They’re nice guys.”

I wonder if there are similar "nice guys" working for DeMarco Construction? I'm sure we'll find out.

Ethics? We don’t need no stinking ethics!

Warner Earns a Gold Hat

The ironies just keep piling up! Supervisor Warner is aggressively stumping to keep his political crony Jim Breslawski on the Planning Board.

Beside the “Good Guy” argument (below) he offers the reasoning that Jim is a big taxpayer and large landowner. (Both these assertions will be examined later, in detail.)

It is the sincerity of the arguments which are challenged today.

Many people will remember that the town’s largest landowner, and biggest taxpayer, used to be on the Planning Board. He used to be, and he wanted to stay on it, but Austin Warner had him removed!

No public explanation has ever been given. At the time, rumors circulated that certain members of local government felt this individual was using his seat on the Planning Board to personal advantage relative to his properties.

Personal advantage? Back then the Number One land owner, the Number Two land owner and the Number Three landowner were all on the board at the same time! Who’s kidding who? It ain’t called “Planning” for nothing.

Interestingly, Number Two and Number Three probably rent land from Number one for their farming operations, so bumping him must have been dicey. The scuttlebutt was that Warner intervened, threatening Number One that he might have to appear before the Hamlin Ethics Committee. That "news" was sufficient grounds for the PB to turn down Number One’s reappointment!

The Hamlin Ethics Committee no longer exists. Warner let it evaporate. Many residents believe that it was created simply to punish political enemies inside the Republican Committee and once that was accomplished, the ethics would become inconvenient.

Maybe even dangerous. After all, someone might complain that it was unethical to keep a person on the Planning Board who hasn’t been a resident of the town since 1990.

Oh, Jim...

After O.J. Simpson was arrested the most astonishing support for his innocence came from an anonymous citizen during a TV interview. The man said, “He couldn’t have committed murder, he won the Heisman Trophy!”

There is some similar brilliant logic floating around regarding Jim Breslawski, the Planning Board vice-chairman who moved out of Hamlin about a decade ago.

Breslawski is serving on the Planning Board in conflict with state law which requires that public officials live in the municipalities that they serve. It is a reasonable position. The rule, and it’s purpose, is not hard to understand. Donald Trump might like to be on the Planning Board in Niagara Falls, but he can’t .

Interestingly, under the law, Breslawski’s spot on the PB was vacated the day he left Hamlin, around 1990. If you leave, you loose your seat. You cruise, you lose.

However, a gaggle of Warner Republicans are charging around town trying to drum up support for Breslawski, despite the violation of law. Like the O.J guy, these folks offer an amazingly illogical reason for their position. The argument is this: Jim is a nice guy; he works hard; he pays his taxes; he’s been a contributor to the town- therefore he should stay on the Planning Board.

This is the “Nice Guy” rational used in small towns to protect one of the “Good-Ole Boys” whenever they get in trouble. It was used for a century in the deep south to keep lynchers from the same fate.

There are two basic legal tenets to the argument. First: If he’s a good person, he can’t be guilty of a bad thing. Second: it must be a bad law if it hurts a “good guy.”

Sorry O.J. Sorry Klan. Even if you’re a good athlete or an upstanding good-ole-boy, the law applies to you. Oh, and you too, Jim.

It’s unfortunate that mainstream Republicans have to be tarnished by this kind of thinking. Republicans take pride in being the party of law and order. They promote public and personal accountability. It only takes a few Warner apples to spoil it for everyone.

Public Officer’s and Town Law are both available on the web. You can NYS Laws at: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=0.

Find the relevant statutes at:
Public Officers Law, Article 2, Section 3. (http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=94&a=3) and Article 3, Section 30 (http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=94&a=5)

Warner Republicans celebrate insulting the Conservation Board.

Petty Bullying Reigns Supreme

In a puerile temper-tantrum, Supervisor Warner again acted to block the election of Ed Evans to Hamlin's Conservation Board. Evans, supremely qualified to serve, was the unanimous choice of the members of the CB. In every preceding case, the choice of the support board has been honored by the Town Board.

Not this time.

Warner, the only TB member to question Evans, misquoted a statement Evans made in the paper and twisted it to imply that Evans didn't trust the Town Board, ergo he would be unable to work with them.

The actual quote referred to Warner's interference with the minutes of the December Town Board meeting. Evans had read a farewell statement into the record and Warner had instructed the Town Clerk to leave the statement out of the minutes! In his letter to the paper Evans said, "...this is another reason for the citizens of Hamlin not to trust their government."

Indeed. Does the Supervisor now have the power to overrule the Town Clerk? The citizens elected Kathi Rickman as our "Keeper of Records." Warner has no authority over her office- he simply bullied her.

Hamlin residents should consider: Is this merely an overextension of authority, or actual misfeasance?

What is painfully obvious is that it's Warner, not Evans who can't get along with people. He is renowned for bullying, shouting, browbeating and humiliating employee's and residents alike. A good example is this denying Evans' appointment. The entire Conservation Board wanted Ed, and he is by far the most qualified, but ham-fisted Warner stomped his feet and shook his finger enough to make the other board members cower with fear, and comply.

Once again, we see the dysfunctional Supervisor harm the town merely to satisfy his own petty whims of revenge.