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The Blog has received several letters of note. Clarke, who iniated the conversation about the Memorial Day parade, objects to my treatment of bikers. Others wrote about the parade with the most striking comments about the Supervisor's ineptness. "I wasn't so bothered by the politicians marching in the parade, that's their perogative. But what frosted me was to have Supervisor Warner shake my hand, and many others, with the greeting, "Happy Memorial Day!" What the hell kind of a greeting is that? This is a sacred day. There isn't supposed to be anything particularly happy about it. His other faux pas wasn't quite as grating but was still insulting. In his little "speech", he honored all the "soldiers" who had died for their country. I guess he never heard about airmen, coast guardsmen, marines and sailors. Oh well, just another example of our favorite statesman at his best."

Clarke wrote:

I usually like most of what you put on the blogger but I found your last addition to be disgusting. You ridiculed the biker community as a whole. The bikers that were in Hamlin on Memorial Day, while they did drink, were there to honor the memory of the service men and women that gave their lives for this country. My son-in-law is a biker while he chose not to ride on Memorial Day. Many of the riders were Vietnam vets. If they happen to have a drinking problem today, it might have something to do with the attrocities that they saw during their service to this country. I really think that you owe them a public appology.

I also wanted you to know that even if I do show interest in your views, that in no way means that I endorse the Democratic Party. Neither does it mean that I endorse the Republican Party. I believe that voting straight party lines all of the time is a waste of a vote and is something that a robot could easily do. I choose to vote for the person that I feel will do the best job for the office no matter what party he/she belongs to.

One thing that I do appreciate is that I think that you give me a place to air my views, although you are free to tell me to lay off at any time. I hope that you know that I will not be at all offended if you do that.

Clarke M. Mahaney

The Blog responds: Bikers, like any group, have good and bad members. The history and culture of bike gangs is not too pretty, fundraising for vetrans does not by itself elevate their stature.

The Blog will be happy to retract its remarks if either of following things happens: A Federal Law is passed that all Confederate "Stars and Bars" flags will carry a large navy-blue letter "L" on their face. Or, biker gangs and Motorcycle clubs lobby the legislature to make it a felony for anyone to tamper with the exhaust and noise-supression systems on motorcycles!

Vistors to the Hamlin "Highway to Hell" Festival

Hamlin Rises From The Ashes

June 1, 2012: Hamlin, NY

Hamlin NY today celebrates its fifth anniversary as America's official “Biker-Town USA.” On hand to celebrate were the Hells Angels, Iron Horseman and the Hamlin Headknockers. The event was marked by the annual “Highway to Hell” motorcycle ride and rock concert held on the fireman’s field in the heart of Hamlin.

Town Supervisor, Sonny Barger III, elucidated the short history of the “Biker-Town” designation. “It really started back in aught-four with the Molly Hatchet concert. We had a big ride with about 2000 bikes to raise money for charity. We’d been tryin’ for a few years to find a home, ya know, a place where we could get s—-tfaced and kick out the jams to southern rock, ya know. Yeeehaaaa! Nobody wanted us- ya know Fairport turned us down, so did Spencerport, Brighton, Ontario, Albion, Holley, Clarkson, Sweden, and I dun know, a buncha others. Wait here aminute.”


Supervisor Sonny Barger III (Right) with the Hamlin Town Board

When he returned from the beer tent 35 minutes later, he continued. “So’s anyway, what was I sayin? Oh yeah, we wanted a ‘home’ ya know, someplace where bikers would be welcome, ya know, like a place we could call our own. Hamlin, man, they were just so great. The town board didn’t ask no questions, they didn’t ask for money or nothing- they just said like, ‘Come on down’ ya know? So later, kinda over the next few months or whatever, we got to talking, and s-—t, we figured, ‘Hey, maybe we oughta all just move OUT THERE, ya know, like, become residents, then we ‘d have a real home. I mean s-—t, if fifty percent of the town is bikers we can pretty much do what we want, ya know?”

Local pundit and unofficial town historian Martin Smith outlined what happened next. “At that time, back in ’04, the town board was pretty slow on the up-take. For nearly forty years, ever since the Duffy-Mott plant had abandoned the town, Hamlin had struggled to find a new identity, a new self-image. It tried a few things, like “Wheelfest,” which was supposed to compete with the Hilton Applefest. That didn’t work. I mean, that's like celebrating the history of the shoe, who cares? Despite all the farmland, the creeks and the park, the geniuses in local government couldn’t come up with anything. So when the bikers came, the town board just shrugged their shoulders. There was a mumbled, ‘Uh,umm,ok’ from them. After that, the politicians got a little giddy I guess. They liked seeing their name in the news. The Supervisor liked being on TV even though he looked like Andy Devine (No, not DEVINE, ANDY Devine!) Anyway, they just let the bikers keep coming back and the festival just got bigger and bigger. They brought in ‘Skynard’ and other big acts, bikers came from everywhere and just loved it. They’d take over the town for a weekend, all the local people would hide indoors. The fire department prospered since they had the beer sales, and the town board just continued to shrug and look at their shoes. ‘We can’t stop them now,’ is all they could come up with.”

>
The new town flag

The tide turned when the DiMarco subdivision went up for sale in 2008. Originally built in 2005 as a “Senior “ and low-income housing complex, the 900 unit “Millstone” development soon failed. The builder hadn’t anticipated that, with no public transportation, even poor people wouldn’t move to the boondocks to live in sub-standard housing. The project never reached more than 30% occupancy.

Eventually, abandoned by the builder, the development went up for auction. Rob Schiller of Harris, Wilcox oversaw the sale, “Actually, nobody came except the Hell’s Angels. By that time Hamlin’s reputation as a town had hit rock bottom. Local government was a joke- slow, reactionary and petty- and now the town was home to half the motorcycle clubs in the five-county area. Property values had tanked, the good builders baled out and took their projects to Hilton or Clarkson. Anybody with any money had already left town. Hamlin was the first ‘Rural Ghetto’ as the census report described it.”


Hells Angels purchase Millstone Apartments, June 2008

Yet, there are positives to report as well. Crime is down significantly in Hamlin since the Angels took over the “Millstone” complex. In the first years of operation crime shot up 220% in this small town of 4500. Supervisor Bager explained, “Well, first we knocked on a few doors, then we knocked on a few heads. They got the message. Bye, bye.”

Now the sprawling, Soviet-style housing can almost be called homespun. “We’ve moved most of our moms in so we can be closer to ‘em!“ gushed the well-lubricated Butch Spanner, a mechanic at Wheelfest Motors. American and Confederate flags festoon the dull, grey buildings and the constant hum and thump of the Charlie Daniels Band can be heard day and night.

Apparently many ex-wives have also moved into the complex, “These guys would never see their kids if we didn’t!” said Bambi B. “Yeah, and we wouldn’t ever see a support-check either if we weren’t up their a---s everyday!” chimed in Lola D. Both woman declined to use their last names, “We don’t need to get beat up for talking to a freakin’ reporter!”

So it seems, after forty years of searching, Hamlin New York has finally found its identity, “Biker-Town, USA!”

"Highway to Hell" visitors pose for souvineir photo

Memorial Day, Not Advertising Day

The following is from a Hamlin resident.

I was quite dismayed to see our Republican politicians marching in the parade behind the "Hamlin Republicans" banner. To be truthful with you, I wish that politicians would stay completely out of Memorial Day parades unless they are there as veterans. Politicians are the ones that send our young people to other parts of the world to fight and possibly get wounded or die, sometimes for good causes and sometimes for bad. Then when they come back, it is the same politicians that virtually forget the ones that need government help. Remember "Agent Orange"? It killed all of the folliage but it didn't hurt our soldiers? Give me a break!!! The politicians need to let Memorial Day be a day to honor our fallen heroes and leave politics out of it. There, I've had my say.

Thank you,

Clarke M. Mahaney

Supervisor Warner, in costume for Wheelfest '04.

Bedrock Baloney

As usual, Supervisor Warner misses the point. His letter in the 5/16 Herald (written by Pat McIntosh, I’m sure!) actually brags about the secret meetings and dealings the town has had with the DiMarco developers. Doesn’t he understand anything?

Hamlin taxpayers don’t want the DiMarco project AT ALL! Not one piece!

And, we want to know all of the news, in detail. We want to know what DiMarco is up to, and how Hamlin is dealing with it. The public has demanded constant updating on the “Millstone” low-income housing plan. Nearly a thousand taxpayers signed a letter specifically demanding that. What was Warner’s response? “My office...will always be open.” He has transformed his duty and promise to communicate with the public into the breathtakingly arrogant, “Make an appointment.”
>
> Is Warner so out of touch with the average citizen? Does he think the typical Hamlin property owner has the time to meet with him? Our Supervisor only works part time hours, the same ones as everyone else. Since 87% of Hamlin’s workforce commutes, when exactly should they get together with him? Saturday morning? Right. “You thousand residents! Get in line. The
Supervisor will meet you shortly!”
>
> This is just another tired old politicians trick. Caught in a lie-of-commitment, he has tried to deflect the truth of the facts. He suggests that an ”open office” is equal to town-wide communication in our local newspaper. His flimsy, defensive letter is no substitute for sitting down with a reporter and explaining the DiMarco developments in detail- for all of us.
>
> The little bit he did reveal about “Millstone” should make every homeowner nervous. In the March Planning Board meeting, Chris Schlieter demanded that DiMarco present all three Phases of the development. He told the developer, point blank, that if all the details of all stages were not presented, there would be no action. What was the result? DiMarco, meeting privately with town, informed them that they would, “include a cluster plan of larger lots for sale.”
>
> The developer doesn’t have a very high regard for the intelligence of Hamlin’s Planning Board apparently. DiMarco knows how the process works. They offer a pacifying plan today, and take it off the table tomorrow. There is no law which prohibits a developer from changing his mind! Once the developer has established a relative value for his property through an initial Phase, then the town cannot stop them from developing the rest of the property to that same value! Even if there had been a previous agreement, the town cannot block full exploitation of a property.
>
> The only power the Planning Board has to block this project is through the sophisticated use of the NYS Environmental SEQR laws. Our representatives are not up to the task. DiMarco puts up high-priced lawyers, engineers and environmental specialists. What do we have? Jim Breslawski?! Then, there is Hamlin’s SEQR officer, Mr. Charles Hungerford, a private Warner appointment. Hungerford is a part time lawn-mower for the town and a retired Building Inspector. He used to be the SEQR officer and was terrible at it. He lacks legal training and sophistication. He is hardly a match for the professionals from DiMarco. Instead of hiring an expert to put the town on an equal footing, Hamlin has an unskilled, untrained SEQR officer who lost terribly the last time his work was challenged in court.
>
> Finally, the Stupirvisor’s claim that the conference with DiMarco was open to the public is a classic, “Lie of Ommission.” He knows that the public was given no notice of the meeting- not in the Herald; not in the Zoning Board, Planning Board, or Town Board meetings; not in the town hall, or on radio or TV. If no notice is given, and no one knows about a meeting, it can hardly be “open.” It’s fun to hear a local politician try to BS an entire community!
>
> Warner always called himself a “communicator.” If breaking promises, failing to speak to the press and lying qualifies as communication, then he’s doing a rock solid job. WIllmmaaa!

Little Billy Hamlin Gets Several Doses of Vile Tasting Government

At the May 3rd Planning Board meeting not one word was uttered about the DiMarco “Millstone” project. Earlier in the week, the Hamlin Clarkson Herald carried a story in which Supervisor Warner declared that the project had been withdrawn! Warner made this monumental announcement and the Planning Board had not one word to share about it with the public! Hundreds and hundreds of residents came out to two public hearings and more than 900 citizens signed a petition demanding to be kept informed and what is the result? SILENCE! Slurp, gulp. The PB assured the public, over and over, that we would all be apprised, kept up to date, blah, blah blah. They are either liars or just plain don’t care.

Slurp.

Worse yet, in a little bitty announcement at the bottom of the PB minutes (posted on the web), we learn that the Vice-Chairman has been meeting privately with agents from DiMarco! Privately!! Privately?? What business does he have doing ANYTHING about this project in private? Another way to describe “private” is secret. When government officials meet “privately” you’d better believe the reason IS to be secret!

What did they discuss? What decisions were made? Why were they made? (The Blog will file a Freedom of Information request for any documents.)

They public knows virtually nothing about these meetings, and the PB is happy to leave it that way. Silence. Secrecy. Slurp.

Why was the Vice-Chairman designated to hold these meetings? Most citizens now know that the VC is Jim Breslawski, who is not even a resident of the town. Yes he owns land in Hamlin, just like that corporate entity which owns Tops, but the law states that PB members must be residents. Compounding the issue is the fact that “Jim Cheney” (as he is sometimes referred to in the town hall) is one of Hamlin’s largest landowners. Hmmmm. Could there be any personal advantage to Breslawski in meeting privately with the DiMarco folks? Hmmmm. Let’s see, large landowner meets secretly with the largest developer of high density housing in the county...

Not Jim! Lord knows, he doesn’t keep any secrets!

Slurp, gulp.

The Herald story also quotes Warner as saying that the proposal has been withdrawn. What does that mean? Is a new one coming, maybe on somebody else’s land? Why was it withdrawn? A better offer? Is there a plan to relocate the development, maybe in some more “rural” location where the objections won’t be so great? Maybe the Vice Chair has the inside track. Maybe Jim Cheney has suggested that a different location might make its way through the PB a little easier and faster... Who knows?

Slurp, gulp, hack.

It doesn’t matter much to Breslawski anyway. He doesn’t live in Hamlin. It was reported he once said about the DiMarco project, “Can’t see it from my house.”

You can almost hear Warner right now, “Oh no! Not Jim! He’s loyal to Hamlin.”

Yeah, sure. That’s why HE LIVES IN CLARKSON!

********************************************************************

Two other quick notes that will be expanded on soon: Much of the public is aware that former Building Inspector Larry Gursslin has sued the Town for the manner in which he was terminated. Supervisor Warner, in his typical “Bull in the China Shop” personnel-management style, fired Gursslin, without cause, two months before Gursslin’s contract expired! By not giving a reason, Warner damaged Gursslin’s reputation and his ability to find new employment. The suit is for improper dismissal.

Slurp.

Now, the Zoning Board of Appeals has been sued! Yes, the ZBA in an act of simple cowardice and unimaginable illogic, passed a resolution declaring that the two-story residence on Wautoma Beach Road is actually a garage! If one can see, one knows it is a house. The applicant himself stated several times, on public record, that the structure was a house (he even said he had buyers lined up for it!), nonetheless the Hamlin ZBA saw the structure as a garage. To make matters worse, the house is being used a commercial storage facility for the applicants “remodeling” businesses. Naturally, a commercial use in a Shoreline-Residential zoning district is a violation of local law, but as usual, the violation is not being enforced. More on this later!

Gulp, hack, choke.

“Mmmmm. That’s a good little boy Billy. Doesn’t that slick government-issue fish oil taste good?

Help Wanted

He knows when you've been naughty...

Most people are probably unaware that Hamlin’s previous Building Inspector, Larry Gursslin, has filed a notice of claim against the town. This is a lawsuit. Gursslin, who was publicly fired without reason, is suing for defamation and libel. He wants his job back and his reputation restored.

Gursslin was fired, without cause given, in a very contentious public meeting of the Town Board on October 13, 2003. Many, many residents liked Larry and were concerned about the lack of justification for the firing. Two town board members, Ed Evans and Paul Rath, were visibly upset with the lack of process and the secrecy used by Supervisor Warner in the matter. Both men read detailed objections into the public record.

One item Gursslin is suing for is his earned vacation pay! Can you imagine that? The town of Hamlin has refused to pay him what he earned! Can you imagine how you would feel if an employer did that to you? Plenty of local people have been laid off, but no self respecting company would be so low as to try to screw an employee out of money they’d already earned.

Except in Hamlin! What could possibly possess the Supervisor to be so cheap, so mean and act so illegally? Well, anybody who knows him well can answer that. Supervisor Warner is a mean, vindictive, punitive bully. If he’s is mad at you, there isn’t anything too cheap, too stupid or too ill-advised that he won’t try if he thinks it will hurt you.

Many people who know the Supervisor in a surface way might find that hard to believe. Isn’t he the friendly, jocular man that brings new residents a big hunk of strawberry cake when they move into town? Isn’t he the chuckling giant who dresses up in costumes to entertain the kids at town functions? Yes, but he has a bad side.

It’s Santa’s evil twin- Bad Santa.

Bad Santa is the obsessive, micro-managing, secretive politician who thinks Ed Evans harmed him by running a primary and is paying Evans back by blocking him from serving on the Conservation Board (“After what he did to me?”) No matter how detrimental this act is for Hamlin.

Bad Santa is the chuckling goon who can’t string a sentence together that makes any sense either on paper or in person. He’s the one who fumbles and mumbles through budget hearings casting aspersions on anybody who questions the numbers.

Bad Santa is the Machiavellian autocrat who thinks he has unlimited, unrestrained power. He thinks he can fire employees at will and to hell with the legal process. He’s the guy who will sacrifice our zoning laws just to inflict a little pointless disturbance on misperceived political opponents.

Unfortunately, Bad Santa runs the town.

Don’t be shy…

More From the Interview!

Winner: Best Line Taken Out of Context!

In response to a question about gay marriage…

Supervisor Warner: “I understand the, the…um, other, ah… you know, ah…ah…the gay feelings…”
* * *

Referring to towns giving equal benefits to same sex unions:

Supervisor Warner: “…I think that’s something they will have to work out. If there’s something that you could unilaterally do, with that, um, I won’t really have a problem with that as long as, ya know, it was agreed upon by everybody. Um, this particular thing, right now, um, basically…I…I…guess it’s forcing awareness to it…um…as far as I’m concerned right now, I agree with you, there’s no law that says that the law does not state, uh, two, ah, that…that there is a marriage between, uh, same sex people as a husband and wife and until they resolve that, there’s really not much the Towns can do, other than to go along with that.”
* * *
There you have it. If everybody could just unilaterally agree on something- then we’d all be happy! And he claims he’s not a politician, oh peshaw!

I think I did say this about that. At least, I assume so.


NOTICE: From time to time, The Blog has employed sarcasm, irony, farce, even audacious mendacity in it’s reporting of Hamlin news. We do not deny this.

However, what you are about to read is real. It is a word for word transcription of part of an interview that Mayor Josephine Matela of Brockport and Supervisor Austin Warner of Hamlin gave to the SUNY College radio station. The interview aired this past Sunday, March 7th at 8:30 PM on 89.1, The Point.

The Blog guarantees that this question and the following answers are EXACTLY as they were spoken. We have the tape to prove it.

Reporter: We now know that it is definitely John Kerry running for the Democrats and George W. Bush running for the Republicans. How do you both see this race playing out heading into November?

Mayor Matela: Well, I’ll just say there are 200 and some days left and , ya know, even though I am a politician, I hope that they will use good judgment and not try to bring up the past. I don’t think people are interested in what happened in the past, people wanna know, “What are they gonna do for…the people now? What are you gonna do for the economy? What are you gonna do for jobs?” That’s what we wanna know about. We don’t really wanna to know what happened in the past. Austin, what about you?

Supervisor Warner: (Chuckling) I’m, I’m not a politician, I’m a Supervisor!

Mayor Matela: Oh, ok! (Laugh)

Supervisor Warner: (Chuckling) And…and…and I agree with ya. I think what you do is, you go on your record. And I think George Bush ..uh..has..a good record. And I think…uh…the, the facts have to come out, and…and…the other, uh, in-fighting, back-biting, and all that... the, that unfortunately comes…uh…should not be there, it should be just strictly on the facts…of what ..uh, Bush thinks...uh…ya know, of what…he thinks he’s gonna do, and what he’s done, and also what Kerry thinks that he can do differently. And then, you go by that-- the facts.

Jimmy Duncan, Freelance Sheriff

You Got A Problem?


A bitch? A complaint? There sumthin' ya don't like?

You better see Jimmy Duncan, Freelance Sheriff. See Jimmy don't get paid but he's lookin out for ya. For all you folks. The little people, them ones that caint help themselves. He's a watching. He'll fix up yer problems right away. Yes, Mam. And at no charge too.

There aint no problem too big er too small you caint call on Sheriff Duncan.

It aint political, it's PERSONAL!

Mike's our Hero!

Hooray for Mike Marchetti

Mike Marchetti continues to be a hero in Hamlin. First, he organized the opposition to the DeMarco “Millstone” development. He got the maps, posted them in his store, wrote letters, made phone calls and generally sounded the alarm for all his fellow residents.

Last week he topped himself. Mike was the fireman who was injured fighting the trailer blaze up in Hidden Creek. Somehow a fire hose came loose and struck Mike in the back, breaking his shoulder. The injury is severe, but not life threatening. He has to rest and will be examined on Thursday to see if he requires surgery.

Mike is sore and bored. If you know him, you know that he is a ball of energy. Being in pain, and forced to rest, is hard on the guy. Mike likes to keep moving. If you see him try to cheer him up.

Despite his injury, and the normal discomforts of the Hamlin Meeting Room, Mike showed up for last Monday’s Planning Board meeting. Maintaining his diligence about Millstone, Mike makes sure he is present when the PB meets. Those who follow local politics know that anything can happen, at anytime, so you’d better beware- and you’d better go to the meetings!

Mike was there and he hung in very well even though the public hearings went on for a very long time. Eventually, the PB began the “Conceptual Review” for a subdivision on Town-Line Road. This plan calls for building 30 homes, in two phases. These are upscale houses ($180k+) and are on existing water and sewer lines. The property was recently rezoned from Commercial to Residential-Medium. If successful, it should raise considerable tax revenues while consuming few local resources.

Amazingly, for a project which is so straight-forward, the PB members began to beat it up. Conceptual approval is, in essence, not approval of anything, it is the opening step of the review process. The purpose is to identify, for the proponent, glaring issues which would be derail the project. This plan had no such issues. Nonetheless, the PB started to leverage issues in a way that would obviously delay the project’s start. Co-Chairman Breslawski (the guy who doesn’t live in Hamlin, and hasn’t for more than 10 years!) spearheaded the effort. Breslawski described subjecting the plan to a prolonged and unnecessary SEQR process which isn’t even appropriate at this stage of the process. He was obviously trying to apply irrelevant concerns to the project in an effort to delay it.

(As an aside, the reason Breslawski and his sidekick James Nesbitt were beating up on the project is because one of the developers, the popular Jim Beehler, is also a partner in the Senior Housing project planned for Rt. 18. The developers have retained former Hamlin Building Inspector, Larry Gurrslin, to help shepard the project forward. He is capable because he was the mayor of Hilton when a similar project was built there. Gurrslin, you may recall, was abruptly and unilaterally fired by Supervisor Warner and is now suing the Town. Since the developers are associated with Gurrslin the Supervisor has instructed Breslawski and Nesbitt to give them a difficult time on any of their projects. It is also reported that Warner called one of the developers on the phone and told him outright that “You won’t get anything done!” as long as Gurrslin is associated with the project!)

Marchetti, who may have known some of the dynamics at work in the meeting, sat listening quietly. Eventually he heard enough and spoke up. “Why are you doing all this stuff now, with this project?” he demanded. “You didn’t do any of this with the Millstone plan,” he reminded them. “You just talked about it for a few minutes and passed it. How come you didn’t look at it like this?” His questioned floated in the air like a big black cloud.

The Planning Board, aware that they are being scrutinized by the public, beat a quick retreat. Chris Schlieter, in a stage whisper to the staring Chairman, said, “This isn’t a public hearing. We don’t have to answer.” This was then regurgitated back to the public.

Mike, obeying the rule, sat silently for a few minutes more then left the proceedings.
Hip, hip, hooray! Mike Marchetti saw what was happening, and saw the injustice in the application of the rules. He saw how easily the Demarco Plan was handled compared to this one, and had the courage to speak up. Mike challenged the Planning Board. He sent them a message- “We are watching you! We know how you work and we don’t like it!”

Good for fireman Mike. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

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.

"...now I'll scratch yours!"

Dirty deals or Deals for Dirt

There was an important story in the Brockport Post last week regarding the Vice-Chairman of the Hamlin Planning Board, Jim Breslawski. It seems that it is illegal for him to be onthe Planning Board since he does not live in Hamlin!

That Breslawski is illegal is without doubt. NYS Public Officers Law states: “No person shall be capable of holding a civil office who shall not, at the time he shall be chosen thereto, have attained the age of eighteen years... be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state, and if it be a local office, a resident of the political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state for which he shall be chosen...”

As far back as May of 2000, Councilperson Shirley Hollink raised this issue with the Town Board, insisting that Breslawski be dismissed. Then Town-Attorney Sharon Kehoe also advised that he be dismissed. However, Jim is such a good friend and staunch supporter of Supervisor Warner that AW3 wasn’t going to let Jim loose his title.

Instead of acting in a legal and professional manner Warner doled out our tax dollars to the new Town Attorney, Ken Licht for an “opinion.” The reply was bogus. The letter offered a transparent and fallacious justification for retaining émigré Breslawski. Licht claimed Jim was lawful since he was registered to vote in Hamlin. This supposedly made him legit under town law. This “opinion” cagily ducks the State Law, which takes precedence.

Just as importantly, it ignores Election Law which also requires residency! The game Warner, Breslawski and Licht played hinged on the fact that voter registration is rarely scrutinized. Beslawski, while living in Clarkson, used his business address in Hamlin as his legal residence when he registered to vote!

Unless the registration is challenged, it remains on the books. So Hamlin, while the Vice Chair of the Planning Board lives in another town, he gets to vote here in ours! And, he gets to influence the future of the community as well!

Why would Jim and Austin go to such extremes to maintain the deceit? There are two reasons, one for each of them. Breslawski wants to stay on the Board because he owns lots of land in Hamlin. His business owns hundreds of acres, so it is to his personal and commercial advantage to be a controlling member of the Planning Board. For Warner, it is the time-honored political connection- Breslawski was the single largest contributor to Austin Warner’s re-election campaign this year!

See the connection? I give you money and you give me a position with authority that allows me a commercial advantage for my business. It is the Republican way! (See Halliburton.)

This is a very serious issue. It looks mightily corrupt. It suggests that legal counsel rendered advice to the town which is contrary to the law and legal precedent. It looks like influential positions on our town’s development and regulatory Boards are for sale. It looks like the Supervisor intentionally, over the objections of other Board members and the law, acted to protect an illegal situation. That’s a problem. Maybe it’s misfeasance.

Much more to come.

Bully with a tatooed belly.

Planning Board Bully

It has been reported that a member of Hamlin’s Planning Board accosted a leader of the opposition to the “Millstone Projects” outside the Town Hall after a recent Planning Board meeting. According to knowledgeable sources the Board member grabbed the citizen by the arms and shoulders and confronted him in an angry, aggressive manner. The actions were forceful enough for the citizen to consider filing assault charges.

In addition to the personal contact, the Board member also threatened to harm the citizens business and to urge others to do the same. The citizen, a leading opponent and organizer of the movement to block the construction of the proposed low-income housing project, was distressed that a person whom he had known for many years would resort to physical confrontation and abuse.

Any member of government who would lay hands on a citizen out of anger should be immediately dismissed from office. Public Officials are “held to a higher standard” under the law. Threatening and menacing a citizen for exercising their constitutional rights is a gross violation of this principle. It’s also a criminal offence.

Area woman celebrates swearing-in of Pasha Warner

Locals Show Support

A large crowd, estimated at over nine, gathered in front of the Hamlin Town Hall on Monday to celebrate the swearing-in of Town Officers. While the actual event was held days earlier, in a secret location off limits to the voting public, these wildly enthusiastic supporters braved the cold and wind to show their support.

The women, many wearing the traditional Hamlin babushka, chanted and held small pictures of the three term Supervisor, who they refer to as "Pasha." The swarthy men slapped their chests and danced in a small circle while looking and pointing skyward.

The officials, Warner and Councilmen George Todd and Dave Rose waved uncertainly at the crowd from behind a window in the Town Hall. The men, swept into office on the vote of hundreds of well-meaning but unthinking residents, seemed baffeled by the outpouring of support. As is always the case, none would comment to the press.

The celebration appeared spontaneous, though one participant grumbled, off the record, that Republican appartchik had ordered them to demonstrate under threat that they would lose their small farm and be forced to live in the proposed Millstone Village projects.
AP

The Enchanted Birthplace of Margaret Thatcher

A Land of Miracles

Me thinks the Chairman of Hamlin’s Planning Board has been reading one too many Arthurian legends. He keeps harping about a mythical development in England which is his icon for the alleged success of low income housing projects.

He has outlined this story several times, notably twice during Thursday’s Public Hearing. The yarn goes something like this: After Margaret Thatcher “replaced the Labor government” she took over a low-income housing project somewhere and made it Rent-to-Own. Supposedly, the tenants were allowed to build equity and this miracle of financial creativity transformed the character of the tenants and the quality of the development.

Does anybody know what the hell he’s talking about? Is this story even real? Where did it come from- a back issue of Time Magazine, discovered in the dentist’s office?

It should make the residents of Hamlin very nervous that the Chairman of the Planning Board seems predisposed to approving the “Millstone Village” plan based on an aging fantasy about Margaret Thatcher! It should give everyone opposed to the local development a deep chill to think that Emens compares this old story from England to the realities of America in the 21nd century.

Equity? When did that become the cure for the myriad social problems that low income housing projects have? What about poverty, inequitable education, divorce, job loss, domestic violence, etc, etc. If equity was such a cure-all wouldn’t there be a huge federal program to underwrite mortgages for the poor? I think our Planning Board Chairman has fallen for some slick Brit PR.

If this tale is even true, what are the details? What does the place look like today? How was the crime rate through the years? Did it actually work past the time of dramatic public relations for Maggie?

We need a Planning Board rooted in reality, oriented on the needs and concerns of the ordinary Hamlin resident. The future of our town is in jeopardy if decisions are made based on indiscriminate myths from foreign lands.