I haven't been reading legal notices as consistently as I should be, but this one from Ulysses today caught my eye:
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses will hold a Special Town Board Meeting May 22, 2004 at 8:00 AM for the purpose of interviewing of the applicants interested in the Planning Board.
While I'm definitely not convinced that a Town Board meeting is an ideal way to spend a Saturday morning at 8am, I'm impressed that the board is doing its interviews in the open, and that the public can attend. That doesn't seem to be Dryden practice, as only one candidate was actually presented to the Town Board (by description) and voted on for both April's Planning Board appointment of Jim Crawford and Thursday's appointment of Thomas Quinn to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
This got me thinking a bit more about some other decisions that seem to be moving forward without much public input. The golf course discussion has at least been partly in public, but last I heard from Town Board members (the March meeting) there wasn't much certainty over whether it should happen, and conversation seems to have shifted to executive session, as if the conversation is only about terms, not about whether it's a good or bad idea. (I very mildly support the purchase, if that matters.)
The possibility of a new town hall is another case where big things might happen, but all of that discussion is in executive session. What discussion I've seen of what's happening on that front has been in the Journal, not at meetings. I doubt the board will buy property in any of the far corners of the town, but right now there's no way to know.
I certainly hope they'll look for public input on what people want in a town hall as construction or renovation get closer, and it would be great to know where the money for this will come from. Reserves, I'm guessing.
Posted by simonstl at May 17, 2004 10:10 PM