JUNE 28- JULY 4, 2019
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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 26
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
L I L V E G SP RIN TIMES
The official newspaper of the Town of Concord, and the Village of Springville. Serving Springville, the surrounding communities and Springville-Griffith Institute Central Schools
Springville village board approves interim Pop Warner trail agreement
By Kellen M. Quigley
Discussion of the maintenance of the Pop Warner Trail in the village continued at the last Springville Board of Trustees meeting, resulting in a temporary right of entry for the village to take care of the trail for 90 days. At its June 17 meeting, the board authorized Mayor William Krebs to sign an interim right of entry agreement with Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail (ECRT) or Buffalo Pittsburgh Railroad (BPR) for the village to continue to maintain the trail as it did before a new agreement was put in place. “We must move forward,” the mayor said. “We’re dealing with a situation where Springville has no leverage in this. It’s not our agreement.” According to Krebs, the agreement is contingent upon either ECRT or BPR providing evidence of the previous license or lease agreement showing either group can grant the village a right of entry onto the
trail, which the village does not own. “We need something now to get us at least through the summer so we can continue to cut the grass and maintain the trail,” he said. Starting in 2009, the village began planning and developing the 1.7mile section of the former BPR rail line that passed through the village, which became the Pop Warner Rail Trail. In October 2015, the village made an agreement with BPR to have the village maintain that portion of the ECRT. However, in 2018, the BPR negotiated a license agreement with ECRT, which superseded the previous right of entry agreement with the village, which no longer legally allowed the village to continue maintaining the trail, explained Village Attorney Paul Weiss. “The strangest thing is, we’ve talked to the railroad representatives and they say we can fix this,” Krebs said. “And I talk to ECRT board members, who I’ve worked with since 2010,
ECRT’s trail now. “How can we betray the previous boards who voted in favor of this?” he said.
Photo by Kellen M. Quigley The Springville village board approved an temporary right of entry agreement at its last regular meeting to allow the village to maintain the Pop Warner Rail Trail despite lack of a revised agreement with the Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail and the railroad, who owns the land.
and they say, ‘What’s the problem?’” According to Krebs, if both groups want the village to continue maintaining the trail but neither will amend the agreement to allow that to happen, the agreement is flawed. “This (interim right of entry) will at least get us moving,” he said. “For
Concord Town Board passes law for solar installations By Kellen M. Quigley
There is a new law in effect in the town of Concord concerning installation of solar panels after action by the Town Board during its regular meeting earlier this month. The town approved Local Law #2 for 2019 at its June 13 meeting that will apply to all solar energy systems permitted, installed or modified in the town. According to the law, only solar energy systems installed or constructed after the law’s approval are subject to the requirements of the local law, while any already in use are exempt. Prior to the approval, the town board held a public hearing concerning the law. During this time, Town Supervisor Clyde Drake informed the board of a couple concerns the town’s planning board had with the law. One of the concerns was with the Do-it-Yourself section for if town residents
wanted to install solar panels by themselves. After looking into it, Drake said the law requires a “qualified solar installer” to do it, but there is an option for residents who want to do it independently. “Persons who are not on the NYSERDA list of eligible installers may be deemed qualified solar installers if the Concord Code Enforcement Officer or the Concord Town Board determines such persons as having training to perform the installation safely,” he said. However, the downside to Do-it-Yourself installation is how it could reduce the amount of any federal tax reduction, Drake said. “You would really have to have quite a bit of savings or the passion to do it yourself to want somebody other than a commercial qualified installer to put it in,” he added. Councilman Kenneth
heaven’s sake, it’s our park, we designed it, we built it and it’s a good place and our residents use it.” Board member Nils Wikman said things change and the village is no longer the lead agency with BPR. Although the village can give input, Springville doesn’t know what ECRT wants to do with the whole rail system or if they have different plans for the
future. “Hopefully, they will want to work with us,” Wikman said. “But if they don’t, unfortunately, they have the agreement with the railroad.” Krebs disagreed with Wikman, saying after all the money and work the village and its residents put into the trail, they can’t sit back and just say it’s
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board approved a local law revising a section of code for the planting of trees in a public right-of-way. Under the new law, no trees would be planted over any water, sewer, gas, electric or drainage line or system; under any overhead wires if not classified as a small tree with a maximum height of 30 feet; and no closer than 35 feet to any intersection measure from the edge of the pavement to the center of the intersection. “I think it’s a good policy,” Krebs said. “I’ve lived on Main Street long enough to know what happened under the old policy.” Additionally, the mayor said there is a tree replacement policy the village has in effect and wondered if the policy would be revised to reflect the updates to the code in the local law.
SGI announces top students of Class of ‘19
The Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District has announced Amy Stabell as valedictorian and Abigail Stressinger as salutatorian for the Class of 2019. Valedictorian Amy Stabell will graduate with a 100.2 grade point average. Involved in many school activities, she was the student representative on the SGI Board of Education and Student Council President. She has been a member of IN OTHER the Erie County Envirothon, BUSINESS, Drake Key Club, National Honor informed the board that a Society; on the musical dechlorination project is stage crew, Science needed for the Craneridge Olympiad team, orchestra Sewer District because the and band; and competed in state DEC sent the town softball, soccer and track. a letter stating the sewer Amy’s interests include “needs a mechanism put in farming, hiking, kayaking, places that gets the chlorine running, playing softball and out of the sewage before soccer, jamming on banjo it goes into Cazenovia and violin, raising chickens Creek.” and living in the moment. The project is estimated Amy has earned many to be less than $5,000, honors and awards in high according to MDA school, including National Engineers. The DEC Merit Scholarship finalist, requires the implementation National Society of High See Concord page 5 School Scholars member,
Zittle questioned the requirement that a solar project must be behind or on the side of the residence and not in the front lawn, noting that some residents have long driveways with homes quite a ways from the road. Town Attorney Brian Attea said a resident could seek a variance from the town to install solar panels in front of the home.
Amy Stabell Valedictorian
chosen Delegate at Congress for Future Leaders in Science and Technology, Scholastic Recognition Award from Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University 2018, Air Force Recruiting Services Mathematics and Science Award 2018 and the NYS Science Education Leaders Association Award. Amy plans to attend Cornell University and major in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences. Amy is the daughter of Thomas and Dawn Stabell. Salutatorian Abigail Stressinger will graduate with a 99.92 grade point average. Involved in many school activities, Abigail has been Key Club
Abigail Stressinger Salutatorian
President, Student Council Vice President, Yearbook Treasurer and a member of National Honor Society. She has participated in the school musical, chamber choir and chorus, band and marching band and competed in Varsity Volleyball. Abigail’s interests include travel, photography, singing and cooking. Among her awards and honors in high school are being an AP Scholar with Honors and the school’s National Honor Society President. Abigail plans to attend the University at Buffalo and major in Biomedical Sciences. Abigail is the daughter of John and Kelly Stressinger.
A Look Back: Hotels and Boarding Houses Looking back to when our forefathers lived and I am amazed at the hotels and boarding houses you will find. Here in the village of Springville, the first hotel was a small double log house on Franklin Street and was operated by David Stickney in 1810. There is a story that a tradition here called “taking a horn” was originated there. This place supplied with liquor and a bar, but not any glasses to meet
By Jolene Hawkins the needs of the Jonathan Townsend had a thirsty public, had a framed building in 1819 drinking vessel created and a brick hotel in 1822 out of the horn of an ox, on Townsend Hill road. hence the taking a horn of This also served as one of whiskey. This log cabin/ the stagecoach stops. hotel was across from a Phelps Hatch built the green area where folks American Hotel, located would gather and resin on the corner of Main and up their bows and fiddle Buffalo streets in 1843, in the evenings, thus the and he later leased it to name of Fiddler’s Green. James Crandall. Later Several hotels were on, Smith and Beebe established over the years purchased the hotel, and all in the town. John then the property was Albro had a hotel on rented and run by Gaston the east side of Buffalo D Smith and passed on to street in 1811, Amaziah Theodore Smith, who in Ashman had a log house 1860 sold it to E.S. Pierce, on Townsend Hill around who in 1863 sold it to 1812, David Stannard Clinton Hammond, and built a framed building on later sold it back to E.S. Franklin Street in 1818, Pierce.
By 1874, A.E. Torrey bought the property and for a time he remained the proprietor, and then he associated with his brother A.R. Torrey who
after a time bought it from his brother and ran it until the spring of 1880, where he sold it to Peter Nenno. Wow, sure seems like a lot of people were running
hotels, and the American Hotel for sure, but through it all, there were rooms to let out events that happened within the See A Look Back page 2