By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
The Lysander Town Board continues to butt heads with residents carrying a petition over its Jan. 18 vote to allow the town to borrow $400,000 for a proposed spray park.
At the Feb. 1 town board meeting, resident Kevin Rode, who is one of several residents carrying the petition for a referendum on the town board decision, asked the town board to consider a resolution to set a referendum.
“Allow the voters to vote,” Rode said. “Instead, repeal your resolution from two weeks ago and just set a date for a vote in the next couple of months.”
Deputy Supervisor Bob Geraci addressed Rode directly, saying that Rode was contributing to the “disinformation” being spread about the spray park.
“It’s one thing to be critical of a project, and I’m all for listening to those criticisms, but it’s another thing to not get your facts straight,” said Geraci.
Geraci and town attorney Tony Rivizzigno explained that according to New York State Town Law, the public may have a say when a town is borrowing money, but the Jan. 18 resolution did not authorize the town to bond, so a referendum is not required.
Geraci clarified that the town board did not vote to borrow the money, but voted to “give the town the ability to put out it out to bid,” which would show potential vendors and grantors that the town is serious about the project.
“They will not even listen to us if we say, ‘Oh, we’re thinking about building a spray park — would you consider giving us some funding for that?’” Geraci said. “You have to show them that you’re willing to put some meat on the table.”
Geraci offered “a lesson in civics and the way representative government works.”
“It’s a representative government, it’s not a true democracy in that every time something happens in this town — or any other town — you ask the public to vote on it,” he said. “Think about where that might go: If we had the legal ability to ask the public to vote on whether or not you wanted a spray park … Why wouldn’t we ask them should we buy a new highway truck? … Should we buy this kind of paper for our copy machines?”
Toward the end of the meeting, Councilor Pete Moore echoed Geraci’s sentiments that it is not feasible for the public to vote on every issue that comes before the town.
“At some point, you do have to trust your elected officials because we are here to do the right thing for this community,” Moore said. “Just because you don’t see all the pieces we see all the time … don’t think that it’s not on our minds and that we’re not trying to do the right thing.”
Supervisor Joe Saraceni said the town board resolution originally would have set the ceiling for the spray park project at $500,000 but Moore expressed discomfort and brought the amount down to $400,000. Saraceni added that between grants, fundraising and using money from the in-lieu-of-parks account, the town may end up being able to fund the project without borrowing money.
‘I’m not against the project, I’m against the process’
While the town board defended its decision, residents spoke out about the spray park and Geraci’s comments to Rode.
Rode’s girlfriend Tami Durantini, and Fred Burtch, the resident who drafted the spray park referendum petition, came to Rode’s defense. Burtch said Rode and other residents who have objected to the town board’s decisions have been “belittled and dehumanized.”
“I think it’s very wrong that Bob Geraci attacks people from up there,” Durantini said. “You want people to be involved and speak their piece and then they do, and you think it’s okay to talk down to people.”
As for the spray park project itself, Burtch said residents have asked him why he has to carry petitions in the winter “and let all their heat out” when they answer the door. Burtch said the town board could have waited until the spring to make the decision.
Burtch said his slogan for the petition is “I’m not against the project, I’m against the process.”
“We’re not asking you, like Bob [Geraci] said, if you’re buying a ream of paper or a new copier, to set a referendum,” Burtch said. “I think what we’re saying through this referendum petition process is if we’re going to spend a half-million dollars or northwards of that, we would just like to see a little bit more input from the public.”
Burtch and fellow resident Jim Stirushnik said the spray park idea is not as popular as the town board seems to think.
“I saw a lack of enthusiasm,” Burtch said of the number of people who attended the town’s forums on the topic last year.
Burtch said some residents have told him that the first time they had heard of the spray park project was when he approached them to sign the petition.
Stirushnik recalled when the town was considering the construction of what is now the Lysander Ice Arena back in 1989. The rink was built in 1990.
“There were so many people in the audience and in the public who wanted that facility that I think they awed the town board that night,” Stirushnik said. “I have not seen that kind of support for this project.”
Stirushnik said the town should focus its spending on necessities rather than “recreational, seasonal amenities.”
“They are nice to have, but I think the town should not be going into debt for them. I would rather see that money if we need it going toward snowplows,” Stirushnik said. “Not to offend our dear senator, but I think our fire departments could use equipment and fire trucks more than we need to have a spray park.”
Hugh Kimball, a member of the Lysander Planning Board, questioned the specifics of the spray park costs. He asked that the town break down the operating costs (including water, maintenance, staff and insurance), the plan to repay a bond and how the spray park fits into the town’s long-range plan for fiscal stability.
“It appears that the bonding resolution will go to a public referendum,” Kimball said. “I would ask that before that, you sharpen your pencils and tell us the actual total estimated cost of the project, the amount of state funds and existing park funds you plan to use.”
