Smith Road site selected for dog park
Town feeling deja vu as vendor unpaid
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

An off-leash dog park may actually become a reality in the spring of 2008, after more than six years of planning.

The Amherst Paw Park Association has selected the Town of Amherst's property at 550 Smith Road as the site for the Amherst Off-Leash Canine Exercise and Training Facility.

The Town Board passed a resolution Monday for the formal site plan.

Michael Rogers, co-chairman of the association, said the money has been raised privately to make the project a reality.

He said the town had tentatively approved a site on Paradise Road, but it was too expensive to develop. The land on Smith Road is in a rural section of town with no immediate neighbors.

"LaSalle Park is now off-leash, and that has been successful," he said about Buffalo's dog park. "We're not the first, but it'll be a good park for Amherst residents and dogs to use."

According to the resolution, proposed by Council Member Bill Kindel, the estimated construction cost is $26,000.

Peter Warn, who has been active in the town's park system, said other parks in town have become unofficial dog parks, scaring away residents from using them. He specifically sited Amherst State Park.

He said he wants to see the final approval for the dog park, adding that the Smith Road plan is more sophisticated than plans of the past.

"There were so many opportunities for different sites we finally found one that doesn't have neighbors," he said.

The park would be one acre, divided into two areas - one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs.

"In order to use the facility, you have to have a current dog license, from Amherst or your own town," Warn said, adding that proof of inoculations is also a requirement.

Residents will have to prove they meet both those requirements to buy a pass from the Amherst town clerk, which must be worn in the park. Nonresidents will be allowed to use the park with the pass.

Warn estimates the fencing and construction of a concrete foyer will cost only $24,000. He hopes for a spring 2008 opening.

The Planning Department was directed to initiate the review process of the formal plan. Modifications in the Town Code will also have to be done to allow dogs to be off leash.

Volunteers for fundraising efforts are needed. Visit www.amherstpawpark.com for information.

The board passed another of Kindel's resolutions, this time to pay an outstanding bill, dating back one year.

GAR Associates is claiming the town owes $15,502 from October 2006 and $4,390 from December 2006. Roger L. Ross, attorney with Hurwitz & Fine, P.C., spoke on behalf of GAR at Monday's work session, and again at the meeting,

"Don't retroactively punish (GAR) because the supervisor didn't like the contract," Ross said, adding that Supervisor Satish Mohan was questioning terms of an existing contract and refusing payment.

Ross said Mohan should change any future contracts he doesn't agree with, but he can't go back on them.

According to Ross the company had provided all the documentation requested, proving the totals on the invoices, which were approved by Assessor Harry Williams. Comptroller Frank Belliotti also agreed that everything was in order.

Kindel's resolution calls for immediate payment to GAR and requested a waiver of the interest, $2,179, as submitted by GAR. The resolution was passed 5-2, with Mohan and Council Member William A. O'Loughlin Jr. voting against it.

However, Mohan said he would follow the board's decision in regard to the matter.

According to Mohan the contract was from the 1980s and ended last year. He said he reviewed the invoices and thought they were not in accordance with the contract.

Ross said he didn't believe the supervisor has the expertise to review the invoices and scope of work.

During the work session, Mohan said he contacted the state comptroller and wanted to wait another month before deciding if the payment was warranted. However, during the evening meeting he agreed to the payment if the board passed the resolution.

In other matters:

• Council Member Dan Ward's resolution to draft a local law to ban gated communities failed, 3 to 4. Council members Deborah Bruch Bucki, Ward and Mohan voted in favor.

Council Member Shelly Schratz said that if people have enough money to pay for gated communities then they should be allowed to have them.

"This has nothing to do with safety, it's about prestige," she said.

• The board passed a resolution to begin "Change a Light, Change the World," a campaign through Energy Star to make lighting within the town's buildings more energy efficient. The resolution was sent to the Energy Conservation Committee for review.

• The town will move forward with a state-approved tax exemption that would allow a 10 percent property tax exemption for veterans of the Cold War - those who served between Sept. 2, 1945 and Dec. 26, 1991. Williams said it was unknown on Monday how many residents would be affected.

• The board will not hold a work session on Monday, Nov. 12 in observance of Veterans Day. The next regular Town Board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19 at Town Hall, 5583 Main St., Williamsville. For information, visit www.amherst.ny.us.