Village Board Meeting Notes
Village Board Meeting Notes
Ellicottville Village Board discusses traffic control, mask policies, upcoming events and sidewalk cafes.
The Ellicottville Village Board gathered for its monthly discussion on Tuesday, May 18th. The meeting opened with some good news, as the group went over the increase of this year’s county sales tax check. The amount of $108,010.62 is up by 4.9% compared to the previous term. The most important item of this month’s agenda dealt with the updated mask policies.
The agenda began business from the floor, which surrounded the traffic control in a number of areas around the village. Concerns over speeding were shared by most of the group. Upon reporting on potential solutions, one community member present at the meeting suggested placing speed bumps, speed-reading signs or finding spare police cars to help control the issue. Although none of the options were decided on, the board said they would run the ideas past the local police department.
Following the board’s approval of previous minutes, Financial Report and paying the bills, Mayor John Burrell began his report. Burrell announced the fundraising for the village’s skatepark project is only $17,000 away from meeting its goal of $250,000. In addition, the board approved the use of the lawn of the Village/Town Hall by the skatepark committee for an upcoming chicken BBQ fundraiser. The event is set to take place Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
After a swift conversation about the Planning Report, Burrell and the rest of the board discussed how the village will implement the recent changes to COVID-19 safety protocols.
As far as mask policies go, the village will have to wait on the state’s official order before proceeding with any changes to guidelines. Despite this, the board agreed that the number of vaccinated village employees is high enough to begin discussions on easing-off from masks. The conversation around a “mask-less” village was positive, but the board suggested that local employees should have their vaccination cards on file. The board closed the topic by speaking on the possibility of making changes to the mask signs around the village.
The next item on the agenda involved miscellaneous business. The biggest set of news came in the form of an approval for a festival. The “red-head” themed event, Red Head Days, will take place on Monroe St. June 18th-19th and will be run by the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce and the Winery of Ellicottville. Later on, Town Planner Gary Palumbo suggested for a new committee to be formed in order to take on the moratorium involving secondary apartments. The board approved the request, which the members believe will help alleviate the confusion around the issue.
The meeting’s last discussion was based around sidewalk cafes. The board proposed a change to last year’s rules, which would see additional space for walking along with belt or rope barriers. These suggestions will be part of the agenda during next month’s meeting.
The Ellicottville Village Board will meet again on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 6:00pm. For meeting and agenda information, contact Mary Klahn, Village Clerk, at 716-699-4636.