by Kristina Gabalski
After several months of contention and uncertainty, work on construction of a 6,000 square foot library in the Town of Hamlin could begin soon.
Changes to a local law adopted unanimously by the Hamlin Town Board during a special meeting Monday, May 6, would allow the library to be built on town land without approval of town support boards. The law concerns only public or municipal structures, facilities or utilities.
The vote was met with applause by dozens of residents in the audience.
During a public hearing held immediately before the vote, all but one of the people who spoke simply stated they supported the passage of the law.
The first resident to speak questioned the board about the power the change gives the Town Board and what checks and balances are in place regarding the modifications.
Special counsel Richard Horwitz explained there are many checks and balances that would apply to the law including public information meetings the town would hold on projects, state and county regulations as well as reviews by health and water authorities, etc.
The local law passed states, “Nothing in this chapter shall restrict the construction, use or maintenance of public or municipal buildings, structures or facilities or other publicly owned properties nor the installation, maintenance and operation of such public utilities and facilities as may be essential to the servicing of any district or area.”
Supervisor Thomas Breslawski said before the public hearing that the former local law was “unlawful as written.” He noted that, in the past, the Town Board without realizing it, had been in violation of the former law by approving municipal projects while overlooking zoning codes. The amended law will put those past decisions “in compliance,” he said.
He told the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald that the town’s legal counsel advised the town that the law as written would not hold up in court and that it did not conform to past precedence.
“This has streamlined the process for all government projects,” Breslawski said.
Back in February, members of the Hamlin Zoning Board granted a 22 foot variance for the new library, and then on March 4, the Hamlin Planning Board tabled the library’s application over safety concerns regarding the design of the parking lot.
Supporters of the library project demonstrated early in April and accused the Planning Board of holding up the process, but Planning Board special counsel Daniel Schum told the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald that the Planning Board was ready to move ahead with a public hearing on the library project.
Now, with the modification of the local law, Breslawski says the library can be built through governmental immunity. It will be constructed on land donated by the town just south of the Town Hall on Route 19 (Lake Road).
Breslawski said following the May 6 special meeting that the attorney for the library trustees has withdrawn the application to the Planning Board and construction could begin as soon as the local law is filed with the Secretary of State and a building permit has been issued.
Sue Evans, president of the Library Trustees said, “Out of everything bad comes something good.”
She said the library board is hoping to begin construction as soon as possible and noted there is strong community support for a new library.
“The outcome is the most important thing,” she said, “(the library project) gave the residents of Hamlin an issue to bond them together … this is just the beginning.”
Library Director Kay Hughes-Dennett echoed Evans’s feelings.
“It’s the beginning of the beginning,” she said, “I’m so excited to get it going. The community has been phenomenal, we’ve had so much support. I think they will be really pleased with the building.”
A New York State Construction Grant of $466,000 and a bequest of $600,000 will cover the cost of constructing the library, officials have said. The current Hamlin Library is housed in four rented storefronts in the old Bauch’s IGA Plaza on the southern border of the town.
