Brockport Village trustees accepted with great regret the resignation of Carol Hannan during their regular meeting October 20.
Trustee Hannan unexpectedly submitted her letter of resignation to the village October 14, stating only that she was resigning her post. She was elected to the Village Board first in 2010 and re-elected in 2013.
Trustee Hannan “has left a substantial mark on this village,” Mayor Margaret Blackman said during the meeting.
The mayor noted that Hannan had been instrumental in re-establishing the village’s sewer fee, acted as liaison to the code review committee, was involved in the process that led to the creation of the village court, worked on researching houses which are part of the proposed residential historic district and was personally involved in rehabilitating several houses in the village, making them suitable for single-family homes.
Deputy Mayor Bill Andrews said, “We were elected as a team and functioned well as a team.” He noted Trustee Hannan “brought to the board … legitimacy … of being old Brockport … living in her grandfather’s house … and rescuing houses from the degradation of student rental blight.”
Andrews also praised Hannan for her work in researching the histories of the 72 houses included in the nomination of the east-side residential historic district and suggested Hannan would be an ideal member of the Historic Preservation Board.
“I look forward to continuing to work with her for the betterment of this community,” Deputy Mayor Andrews said.
In a Letter to the Editor of the Suburban News/The Herald dated Monday, October 20, Hannan thanked the village for its support. “I remain committed to the best interests of the Village of Brockport and … (will) continue my work for the benefit of my hometown,” she wrote via email.
At the end of the October 20 meeting, the Village Board entered into executive session to discuss a replacement for Trustee Hannan. Mayor Blackman said there would be no action taken by the board following the executive session.
Also during the October 20 Village Board meeting, Mayor Blackman reported on her meeting October 16 with College at Brockport President John R. Halstead, Deputy Mayor Bill Andrews, Brockport Police Department Chief Daniel Varrenti, and Village Code Enforcement Officer David Miller.
The mayor described the meeting as a college town/gown meeting at a higher level. It was held at President Halstead’s house.
“The timing was not the most comfortable,” Mayor Blackman said, following the college’s Homecoming Weekend incident which saw hundreds of students flood into the streets in the downtown business district early Sunday morning (9/21) after police closed bars at 1 a.m.
“It was not warm and fuzzy,” Mayor Blackman said of the meeting, which officials had been hoping would happen for quite some time. “It was cordial.”
She noted the college and the village did not see eye-to-eye on the way the aftermath of the Homecoming Weekend was handled.
Mayor Blackman said off-campus housing – which is a concern to both the college and the village – was discussed.
“It was a listening meeting,” the mayor said. “We all agreed it was worth continuing to meet.”
The group plans a November meeting – this time on village territory, Mayor Blackman said.
