Resident forum is now officially part of the record in Town of Evans

The Evans Town Board has moved the Privilege of the Floor portion of the meetings to the beginning of the meeting, meaning that now once people address the board with comments and concerns, it will be on record. The action was approved Jan. 18.

For those who had been to Evans Town Board meetings as recently as last month, they know that the Privilege of the Floor section of the meeting normally took place after the regular meeting had recessed and business had concluded, something that new Supervisor Keith Dash sought to change once he took office.

“How can you honestly give someone the privilege of the floor after the meeting has recessed,” said Dash. “I think it’s important that people have a say in their government, and I also think it’s important that people have their voices heard.”

The town board also brought back the Communications portion of the agenda, meaning that residents now have the ability to address the board is writing prior to meetings in order to have their issues/concerns addressed on the meeting agenda.

“If government is designed to allow peoples voices to be heard, how are you going to accomplish that when the meeting’s business has concluded?,” Dash said.

The Town of Evans Board stated during their recent organizational meeting that the they appreciate input from the public during the Privilege of the Floor period which is offered at each regular board meeting, but the following policy will be enforced at every meeting: “Speakers must be recognized by the presiding officer; Speakers must state their name, address and organization, if any; The public shall only be allowed to speak during the designated period of the meeting; Comments shall be related to Town of Evans business only; Speakers will be limited to three minutes per person per period; Speakers may not yield any remaining time they may have to another speaker; All remarks must be addressed to the Town Board as a body and not to any individual member thereof; Speakers shall observe the commonly accepted rules of courtesy, decorum, dignity and good taste; Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated and may result in removal from the building and/or loss of future privileges of the floor.”

In other news:

• Dash was authorized to sign a contract between the Town and Johnson, Mackowiak and Associates, LLP, at a cost not to exceed $60,000, for accounting services.

• Donations to Evans Little Cagers ($950), Evans Junior Archery Program ($380), Evans Youth Baseball ($6,000), Evans Youth Baseball ($1,330), Lakeshore Youth Football ($6,000) and Lakeshore Youth Soccer Association ($6,000), were approved by the board.

• Albert Schallmo and James Michalek were removed from the Economic Development Advisory Committee.

• The town entered into an agreement with the Town of Brant for dispatching services through Dec. 31, 2012 at a cost of $2,750.

• It was announced that Pioneer Cemetery of North Main Street, is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

• The Town’s Recycling Committee is working to bring in a 12-feet by 12-feet structure in which residents would be able to properly dispose of electronic waste, including computers, televisions, monitors, keyboards, fax machines, printers, scanners, cell phones, VCR and DVD players. A location for the building is still being sought.

The next Evans Town Board meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 1.