Fulton Common Council Tidbits: A Driveway Dispute and Catch Basins To Nowhere

by Contributor | July 24, 2009 7:38 am

A minor dispute may be brewing over a request by Believers Chapel church to build a driveway to their parking lot from South First St. The Council voted to send the application to the Fulton Planning Commission, which is a routine step. But alderman and former Mayor Darrel Hayden asked for a roll call vote on the item, and voted no when his name was called. He did not explain his vote.

Those with long memories will recall that the former Golden Corral restaurant, next door to Believers Chapel, was forced to tear up an entrance to its parking lot from South First St. after neighbors fought the added traffic from the entrance on their street.

The Planning Commission meets the second Monday of every month, which would put its next meeting at August 10.

Among the other actions taken by the Fulton Common Council this week:

• The city will spend $2,500 to buy a storage unit for the new DPW garage. Mayor Woodward said storage is being rented now and costs more than that every year.
• The reappointment of Bonnie Travet to the Fulton Housing Authority was entered into the record.
• Half a dozen easements were approved for the purpose of fixing storm sewer lines and catch basins. They were for Phillip and Dawn Loosen at 91 Bakeman St., Jacqueline Winterhalt at 413 N. 6th St., Anthony and Marjorie Corsoniti at 117 Tannery Lane, Colleen Terramiggi at 47 Rowlee Ave., Douglas and Colleen Sturgis at 49 Rowlee Ave., and the Fulton City School District at 57 Bakeman St. Alderman Bob Weston said these propeerty owners were “dealing with serious problems for a long time.” Woodward noted that the Corsonettis had two catch basins that were not connected to any drainage system. “They went to nowhere,” he said.
• The Council ended, quietly, the dispute over the timing of appointing a Deputy Fire Chief by transferring $133,500 to cover the cost of new Deputy Chief Paul Foster’s salary for the rest of the year and the cost of increases contained in the city’s contract with the union for its firefighters. Money for the settlement had been set aside last year, Woodward said. Woodward had been trying to delay the appointment of Foster briefly to save money. The department had gone a long time without a permanent second-in-command. The issue had stayed underground until the head of the firefighters’ union came to a Council meeting and asked that the appointment not be delayed any longer.
• Aldeermen okayed transferring $74,000 to pay for demolishing the old water tower on East Broadway and for removing the radio tower that was on the same site. A new water tower’s been built on the site. Woodward said the radio tower may be moved to the city’s Great Bear Farm property south of the city, where reception for the city’s two-way radio system is weak.
• The Council okayed a consulting contract with EthiCare Advisors, which reviews large medical claims to try to find savings from either billing errors or negotiated reductions from providers. The company only gets paid a portion of what it saves. “We did some of this last year and we were happy with it,” Woodward said.
• Aldermen authorized the city to advertise for bids on building curbs on Erie St. from North Second St. to North Fifth St. and on Seneca St. from North Second St. to North Fifth St.
• Mayor Woodward noted that it has been a busy year for the city’s crews. “Lots of infrastructure work going on,” he said. “We’ll probably work until the snow comes.”

During the public comment period, Lynn Lawson of Sterling urged lawmakers to appoint a 3-person committee to consider what kind of business growth they wanted in Fulton. He said Sterling had just set up such a committee.

Larry Widrick of 212 W. 3rd St. asked Woodward if there had been progress in trying to solve a problem with a particular property in his neighborhood. Woodward and Alderman David Guyer said the city was working with its animal control officer to resolve a problem with a dog on the property, the police department has added the property to its quality-of-life patrols and noted that an officer forced a resident there to clean up open trash.

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