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LAST WEEK'S WEATHER Hi Lo Tues. 46 28 Wed. \50 10 Thurs. 12 5 Fri. 19 6 Sat. 16 0 ' Sun. 24 -4 Mon. 28 20 VOL. 136 NO. 47 . Pep 0.05r 0.08r O.lOsn 0 O.SSsn l,80sn A PARK NEWSPAPER COURIER & FREEMAN, (USPS 135-4M) POTSDAM, N.Y.-TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7,1989 20 PAGES River survey begins. See story, questionnaire, Page 3 this week. 35 CENTS Frat's Prexy Cited WINTER PATTERNS - Snow and winter sunlight turn a simple fence into intricate patterns as this photograph taken by Parishville and Hopkinton correspondent Helen Condon shows. Saratoga Associates To Seek Village CD Funds BY THOM PARDOE Saratoga Associates of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was chosen Monday night by the Potsdam Village Board of Trustees to apply for •aoe.-ooo m uniMtoril community development funds on the village's behalf. ' The trustees voted to authorize Mayor Paul Claffey to sign a con- tract with the architectural and consulting firm. Saratoga Associates will prepare an applica- tion for $600,000 in 1989 Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the federal government's Department \•\ _ » 'W w — • T ' _—••• • • • -m » • — • go slH g p of HoTIslHg ana uroan Develop- ment (HUD). The resolution also stipulates that the application fee is not to exceed $14,300, which will be paid out of the village's community development miscellaneous revenue funds. This is not the first time the village has applied for the CDBG funds or other funds from HUD, in fact, according to the village's Community Development coor- dinator Steven C. Hychka and Thomas Dodds, also from the village's CD office, the village has done quite well in the past with the federal government: to the tune of $8 million. Hychka and Dodds said that the village has received $7 million in CDBG funds over the past 20 years and about another $1 million in other HUD manias. Saratoga Associates la also doing the village's riverfront develop- ment study, and has the expertise, the staff and the tune to get the ap- plication right, according to Hychka and Dodds. Hychka and Dodds told the board Saratoga Associates is doing the application because they were the only com- pany out of six that responded to their requests. \They can take a couple of guys andfor a couple of months work on just that,\ Dodds said. The grant the village is applying for is a village-wide comprehensive grant. To get it, the applicants must determine first, what areas of the village are in need of the CDBG money and then where and how the money could be spent, they said. The federal government has a set of six national priorities which determine who gets how much money and for what purposes, ac- cording to Hychka. The six priorities are: imminent danger, or. a structure that is ready to collapse soon or is in some danger of failing, such as the village's, wooden dam on the west channel of the Rac- quette River; public works, water and sewer lines and storm drains that need to be replaced; economic development; rehablllatatton of structures: alum and bltgbt removalTwRlch\ Implies structures that couldn't be rehabilitated; and energy conservation. Hychka and Dodds said that if the village can prove that its plan for the money meets four of the six national objectives and provide benefits to at least 51 per cent of the population of the village in low to moderate income levels, then the jUlth returned to the village in the form of debt repayment of CDBG rehabilitation loans can be used to apply for more grant money. 5 Named To Tax Board BY THOM PARDOE Potsdam's tax assessment review board has a full comple- ment of members — just in the nick of time for Tax Grievance Day Feb. 21 — following action by the village board of trustees Monday night. The trustees approved the ap- pointments of five village residents to terms on the appointed tax assessment review board. Appointed were: Bradford Broughton, 4 Leroy St., for a five- year term; Dr. Bobbye Williams, 7 ,Hillcrest Ave., for a four-year term; Eugene Geiser, 5 -Berkley Dr., for a two-year term; Alan J. Romoda, 94 Main St., for a three- year term; and James Wightman, 75 Leroy St., for a one-year term. With two weeks two go until grievance day, the village had to act quickly on the appointments. The local law creating the board was passed by the trustees two weeks ago at the Jan. 23 regular the stipend was changed to a flat $200 to account for the tune to take the training course and for the first grievance day and also because nobody knows how many grievances these will be or how many days past the first day the grievance period may last. The vote on the stipend resolution passed four to zero with trustee Helen Brouwer abstaining. Brouwer said she abstained \on principle.\ \I think that since other boards aren't paid, they work on a volunteer basis and by state law, we can't pay them,\ said Brouwer, \I don't think that its fair that this one group should be paid... it seems- to me that other boards (planning, zoning board of appeals, recreation commission) do even greater ser- vice than this.\ According to Dodds, the 1980 cen- sus determined that 74 per cent of the village population was in the low to moderate income levels, as determined by family size and in- come. There is one catch, though, ac- cording to Dodds. While the village must prove in the application that the community development pro- jects paid for by with this grant money will benefit at \least 51 per cent of the low to moderate income population, the projects must ac- tually benefit 60 per cent of the population. When the resolution was opened for discussion before the board, Mayor Claffey asked Hychka if the $14,300 is needed for this purpose. Hychka told him that it is because it takes several months for the complex application, to be com- pleted. \There is no definite word as to how the game is to be played this year,\ Hychka said. Trustee Helen Brouwer asked Hychka if the figure is low for this kind of application. Hychka said it is not a low figure, but explained that because of the complexity of the application process it is necessary. \You have to be there to play to win,\ he said. Hychka told the board the CD of- fice had not applied for the CDBG funds since 1984 becuase of the complex application and also because the village had built up a surplus of the CDBG money from the past. He said that money had to be used for community develop- ment before the village applied for more money. CDBG money can't be used to pay for the application for more federal monies, Hychka said, only CDBG money that is Walkers Invited To Local Schools The Potsdam Central School District would like to invite adults in the area to make use of its elementary and middle school (Lawrence Avenue and A.A. Kingston. Middle School) corridors for walking. The buildings, which are con- nected by a covered walkway, have approximately 4,000 feet of corridors. They will be open from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. The buildings may be entered through either main entrance. Superintendent Gary Snell said opening the schools to walkers is the district's way of thanking residents for their support of the schools and the district. \People have been very good to us, and this is a way we can do something for them,\ Snell said. He also noted that walkers will have an opportunity to see newly completed renovations at both schools, as well as regular displays. Each room in the elementary school has a hallway bulletin board display, Snell said. BY THOM PARDOE A Potsdam College fraternity president has been cited by the village's codes enforcement of- ficial for maintaining an illegal fraternity in a one-family residen- tial area of the village. Sean Gallagher, president of Sigma Pi, was cited Jan. 26 by Herbert G. Crump, for using a house at 7 Clinton St. as a fraternity house and having more than five people live in that house, which is in an R-l or one-family residential zone. Gallagher was issued ah ap- pearance ticket to appear before Village Justice Thomas Wheeler last Thursday. In court, he asked for and was granted an adjourn- ment to seek counsel; his next ap- pearance is set for Feb. 16. Gallagher turned down an op- portunity to have a court-appointed attorney to represent him. He said afterwards that the fratem,i|y would be paying for an attorney.' Gallagher maintains the group is • not in violation of village law by liv- ing in the house. He said there are only five people living in the house, and one of them isn't a member of the fraternity. Gallagher seemed reluctant to comment on the mat- ter, but he did say the group is look- ing for other places to live. According the • village's zoning code, Chapter 30 of village law, single-family housing is the only standard use allowed in an R-l zone. The law does allow special uses, but fraternities are not one ot the special uses allowed. As defined by the village a \fami- ly shall mean one or more persons related by blood, marriage, adop- tion or guardianship, or not more than five unrelated persons occu- pying a dwelling unit and living as a single housekeeping unit.\ Crump said he found out about the fraternity through posters advertising a Sigma Pi rush party at the Clinton Street house on the night ot Jan. 36. Whan he and Potsdam VWage Police Patrolman Leonard Oney i»«r»t to tniMMdgpta th t h id th the party, he said there were many can parked \all over the street\ and that some of the party-goers were driving up and down Clinton Street honking their .car horns. Crump estimated there were as many as 50 people inside the house during the party. \Not only that,\ Crump said, \but they admitted to me that they -hathsevenpeopleiiving^herer\ When he and Oney arrived at the house to investigate, he said \I in- formed them of the violation and told them they should disband. They did not.\ He said the members of the fraternity asked if it was legal for them to have a private party at the house, and Crump said he told Town Planners Meet The Town of Potsdam Planning Board will hold a regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) in the town offices, 35 Market St., Potsdam, to consider three ap- plications for its review. The board is expected to review applications submitted by Martin Dumoulin Used Car Sales, Pondo Inc., for a proposed Ponderosa restaurant and from local developer Greg Walsh concerning a subdivision. A representative from the county planning board is also expected to attend the meeting. review, St. Lawrence County Assessor Jane B. Powers told village officials in December that she would offer a special training course for the Potsdam board in tune for grievance day. The assess- ment review board members are taking their training session today (Tuesday) from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 in the offices of the Real Property Tax Service in Canton. The trustees also approved a resolution authorizing assessment review board members to be paid a $200 stipend for service on the board. Originally, the village had planned to pay board members $100 a day for every day of service on the board, since the number of taxpayers with grievances can cause the grievance period to ex- tend beyond grievance day. But Village Mayor Paul Claffey said * v Supervisor Wants To Recognize Outstanding Citizens With Medal Potsdam Town Supervisor Gene Brundage wants the town to have a way to recognize outstanding citizens, so he's proposing a medal as the highest award the town can give. Brundage said he expects to make the proposal at Wednesday night's meeting of the town board. Noting that ne wants to have a way for the town to recognize citizens such as the rescue squad volunteer and local police officers who braved the icy Racquette River in December to rescue a young student, Brundage said he will propose a gold medal with a rendering of the town offices hi the center. Around the medal would be the words \outstanding citizen.\ Brundage said guidelines and conditions for presenting fhe medal would have to be set up. \It's not something you would do every day,\ he said. Initial investment for ten medals and creation of the plate for the town offices rendering would be $780, according to Brundage. \I think it's a good thing for the town to do,\ he said. The town board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the town off- cies, 35 Market St. Business is ex- pected to include scheduling a joint village-town meeting, discussion of the aquarium study, and resolu- tions to post town roads for spring and purchase a batwing roadside mower. Preceding the meeting will be a 7 p.m. public hearing on renewal of Potsdam NewChannels cable television franchise. them it was legal, but they could not hold a party as a fraternity, because he said that would be in violation of the zoning laws. \You go in there and all you see are fraternity banners everywhere,\ Crump said. The owners of the property, B-R Enterprises, which is owned by Charles Bradt and Alan Romoda, rented the house.to five people,.,. Crump said, and \(the tenants) were informed there were only sup- posed to be five people there.\ While Gallagher maintains that only five people live in the house, both Crump and Jeff Belodoff, one of the fraternity's neighbors who lives at 2 Clinton St., say members of the group have admitted to them or otheV people that there are ac- tually seven people living in the house. Belodoff,.who has written three letters to Crump and the village in the past requesting that something be done about this particular fraternity, said that members of the fraternity have also told him and some of the children who live along Clinton Street that there are seven people living in the house. Belodoff said some of the members told the children that five people do live hi the house, and the other two are \just staying there.\ Not only is there the concern over the violation of village laws, but Crump said there is also a safety factor to consider when dealing with possible illegal fraternities. \That house was way, way over- occupied,\ Crump said, \it's not safe to put 30,40,50 people in a one- family dwelling. \They're not made for that kind of stress and strain,\ he said. Illegal fraternities have pro- liferated in the village over the years, generally unnoticed or out of reach of the codes enforcement of- ficial. Crump said unless a village resident brings him a signed, writ- ten complaint about an illegal fraternity or if, a* In' this cms*, -a fraternity puts up a poster adv«t- Ualtttt (hMMttVM a* Mu tot Ms Me legal house, he can't take action against them. But, Crump said if he doesn't cite them under the village law, \I'll try to cite them under the state law.\ If Gallagher pleads guilty or is found guilty of the charges, he could face a fine as high as $250 a week for every week that the vfola- tion continues, or ifrdaysiirjaflror ~ both, according to the village codes. The New York State Uniform Building and Construction Codes agree with the village's laws but carry much stiffer penalties for violations. Crump said the state law allows fines of up to $1,000 a day for every day the violation con- tinues or a year in jail or both. Literacy Volunteers Week Proclaimed Here This is Literacy Volunteers Week in the village of Potsdam. The village board of trustees Monday night unanimously ap- proved Mayor Paul Claffey's pro- clamation of the week of Feb. 5-11 as Literacy Volunteers Week. The purpose of the week is to in- crease the awareness of the public to the continuing problem of adult literacy and to bring it to the atten- tion of those who can help, ac- cording to Claffey's proclamation. Literacy volunteers have served hi the village since 1968. Potsdam is also the home to a local unit of the St. Lawrence County Affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America. Literacy volunteers contribute thousands of hours hi free one-on- one tutoring and in training other volunteers to become tutors. The volunteers also provide ad- ministrative leadership to the local unit and to the county affiliate. \It is fitting that the dedicated ef- forts of the Literacy Volunteers be given recognition and support,\ reads Claffey's proclamation. Stoners' Last Home Game Tonight At 8 The 11-1 Potsdam Sandstoners boys basketball team will play its final home game of the regular season at 8 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) hi Sandstoner gym. The Stoners will host the Canton Golden Bears. Friday night's away game at Gouverneur ends the regular season for the Steve Kmack- coached Stoners. MARILYN - The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe was the subject of an Ice Carnival painting on the window of Lahey Insurance, 38 Market St.. It was one of the entries in the annual event. (ThomPardoe photo) • In The Courier •Arts Page 7 D Church Page 8 D Classifieds Page 17-18 D Editorials ~Page4 D Events Page 2 D Letters Page 4 D Local News .... Pages 1,5,11 • Obituaries Page 8,» D Sports Pages 14-17 •Weddings PageB
