Clarence Garbage Service

[speaker]

I should say the tn tona picks up leaves sporadically--if the residents put them in the street. And talk about the tn tona streets--they use a street cleaner the day after garbage pick up--but did you know that the cleaner lifts its brushes on the Town side of Kenmore Ave? Yes, they come off the side streets but won't clean the north side of the avenue because the maintenance is the obligation of more than one entity. And--the Tn of Tonawanda police will not enforce the clear sidewalk law, which says all snow should be cleared for pedestrian traffic, although people walk in the busy street because they can't get through and despite regular phone calls tp the police. I have other activities concerning property sold to corporations despite protests. This was a private transaction but would have served the Town well to step in, and it had the right to, when this lovely piece of wildlife property was made into a road.
But you are barking up the wrong tree, ksark, because I know that the Town is one of the best places to live, but, like everything else, nothing is perfect. That does not mean we shouldn't try to make it so.

[ksarkisian]

I agree with most of what you said. The town ISN'T perfect but then where is? I know about Kenmore ave and some of the history around it. heck I only live 15 seconds away from kenmore ave. My point is this....Clarence pays the lowest sales tax in the county because of 2 things:

1. They don't have allot of services (garbage, sidewalks and police)

2. They STEAL from erie county residents sheriff's, plowing road maintance and various other services.

I'm sick of paying for you Clarence. I'm in contact with the my legislature and I will let her know how I feel. I'm not a huge giambra fan but fee for services is the WAY to go!!!! It's time for the end of erie county as the catalyst for sprawl.

[buffknut]

Kasarkisian,

I'm saddened that you choose to bash a fellow Erie County community. After all, we all have the same goal to fix EC spending problems. To pit town against town is not going to solve any problems.

To your points:
: I assume you mean property tax, not sales tax
: We pay separately for garbage, have no sidewalks, and also pay separately to maintain septic systems which when they go, are very costly.
: We don't "steal" any services. We pay taxes just as you do. We get what we pay for.
: The sprawl here is nothing compared to other areas. I'm sure the sprawl that created Kenmore was significantly bigger than the sprawl we have today.

You obviously have a problem with Clarence that is almost assuredly your perception of a class difference. Let me assure you that people in Clarence are people too. Some are wealthy and others aren't which is also very true of Kenmore (please don't say there are no wealthy people in Kenmore). If you come out to our town, you will certainly see mansions, but also will see large mobile home parks, older small homes, and everything in between.

It's unfortunate that you are probably one of those who screams for job creation, yet bemoan the fact that some of those people who create jobs, also become wealthy in the process. You need to get past your bias against others in your own community who have the same wishes and aspirations that you do.

I love WNY and have lived here all my life including many years in some pretty poor areas (especially the Glenny Drive Projects at Kensington & Fillmore). My family can trace roots back to the 1840s here. I plan to stay here, pay taxes, and enjoy life here. Please don't hold a bias against me because of where I live.

Clarence & Kenmore are both wonderful communities. Working together, not against each other, will go much further in solving the very serious problems we have.

[ksarkisian]

My ideal goal is to downsize as much of erie county as possible. The less gov't the better. Of course I don't want to bash clarence but when they get road upgrades (main street) from 2 to 4 lanes and various other services I have serious issues. All I'm asking for is a level playing field between suburbs. Erie county does practially NOTHING for town of tonawanda. If you can think of something let me know.

Life long buffaloian.

[buffknut]

k,

Main St in Clarence has not been widened to 4 lanes. However, it has been widened in Amherst from Youngs to Transit within the past few years. Also, Main St is a State Highway (Rte 5) so Erie County has nothing to do with it.

I sincerely doubt that Clarence gets that much more out of EC than Kenmore/Tona get. Tonawanda Township is significantly bigger in population than Clarence is. Other than Sheriff patrols which we pay for although I don't know how much, and which are much less visible than the State Police, it is hard for me to identify the differences.

But it really doesn't matter because I agree with your desire for smaller government. We should work together as Erie County towns, not throw missives at each other. After all, how can we expect our elected officials to do the right thing for us when we collectively can't agree amongst ourselves? We need to send a very direct, unified message - CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING THIS YEAR ACROSS ALL MUNICIPALITIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS & SPECIAL SERVICE DISTRICTS OR AUTHORITIES - which will have the by product of creating wealth and lowering taxes. We should demand a specific percent, say 20% across the board.

That's the win-win strategy for all of us!

[ksarkisian]

I can't speak for cutting all across the board. I don't have enought information. I can say that I am for pay for services philosphy.

-On my mind are cutting sheriff's or let the town's bid for it.
-allowing private companies to bid for road plowing
-erie county to get OUT of the park business and let the town's handle it.

I will be notifying my legislator in the coming week, lynn marnelli.

[Giambra's smoking habit]

Ok, from reading some of the posts on here there may be a little bit of confusion. Clarence wants to create a garbage district yes, but it will NOT be town workers or vehicles doing it. It would go to one company (like WM or CID) and you'd be stuck with them at their price included in your taxes instead of the way it works now. Sorry if everyone knows this, it just looked like some thought it was to create MORE town jobs, like we need that!