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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-02-16 Minutes LANSING PLANNING BOARD February 16 , 1970 : Town Hall Regular Meeting PRESENT Mesdames Louise Barr and Viola Miller ; Messrs . Paul Barron , Sam Baughman , Peter H . Craig , Frederick Edmondson , H . B . Ruzicka The meetingwas called to order by former Vice Chairman Craig at 8 : 25 p . m . Minutes of the Regular 701 . meeting of January 26 were pre - MINUTES sented . Upon MOTION of Mr . Ruzicka , duly seconded , they were accepted . Craig Reviewed the bylaws of the Planning Board , in order to clarify the position and purpose of the Board , and its rela - tion to the Town Board There were no reports from either standing or special com - COMMITTEE mittees . REPORTS This being the first meeting of the Planning Board for the ELECTION • new year , the Board proceeded to the election of officers . OF OFFICERS The following were elected : Chairman : Mr . Craig , nominated by Mrs . Miller Vice Chairman : Mr . Barron , nominated by Mrs . Miller Secretary : Mrs . Miller , nominated by Mr . Barron Treasurer : Mr . Ruzicka , nominated by Mrs . Miller In each case the MOTIONS for nominations were duly seconded and carried , and the MOTIONS to close the nominations were duly made , seconded and carried , and instructions issued to record the elections by having the secretary cast a unanimous ballot . The Chairman then made the following appointments to stand - APPOINTMENTS ing committees : TO STANDING COMMITTEES Professional Relations : Frederick Edmondson , Chairman Peter H . Craig Public Relations : Viola H . Miller • These appointments were made with the approval of the members of the Planning Board . Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , February 16 , 1970 , Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 2 The Chairman then appointed the following one -man committees : ONE -MAN • COMMITTEES Water and Sewer Districts , Sam Baughman Agriculture , Paul Barron Transportation and Traffic Flow , Frederick Edmondson Business and Industry , H . B . Ruzicka Residential Development , Sam Balighman f,mu. 130M Relationships with Other Planning Boards , Peter Craig Each committee will be expected to present any information gathered since the last previous meeting . This will make questioning at each presentation of plans much easier and more intelligent . The members could also give the Planner a great deal of helpful information by being well informed themselves . Craig The Chairman presented the question of what a planning board PLANNING is supposed to do . He described this as an imponderable ques - BOARD tion . What evolves from its work should be something useful . FUNCTIONS The Master Plan will be its most important product . The re - lationship of the Planning Board ' s Master Plan and that of the Planner is important . A master plan produced by the Board only , would be a poor one . What the Planner will present will be only a beginning and must be presented to the Town . In - formation will be developed by the Planning Board and the Town Planner. The Town Board can be instrumental in making • the plan either a good or a bad one . This Board will try to keep the Town Board members informed , and the Town Board mem - bers have promised to attend the 701 , meetings . The presenta - tion material will be exciting enough to create debate . With this will come understanding , from which will be formed the opinions of the members of the Town Board and other residents of the Town . A question was raised as to how the Town residents can be PUBLIC informed . RELATIONS Miller There is a difference of opinion whether material should be presented to small groups or at a large meeting . If people whose opinions are either pro or con come to the meetings - - to a number of meetings , not merely one - - this will be use - ful in disseminating information . The tumultuous experience of the Town of Dryden is an example of not having had open , informative meetings . There has been excellent cooperation from the Ithaca Journal in presenting stories . Each member of the Planning Board should give thought to how the informa - tion should be disseminated . Baughman Suggested that four times a year a news release be sent to the residents of Lansing , telling them what has been done and the different items the Board is in favor of , and that if they are • either in favor of or against them , they should contact a mem - ber of the Board and make their opinions known . Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , February 16 , 1970 , Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 3 • Miller Has been responsible for two of the latest letters to the Lansing residents . These mailings are a very expensive pro - cedure , and there was no response from them . Because of the high cost of mimeographing , paper , envelopes , and postage , the expense is high . Besides this , there is no really good list of Lansing residents . While there was a very small in - terest , the results were generally so unsatisfactory that it is a serious question whether this is an effective method , however good it may sound . Edmondson There would be times when Mr . Niederkorn makes his presenta - tions that news releases would be worthwhile . If really in - teresting matters are to be presented , this method would be worthwhile . Miller If Mr . Niederkorn could tie in some of the matters concerning pollution , there would be tremendous interest . There was a discussion of the interest already expressed in the Basic Studies Report . Barron Suggested that copies could be taken to a firemen ' s meeting and presented after the meeting . Craig When there is a public meeting for information , a really good show should be put on , and the material presented should be • obviously legitimate and substantial . External relations cannot be allowed to drift , but until we are really ready for public meetings the members of the Planning Board must make as much personal contact as possible . If 20 or 25 potential leaders in the community were selected for a meeting in the near fu - ture , and it was presented to them what a master plan is and how it developed , this could be a successful method of spreading such information . Barron Questioned whether showing people a master plan for some other area would be effective . Other members of the Board assured him that it would be . Miller Emphasized the fact that a meeting to which the 20 or 25 po - tential leaders would be invited would not exclude any others who might be interested . Barron Such people should be informed about a month ahead of the meeting: date. Craig There will be two primary problems in the next year : ( 1 ) Ex - ternal relationships and ( 2 ) relationships with the profession - als . Like any other good professional , Mr . Niederkorn is more inclined to emphasize a plan that is suitable for the Town , since he of course feels he knows best , and will be giving • Lansing his best ideas . Minutes , LANSING PLANNING BOARD , February 16 , 1970 , Town Hall , Regular Meeting , page 4 • Each Planning Board member should make up a list of 25 persons he thinks should be invited to a meeting in which Tom Nieder - korn and Fred Edmondson will play an active role . This will be discussed at the meeting of March 9 . Miller MOTION , duly seconded and approved , to amend the bylaws of AMENDMENT the Lansing Planning Board as follows (old material in TO THE brackets , new material underlined ) : BYLAWS Article IV , Section 1 . Election and Term : The officers of the Lansing Planning Board shall be elected by the membership of the _ Planning Board at the [ lastmeeting in January ] first regular meeting in February to serve one ( 1 ) year terms beginning [ in February ] immediately . Officers may be re - elected annually . This was a preliminary vote , since according to the bylaws amendments must be brought up at one meeting and voted on at least seven days subsequently . The matter will accordingly be acted upon at the next regular meeting . Miller Emphasized the importance of every member of the Planning 701 MEETINGS Board attending the 701 meetings . • The meeting was adjourned at 9 : 30 p . m . , upon MOTION of Mr . Edmondson , duly seconded and approved . •