Letters to the editor for Friday, November 30, 2012

Notices are misleading

The Town of Mount Hope published a notice that on Nov. 27 a public hearing will be held for the formation of a Joint Fire District in Otisville/Mount Hope. However, the Village of Otisville rescinded its previous motion to proceed with a Joint Fire District by a 3-1 vote at its regular board meeting Nov. 1, and the village notified all involved parties of this decision.

Despite this notification, on Nov. 13, a public notice was published in this paper by the town and posted in various community locations. This notice named the village as a participant in this hearing, even though all parties had been clearly informed of the village's decision not to proceed.

The village residents have a right to know that they are being misled by the notices. If the town proceeds to form a fire district, it would be a town district and not a joint district. Residents need to be aware that they are being misled by some of the information they have heard and read. The village stands firm on its decision.

Brian W. Wona, Mayor

Village of Otisville

Shame on mayor, trustees

Nov. 27 in the Record: More financial problems for the Village of Otisville. Nov. 28 in the Record: Village Mayor Brian Wona shows up at a public meeting, not as the mayor, but as a village resident, and says, "Don't make the village the fall guys in this."

Well, Mayor Wona, you are the mayor and you run the fire company. This is yours and village trustees' responsibility. Shame on you and those trustees not at the public meeting for not being there as representatives for your village residents.

Viola Devlin


New village a possibility

What are the consequences of the dissolution of the Village of Bloomingburg? One possibility is that the new development being built on Winterton road forms a new village. This village does not have to be confined by the boundaries of the development. The new village could include the current area of Bloomingburg and extend out Winterton Road easily one mile.

The only limit would be the number of votes the development could cast as compared to the number of votes that the area the development wants to incorporate into a village could cast. Majority vote rules. How can you prevent this?

Once the village is dissolved, I don't actually think you can. The only way I can see to stop the development from having control is to increase the size of the Village of Bloomingburg so that the vote is equalized with the new development.

This is not an easy task, but the good news is there is time. A village cannot form in a village. The leaders of the movement to dissolve the Village of Bloomingburg have been silent on this conversation, but it is time for them to step up and comment on this possibility.

Kent Findley


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