2016 CANDIDATES
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PENFIELD TOWN ISSUES
Town Board Cuts Penfield Community TV Services While Receiving $500,000+ in Franchise Fees
Last September PCTV stopped rebroadcasting town meetings on channel 12 on TimeWarner for your home television. Videos of town meetings are now only available on your computer, tablet or cell phone app. That is if you have the money to purchase the necessary equipment and the skills to use it. Even then, the quality is sometimes less than ideal. As a result, many of Penfield's older and financially challenged residents can no longer access PCTV.
AND -- there is NO community programing on channel 15. What you see now are NASA programs that are placeholders just to keep the channel open so Time Warner does not reclaim the station. The town is not utilizing it for community programming so TimeWarner could take the channel back, as it has in communities in other parts of the state. So we could lose this community communications medium permanently!
Penfield TimeWarner customers pay a franchise fee and the total amount that the town receives from this is in excess of $500,000. But last year the town board decided not to appropriate $65,000 to replace the equipment necessary to maintain our rebroadcasting ability.
Previous Penfield town boards were proud of PCTV and the services it provides for residents to see how their town government works.
So what is the problem???
Good question!! Please contact PCTV at pctv@penfield.org or let Supervisor LaFountain know how you feel at LaFountain@penfield.org.
AND -- there is NO community programing on channel 15. What you see now are NASA programs that are placeholders just to keep the channel open so Time Warner does not reclaim the station. The town is not utilizing it for community programming so TimeWarner could take the channel back, as it has in communities in other parts of the state. So we could lose this community communications medium permanently!
Penfield TimeWarner customers pay a franchise fee and the total amount that the town receives from this is in excess of $500,000. But last year the town board decided not to appropriate $65,000 to replace the equipment necessary to maintain our rebroadcasting ability.
Previous Penfield town boards were proud of PCTV and the services it provides for residents to see how their town government works.
So what is the problem???
Good question!! Please contact PCTV at pctv@penfield.org or let Supervisor LaFountain know how you feel at LaFountain@penfield.org.
Why is the Town Board Reducing Citizen Participation on Town Committees?
The town board recently decided to reduce the membership of the Penfield Planning Board from seven members (which it has been at for many years) to only five. It's not clear why and Supervisor LaFountain has not provided an explanation when asked about it.
If you look at the Planning Board membership on every nearby town, including Webster, Perinton, Irondequoit, Brighton and Pittsford, they all have seven members and some even have term limits. Two of our five members have been on the Planning Board 19 and 14 years respectively. All five are men. No doubt that they have adequate qualifications, but of all of the 28,368 residents over 18 years of age (of which 14,524 are women), there clearly must be seven qualified people who could serve on the Planning Board.
This is especially important for current issues that most likely will be on the Planning Board agenda in the near future -- including the proposed development of Shadow Pines Clark and Whalen Roads and the Cider House at the corner of Dublin and Sweets Corners. Both of these areas have town residents gravely concerned about the outcome of current or potential applications for land usage.
Please contact the Town Supervisor, Tony LaFountain (supervisor@penfield.org). Better yet, go to a town board meeting to express your concerns and request that we go back to the standard number of seven Planning Board members and that term limits be established so we can have greater participation from a wider spectrum of Penfield residents. We need to be better represented.
Town Board meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m. There is a public participation time at the beginning and the end of each meeting when anyone can come to address the town board and ask questions.
If you look at the Planning Board membership on every nearby town, including Webster, Perinton, Irondequoit, Brighton and Pittsford, they all have seven members and some even have term limits. Two of our five members have been on the Planning Board 19 and 14 years respectively. All five are men. No doubt that they have adequate qualifications, but of all of the 28,368 residents over 18 years of age (of which 14,524 are women), there clearly must be seven qualified people who could serve on the Planning Board.
This is especially important for current issues that most likely will be on the Planning Board agenda in the near future -- including the proposed development of Shadow Pines Clark and Whalen Roads and the Cider House at the corner of Dublin and Sweets Corners. Both of these areas have town residents gravely concerned about the outcome of current or potential applications for land usage.
Please contact the Town Supervisor, Tony LaFountain (supervisor@penfield.org). Better yet, go to a town board meeting to express your concerns and request that we go back to the standard number of seven Planning Board members and that term limits be established so we can have greater participation from a wider spectrum of Penfield residents. We need to be better represented.
Town Board meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m. There is a public participation time at the beginning and the end of each meeting when anyone can come to address the town board and ask questions.
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Help Save Shadow Pines -- A Treasured Golf Course and Green Open Space in the heart of Penfield is on the chopping block!
Shadow Pines, Shadow Lake, and Greystone golf courses were all put up for sale last fall by the owner, international conglomerate, Old Castle. Their local subsidiary is Dolomite, which used to be a locally owned company.
The first two courses are in Penfield and the third is in nearby Walworth. Recently, it has been reported that Shadow Lake and Greystone have been purchased by members of the Odenbach family, which used to own Dolomite.
The land where Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake are located was zoned residential back in the 1920's and in spite of the fact that they've been in recreational use for decades this zoning remains. It has been estimated that more than 250 houses could be built just in Shadow Pines.
Unwanted development would take away recreation, remove open space, increase congestion, strain our schools, destroy natural habitats and parts of our town's heritage, depress our property values, and even increase our taxes.
There is a grassroots effort in Penfield to protect this open space, preferably as it is. To learn more, visit the SaveShadowPines.org website or the Facebook page.
The first two courses are in Penfield and the third is in nearby Walworth. Recently, it has been reported that Shadow Lake and Greystone have been purchased by members of the Odenbach family, which used to own Dolomite.
The land where Shadow Pines and Shadow Lake are located was zoned residential back in the 1920's and in spite of the fact that they've been in recreational use for decades this zoning remains. It has been estimated that more than 250 houses could be built just in Shadow Pines.
Unwanted development would take away recreation, remove open space, increase congestion, strain our schools, destroy natural habitats and parts of our town's heritage, depress our property values, and even increase our taxes.
There is a grassroots effort in Penfield to protect this open space, preferably as it is. To learn more, visit the SaveShadowPines.org website or the Facebook page.
Welcome to the website of the Penfield Democratic Committee
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The Democratic Party puts good government and fiscal responsibility first. We believe that government can be a vehicle for change, for making the community a better place to live, and for helping all people attain the American Dream, without regard for race, ethnicity, gender, economic status or sexual orientation.
The Penfield Democratic Committee is comprised of Penfield residents who are registered Democrats working to restore two party government to the Town of Penfield. |
Come to our next meeting!
Meetings are typically held on the 4th Tuesday of each month
7:oo p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Penfield Community Center.
Meetings are typically held on the 4th Tuesday of each month
7:oo p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Penfield Community Center.
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