Hello, Fellow Bethany History Keepers! I realize that all of you do not live in Bethany--but, I am writing to all of you, to appeal to your interest in Bethany. Please pass this along to anyone you may know who lives in Bethany; take it to your work-place, print it off and give to your friends, family. Many of you may already know that on Election Day, Tues., Nov. 4th, there will be a Proposition on the Ballot, to vote yes or no in regard to the town "purchasing and renovating the present Bethany Volunteer Fire Department Community Building." A well-designed, colorful flyer was mailed out to Bethany Residents a few days ago (by whom it does not state, neither is it known at whose expense this was sent out--was it sent by a citizen of Bethany ? [the return address is shown as Paul Road], but no name or group is acknowledged as distributing it---or was this at taxpayers' expense??) Last year, at a town board meeting, architects presented floor plans for a new Town Hall building at the cost of approx. $800,000; the board declined their proposal, stating it was too expensive. Unbeknownst to many, the Town Board decided upon this action earlier this year : to purchase the Fire Dept. hall and renovate/add to it, for it to become new office space for the town hall offices & court; giving themselves the authority to make the purchase and hire architects to draw up floor plans for renovation of the fire hall into offices, etc.; a committee was then formed to brain-storm ideas on "what to do with the old Town Hall." [comprised of selected town board members and Bethany residents whom they called and requested to come]. This may seem to you as "putting the cart before the horse" - at least it has felt that way to me. How/Why would anyone want to look for someone to take over a building, while that building is still being used and no public informational meeting was held to do otherwise? It seems that the Town Board had already decided upon purchasing the fire dept. building some time ago --then, they went right to the next step, looking for someone to lease/use the Town Hall. They even "offered" it to the Town Historian, for a museum, and a place for meetings (for groups such as the History Keepers, I was told!). Two weeks ago, we were informed by a Town Board member [who attended our October 18th History Keepers meeting], that the Town Board had received "a proposal for purchase of the Town Hall," and that "everyone (presumably both those who want to retain the Town Hall as is and those who want to move out into new office space) would likely be satisfied with who was purchasing it and for what purpose/business (we were not told who the potential buyer(s) was, or the price range.) It seems that this whole situation is lacking for details: When was the Town Hall ever "put up for sale?" In an article of the Daily News of July 23, 2003, Mr. John Hollwedel said that he hopes to find a use for the Town Hall and plans are to lease the building for 'a buck a year.' He is quoted as stating: "there are no plans to sell the building." Why would the Town Board want to take on such a large project without the backing of the community? Well, as they said: "The people of Bethany voted us into this office, so we have the authority to do so." The cost estimates in the flyer mailed out to residents states that renovations to make the present Town Hall a sound structure to continue using was "estimated at upwards of $800,000." This is not true! The feasibility study that was done this summer was quoted at approx. $565,000. There was an informational meeting, open to the public, in August 2001; at that time, the Town Board gave results of a survey that had been sent to residents in regard to issues of renovating the town hall and possible plans for a new post office for the town. I was among about 2 dozen residents who came to that meeting. It was mostly a meeting to hear the Board's outline of plans, and while they did listen to some remarks from the audience, it was not what had been stated to be: "residents will be able to review and discuss the committee's recommendations" (as stated in The Daily News, Aug 2-2001). Why is the present Town Hall building no longer a viable place for the town board and offices? The Town Board would presumably answer this last question by stating that the building is worn out, old and in disrepair. Yet on the other hand, they "say" they will "Preserve it as a historical building"! If this is so, then they would be operating and taking on the upkeep of two buildings--both their "new" location, and the present Town Hall. Contrary to what the town board has presented, the historic Town Hall of Bethany can be continued to be used as an official town hall. [Last year when the board turned down the architects' $800,000 plan for construction of a new building, I asked the architects after the meeting, when we were going to our cars, 'Could this building continued to be used? Would it be possible that it could be renovated and used ?' The answer was a resounding, 'Yes!' ] While the flyer states "Supported by Vol. Fire Dept." and "lifelong residents" - I find that it cannot be 100%, as I heard from fire dept. members at last week's meeting, which showed some division among the group - and knowing some lifelong members of the town who do not support the proposed plan, no one should assume that a majority supports the town's plan. The town wants you to vote yes, "to make use of an existing building [the fire hall] within the town, which presently is not being used to its full potential." - I would like to state that I believe that the same could be said for the present Town Hall building--for one thing, there is a large, beautiful dance-floor room upstairs, with a stage and the original curtain and backstage dressing rooms! That has been sitting empty for many years, its only occupants are the old postoffice boxes and many cane-bottom chairs. We are not saying we don't want progress, nor do we want our town to operate under cramped conditions or with problems such as inoperable bathroom facilities, inadequate electrical wiring, or the lack of proper handicap-accessibility. What we do want is the opportunity to find a solution that can bring our town hall up to standards needed to operate as a town hall needs to do, by retaining what we have there--a historic building that has been a part of the community for over 170 years--we don't have that many historic buildings in Bethany any more. We can't afford to lose this one by turning our back on it ~ Please consider all of this when casting your ballot on Tuesday: Vote NO to the Town Hall Purchase, to tell our town board that we, the people, want to retain and preserve what our forefathers have handed down to us, so that we in turn may pass it onto future generations, who will be grateful for the time we have given and the dedication we have shown. Thank you! Linda Schmidt

That debate has been going on in Alabama as well the last couple years, no decision reached one way or another, but they at least had some public meetings. Wonder if you could get something in Mondays Batavia Daily if you could get a letter to them early enough? Like fax your letter to them early in the AM? Cindy Linda/Don <donlinda@mybizz.net> wrote:Hello, Fellow Bethany History Keepers! I realize that all of you do not live in Bethany--but, I am writing to all of you, to appeal to your interest in Bethany. Please pass this along to anyone you may know who lives in Bethany; take it to your work-place, print it off and give to your friends, family. Many of you may already know that on Election Day, Tues., Nov. 4th, there will be a Proposition on the Ballot, to vote yes or no in regard to the town "purchasing and renovating the present Bethany Volunteer Fire Department Community Building." A well-designed, colorful flyer was mailed out to Bethany Residents a few days ago (by whom it does not state, neither is it known at whose expense this was sent out--was it sent by a citizen of Bethany ? [the return address is shown as Paul Road], but no name or group is acknowledged as distributing it---or was this at taxpayers' expense??) Last year, at a town board meeting, architects presented floor plans for a new Town Hall building at the cost of approx. $800,000; the board declined their proposal, stating it was too expensive. Unbeknownst to many, the Town Board decided upon this action earlier this year : to purchase the Fire Dept. hall and renovate/add to it, for it to become new office space for the town hall offices & court; giving themselves the authority to make the purchase and hire architects to draw up floor plans for renovation of the fire hall into offices, etc.; a committee was then formed to brain-storm ideas on "what to do with the old Town Hall." [comprised of selected town board members and Bethany residents whom they called and requested to come]. This may seem to you as "putting the cart before the horse" - at least it has felt that way to me. How/Why would anyone want to look for someone to take over a building, while that building is still being used and no public informational meeting was held to do otherwise? It seems that the Town Board had already decided upon purchasing the fire dept. building some time ago --then, they went right to the next step, looking for someone to lease/use the Town Hall. They even "offered" it to the Town Historian, for a museum, and a place for meetings (for groups such as the History Keepers, I was told!). Two weeks ago, we were informed by a Town Board member [who attended our October 18th History Keepers meeting], that the Town Board had received "a proposal for purchase of the Town Hall," and that "everyone (presumably both those who want to retain the Town Hall as is and those who want to move out into new office space) would likely be satisfied with who was purchasing it and for what purpose/business (we were not told who the potential buyer(s) was, or the price range.) It seems that this whole situation is lacking for details: When was the Town Hall ever "put up for sale?" In an article of the Daily News of July 23, 2003, Mr. John Hollwedel said that he hopes to find a use for the Town Hall and plans are to lease the building for 'a buck a year.' He is quoted as stating: "there are no plans to sell the building." Why would the Town Board want to take on such a large project without the backing of the community? Well, as they said: "The people of Bethany voted us into this office, so we have the authority to do so." The cost estimates in the flyer mailed out to residents states that renovations to make the present Town Hall a sound structure to continue using was "estimated at upwards of $800,000." This is not true! The feasibility study that was done this summer was quoted at approx. $565,000. There was an informational meeting, open to the public, in August 2001; at that time, the Town Board gave results of a survey that had been sent to residents in regard to issues of renovating the town hall and possible plans for a new post office for the town. I was among about 2 dozen residents who came to that meeting. It was mostly a meeting to hear the Board's outline of plans, and while they did listen to some remarks from the audience, it was not what had been stated to be: "residents will be able to review and discuss the committee's recommendations" (as stated in The Daily News, Aug 2-2001). Why is the present Town Hall building no longer a viable place for the town board and offices? The Town Board would presumably answer this last question by stating that the building is worn out, old and in disrepair. Yet on the other hand, they "say" they will "Preserve it as a historical building"! If this is so, then they would be operating and taking on the upkeep of two buildings--both their "new" location, and the present Town Hall. Contrary to what the town board has presented, the historic Town Hall of Bethany can be continued to be used as an official town hall. [Last year when the board turned down the architects' $800,000 plan for construction of a new building, I asked the architects after the meeting, when we were going to our cars, 'Could this building continued to be used? Would it be possible that it could be renovated and used ?' The answer was a resounding, 'Yes!' ] While the flyer states "Supported by Vol. Fire Dept." and "lifelong residents" - I find that it cannot be 100%, as I heard from fire dept. members at last week's meeting, which showed some division among the group - and knowing some lifelong members of the town who do not support the proposed plan, no one should assume that a majority supports the town's plan. The town wants you to vote yes, "to make use of an existing building [the fire hall] within the town, which presently is not being used to its full potential." - I would like to state that I believe that the same could be said for the present Town Hall building--for one thing, there is a large, beautiful dance-floor room upstairs, with a stage and the original curtain and backstage dressing rooms! That has been sitting empty for many years, its only occupants are the old postoffice boxes and many cane-bottom chairs. We are not saying we don't want progress, nor do we want our town to operate under cramped conditions or with problems such as inoperable bathroom facilities, inadequate electrical wiring, or the lack of proper handicap-accessibility. What we do want is the opportunity to find a solution that can bring our town hall up to standards needed to operate as a town hall needs to do, by retaining what we have there--a historic building that has been a part of the community for over 170 years--we don't have that many historic buildings in Bethany any more. We can't afford to lose this one by turning our back on it ~ Please consider all of this when casting your ballot on Tuesday: Vote NO to the Town Hall Purchase, to tell our town board that we, the people, want to retain and preserve what our forefathers have handed down to us, so that we in turn may pass it onto future generations, who will be grateful for the time we have given and the dedication we have shown. Thank you! Linda Schmidt ==== NYGENESE Mailing List ==== Need to UNsub for vacation or summer?? Forget How to UN sub??? http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/NY/genesee.html Cindy Amrhein Historian/Abstractor Town of Alabama Historian Genesee Co., NY ********************** Historian's Page - Alabama, NY http://www.rootsweb.com/~nycalaba/ APHNYS (The Association of Public Historians of New York State) http://www.tier.net/~aphnys/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears