TOWN OF ALFRED
“TOWN TALK”
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE
NOVEMBER 14, 2019 TOWN OF ALFRED BOARD MEETING
Dan Acton,
Supervisor
Town Budget, Comprehensive Plan, Jericho Hill Field, and
Sidewalk Project
An unusually long town board meeting began with a public
hearing on the 2020 budget. There was no objection from the community to the
budget which once again came in under the 2% state mandated tax cap. As a
result, the board unanimously approved the budget.
Allegany County Director of Planning Kier Dirlam walked the
board through the final steps needed to adopt the new Town and Village
Comprehensive Plan. Over two years in the making, the plan is now available for
review prior to a January 7, 2020 public hearing.
The supervisor reported receiving a call from the
engineering firm working on behalf of Alfred University regarding their plan to
build a sports complex on the Jericho Hill playing fields. The inquiry had to
do with potential water and sewage at the site. In the conversation they were
counseled to consider the issues of winter traffic safety on that stretch of
highway as well as the fact that much of the area is zoned residential. The
firm agreed that the university should attend a town board meeting for a full
discussion of this project.
Finally, the supervisor reported that an engineering firm
had been selected for the proposed sidewalk project that would connect the village
and Alfred Station. This project is intended to improve safety for pedestrians
and motorists on State Route 244 and includes features in addition to a
sidewalk and curbing. Additional safety features considered so far are
crosswalks, digital signage giving your speed, a kiosk for people waiting for
the HAT (Hornell Area Transit) and Allegany County buses, and a pedestrian activated traffic light.
Most likely, given the funding, the sidewalk and curb will be on only one side
of the highway.
At this point the intension is for a steering committee made
up of Town, Village, University, and State College representation to meet with
the engineers to get a general sense of the possibilities. The next step is to
meet individually with all property owners along the route to get their
opinions and input. Next several concept designs will be developed and
presented at a public hearing for community reaction. Any questions or concerns
about the project can be addressed to supervisor Dan Acton or Town Clerk Jan
Burdick.
