The Town of Amherst should serve us, not vice versa!

This past year has driven home the point that our government feels we should serve them, not vice versa. We work hard to keep a roof over our heads and pay our taxes. To be treated the way homeowners are being treated by the Town of Amherst is not only uncalled for, but is contemptuous.

The tone of the letter sent out by Thomas C. Ketchum, the Town of Amherst’s Commissioner of the Building Department was offensive to say the least. To suddenly out of the blue, send such a threatening letter to the honest tax paying homeowners was defamatory. The letter made the homeowners appear like hardened criminals, not law-abiding citizens who pay the very high priced salary of Mr. Ketchum. If he composed that letter, he should be ashamed an issue a letter of apology to all those he insulted this way. Certainly we want safe sidewalks, but to suddenly tell everyone they are in violation of the town code and failure to comply by the two months given will result in a hefty fine and/or 15 days in jail. This is downright disrespectful and whoever wrote that letter should be fired! To treat the very people who pay his salary like this is scornful.

With governments on all levels now reeling in the effects of the current meltdown of the economy, the taxpayers once again are forced to bailout all the companies and governments whose failing policies get them in this mess. It goes right down to the local level. The government is passing the buck, from the Federal level down to the state, to the local governments and then it trickles down to the taxpayer. Why are we always the ones held accountable for the mistakes of the government?

According to Town of Amherst ordinance Section 151-60C, homeowners shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the sidewalks in Town of Amherst right of way. While this is unfair, it is the current law. However, that doesn’t mean that the town homeowners can’t vote out the current members of the Town Board and change the laws. We need representatives who do just that, represent us. What we now have in government is self-serving, overpaid individuals who cater to special interests.

After many calls and letters to the town, it was discovered that the sidewalks repair being forced upon us may not be as drastic as it first appears. After speaking to the town’s building inspector, it has been disclosed that some of the sidewalk slabs marked with an X may not have to be completely replaced. If the gap between one slab and the adjacent one is less than an inch, it could be ground down level by a grinding device. Also, the slabs could be lifted and leveled by contractors and the expense of that should be less expensive. None of this was addressed in the letter sent to the homeowners. Instead, they were treated like criminals and threatened with jail time if they didn’t immediately spend thousands of dollars to repair their sidewalks.

The letter sent out to the shocked homeowners certainly didn’t cushion them from the harsh realities that the town threatened...jail time or a big fine. To come out and issue such letters when homeowners are having a hard time just paying their increasing real estate taxes, let alone keeping their house out of foreclosure, was insensitive to say the least. There are many retired homeowners who are struggling on their fixed incomes, let alone health issues. Their blood pressure must have went through the roof when they read the letter from Mr. Ketchum. The tone of that letter certainly was uncalled for and it would be appropriate that he issue a new letter explaining exactly what needs to be done to get our sidewalks in compliance to the town code.

A neighborhood group has been organized and there will be several estimates for the sidewalk repair. Because of the hard economical times, we will try to find the best quality of workmanship along with the best price. Options will be to grind down the slabs so they are level, lifting and leveling the slabs so they are flat, or complete replacement of the slabs. The complete replacement will obviously be the most expensive, so if that can be avoided, it will be.

This weekend, there will be a couple estimates and we'll get back to you what they were. Also, if anyone has received an estimate, please email me at:

takeback_our_streets@buffalo.com

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NEIGHBORHOOD MESSAGE BOARD

It has been suggested that we find a better way so that the whole neighborhood can communicate with each other. I have decided the best way would be to create a neighborhood message board where we can all share our thoughts, not only about the sidewalk issues, but other issues that involve our neighborhood. We need to protect ourselves from the crime wave that we saw last summer and there have been weather-related emergencies in the past. Any community issue could be then addressed that way. 

Check out our new message board. You can talk about the sidewalk issues and other events happening in our neighborhood...

TAKE BACK OUR STREETS MESSAGE BOARD

http://takebackourstreets.proboards.com