New member appointed to Dunkirk Town Board
Trending
The Dunkirk Town Board has selected its newest member.
Robert Price was appointed as the newest member of the Town Board. He will serve in the role for the remainder of the year, and the seat he is filling will appear on the ballot in the November election.
"He's wonderful. His attention to detail and his knowledge base, I can't say enough good about him," Town Board member Shari Miller said. Miller previously served alongside Price on the Dunkirk Town Planning Board.
"He's a levelheaded person. He's a no nonsense guy. He's strictly business when it comes to this kind of thing," Town Board member Phil Leone said. "... He's got it together. I think he would be an awesome candidate."
Town Board member Jean Crane added, "I like it because he's a West Town resident. we need another representative on the West side."
Town Supervisor Priscilla Penfold concurred with the rest of the Board. "I think that's a good choice," she said.
Price was selected from a group of five residents to express interest in the open seat. The increased level of interest in serving on the Board was encouraging to members of the Board, as the most recent election featured only four candidates for three open Council member seats and an unopposed election for Town Supervisor.
"I'm pretty happy with the amount of interest that we had to fill the vacancy on the Town Board. It really was encouraging and heartfelt," Miller said.
Price joins the Town Board as a sitting member of the Planning Board, which was also the case for Miller when elected in November. Miller later resigned from the Planning Board, and Price will presumably do the same now that he has been appointed to the Town Board, effective immediately.
After appointing Price, the Town Board also discussed the state of its current Town Hall and Court. Among the list of issues at the current facility is the state of the boiler, which the Board plans to seek a solution for in the coming weeks. The Highway Department will also be working on the entrance to the building.
An amendment to the Employee Handbook was also approved by the Town Board for Town employees to receive five sick days upon the date of hire.
Several revisions to the Town Code and zoning laws were also discussed by the Town Board, including short-term rental properties and solar zoning. A meeting with the Planning Board and Zoning Board at 5 p.m. on March 26 will include more discussion on the Town Code and Zoning.
The Town Board also urged residents to be aware of any information released by Chautauqua County regarding the April 8 solar eclipse. The Town Board highlighted that tourists will likely be seeking parking around and during the event, and that traffic could be significantly impacted. More information is available online at chqgov.com