OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Dunkirk Town Councilman Phil Leone, who has practiced as an attorney, explained how the law will not be an initial charge for offenders in the Town, but rather as a “bargaining tool” in the legal system.

The regulars who frequent Dunkirk Town Board meetings need to pencil in the next meeting a bit earlier than usual, as the next regular monthly meeting will be preceded by two public hearings.

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, beginning at 5 p.m., the Town will hold a public hearing regarding a solar energy project eyeing 3749 Williams Street East as a potential site. Following that hearing, the Town will hold a hearing regarding a proposed Breach of Peace Law that was introduced by Supervisor Priscilla Penfold at a recent meeting.

The Breach of Peace local law is designed to be used as a tool for prosecutors to offer as a way to hold offenders of frequent crimes in the Town, especially shoplifting, accountable in some way. The law can also apply to disturbances such as noise complaints or other misdemeanors.

Dunkirk Town Councilman Phil Leone, who has practiced as an attorney, explained how the local law will not be an initial charge for offenders in the Town, but rather as a “bargaining tool” in the legal system.

The Town’s main motivation in proposing the law is to deter shoplifting, as several businesses in the Town are frequently victimized by repeat offenders who often have the charges against them dismissed. If the Breach of Peace law is adopted, offenders could be fined by the court as a deterrent to commit future crimes.

“Will we ever see that money? I don’t know, but we’re trying to figure out how we can help out our businesses, especially on Vineyard Drive,” Penfold said.

The Town of Dunkirk Justice Court handled 237 cases in the month of August, with a total of $19,867.50 turned over to the Town. Additionally, the Town Clerk’s office collected a total of $2,113 in the month of August, including $1,725 of zoning fees.

Regarding ongoing projects in the Town, 7 Brew Coffee plans to proceed toward presenting a site plan to the Town in the coming weeks; Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is targeting next quarter as a tentative opening timeline; Benderson Development is continuing its exterior work on the future Starbucks drive-through on Vineyard Drive; and Lakeside Park Solar is awaiting approval of its decommissioning bond.

The Town has also retained Michael Risman of Hodgson Russ LLC as special counsel to represent the Town, along with the Dunkirk City School District, in an Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law filing regarding assessment. The decision came at the advice of Town Attorney Jeff Passafaro, who noted that the Town and the School District are aligned in the matter.

Before the next regular meeting of the Town Board takes place, a special meeting will be held on Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. at the Town Hall for the presentation of the Town Budget. The Town Board also wishes to have another Town Hall meeting to receive input from residents in the coming months, but no date has been set.