October 11th, 2018
HORNELL, NY – Hornell Fire Chief Dan Smith told the Board of Public Safety Thursday morning that he finally heard back a few weeks ago on a FEMA grant they applied for months back an that it made it all the way to the last phase but was unfortunately denied.
The grant was to purchase 5 Cardiac monitors, which cost upwards of $35,000 apiece. “We really need them,” said Smith, “Ours are well past their useful life with some being over 20 years old. We are going to reapply through a grant writer, and I feel we have a good chance still with the age and condition of our current monitors.”
According to Smith, they plan on finishing up the paperwork and sending in the new application for the grant by the end of next week and could here back at any time in the near future.
Police Chief Ted Murray said their new police car is in its final stages of modifications in Buffalo and should be on the road sometime next week. He also said that their headquarters is finally fully equipped with cameras that can be monitored at the front desk. “This was especially important in the areas where we had juveniles,” said the Chief, “We had to have a separate area where we can monitor and interview them.”
Code Enforcement Office Bud Burdette said that his department is taking a new approach to how they deal with zombie properties. From now on, when a person of family gets a foreclosure notice, they don’t want them to automatically pack up and vacate the premises, but instead want them to stay throughout with the possibility of working something out as the process unfolds.
“This will be a win win situation,” explained Burdette, “They will continue to have a place to live as the process unfolds and it will save the city money by not having to maintain a vacant property.”
And finally a request has been made to the board to put up signs for two 2 hour parking spaces in front of the Hornell Message Group on 23 Main Street in the city. The business said that there has been instances where cars have been parked there all day and it hurts business. The board agreed to send it to the Law and Ordinance Committee for approval, and finally to the full council for a vote.
