December 4, 2024
ALFRED, NY – About a dozen people attended the Tuesday night Alfred Village/Town Community meeting. Present were Village Mayor Jim Ninos Alfred University President Dr Mark Zupan and Alfred State College President Dr Stepen Mauro. Also, former village mayors Becky Prophet and Gary Ostrower were there, and several college students were in attendance. The meeting was run by Becky Prophet.
Mayor Ninos opened up the community meeting, talking about Dr. Stewart Smith and how Smith is the last surviving World War II veteran in Alfred. Ninos says, Smith just celebrated his 99th birthday.
Ninos went on to say that the village just started working on replacing some water lines. He also thanked the mayor’s who wrote a letter of support for the board and their stance on the ongoing police department situation.
Alfred Town Supervisor Ian McRae also spoke, saying that there are two big projects in the town: the solar project and the AU Jericho hill construction. Mcrae also says there is a proposed project for a solar project on Hamilton Hill Road. The town supervisor noted that it’s in the very early stages.
McRae also stated that the Alfred Town Board is also working on a cell phone law for 5G.
Alfred State College President Dr. Stephen Mauro talked about the importance of infrastructure and how he wants to have Alfred State students get involved with any Alfred Village and Town infrastructure projects. Then, Mauro thanked the Harris family for the donation to the college which led to the construction of the new Harris Hall building. He also noted that the athletic fall sports teams were a big success and that the winter teams are off to a great start.
Alfred University President Dr. Mark Zupan said that the university has had the Ceramics College for 125 years. Zupan said it was approved by Teddy Roosevelt. Zupan also said that AU is on track to have a record number of students at AU in the coming years.
Alfred Village Police Sgt. Josh VanSkiver said that the most phone calls are complaints about speeding drivers on Main Street. He then stated that the second most common complaints are about homeless people who have been relocated in the downtown Alfred area. VanSkiver said about eight phone calls a day are about that.
John Hosford, from the AE Crandall Hook And Ladder Fire Conpany, spoke about fire engine repairs going on now. He spoke highly of Andover and almond fire departments assisting the Alfred fire department. He also talked about the need for recruiting.
Bob Volk, from the 21st Century Group talked about what they can do to help out with ways to improve main Street. Kathy Benzaquijn, also from the 21st Century Group, said that they are in talks to get a mural painted in Alfred.
Then things were opened up for the time of discussion. Gary Ostrower made some suggestions about issues such as renovation of the library. He also said traffic on Main Street is better recently and he thanked the police for that. Ostrower also said, the police department has two functions: A, law and order and B, quality of life. He said he was glad that codes are being addressed more these days. Prophet then echoed Ostrower’s sentiments about the importance of shoveling snow on the sidewalks especially for senior citizens. Ostrower then asked about the incoming Trump Administration’s plans to cut education funding, and he directed that question towards Mark Zupan and Stephen Mauro. Mauro said Alfred State always tries to plan ahead, just in case, and Zupan said that the university have to focus on what they can affect but that it might be pell grants that could be affected. The meeting concluded, with Becky Prophet saying that the community needs an updated emergency plan, for Covid type of situations.
