Tearful notice caps off spirited meeting
Edwin Scherzer
Correspondent
Sharon Village Board of Trustees will be looking for a new presiding officer by next spring as current board president Diana Dykstra announced her intent to resign the position. The announcement came at the end of an active agenda filled with multiple citizen responses and a heated exchange between Dykstra and other village residents.
Dykstra and Sharon Trustees fielded questions and provided responses for more than half an hour from citizens concerned with sidewalk removal and restoration. Comments were focused on only replacing those sections of sidewalks needing repair, “I hate to see a good sidewalk torn up and replaced when it doesn’t need it,” said Don Wing, Sharon resident. Wing and others like him contend their sections of Seymour and those on Walworth Street do not need a total replacement.
Resident Jan Ratajczak spoke about how he had already corrected his sidewalk issue on his own, years before, “I have lived here for 40 years and my sidewalk has newer concrete on top of existing to stop a flooding issue,” he said.
Citizens finally convinced board trustees to walk the sections in question with the public works director to identify those sections truly needing repair as opposed to a total tear out of the street slated for removal. Since the sidewalk program was created in 2005, six major sections of streets have had sidewalks replaced with residents being able to payback the cost during a five year period.
Miles Fish asked what most residents in attendance were thinking, “Why can’t the village pick up part of the cost?” Fish said. Trustee Charles Vandebogert stated the Village position clearly, “We don’t have the money” he said.
Ratajczak quickly shot back, “Do you think we do?”
Dykstra charged the board with looking into future replacements and offsetting costs, “I would like to look into a 50/50 program with an eye towards getting more sidewalks done,” Dykstra said.
In other village business, a public hearing was held regarding an application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) with information presented by James Frymark, an urban planner.
Frymark said applying for the CDBG should involve public facilities or infrastructure and recommended the village focus on sewage upgrades. If approved for the grant, Sharon could be awarded up to$500,000 or fifty percent, whichever was less. He cautioned however the application process was extremely competitive, “there’s no promises, no guarantees, but nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Frymark said.
As the meeting wound down Mary Diderich was recognized and immediately went on the offensive questioning why the village would spend so much money on the Sharon Cycling Series held July 17th. Diderich and one other resident were looking for further discussion from last month’s board meeting on the matter. Diderich chairs a coat drive for her local church and thought money from the cycling event could have put to better use, “you know, I did the math and at fifty dollars a pop, we could have purchased 250 coats on what was spent on that bike race,” Diderich said. As another resident started to pick up Diderich’s cause, Dykstra fired back, “I am tired of you two telling me you’re unhappy about the bike race, and I’m tired of other people coming to me and telling me you’re unhappy about the bike race,” she said.
Trustee Sachs sternly reminded the residents if they wanted further discussion they should place the item on the agenda and attend a future meeting and with that, Diderich stormed out.
Shortly before adjournment, Dykstra tearfully told of her future resignation and that the board should start looking for her replacement starting around December.
Dykstra said she hoped the board and future president would continue with the branding that Sharon was creating for itself, and had some advice for a future leader, “I hope you get someone that will step up to the plate because that’s what you need.”
Citing a personal reason to spend more time with her family, Dykstra will serve out her term until April 2014.
