[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6112428,"mediaKeyId","2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea","parentId",2747687,"title","Votes at a glance: Williamsville board approves payroll, security contract and a fire department appointment","audioSeconds",5625,"startMs",543000,"endMs",6168000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea&start=543&end=6168","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea/thumbnail_543000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6112428/Williamsville/Erie-County/New-York/Votes-at-a-glance-Williamsville-board-approves-payroll-security-contract-and-a-fire-department-appointment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6112428-eb26bf3088a8db0c78b2620e3c66b4fa/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182448&Signature=Uz8r3NzrdiPQne-4cxqhLeTgpsZ6EJykYU5MmBFrDGJENv~VNwxjMS~CGoRAZPcKQaINgCW5irgtR6yYJnW8fg7D994LvtjERaGXVwqwJkIjsQ~C~o9UB0v-oJZglUETyVzV79TlUxEji43-C6tXf1huI8T-q53Z0GHSjNO9052iC0Xj~8AUcHw0gwQ0lTpyPjWR4EOgRTPKhlS-K~lf8sbYBWBkktUIx9dkrPOz9Z1A6OJpcFB4xCkP840Vo9v3h3G0D1QKMov0bN11QQVthhBFlxbILE1i~q4rX3fFiAObu48b1nS5Qh4trCv0TDRxSkzfV2dDuzz55kkJtivZqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Village of Williamsville, NY","date","2025-02-24T00:00:00Z","article","The Village of Williamsville Board on Feb. 24 approved several routine and administrative measures during its regular meeting.

Payroll and vouchers: The board approved payroll and vouchers covering the Jan. 27–Feb. 19 pay period in the amount of $276,188.40. The motion passed with an oral “Aye” from trustees.

Fire department appointment: Emma McKenzie of Williamsville was appointed an active restricted member of the Williamsville Fire Department effective March 1, 2025. The board approved the appointment by voice vote.

Budget meetings: Trustees authorized publication of two public Saturday budget work sessions — March 15 and March 22 — with a tentative third meeting on April 5; all sessions were listed to start at 8 a.m. in the Village Hall conference room.

Security system contract: The board awarded the contract for an access-control cloud system at Village Hall and the Meeting House to Armored Alarm Camera and Security Systems for the low bid of $18,460. The resolution directed that the work be funded from the building maintenance appropriation.

Other routine business: Trustees approved the Feb. 10 meeting minutes and suspended rules to allow public participation, both by voice vote. No contested roll-call tallies were recorded in the public minutes for these actions.

All of the above motions were carried by voice votes during the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Village of Williamsville Board Meeting (2/24/25)","oneSentenceSummary","At its Feb. 24 meeting the board approved payroll and vouchers totaling $276,188.40, appointed a restricted fire department member, scheduled budget work sessions, and awarded a security access-control contract.","taxTitle","Williamsville, Erie County, New York","taxId",73019,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6112431,"Resident designer urges Williamsville to invest in bioswale maintenance and community stewardship",876,873000,1749000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea&start=873&end=1749","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea/thumbnail_873000.jpg","/articles/6112431/Williamsville/Erie-County/New-York/Resident-designer-urges-Williamsville-to-invest-in-bioswale-maintenance-and-community-stewardship","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6112431-956e6578da56fa334ed0b2418e423296/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182448&Signature=R97cbtC6cCDER54D2QDGHBCDeEREbQK-TMQrsR8hKOsPQcLHvKpZiU5c-XUjX9rGx19zEF6vcMG0z4EqFxV-ujcV8YtHCToG6rP3a0BlwRX3uprG~2eZ2lwfnzeQxGwfsRPjECFtQXPZab7VkGxFgAR3yTYeUCzBLYoTkuXXWhe4ZxvJkXST-FXOTTXKbSt1BTdUZewM4UM0bWAJ5F3MV~FM0WQUsAZ0BEfXtCIDwucAGdgAdgpUmLZFqCQ~nfmFY3g5hJtVVi-gMy82K93QGAvT0ApsxMhH8pe~rJko5R9S~dmNKIEKRXm~v9oi-dCdGUkfOWA-IsJiq1dBoAf7Ag__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Alexandra Zirkle, a Village of Williamsville resident and certified permaculture designer, told trustees on Feb. 24 that the village’s bioswales are “a tremendous resource for the village” but require focused maintenance and resident education to reach their ecological and aesthetic potential.

Zirkle — who identified herself as a University at Buffalo professor and a board member of Deeply Rooted Community Garden — outlined low-cost design fixes such as using cover crops (she suggested crimson clover), dividing healthy perennials (New England asters were named), adding winter-interest shrubs such as red osier dogwood, and planting species chosen for drought and salt tolerance. She emphasized matching species to site conditions to reduce long-term maintenance needs.

She proposed engaging businesses and residents with a short menu of plant choices for specific swales, installing minimal educational signage and organizing “learn-and-work” volunteer days to teach transplanting, seed collection and winter sowing. Zirkle said those activities would build stewardship while lowering recurring maintenance costs.

Trustees and staff discussed immediate steps. Deputy Mayor Tory said the village will hold a spring cleanup (Live My Park Day) focused on trash removal rather than intensive planting, and the larger community event ‘‘Greenup Williamsville’’ will be moved to June to allow for planting after the first flush of growth. Ben, a public-works staff member, and Zirkle discussed transplanting tall ornamental grasses from sight-line locations to less obstructive sites and selecting plants adapted to wet or dry swale conditions.

Residents who attended supported the approach. Marissa Riggi, a resident who later spoke during the public-comment portion of the regular meeting, told the board she found Zirkle’s plan “well informed” and urged the village to invest modest funds now to reduce costs later. Tom Franke, another resident, reinforced wider regional opportunities for creek- and greenway-related funding while speaking later in the meeting.

No ordinance or funding appropriation was adopted at the session; trustees treated Zirkle’s presentation as a basis for follow-up outreach and volunteer programming.","Alexandra Zirkle presented planting, soil and community-engagement strategies to make Williamsville’s bioswales self-sustaining, and trustees agreed to adjust upcoming volunteer events and public outreach.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6112434,"Developer raises idea of cannabis dispensary while pitching Main and Mill redevelopment in Williamsville",788,35000,823000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea&start=35&end=823","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2747687-806d347748cbc97ef2bd349076da95ea/thumbnail_35000.jpg","/articles/6112434/Williamsville/Erie-County/New-York/Developer-raises-idea-of-cannabis-dispensary-while-pitching-Main-and-Mill-redevelopment-in-Williamsville","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6112434-88726f7da9fd26ad75b5866a03481388/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182448&Signature=LmUFjDab4WW0bocgUzd4kocbB-p8CLeWWsYVezRe364zoDMKCAnqX9HJNv53ktkOZWvicvj7au0qdZk92e10HBBLa4ufK-x-82Uc3fQBF33IuP5arZTtXf8qWvpYSl3tvgIm6BcrcawUUl0wrEzvzKiccZyzV7MyGD~KEgdI1UT3IuyYY8wDvkFS3hwmejY-cJm6IwZvK6pAgsaB1lCqDpNZvi4xGsUdKGV-cludQX-5IVXFKB8pWsqvyiQ~ItuHvR-V62qTcnUbWDKffSgOAQf2MkgeC7J8~n2W1EZ0TK-s1XPU47R9BBdXWhlYtPolxsNbChSPKbEfzEmfPKWnIA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Michael Huntress, a principal with Aquest Development Company, told the Village of Williamsville Board on Feb. 24 that his firm has acquired several downtown parcels — including the former Touch of Brass at Main and Mill — and is soliciting local input before pursuing redevelopment.

Huntress said one idea he raised with the mayor and a trustee was whether the village should consider opting back into allowing retail cannabis dispensaries. “We would act as a landlord,” Huntress said, adding that his firm would not itself operate a dispensary. He estimated that a dispensary at the Mill and Main site could generate roughly $300,000 a year in local revenue under the state distribution sketched in the presentation and said “3% of the gross sales would come to the village.”

The comment drew questions about how share rules would work in practice. Huntress and board members discussed a county and town role in the revenue split, with Huntress noting that local allocations would be subject to negotiation with the Town of Amherst and that a portion might instead go to the county or town. Huntress also showed a proximity map indicating state licensing rules could limit the village to two allowable dispensary locations along Main Street because of distance limits from sensitive sites.

Trustees and staff raised site-specific concerns. Board members noted tight downtown parking, the condition of an adjacent retaining wall and the parcel’s proximity to Glen Park and the creek as potential obstacles to siting a retail dispensary there. Mayor Hunt said, in response to the presentation, that “there’s plenty of dispensaries in Amherst, in my opinion,” and that village residents had previously declined to permit dispensaries in 2021 after a public hearing.

Huntress described other redevelopment possibilities for the Touch of Brass and nearby properties — mixing storefront retail on the ground floor with residential or office uses above — and asked the board for guidance before pursuing any formal proposals. He said his firm plans to follow up by email and provide brochures and additional information for trustees and staff to review.

The board took no vote on the proposal; trustees treated the session as a preliminary discussion and did not direct staff to draft changes to local code at the meeting.","A developer who owns the former Touch of Brass building and other properties in Williamsville asked trustees to reopen discussion about local cannabis retail rules and outlined possible tax revenue and zoning limits; trustees expressed concern about location and parking.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Williamsville board approves payroll, security contract and a fire department appointment

Resident designer urges Williamsville to invest in bioswale maintenance and community stewardship

Developer raises idea of cannabis dispensary while pitching Main and Mill redevelopment in Williamsville