WILSON
Town, village receive grant to pay for new master plan
By Teresa Sharp
NIAGARA CORRESPONDENT
Updated: 06/07/08 7:12 AM
WILSON — Town and village officials recently learned that they will receive a $50,000 state grant to create their first master plan in more than 40 years.
Supervisor Joseph A. Jastrzemski and Mayor Thomas J. Bateman said this week that they received word that State Sen. George D. Maziarz, RNewfane, had procured the grant for the project.
“The old master plan for Wilson was done in 1966 and it was never formally adopted,” said Jastrzemski. “It’s outdated and we need to move forward.
“The county is updating its master plan and this is a good time for us to do this, too,” he added. “We have to have direction. We need to know what kind of growth we want to have.
“People from other areas like Wheatfield, Cambria and Pendleton who want to stay in a rural/agricultural area are moving and building here in Wilson,” he added. “The growth of schools, subdivisions, etc., will all come into play. We’ll put a master plan together that boards will be able to work from in the future.”
The town has a population of 6,000, including 1,300 in the village.
“We are two completely separate entities and we need a different plan for each,” said Bateman. “We have the business section and sewer treatment plant here in the village, but the town is more rural. Our situations are different.
“We will need to educate our planning boards [about master plans] and find an engineering firm that specializes in this type of work to guide us.”
Commenting on the need for a municipality to have a master plan in place when applying for government grants, Bateman added, “it’s kind of hard to actively seek grant money for projects when there is no permanent plan in place. People want to know where you’re going to spend that money.”
Bateman noted that the village serves as the business hub for the town, but needs to strike a balance.
“We need to develop commercial zoning for responsible growth,” he said. “And, once a plan is developed and adopted, I would hope it would help increase tourism.
“Unlike a lot of other communities, our village is three-sided, in that we have the harbor on the fourth side,” he said. “But that is one of the most beautiful natural harbors on the lake and is certainly a drawing card.”
