Residents in the town of Gorham have spoken.
The Town Board will have to go back to the drawing board next month with its plans to build a $5.5 million highway facility voted down.
The plan itself wasn’t voted down, merely the method by which it would have been financed. However, residents who spoke out at a packed town board meeting made it clear – the $5.5 million highway building plan was ‘excessive’ and more than taxpayers were willing to be on the hook for.
“Seems a little overkill to me. It’s a terrible amount of money to be spending to park a few trucks. We can do better. We should do better,” Ed Merritt, a local resident who spoke at that meeting earlier this month.
The final results were overwhelmingly opposed to the plan. A total of 509 votes went against the bond resolution, with just 162 in favor of it. The vote was spurred by a petition pushed by local residents who weren’t satisfied with the level of input they had in the Town Board’s process.
“I would like to see a revision of plans, A, B, and C,” Gorham resident Debbie North told FingerLakes1.com earlier this month. “A is the grand plan. B is ok, let’s revise what we’ve got and maybe add one new building or add on to an existing building. And C, this is bare bones. This is what we can live with until the economic climate changes.”
A special meeting was slated for Wednesday, October 26th, but canceled last-minute after residents alleged the Town did not get proper public notices published in time. That meeting was postponed to Wednesday, November 2nd.
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
- Part I: Why are Gorham residents so frustrated with the Town Board?
- Part II: Inside the decision to borrow money to build a $5.5M highway building
- Part III: Should short-term rentals be scrutinized with greater regulation in Gorham?
- Part IV: Traffic concerns vs. economic development in Gorham — What’s wrong with County Road 18?
Josh is the publisher of FingerLakes1.com. Have a question? Send them to [email protected].