Montour Falls village board 4/19/12

    Meeting:  The Montour Falls village board met Thursday, April 19, for 55 minutes.
    Attendance:  Mayor John King was the only board member absent.  There were three members of the public in the audience.
    Action:  The village board approved to use Chemung Canal as the village’s only bank.  Clerk Suzanne Casselberry explained Montour Falls does some business with HSBC, which was purchased by First Niagara.  Board member Jim Howell said he did not want to sign an agreement with the new bank if there will not be a local branch.  The board will let the HSBC contract expire and do all business with Chemung Canal, which has a branch in Montour Falls.
    • The village will close off Main Street, Saturday, June 23, from 2 to 6 p.m. for Pride Ride.  The motorcycle rally stops in Montour Falls as part of the event.
    • Tentative approval was given to Heidi Willmot of Four Dragons Martial Arts to do a fundraiser at the carnival grounds.  Board Member Phil Smith said the request was to use the grills for a fundraiser to cover the costs of going to a youth competition in Dallas, Texas.  Board member Jim Ryan said the fire department would need to give permission to use the fire pit.  Smith added Willmot would also need insurance and to cleanup afterwards.
    Discussion without action:  A public hearing for the 2012-13 budget was held.  However, no one from the public commented.  The board will vote on the budget at the next meeting.
    • Bill Christoffels, owner of the Old Havana Courthouse Theatre, asked where signage could go to advertise the theater that will be operating out of the second floor of the village hall.  The board had concerns about hanging the banner across the exterior pillars or near the ground again.  Christoffels said, “I need something that let’s people know we’re here.”  Ryan suggested putting the banner on the wire that runs over the street in front of the library.  Christoffels said he could do that, but would also need to put writing on the other side of the banner.  He asked the board for any contribution to help offset the $6,000 it would cost to install a heating and air conditioning system on the second floor.  Christoffels added that once in place, it would be part of the village hall.  Howell said he would feel better contributing to something like that if it was going to remain.
    • The joint town and village spring collection day will be May 12.  Residents can drop off televisions, electronics, computers, etc.  Smith added that garbage, tires, paints, oils, cleaning chemicals, and regular recycling will not be accepted.
    Upcoming meetings:  The next regular board meeting will be Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m.