Town of Amherst Town Board·July 6, 2026
Seniors pack the chamber over a card-game crackdown · A battery-storage zoning hearing opens, then pauses · The FOIL-repeal hearing is pushed back again
A large contingent of Amherst Senior Center regulars — many of them, they said, in their 80s and 90s, several of them veterans — filled the Town Board's July 6 afternoon meeting to protest a new rule barring money from their card games, calling the Pinochle and Euchre crackdown insulting and asking the board to reconsider; Supervisor Shawn A. Lavin heard them out and held firm, saying gambling “is not going to be allowed” at the center on safety grounds. On the docket itself, the board opened its public hearing on a new zoning law to regulate Battery Energy Storage Systems — then, at Lavin's call, left the hearing open and set the vote for July 21 rather than adopting it that night; closed a separate hearing on the Boulevard Central District environmental review; and, notably, voted to reschedule the much-anticipated public hearing on repealing the Town's own Freedom of Information law, so that hearing did not take place tonight. The board also advanced three bond resolutions — a $1.65 million land-acquisition amendment on Maple Road, and street/pedestrian projects on Casey and Klein Roads — and cleared some four dozen housekeeping resolutions, every recorded item passing 5–0.
The most crowded, and by far the most emotional, business of the afternoon was not on the agenda at all. During public expression, one senior after another rose to protest a change at the Amherst Senior Center: the town has moved to bar members from playing cards for money, a practice the players describe as small, decades-old, and harmless, and the town describes as gambling. Carmen Vela[*], speaking for the center's Pinochle club, told the board the club had “kept a lot of seniors happy” for 25 years — “if it's not broke, don't fix it” — and said new enforcement had turned what was “the class of senior centers in Western New York” into a place that now felt like a jail.[1]
The grievances piled up. Robert Sommer[*], of North Ellicott Creek Road, said a new camera had been installed in the card room — “the only such camera in the building” — and that a Euchre player who saw it “put her head down on the table and cried.”[1] He described staff watching a game for two hours and members in their 90s, some using canes and walkers, being told to clear the room early. Leonard Crapa[*], who had run the Pinochle group for two years, said he was suspended for a week and stripped of the role. Gus Topolinski[*], 84, who said he was ejected for defending the players, gestured to the crowd behind him: “60% of them vets serve the country… Do they look like gangsters that they gamble for money?”[1] Don Smith[*], a 25-year member, put it plainly to the board: “Be nice to them. There was no need to clamp down on them, and you did.”[2]
Responding at the close of public expression, Supervisor Lavin was sympathetic in tone but immovable in substance. He framed the rule as a matter of safety and consistency, said the center serves thousands of members and is regularly called the premier senior center in the region, and told the players they were free to host card games for money at their own homes. “If people are feeling inconvenienced because they can't gamble, I'm sorry to say that's not going to be allowed,” he said, adding that other senior centers across Western New York bar money in card play as well.[2] No resolution on the senior-center policy was before the board, so no vote was taken; the matter left the chamber exactly where it entered it.
The one substantive public hearing that actually opened and drew comment tonight was on Resolution 2026-504, a proposed text amendment adding a new Section 612 to Chapter 203 (Zoning) to regulate Battery Energy Storage Systems — large clusters of batteries that store grid power off-peak and feed it back at peak demand. Assistant Planning Director Daniel Towsky[*] introduced the Town's newly hired Assistant Planner, Greg Dionne[*], who walked the board through a three-tier framework: Tier 1 (residential accessory, up to 100 kilowatt-hours) permitted everywhere; Tier 2 (commercial accessory, 100–600 kWh) requiring site-plan review; and Tier 3 (utility-scale, over 600 kWh) allowed only in the Town's General Industrial and Research & Development districts, subject to major site-plan review, a 500-foot setback from residential zones, a 100-foot road setback, an emergency-management plan, an acoustical analysis, and a decommissioning plan backed by a surety bond at 125% of removal cost.[3]
The board's questions ran long — on fire risk, water use for cooling, noise, and whether the review would slow projects. Lavin, who called himself “a major fan of predictability,” pressed staff for assurance the new standards would not add “weeks, months” to a developer's timeline; Towsky said the goal is a 90-day review.[3] Two residents raised siting and disposal concerns, and Jane Cox[*] of Harlem Road urged the board to leave the hearing open, objecting that a 3 p.m. hearing shuts out working residents. Lavin agreed to do exactly that: rather than close and adopt, he adjourned the hearing with it left open, and the board set a decision date of July 21, 2026 to close the hearing and vote. He also asked staff to explore a five-year sunset or review clause with the town attorney, given how fast the technology moves.[3]
Battery storage (2026-504): Hearing opened and heard tonight — but not adopted. Left open; close-and-vote set for July 21.
FOIL repeal (Chapter 22): Did not happen tonight. Resolution 2026-508 rescheduled the public hearing on repealing the Town's local Freedom-of-Information law; it was postponed, not held.
Boulevard Central SDGEIS (2026-475): This second listed hearing, open since June 22, was formally closed tonight, with staff directed to update the document.
Beyond the hearings, the board moved three bond resolutions, each by roll call, 5–0. Resolution 2026-505 amended a December 2024 bond authorization for the Town's 218 and 330 Maple Road land acquisition — the softball-fields-and-gun-club purchase — down to a $1,650,000 borrowing after the Town resold much of the property; the town attorney[4] noted the amendment needed no new SEQR review because the original action already covered it. Resolution 2026-506 added a $300,000 supplemental bond (with a negative declaration) for Casey Road[*] Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvements, Phase 2, and Resolution 2026-507 authorized a $225,000 bond, following SEQR, for the Klein Road Corridor Transportation Improvements, Phase 2.[5]
Two neighborhood grievances also surfaced during public expression and drew a direct response. Several Snyder residents — John Jacobs[*] of Huxley Drive and Ryan Lynch[*] among them — described a wave of sidewalk-violation notices tied largely to damage from mature town-owned trees, and asked for clearer standards and more time to comply. Lavin said the Building Department had received 45 complaints about the Surrey Run area and 154 more sidewalk complaints from a single resident, acknowledged that citing homeowners “without giving you the solution… is also unacceptable,” and said the highway, building, and legal departments would work up a fix.[2] A Lawnwood Drive[*] resident renewed a years-old complaint about noise and odor from the nearby wastewater treatment plant; Lavin cited a new $5 million state grant to upgrade the plant's cryogenic-oxygen system.[2]
The remainder of the docket was routine and cleared quickly by voice vote: a new set of Getzville firefighter and personnel appointments (public-safety dispatchers, police officers, a motor-equipment operator), an update to the Town's Exempt Benefit Policy that resident Jane Cox[*] welcomed as the first such policy she had seen in writing, a slate of corrected highway-bid prices and off-contract equipment payments, license and temporary-access agreements, a confidentiality agreement with Charter Communications, several Holland Heights public-improvement permits, and a street-lighting permit for the Regency Commons subdivision on Klein Road. The board also scheduled a July 27 public hearing on a SEQR findings amendment for the Muir Woods[*] development, referred two matters — a notice of claim and a Freedom Mortgage summons — to the town attorney, and adjourned into executive session on real property, litigation, and a personnel matter.[5]
All five members were recorded present at roll call: Supervisor Shawn A. Lavin (chair), Deputy Supervisor Angela Marinucci, and Councilmembers Michael Szukala, John B. Davis and Jack Kavanaugh. Bond resolutions took recorded voice/roll-call votes (all yes); other items passed by voice vote, unanimously as heard. No recusals were heard. Attendance and vote results are provisional pending the official minutes (see Editor's Note). This list covers the meeting's notable actions, not every routine permit.
Public hearing on a proposed local law adding Section 612 to Chapter 203 (Zoning) to regulate Battery Energy Storage Systems. The hearing opened and drew staff presentation, board questions, and resident comment. Rather than close and adopt, the board adjourned the hearing with it left OPEN and set a decision date of July 21, 2026 to close it and vote. Not adopted tonight.
Public hearing on the Boulevard Central District Supplemental Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement, open since the June 22 meeting, was closed tonight. Staff directed to update the document.
Amended bond resolution reducing the December 2024 authorization for the 218/330 Maple Road purchase (softball fields and gun club) to a $1,650,000 borrowing, after the Town resold much of the property. No new SEQR required — amendment to the original bond action. Adopted by recorded voice/roll-call vote, all yes.
$300,000 supplemental bond resolution for Casey Road Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvements, Phase 2; a negative declaration was approved before the bond vote. Adopted by roll call, all yes.
$225,000 bond resolution for the Klein Road Corridor Transportation Improvements, Phase 2; SEQR approved before the bond vote. Adopted by roll call, all yes.
Resolution to reschedule the previously noticed public hearing on repealing Chapter 22 of the Town Code (the Town's local Freedom of Information law). The FOIL-repeal hearing did NOT take place July 6; it was postponed to a later date. Adopted by voice vote, all aye.
License agreements for 34 Bentley Court and 132 Valley Brook Lane; temporary access agreements for Ivyhurst and Westfield Roads; and a confidentiality agreement with Charter Communications Operating, LLC (2026-512) needed to gather proprietary infrastructure data before a future service contract with Charter and Verizon. All adopted by voice vote, all aye.
Updates to the Town of Amherst Exempt Benefit Policy — the first such policy the board put in writing, praised at the dais and by a resident. Adopted by voice vote, all aye.
A block of routine department resolutions: a new Getzville firefighter; a Harlem Road Community Center change order; budget transfers; a ChargePoint EV-charging standardization; corrected highway-bid prices (2026-518 through 521) and several off-contract/expired-contract parts payments; personnel appointments (dispatchers, police officers, a motor-equipment operator); an emergency sewer manhole repair at N. French & Hopkins; a DEC MS4 mapping grant application; and contract extensions (Sentrimax, Gopher Sport). All adopted by voice vote, all aye.
Public/private improvement permits for the Holland Heights subdivision at 1789 Dodge Road (paving, waterline, sanitary, storm) and a private street-lighting permit (No. 3168) for the Regency Commons subdivision at 166 Klein Road. All approved by voice vote, all aye.
A notice of claim (Comm. 2026-63) and a summons and complaint from Freedom Mortgage Corporation (Comm. 2026-64) were each received, filed, and referred to the Town Attorney. Two fee-waiver requests (St. John Maron Maronite Church; Amherst Symphony Orchestra) were also approved. The board then adjourned into executive session (real property, litigation, employment history) before adjourning.
The board's five-member roster used here — Supervisor Shawn A. Lavin (chair), Deputy Supervisor Angela Marinucci, and Councilmembers Michael Szukala, John B. Davis and Jack Kavanaugh — is verified against the Town's official Town Board page and prior official minutes. This meeting's own official minutes have not yet posted, so attendance and vote outcomes reported here are provisional: they reflect the roll call and voice votes as heard on the meeting audio and confirmed against the published agenda, and should be reconciled against the official minutes when they appear.
Sourcing. Docket order, resolution numbers, dollar figures, addresses and entity names are anchored to the Town's official IQM2 (Minutetraq) agenda packet for July 6, 2026, which governs proper-noun spellings; the transcript supplies the discussion, quotations, and vote calls. Names heard only in the audio — residents who spoke at public expression and some staff — carry the [*] flag and were not yet confirmable against posted minutes. Corrections applied from the audio include the Town Clerk's roll call (Whisper “Governor Tom Swift” is a mis-transcription of the clerk reading the roll), “KC Road” → Casey Road (per the agenda), the town attorney rendered variously as “Vanguard”/“Bengard” → Steve Bengart, and street-name checks flagging audio “Ridgely Road” and “Lawn Wood Drive,” left provisional pending the minutes.
Capture context. Amherst holds a companion Town Board work session earlier the same day; that separate work-session stream is not part of this brief, which documents the 3:00 PM regular meeting. The [*] symbol marks a proper noun reconciled from audio and not yet confirmed against the official record; verify against the Town Clerk's minutes before quoting in any formal communication.