Published: June 16, 2008 08:31 pm            

VILLAGE OF LEWISTON: No help on grease traps

Board looks to get food establishments in compliance

They’ve asked, cajoled and discussed the matter at great lengths, but members of the Lewiston Board of Trustees have made little progress convincing establishments that serve food in the village to install grease traps.

Referring to a letter the village sent to restaurant owners on the issue, Mayor Richard Soluri said, “We haven’t had a lot of response on grease traps. We need some kind of follow up.”

The board has already adopted a law requiring restaurants to get grease trap permits and had a sparsely attended public meeting to educate the owners of those establishments. The three-month grace period given to restaurants is nearly up and only a few of them have obtained the permits.

At Monday’s trustees meeting, Soluri was lukewarm to the idea of sending another letter and suggested village officials personally visit establishments and explain the situation. Restaurants that don’t have permits will be subject to fines.

Grease washed from the dishes, pots and pans has been clogging sewer lines, Village Department of Public Works Superintendent Bryan Meigs has told the board in previous meetings. The problem has been ongoing since at least 10 months ago, when the village spent about $1,300 to flush the lines because grease had solidified in them. The sewers have also been cleaned several times since then.



Bed tax won’t be changed

In other village news, the village found out recently that it cannot alter the amount of bed tax levied to hotels in the village. Mayor Richard Soluri said he received a phone call from state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, informing him that only cities and counties have that power in New York state.

The board had approved a 1 percent increase in its hotel occupancy tax, but included stipulations that would have made the increase only apply to the newly built Barton Hill Hotel and Spa. Village Mayor Richard Soluri said the move could have netted the village an extra $20,000 per year.

But since the state still had to approve the increase, the village did not budget for the money and losing it won’t have any negative consequences for village departments.

        

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