Report on 3/24/07 meeting, and letter to editor

To Alden Residents for Responsible Growth

We had a great turnout at our Distinguished Speakers Meeting yesterday at the American Legion, and despite the rain, an excellent turnout for our photo shoot in front of the Ames Plaza.

A very special thank you to the Alden Volunteer Fire Dept for the
use of their snorkel equipment to capture the best photography angle; to the Alden Advertiser, and Channels 2,4, and 7 for the media exposure! And to all of our Captains who helped with phone calls, and the set up and tear down of the meeting hall. And to everyone who made donations to help with our expenses!! And a special thank you to the town and village officials who attended!

The informative meeting, and photo shoot today, are just a few examples of the many activities we have planned to help "Save Alden". Below is another example. And if you have any ideas, please share them with us.

Please print the letter below which addressed to the Editor of the Alden Advertiser.
It explains our desire to help “Save Alden” by campaigning to restore the old Ames Plaza with retail businesses, and encourages others to join us. We already have a commitment from the Editor to print this letter once we have supplied him with all of the signatures from our members.

We hope that you will sign your names and be included in the publication. Each letter must be signed in full, and printed legibly, along with your telephone number. Your phone number will NOT be printed in the paper. It is only required for the editor’s reference in case he has any questions.

Please send it to us by Friday, March 30 in order to be included in the April 2 edition of the paper. DO NOT send it directly to the newspaper because we must submit all of the signed letters together to the newspaper in one envelope. Please send it to:

Alden Residents for Responsible Growth
%Paul Pawlak
1342 Sandridge Rd
Alden, NY 14004

Together, we have already made a difference! Any questions, please contact us at 704-3006 or save_alden@yahoo.com Visit our www.savealden.blogspot.com frequently for news updates and submit your comments!

Kindest regards,The Core Members of the Alden Residents for Responsible Growth

Dear Editor (Alden Advertiser)
We are an organization of concerned citizens who want to protect the smalltown way of life that we have come to cherish. Some of us have lived here for many generations by choice, while others moved here to get away from areas that allowed out-of–control developments. None of us wish to see urban sprawl happen here.
Urbanized areas in WNY grew by 72% since 1970, despite the fact that the population has been steadily decreasing.
We’re of all ages (including seniors), education levels, finances and political choices, all Aldenites, from ALL corners of town, with approximately 800 members and growing daily
We believe that restoring the old Ames Plaza to its original condition with a variety of retail stores is the key to this accomplishment of retaining the village as the core of our unique community and avoiding urban sprawl.
Our focus is to work together as a community team consisting of citizens and officials from both the village, the town and planning committees to avoid becoming “Anywhere USA” by taking an active role in campaigning to potential retail businesses
and encouraging the plaza owners to negotiate fairly with those companies.
Although the prospect of a new shopping center outside of the village at first may seem like a windfall to many, it would not come without major consequences.
First and foremost, is the environmental impact and the loss of prime farmland; which WNY has lost 28% since 1969. Second, is that start-up costs and continuing maintenance (highway, pollution, crime, etc) are ultimately the burden of the residential taxpayers.
Other negative effects include, that studies show that some small towns eventually lose up to 47% of their local retail trade, actually resulting in a decrease in the number of jobs available, and taxable revenues. There are other equally important negative results; too numerous to mention here due to editor space limitations.
While we continue our efforts to successfully find retailers for the old Ames Plaza, we encourage our opponents to be mindful of the points that we have made here, and to work with us in obtaining retailers for the old Ames Plaza, since ultimately a convenient place to shop is the goal of all of us.
If you would like to help or learn more, please contact us at 704-3006 or save_alden@yahoo.com, or www.savealden.blogspot.com

Sincerely,
SIGNATURE PRINT NAME PHONE
_____________________ ________________________ ___________

_____________________ ________________________ ___________