December 22, 2009

Mayor Gunderson,

I understand that at the December Village Board meeting you and your board voted to
retroactively approve the driveway that was constructed on a Wells College owned
property at 331 Main Street in early 2007.

Your action on this matter generates many questions.

• To whom did you give the approval? How is it that you can approve a project
without an application for it having been submitted? I have FOILed village
documents regarding the driveway and excavation at 331 Main Street for three
years and have never once seen where Wells College submitted an application
for this work.

• Why was this matter not put on the meeting's agenda? After three years of my
bringing this to your attention, futilely trying to get some response from you,
Andrew Fusco, or Doug Staley, why was this not on the posted agenda for the
meeting? Some of your constituents might have wanted to witness your decision
to retroactively approve your employer's illegal action.

• During the discussion of this issue at your December meeting, did you let it be
known that I have repeatedly inquired of the village government - since
September 2006 - about whether Wells College went through the required village
process for this project? I have asked this of you for more than three years and
have been stonewalled, never receiving an answer. I submitted an official
complaint, repeatedly, and it was ignored, in violation of village law. Is your
approval of this project now – three years after it was undertaken – supposed to
be my answer to three years of asking if Wells College had circumvented the
required process and village law? Is this retroactive approval an admission that
Wells College did this work illegally?

• Did your retroactive approval of this Wells College project include the substantial
excavation of the backyard of 331 Main Street? Yes, I have pictures, before and
after, which document that activity.

• Are you and your board the appropriate and legal governmental body to give this
retroactive approval to Wells College? In August 2007 it was the CPP that
retroactively approved the addition that had been illegally constructed at 327
Main Street. Why is that you and the Village Board became involved in issuing
approval in this particular illegal construction? Does your board actually have
this authority? I thought it was the responsibility of the Planning Board and/or the
CPP to review and address such matters.
 • In the interest of village taxpayers, will you and your board also issue a
retroactive invoice - with 3 years of compounded interest - to Wells College for
the building permit that they never applied for regarding this project?

• Also, can you tell me what criteria your board uses to determine eligibility for this
kind of retroactive approval of illegal construction? Will this special consideration
now be available to all Aurora residents?

According to our lawyer, and confirmed by the draft of the November 2009 Aurora
Village Board of Trustees minutes, you, CEO Piechuta, and your board, indicated that
some better efforts needed to be made by Village officials to respond to my concerns.
We were told that there would be communication regarding this driveway issue and
other questions that I have sent to you. Since then, we have received no
communication from any village official. As abutting property owners, we were not even
made aware of your intention to retroactively approve the Wells College driveway at
your December meeting.

Mayor Gunderson, according to the December Village Board minutes you expressed
“hope that in time this situation will be ironed out.” Ironing this matter out will take effort,
communication and responsiveness - none of which I have received from you. I hope
this time that you will answer the questions I have presented here.

Laura Holland

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423172/april-27-2007

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423171/april-28-2007

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423176/may-24-2007

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423240/These-are-copies-of-some-of-my-attempts-to-
request-information-from-the-Aurora-Village-government

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423169/june-7-2007

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423174/June-8-2007

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423238/response-to-fusco

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423268/July-23-complaint

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24423314/February-12