Veterans Memorial Park was one of several areas discussed Monday by the West Seneca Town Board as a possible capital improvement project. Updates would include ice rink and pool renovations, demolition of the Kiwanis Youth Center and the construction of a new one as well as a new parking lot, a 6,000-square foot expansion onto Town Hall, a new basketball court and playground, and a new shelter, trail and fence surrounding the pool area. While a handful of town department heads discussed project plans for how best to spend millions of dollars during the next few years, officials also learned that a grant application worth thousands had mysteriously disappeared from the table.

Connie Minor, the town’s grant writer, told officials on Monday, during the present Town Board’s first work session, that she received confirmation just a few weeks ago that a grant application for $350,000 through the state Dormitory Authority has been “deleted.”

Paperwork for the application — the funds were slated to be used toward the expansion of the West Seneca Police Department — was submitted in 2010. From that point on, Minor said she maintained steady correspondence with the Dormitory Authority on its status. She was told in October that no additional information was required, leading her to believe that the grant was in good standing.

In the following two months, she sought an update on its status several more times but to no avail. She eventually demanded a response and got one on Jan. 9.

“I was informed by one of the attorneys for DASNY that the grant had been deleted back in June [2011]. To my understanding, no one had informed the town,” said Minor.

“Basically what had happened is that they had asked for information, it was moving along ... we furnished the information very timely, but unfortunately there was, clearly some lack of communication between the [state] Senate and DASNY.”

Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan said during the work session that the grant had been “pulled” by the former Sen. William Stachowski in 2010; the grant was never made known to the current senator, Timothy M. Kennedy.

To resolve the issue, Minor suggested that the Town Board formally request an amendment to use a $250,000 state grant — also through DASNY — that’s already been awarded and earmarked for rehabilitation of the ice rink, toward the Police Department expansion, instead.

In the last several months, some movement and “in kind” work had already begun inside Town Hall. This includes two offices previously vacated by the Engineering and Buildings & Grounds departments, which have since relocated to the second level.

The offices were being prematurely prepped in anticipation of the town receiving the state funding that would have allowed the Police Department to fill the entire lower level.

Some additional work had been done to the former Tax Receiver’s Office — also on the lower level — which was to become the supervisor’s new office. However, Meegan will remain at the Burchfield Nature & Art Center until proper funding is in place to continue with the expansion.

Police Chief Edward Gehen encouraged the Town Board on Monday to do whatever it can to ensure that his department expands — something that he’s wanted for 30 years and been “really pushing” for the last 15 years.

The board asked Gehen if the $100,000 loss — that’s if the town was to convert the ice rink grant funding toward the expansion, which remains undecided — would impact his expansion plans.

“We could do a lot with $250,000,” he said, adding that the amendment “sounds like a good way to go.”

Also during Monday’s work session:

Town engineer Steve Tanner, an associate with Clark Patterson Lee, revisited the $30 million to $70 million plan to repair the town’s sewer system. A presentation offered to the public last summer identified sewer districts 5 and 13 as being the greatest areas of concern. The town must repair the system as part of a consent order by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“It would be $30 million just for phase one. But that doesn’t get us out of the order of consent — it just gets us out of where people’s basements aren’t flooding regul arly,” said Tanner, adding that it would be $70 million to replace the entire system.

Improvements to West Seneca Veterans Memorial Park — an estimated $7 million project, some of which would be covered by a $50,000 state grant — were also discussed. This would include renovation of the ice rink, demolition of the Kiwanis Youth Center as well as construction of a new one, and repairing the town’s pool. Officials said Monday that there are “chunks missing” from the pool’s deep end.

The town engineer also proposed a $3 million plan to rehabilitate Dover Drive and Greenmeadow

Avenue, as well as a $5 million to $6 million update to the town’s water infrastructure. Officials said they are in favor of “getting out of the water and sewer business” at some point in the future, relinquishing responsibilities to Erie County.

Highway Superintendent Matthew D. English said a leaking roof and one of the westerly walls of the highway barn need to be replaced. He estimated the overall project cost at $700,000 or more. He said the solar paneling, which was installed sometime in the last five years, is what’s currently keeping the wall intact.

Officials hoped to present a bond resolution in the coming weeks to pay for such capital improvement projects.

In the meantime, the Town Board has scheduled its next work session for 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, before its regular meeting. This will take place in the courtroom at Town Hall, 1250 Union Road.