Susan Grelick

Susan Grelick was the first woman elected Town Clerk and Town Supervisor of Amherst, New York. Amherst is one of the largest Towns in New York State. She served as Town Clerk from 1992 to 1996 and as Town Supervisor from 1997 to 2005, and was a candidate for the New York State Assembly in 2006. Grelick, an attorney, is an adjunct faculty member at University at Buffalo Law School and Counsel to the New York State Senate Local Government Committee and a past Officer at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and currently serves as President of the Amherst Youth Foundation and past President if the Buffalo/Amherst Business and Professional Women BPW, and also serves on many community boards and foundations. She served as the Chairperson of the Amherst Conservation, Parks, and Recreation Foundation and is currently Vice President of the Amherst Symphony Orchestra.
During Susan Grelick's administration the Town of Amherst was named the safest town in the entire country, she built one of the largest recreational facilities in the country and created ten new parks including the first Amherst State Park in the Town of Amherst. One of the largest Senior Center facilities in the Country was also built during her administration.
Susan J. Grelick won her first race for public office in 1991 when she was elected Amherst Town Clerk in an upset victory. She was elected to a second term as Town Clerk in 1995. In 1996 she was elected in a special election to a one-year term to Town Supervisor and to a full four-year term in 1997. In 2001 she was elected to her second full four year term.
Ms. Grelick, a corporate attorney with an MBA in Finance and Accounting, emphasized professionalism, financial reform, regional cooperation and controlling development through adoption of a comprehensive Amherst Masterplan as the centerpieces of her administration. She initiated the Town’s first Vision Summits that were used to help define the town’s comprehensive masterplan that includes neighborhood preservation, traffic control, green space preservation and expansion, re-greening and defining appropriate areas for development.
Amherst was named the Safest Town in America seven out of her nine years as Supervisor and named one of the best places to live by Money Magazine. She created the Amherst Memorial Hill Grove, a grove of 120 trees with a seating wall in the shape of a memorial ribbon, serving as a living memorial to the victims and heroes of 9/11. A ceremony of remembrance is held annually on 9/11 at the memorial.
Under the Grelick administration, taxes remained stable through tighter fiscal controls - which resulted in an upgrade of the town's bond rating. Her accomplishments included: ten new parks including a new 100-acre (0.40 km2) State Park; a new four rink Amherst Pepsi Center; and a new Senior Center offering a broader variety of improved Senior services. North Amherst and Clearfield Recreation Centers received major renovations and the Neighborhood News meetings she initiated receive record turnouts. She was instrumental in preventing the Williamsville Library from closing during the Erie County, New York Budget Crisis.
Some of Supervisor Grelick’s other achievements included:
an upgrade in Amherst’s bond rating from A1 to AA3
a 2.2-mile (3.5 km) extension to the Bike Path from North Forest to the Pepsi Center
a fully operational pelletization program
passing a financial reform package to establish debt management, investment, refinancing and bidding policies
switching employees to a single health insurance carrier saving the Town millions of dollars
an Eggertsville Action Plan
Waterfront Revitalization Plan
transportation improvements like the Transit Road Access Management Plan
Harlem/Wehrle/Kensington traffic improvements
a pilot community inspection program to help neighborhood stabilization
conducting a utility audit and bringing in the State Comptroller’s Smart Review Program that identified over one million dollars in potential savings
establishing a Supervisor's Youth Council
establishment of a Land Fund Task Force to help make Amherst more competitive in preserving undeveloped areas and regreening others
participating in regional initiatives with Williamsville, New York, Clarence, New York, Cheektowaga, New York, Buffalo, New York, Pendleton, New York and Tonawanda, New York.
Ms. Grelick established a Diversity Coalition, Ice and Golf Oversight Comiittees, an Intermunicipal Parks and Trails Committee, a Pesticide Reduction Committee, a Labor/Management Board, an International Festival, Celebrate Amherst Arts Festival, a 9/11 Ceremony and an MLK Birthday Celebration.
Ms. Grelick is an adjunct faculty member at the University at Buffalo Law School teaching a course in Local Government. Ms. Grelick currently is the President of the Amherst Youth Foundation, former President of the Buffalo/Amherst Business and Professional Women, serves as Vice-President of Finance of the Amherst Symphony Board of Directors and also serves on the Amherst Museum Board of Trustees, and on the Board of Jewish Family Services. She previously served on the YMCA of Greater Buffalo Board of Directors, the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society Board and the Board of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. She is involved in numerous organizations: Quota Club of Amherst, Zonta International Club of Amherst, and Variety Club Women.
Ms. Grelick's awards and achievements include: 2008 Daemen College Associates Award 2008 Chairwoman - Girls Town of Italy Annual Benefit 2007 Paul Harris Fellow - Rotary Club of Williamsville 2006 Amherst Women's Interclub Council Honoree 2005 Religious Service Award from the Network of Religious Communities 2005 Amherst BPW "Woman of the Year" 2005 NCCJ Sister/Brotherhood Award to the Amherst Diversity Coalition 2003 Inducted into Amherst Avenue of Athletes 2002 Holy Family Home Award for Greenspace Preservation 2002 Niagara Frontier Recreation & Parks Society Public Service Award 2002 UAW Directors Award 2002 Amherst Democratic Woman of the Year 1999 Susan B. Anthony Award, Interclub Council of WNY 1998 Business First list of the 100 most influential people in WNY 1997 Region 9 UAW Community Action Award 1995 Athena Award Nominee 1993 Leadership Buffalo Class of 1993 1992 Forty Under Forty Award, Business First
Ms. Grelick's education and professional license include:
Law Degree, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan
Admitted to the New York State Bar and US District Court
MBA in Finance and Accounting, University at Buffalo
Master's in Information and Library Science, University of Buffalo
Master's in American History, University of Buffalo
Bachelor of Arts, Union College, Schenectady, New York External links
www.susangrelick.com
[http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/1998/01/05/story8.html

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