By MARY PASCIAK

Now that the Town of Grand Island has sealed its deal on 206 acres of land on East River Road, one local gadfly is vowing to call the state comptroller’s office in to audit the transaction.

Town officials say they axe confident that the deal was completely legal.

“They may come and audit, but I don’t think they’ll find anything wrong,” said Councilman Michael E. Heftka.

For months, Rus Thompson has been on a personal crusade to halt the deal. He has consistently questioned officials during regular town meetings and written critical letters to the editors of the weekly newspapers in town.

At one point, Thompson headed a petition drive to bring the land purchase to a public vote. The effort, though, failed when problems with the signatures arose, and the total fell short of the 300 required to bring the issue to a vote.

But Thompson is still charging forward.

“I will be on the phone with the comptroller’s office tomorrow,” he told the Town Board Monday night after the attorney for the town confirmed that the deal had been finalized.

The town has paid $250,000 to buy the parcel from Scenic Woods Development. The board voted in November to foot part of the bill using $104,000 from the trust and agency fund.

At issue is how the town uses the $500-per-lot fee that developers pay when they build subdivisions. Developers must either set aside 10 percent of the land in the subdivision for recreation or pay the fee.

Under current state law, the money the town collects from developers - trust and agency money - must be used for recreational purposes: parks, playgrounds or purchase of property.

In Grand Island, a local law restricts the use of that money even further. At the end of the year in which the money is collected, it can only be used to purchase property. The board is expected to vote in two weeks on a proposal to change the local law that would bring it closer to the state law, lifting the restrictions on use of the money after one year.

A strong and vocal conservationist portion of the community has come out against changing the existing town law. Those fighting to preserve open space on Grand Island say the local law should stay just as it is. Otherwise, they say, there won’t be enough money available to buy mare passive recreation areas.

But Thompson said his supporters say there’s already enough open space on Grand Island. Trust and agency funds should be earmarked for recreation areas, they say.

They charge that environmental groups on Grand Island wield too much’ influence over the decisions of local lawmakers.

The board has discussed preserving the 206 acres as a passive recreation area.

Thompson, of course, says that’s the last thing the town needs.

“They’re saying it’s passive recreation,” Thompson said. “But what kind of recreation are you going to have there? Bird watching