Penn Yan receives $80,000 grant for Indian Pines park
PENN YAN—At their Jan. 19 meeting, Penn Yan village trustees agreed to schedule a meeting between village trustees, village municipal board and representatives from the town of Jerusalem. The topic will be the ongoing dispute about sewer charges to the town from the village. the meeting was set at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 25.
In other business: Mayor Douglas Marchionda Jr. announced a special meeting and public hearing would be held at 4 p.m. Jan. 26 regarding Finger Lakes Economic Development Center plans to apply for a Community Development Block Grant of $250,000 for Data Listing Services, LLC at 240 North Ave. Jan. 22 it was announced the company will establish a call center in Penn Yan. Following that public hearing there will be a public hearing regarding Small Cities Grant Program through the State Office of Community Renewal. This application is in connection with village sewers.
• Trustee Mike Christensen reported the village has received an $80,000 grant for improvements at Indian Pines Park. He said the recreation committee has determined it is important to revise the village’s master recreation plan, a document needed in applying for grants. Audience member Wayne Davidson asked why the village pays for the recreation program. Finance committee chairman Church said the county started giving the village $10,000 toward the cost of lifeguards at the two village parks, and for two years the amount was increased to $20,000. This year it was cut back to $15,000. Church said a recent survey indicated 65 percent of people using the village boat launch and seven of 10 people using the two parks were not village residents.
Church said he plans to request more funding from the county. When the question was raised what benefit that funding would be for the town of Starkey, trustee Nancy Taylor said, “The answer always was the county is not in the recreation business.”
In response to a question about the village employing a recreation director, Marchionda said the position was originally funded by the school district to pay their portion. He said, “Now the village shoulders all the recreation not just playgrounds and beach but youth soccer, junior football and adult programs.
• Trustee Robert Hoban reported on planning and development stating the committee is looking at docking and moorage laws on the Outlet. Such law exists on Keuka Lake. Hoban said the group is looking at the site plan for the development on Water Street, noting a private company is putting up private dollars for the project. Hoban said construction is expected to start late this year.
• In business related to the fire department, the board discussed the Gamewell situation. This is the old system in which the pull boxes on village streets are connected to the firehouse. Now it does not communicate the alarm to 911 when the box is pulled. Noting it is a very old system that cannot be repaired easily, Marchionda said over the years the hospital, school and businesses have installed fire alarm systems that are connected to 911. He said it is not the responsibility to deliver the fire alarm to 911 and agencies have been notified they must make their systems able to communicate the alarm to 911.
The drains in the firehouse were also discussed and department member Mike Clancy has asked if there is a possibility the village could fix them. Public Works superintendent Richard Osgood outlined the two ways of repairing the drains. Church said most of the floor in the truck bay is good, the problem is broken concrete and holes around the drains. The board approved two new members of Sheldon Hose Company, Dan Irwin and Derek Filipiak, and accepted the resignation of Charlie Danowski.
• Public works committee chairman Willie Allison said the village will be looking for a Small Cities Block Grant for infrastructure improvements on Sheppard, Seneca and Keuka Streets. He said in the past there was a lack of participation by homeowners in income surveys that are required for grant applications, recalling some village representatives went door to door on Brown Street to get the information after assuring residents the information would be totally confidential. Allison said the village has had several water main breaks but now has the crews and equipment to do the work themselves. Acknowledging East Elm Street is “a mess,” Allison said, “People need to bear with us.” Osgood spoke about the cost savings that are realized by doing this type of work in house. He said one block of water main replacement on Main Street cost $225,000, but now the same size repair can be done by village crews for about $80,000. He said work will continue as weather allows. Osgood also spoke about the recent failure of a bacteriological test on village water noting it was the first failure ever. He said house tests had passed and all samples passed on the retest ordered by the state Department of Health. Osgood said he feels the first lab samples were contaminated and the village has changed testing laboratories.
• The board continued to receive information on a soon to be required Workplace Violence Prevention Program. Trustee Rich Stewart said he has learned there may be a local individual with the expertise to conduct the program. Village attorney Ed Brockman suggested a meeting with himself, police chief Mark Hulse and the individual. Audience member Ken Kamholtz said he would be attending a program on the topic in Albany later in the month, asking if the village would like his help.
• The board voted to modify the policy on sick days.
• Village clerk/treasurer Shawna Wilber presented a cost analysis for new software for sewer and water billing. Wilber said she had talked to other municipalities about the software and learned it would give the board and herself a lot better reporting options. The cost from Edmunds and Associates Software company of Northfield, N.J. is $147,447 and the cost will be shared between the village and municipal board. Wilber said there is enough money in the current budget to cover the expense and it would not add to next year’s tax levy.
The next meeting of the Penn Yan Village Board will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 16 in the village office building on Elm Street. |
|
$element(adman,groupads,YatesRight1)$ |
