Watkins submits plan for wastewater

    WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen village board has submitted its plan to the state for dealing with the high levels of coliform bacteria going into the lake from the wastewater treatment plant.
    During the Monday, Aug. 15, meeting, board member Scott Gibson said the engineer hired by the village was able to get his report to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation very quickly.
    The issue was discussed at the previous meeting and the board agreed to hire an engineer to write up the proposal submitted to the state. Gibson said the state representative seemed pleased with how the village handled the compliance issues.
    In other business:
    • The board discussed looking into expanding the two hour parking east along Fourth Street, at Lafayette Park. Board member Wayne Weber said Fourth Street is becoming a popular place for businesses. The board talked about extending two hour parking for those businesses. Discussion about parking came up during public comment when Moe Colunio, who owns an novelty ice cream van, said James Cane, the owner of Tobes, is using two parking spots along the park for at least a truck and trailer. She added he has also had other cars he owns parked there and sometimes employees’ vehicles as well.
    • Swinnerton said the former raw water treatment plant will be assessed for value this Friday and Saturday. The village is trying to decide if it should buy back the building since the plans to build a new plant turned out to cost more than expected. The village board is also considering building a cheap, pre-frabricated building to house the raw water treatment equipment, depending on which plan costs less.
    • Resident Amedeo Fraboni asked what the municipal law said about a board member not attending meetings. He had brought it up at the previous meeting, citing that there were only three of the four board members present with the mayor. Mayor Mark Swinnerton had explained that board member Greg Coons’s job prevented him from attending.
    • The board voted to deny a request to remove a tree that is pushing up a sidewalk. Swinnerton said the village states they will not cut down a tree unless it is dying, regardless if it is raising the sidewalk.
    • Rose Marie Kleinspehn asked the board to support a 100th anniversary Titanic festival various community members are trying to organize  in April of next year. She explained to pull it off, the committee needs to raise at least $5,000, with only $500 secured so far. Board members suggested she also contact Watkins Glen Promotions and the Lions Club.
    • The board discussed having event organizers sign onto a checklist of responsibilities after cleaning up of Clute Park after the Italian American Festival took longer than expected. Parks Manager Michelle Hyde said the festival organizers did not follow through with the cleanup of the park. Gibson said there should be more coordination between any event planners and the village, police department, fire department, sheriff’s office, etc.
    • Hyde also reported boaters are coming into the campgrounds and using the shower house, which is a service provided to campground renters. She added the showers are capable of handling the people at the grounds, but not extra people sneaking in to use the facilities. Police Chief Tom Struble said he would research the village laws and give the board his recommendation on how to proceed.