Baldwinsville Mayor Joseph Saraceni met with Messenger Editor Erin Wisneski on Tuesday, May 14, at Canton Woods Senior Center to chat about what’s new in the village. Canton Woods seniors kept the conversation going with questions and concerns regarding village happenings.
The first item of discussion during our coffee was the appeared absence of the carp tournament. When asked what happened, Saraceni said the organizers cater to the fisherman and go where the biggest fish are, which seems to be down river. He added that participants he has spoken with still stay in Baldwinsville. He also noted the tournament is smaller this year with only 30 teams participating in a 75-hour tournament (previous tournaments were about 50 hours).
“I don’t understand … as mayor, you can’t convince the bigger fish to swim to Baldwinsville,” 32-year resident Sharon Henderson jokingly said.
Henderson then shifted gears and began talking about the eyesore that is the remains of the Tri-County Mall.
“If our properties looked like that, we would be fined,” she said. “Trees are pushing through the pavement and there is a significant amount of wildlife that lives within the fence then parades out at night.”
Saraceni said, “it’s frustrating for me, too,” and elaborated on what the village has done to try and rectify the situation. “We are in the middle of a 28A action,” he said, noting it takes time to progress. According to Joe, the village hopes to present to the State Supreme Court soon and leave with an ability to demand that the buildings on the site be torn down. Other than the 28A action, Saraceni said the village’s hands are pretty much tied.
“Other than showcasing the village as a growing community, an accessible community, a waterfront community, there’s not much we can do [to draw interest from developers],” he said.
“It’s an insult to our properties,” Henderson said.
Saraceni said efforts to clean up village properties including the Tri-County Mall are handled by the village’s Code Enforcement Officer Gregg Humphries, who also serves as a resource for residents. Humphries most recent work resulted in the tear down of the old Yorkers store on Syracuse Street, which had severe structural issues and was a danger to emergency responders.
“Gregg has done a great job,” Saraceni said.
He then discussed this year’s focus for the village, which included having Reeves Park annexed into the village so the police can patrol it as there have been problems at the ball fields; installing a sidewalk along Meigs Road so residents at Golden Legacy (and possibly as far up as Syracuse Home) can access the rest of the village safely; Tri-County Mall; linking village to Community Park with the installation of a bridge over Crooked Brook; and installing 200’ of iron sheet pilings, which would enable visiting boaters to dock along the canal east of Lock 24. He reminded residents that the village is celebrating its 165th anniversary this year, as well.
The B’ville Diner’s Classic Car Show, which is held every Thursday evening in the summer, was brought up. Saraceni said he attended the weekly event on its inaugural night with his family and was very impressed noting there was a DJ, games to play and a bouncy house – very family-friendly. He said the diner also utilized a golf cart to bring diner food to people at picnic tables in Village Square.
Now that it is finished, Village Square is proving an excellent investment with the new car show and the upcoming farmers market to be held on Wednesday evenings.
Mayor Joseph Saraceni and new Editor Tami Scott plan to schedule another coffee sometime over the summer. Community members are welcome to join them for coffee (once the date is announced) and address your concerns about the village with the mayor or send your questions to [email protected] and Editor Scott will ask the mayor for you.
