Local hunters and anglers can now purchase their hunting and fishing licenses from the Cazenovia town clerk rather than traveling to other town offices or regional sporting goods stores. The town board last week unanimously approved (on a vote of 3-0 with two members absent) the resumption of the license sales by the town after a 16-month hiatus.

The town, which previously sold such licenses, voted to stop their sale from the town office, effective Jan. 1, 2014, after the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the sponsoring agency, switched to a new e-licensing system that the town board deemed too expensive. The town board decided at the time that because of the numerous other municipalities and licensing agents in and around the Cazenovia area, to discontinue license sales at the town office would not be an inconvenience to local residents.

“We’re trying to help the public so they don’t have to go someplace else,” Town Supervisor Bill Zupan said during the board’s May 11 regular monthly meeting.

Licenses may now be purchased from Town Clerk Connie Sunderman at the town office.

The board also heard from Town Engineer John Dunkle that the state parks office has approved the town’s engineering design to create a new lake access area at McNitt State Park, and intends to complete the project by this fall. The plan — which includes a permanent dock, a canoe/kayak service slide, a four-foot-wide boardwalk from the parking area, stone block steps and stone-dust pathway — is expected to make the area more user-friendly, handicapped accessible and environmentally sound.

McNitt State Park, located about 0.3 miles north of Chard Road along East Lake Road, consists of 133 acres of land, including about 1,300 feet of shoreline along Cazenovia Lake, donated in 1999 by Helen L. McNitt for public use and enjoyment. In 2008, a small parking area was built off East Lake Road along with a rough path to the lakeshore. There is no launch; canoes, kayaks and small portable rowboats must be lowered down over a small, undeveloped bank to be placed in the lake.

Plans to improve the lake access and build another parking area to access the upper woodland area of the property were put on hold by New York State due to a lack of funding, but were reopened in June 2014.

Also at the meeting, the board:

—Closed the public hearing on the proposed special events law, a hearing that has been open since last May. The proposed laws would establish procedures and requirements to hold special events throughout the town. The town also continued the public hearing on the proposed town noise ordinance.

—Scheduled a public hearing regarding the matter of forming a new water district for the residents of a portion of Seven Pines Drive and East Lake Road, effecting 27 properties. The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 8.

—Heard from town Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt that highway crews this summer will be paving Rathbun Road from Stanley Road to the end of Rathbun, and Stanley Road from Ridge Road to Rathbun. The town also will be restriping all the roads currently striped in the town, and will be chip sealing (oil, stone and tar paving) 18.9 miles of road in the town.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].