From the supervisor: Sales, parks and more

By Jim Lanning

Skaneateles Town Supervisor

The town experienced another busy summer week. Visitors filled the streets for the Curbstone Festival and the annual library book sale. The lake was busy with boat traffic and experienced unusually high water levels from the heavy rains. Your representatives were busy at town hall as well.

I am proud to announce that the town has achieved the designation of “Climate Smart Community.”  This is a competitive completion to encourage communities to pursue energy initiatives that will create a more sustainable future. A number of action items were released and communities raced to accomplish them. The reward for this DEC designation is a $50,000 grant to be used for an energy efficiency project. The town board would like to use this grant towards our conversion to LED street lights. These lights produce incredible energy savings for the long term future.  We have been working on this project for months and it is rewarding to see it be successful and flourish.

The bids were received for our water line infrastructure project and we are pleased with the results.  We have approved a bid to replace antiquated water lines on Old Seneca Turnpike and Masters Road.

These lines will now be large enough to accommodate fire hydrants and create greater fire protection. They will also provide better quality water, better pressure, and better flow throughout the system.

Modernizing infrastructure on a regular basis is a good practice. Skaneateles has trillions of gallons of fresh clean water at our disposal.  It is one of our greatest resources.  We hope to start this project in the fall.  This project received a $150,000 grant from the state that will be matched with water department funding.

The town will go out to bid soon for replacement of the old bathrooms in Austin Park. The site plan is being developed and the architect is nearly finished with the details.This building will also house part of our very successful Rec play day programs. These restrooms will be handicap accessible and comply with modern day building codes. Part of the funding for this project is coming from an $80,000 grant from the State for infrastructure improvements.

The Mandana Marina proposal for a floating dock system enjoyed a site visit from the New York State officials that will ultimately make the final approval decision. The town is trying to balance the marina’s needs with the concerns of the residents and the preservation of the lake quality. We have begun negotiations that we hope will produce a compromise that works for everyone.

The town launch and parking area have been busy but never full this year. Our attendant is helping to keep it organized and under control. It is my opinion that charging a small fee to out of town residents would create a revenue stream that could be used to pay the attendant and make maintenance repairs to the site. The town welcomes your thoughts and comments on this issue.

Budget time is rapidly approaching for the town board. We will be tasked with balancing the need for services with the issue of taxes. The town board was successful in lowering the tax rate and I would like to achieve that result again for next year. Budget sessions are open to the public for anyone that would like to attend.

We have been fortunate to avoid any fatalities on the lake so far this year. We are expanding the patrols and checks on the lake by the sheriff’s department. Our Constables office is expanding and we hope to approve an SOS (Safe on Skaneateles) program this year. We welcome your input on any issue.