By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On March 24, the Village of Manlius Board of Trustees live streamed a special meeting from the Manlius Village Centre auditorium.
Mayor Paul Whorrall began the meeting by thanking the village office staff, public works department, and fire/EMS department.
“They are all an essential part of your village, and they continue to be here daily, clearing the roads, picking up trash, responding to fire and EMS calls, and manning the phones to answer your questions,” said Whorrall. “Each of the departments is also practicing social distancing and using the required safety practices.”
The Village of Manlius has lit its Christmas tree as a symbol of solidarity during this uncertain time. Community members are asked to help spread the message by placing illuminated wreaths or lights in their homes or yards.
“This will give all of you something to do while staying home, along with showing unity and hopefully bringing a little joy to a tough situation,” Whorrall said.
Following the mayor’s introductory remarks, the board passed a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for improvements in the West Seneca block between the bridge at Flume Road and the bridge at Troop K Road.
“Right now, the goal is to . . . make the lower part of West Seneca Street more [connected to] the rest of the village,” Whorrall said. “We are trying to make it more pedestrian friendly and walkable.”
The resolution was passed following a public hearing on the proposed authorization.
The board also authorized the signing of an inter-municipal agreement between the Town of Manlius, the Village of Fayetteville, the Village of Minoa, and the Village of Manlius for the purpose of mitigating the local impact of COVID-19.
According to Whorrall, the agreement states that the town and three villages will share employees including office, public works and fire/EMS staff, in the event that one or more of the essential departments contracts the virus and becomes short-handed.
The board then discussed the village’s tentative budget.
“Over the past few years we’ve been very fortunate to have had the funding to purchase equipment for our departments,” Whorrall said. “ . . . I personally think right now is a time for us to look at doing improvements, beautification and [other] things within the village — stuff that’s important to the community, important to the village, important to our residents, and important to our way of life . . . We’ve already applied to receive one grant, which is going to help us with that, and [we approved another] tonight . . . In going through the budget with [Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Martha Dygert] . . . we [made] some major cuts and we are still trying to leave enough in there to operate and do what we need to do . . . Not knowing where we are going with [COVID-19] . . . we need to be very careful of spending, because we’re not necessarily going to know if we are going to get the funding that we’ve gotten before or whether that funding is going to end up going somewhere else to help people that are really in need . . . Right now we are at the same tax rate as we have been and we are still going to be able to get a lot done.”
The board members agreed to review the tentative budget and other relevant documents and report back with their input.
Manlius village board meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Manlius Village Centre, 1 Arkie Albanese Ave.., Manlius.
For more information, visit manliusvillage.org or call the Clerk’s Office at 315-682-9171.
