For the second meeting in a row, the village board discussed Kathryn Carlson’s request for a sewer bill reduction. Carlson’s sewer bill was unusually high after her pool had to be emptied for maintenance and then refilled.
After looking through the records, village clerk Patty Cound found that in 2000, a pool-related bill reduction request was not reimbursed. However, the board did make a pool-related bill adjustment in July 2009.
“I just don’t know where we’re going on this,” said Trustee Marty Hubbard. “We should have some precedent. We should have something that sticks so that, frankly, this doesn’t come to the village board every time.”
Hubbard noted the high number of swimming pools in the village.
After a brief discussion, the board passed a motion to provide no sewer bill relief related to swimming pools.
Village hires JV Spano
The village has wasted no time in fixing the sidewalk on Jordan Street, as first proposed by Mayor Bob Green in a June 14 board meeting. After putting the work out to bid, the village went with JV Spano Inc. The company’s price of $32,371 was the lowest of five bids.
In addition to the stretch of sidewalk from Riddler’s to Town Hall, the company will work on a section in front of White & White Antiques on East Genesee Street, three sides of M&T Bank, and some handicapped accessibility areas.
Board talks fire horns
Mayor Green reported that Tom Rhodes, of Skaneateles, suggested doing away with fire sirens “because we all have pagers.”
Village codes enforcement officer Jorge Battle said the fire department is currently looking into a different siren controller that could reduce the number of times the horn sounds. He noted that having an audible fire horn is a requirement for points when the station’s quality is assessed.
Veterans’ benefits discussed
The board discussed supporting a property tax exemption for Cold War veterans, which would raise the maximum exemption from $12,000 to $36,000. The maximum percentage would remain at 15 percent.
The town and county have already approved the exemption.
“I think we need to be consistent with the town and the county,” said Trustee Sue Jones. “We don’t want to be standing alone and denying our veterans [this benefit].”
The board was in support of the exemption, tabling discussion to give village attorney Mike Byrne time to draft a local law.
