Lysander officials are seeking to follow suit with local municipalities.
After considering appointments for the new year, the town board, which consists of several newly elected members, has decided to seek an in-house engineer, a practice that the village of Baldwinsville and the town of Van Buren adopted several years ago.
“It has worked out very successfully for Van Buren and the village,” said Supervisor John Salisbury. “It saves thousands of dollars.”
Salisbury said the board plans to begin its search soon, adding the town will continue its relationship with former engineering firm Barton & Loguidice until ongoing projects are finished. The town will also work with Plumley Engineering for new projects that cannot be handled by the in-house engineer.
Officials discussed the town’s engineering options during the Jan. 3 organizational meeting, which was followed by the board’s first official meeting of the year, which was also the first meeting for Salisbury and councilors Melinda Shimer and Andrew Reeves.
Art Levy, the only board member to have served in 2011, was appointed deputy supervisor.
The new board also appointed Anthony P. Rivizzigno of Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith Law Firm as town attorney, a position held previously by David Twichell for nearly three decades, and James Hickey to the position of town councilor, filling the seat vacated by former Councilor Brian May. In November, May was elected to the Onondaga County Legislature representing the first district, a position he started Jan. 1. Hickey is a Lysander business owner and is not affiliated with a political party.
Hickey was sworn in Jan. 3 and will serve the remainder of May’s term, which ends Dec. 31.
Other appointments of note include Frederick Allen, who was appointed to a five-year term on the planning board and named planning board chairman, and Ronald Patchett, who was appointed as the dog control officer. The board will continue to meet at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays of the month.
A public hearing regarding a change in the number of members on the planning board (from five to seven) was also scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at the town hall, 8220 Loop Road, Radisson.
