A local law recently disbanded the village of Camillus planning board, but recent board meetings have discussed bringing the body back to the village.
“It sort of petered out because there wasn’t anything to do,” said Deputy Mayor Bridget Yule.
The planning board was dissolved and the responsibilities were added to the village board, placing discussions regarding any village development on the trustees and mayor.
“The planning board was set up to be an advisory committee to the board,” Trustee James Palumbo said. “We took the middle piece out of the puzzle and out of the mix so we could make moves on things.”
Recent conversations surrounding the closed Sunoco station at the corner of Newport Road and Main Street, and the proposed development of a gas station and car wash at that site, have brought into question the actual need for a planning board.
But Village Attorney Robert Allan suggests the village keep the state of the planning board, as-is.
“Until the [Sunoco] project gets beyond the planning stage, we ought to let that dog sleep,” he said.
An ad-hoc committee to study, discuss and recommend action to the board regarding the Sunoco project will be led by Yule.
There will be a presentation on the latest developments on the project with a public hearing at the next board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 6.
In other board news
The Camillus Volunteer Fire Department has added five new members in the past two months. They have also re-negotiated box alarms, updating who responds to mutual aid situations in the district.
The Camillus Police have stopped using the substation at village hall.
Code Enforcement Officer John Williams shared numbers for 2011. The village had $2,340 in permit fees, resulting in $176,400 in construction work in the village. McNamara’s Pub is also still operating with a month-to-month certificate of occupancy. Williams says the business meets the minimum code standards and is occupiable, but has not met the requirements for a certificate of occupancy. It has been without a certificate for a year and a half.
