The parking lot at 22 Lincklaen St. is continuing to take shape, with the Lincklaen Street sidewalk repaved last week and lot paving expected to occur Aug. 26 and 27, the village board discussed at its Aug. 8 regular monthly meeting. The only detail left to decide was what to charge for parking once the lot is completed.
Trustee Jim Joseph, who is also the village parking commissioner, said he surveyed seven different college and lake towns to assess their parking lot fees as a way to get a better idea as to what Cazenovia should charge in its new lot. Villages such as Clinton and Hamilton had free parking, Skaneateles charges 50 cents per hour, Lake George charges $1 per hour and Cooperstown charges $2 per hour, Joseph said.
“Taking all that into consideration, if the lot is free it will turn into college student parking,” Joseph said. “Our aim should not be to make a profit but it should be a paid lot.”
Joseph recommended the lot charge be $1 per hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with free parking on Sundays and every night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Nobody on the board disagreed. Mayor Kurt Wheeler said his goal is to have the lot utilized so he agrees the fee should not be higher than $1 per hour and said he would even go as low as 50 cents per hour.
Wheeler said that after paving is completed there will still be line painting, signage and landscaping to finish, so he suggested the board hold its grand opening of the lot after its Sept. 3 regular monthly meeting.
Also at the meeting, the board:
—Heard from Trustee Fritz Koennecke that while working with CACDA on its new trails signage program, he discovered that village park rules state that village parks are technically to be used by village residents only — and the Lakeland Park sign actually states that rule. While the rule is not enforced, Koennecke asked the board if it wanted to change the rule or just continue to ignore it. The rule, he said, is at odds not only with a welcoming atmosphere for the village, but specifically with the village and CACDA’s program to encourage more use of village trails and parks by residents and visitors. Trustee Amy Mann said the park rules also states no picnicking is allowed, which “makes no sense,” and is also not enforced.
Wheeler made a motion to paint over the “residents only” portion of the Lakeland Park sign and have Koennecke, as parks and recreation commissioner, review the rules and regulations for all village parks and return to the board with recommendations for updating it. The board unanimously agreed.
—Approved the acceptance of the lowest received bid for the work of replacing and repairing 200 feet of the Lakeland Park retaining wall. The four bids received were opened on Aug. 8 and ranged from $87,000 to $383,000. The low bid was by Expert Building Services of Cazenovia. The approval is subject to review by the village attorney, village director of public works and village’s expert consultants of Stearns & Wheeler.
—Heard from Mann that the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery School in Cazenovia is averaging 15 participants per weekend and is “steadily growing,” which is a higher average than a number of L.L. Bean’s other, longer-established Outdoor Discovery Schools.
—Heard from Trustee Joseph that concerns have been raised by residents that Lakeland Park lifeguards have been using their cell phones while on duty. He said that Joint Youth Recreation Program Director Elizabeth Digiacomo, who supervises the lifeguards, has admonished the lifeguards that cell phone use is not allowed while on duty and anyone caught breaking that rule will be fired. Joseph also said the rec program is considering increasing program fees in 2014 because an increase in participants has led to a need for more camp supervisors, which has increased program costs.
—Heard from Wheeler that the work on the McLaughlin Building steps that started this week will remake the steps to have the wheelchair ramp in front of the incoming AmeriCU site, a central staircase in the middle and a wall with a seating area on top in front of B.G. Buda’s restaurant. The changes are expected to fix the constant chipping and deterioration of the steps, Wheeler said. The village is paying for the cement work, since it owns the steps, and building owner Dave Muraco is paying for the railings to be installed.
—Approved the appointment of Phil Byrnes to another four-year term on the village zoning board of appeals.
—Approved a resolution to allow the mayor to submit applications for two state grant programs, one to help fund the Fenner Street sidewalk project and one for a general planning grant that the village would use to fund renovations to Lakeland Park.
—Approved a resolution to declare the village the lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act for the project to update the Comprehensive Plan.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
