This Friday, Dec. 20, has been designated by the Cazenovia Town Board as “Linda Mather Day” in honor of longtime Town Clerk Linda Mather, who retires at the end of this year.
The announcement, along with a full proclamation in Mather’s honor, was made at the town board’s Dec. 9 regular monthly meeting, which was Mather’s last before her retirement.
The proclamation, read aloud my Councilor Liz Moran, praised Mather for her “over 26 years of unblemished service to the taxpayers, voters and residents of the Town of Cazenovia” and described the many acts and instances of dedication, determination and altruism she exhibited during her tenure.
The proclamation declared it “Resolved and determined that the Town Board of the Town of Cazenovia, on behalf of the Town and its Citizens, hereby expresses profound appreciation to Linda Mather for her unparalleled service to the Town of Cazenovia and further designates Friday, December 20, 2013 as ‘Linda Mather Day’ in the Town of Cazenovia.”
After the reading, the board and the residents in attendance — which included many members of Mather’s family — gave her a standing ovation, during which the board also voted unanimously to approve the proclamation. A framed copy of the proclamation was also give to Mather as a gift from the board, and she posed for pictures holding it while standing with members of her family.
“You realize I’ve never allowed this kind of disruption at a town meeting,” Mather said to loud laughter.
The board also gave her a gift of a clock “to measure her retirement time by,” said Supervisor Ralph Monforte.
“Nobody knows how important the clerk is unless you’ve been the supervisor,” Monforte said. “We love you Linda.” Mather replied, “I love you all, too.”
Afterwards, Mather said her final town board meeting was “bittersweet.”
“I admire the members of the board and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with every one of them as well as the community,” she said. “I’ve had the privilege of working with the very best boards, support professionals and town staff. It’s been my honor and pleasure and I’ll never forget a moment of it. I’ll miss everyone.”
Mather also said the board’s proclamation in her honor and the designation of “Linda Mather Day” was a complete surprise to her. “I never realized so many people could keep such a great secret for so long,” she said. “I am humbled and honored by the wonderful sentiments within the proclamation. I only hope I have lived up to some of the high praise that I’ve received. And, the fact that my whole family was present for the presentation was sweet icing on the cake.”
Monday’s meeting was also the last meet for Monforte as town supervisor. He did not run for reelection in November so Supervisor-elect Bill Zupan will be sworn in at the board’s Jan. 13 regular meeting.
During his usual supervisor’s report to the board, Monforte said his four years as town supervisor “have been a pleasure,” but he decided not to run again because his Cazenovia Jewelry business needs him.
He said that although he will no longer be an elected official he will continue to participate in numerous projects and organizations around the county. He mentioned some of his proudest achievements as a county supervisor such as starting the Madison County Rural Health Network and working on the Buy Local campaign. He said he will continue to be a member of the county tourism committee, will work again with the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce and will volunteer with CRIS.
“There’s a lot going forward; I’m really excited about it,” Monforte said.
Monforte said he recommends that everybody volunteer a year or two of their time to participate in municipal government boards and committees. “It’s a great education,” he said. “Give a little bit of your time back to help the process.”
Also at the meeting, the board:
—Discussed ways to improve drainage on Ridge Road near Ten Eyck Avenue. Town Engineer John Dunkle told the board the he has existing study plans for creating a new drainage system that would run from Ridge Road down Wright Road towards the lake. The project would cost about $100,000, but the town is applying for a state grant under the Water Quality Improvement Project Program that would defray much of the cost to the town.
—Authorized the town supervisor to apply for Water Quality Improvement Project Program grant monies.
—Adopted a negative environmental declaration and set a public hearing date on a proposed new local law that would lay out specific procedures for the town to achieve the best value attainable when spending money on municipal projects. The public hearing was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, at the town offices.
—Authorized bidding for two new pickup trucks for the town and sale of the town’s two used pickup trucks to help defray the purchase costs.
—Approved a request that participants in the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse 2014 Long Distance Triathlon be allowed to enter the town by use of County Route 80 and the use of a portion of Reservoir Road, DeRuyter Lake on Sunday, June 22, 2014.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
