From the supervisor: Gearing up for summer

By Jim Lanning

Town Supervisor

Memorial Day generally signals the start of the summer season for many in Skaneateles.

The busy streets indicate that the hustle and bustle has already begun.

I want to remind everyone that we had an angry lake last year that claimed several lives and injured others. With the busy traffic and increased activities, it is time to take extra caution to avoid unwanted tragedies and incidents.  Please do your part to keep our first responders as idle as we can.

I have organized a truck watch day on May 10.

I am looking for volunteers to count garbage trucks and take note of the trucking companies that are bringing them through Skaneateles.  We may be able to lean on the municipalities they are hauling for, to encourage them to stay on the interstate.  If you are willing to spend an hour on truck watch please contact me at Town hall.  I need volunteers for one to two hour shifts.  We will not be harassing them! We will just be counting and perhaps photographing them.  Grab a friend and give us a hand.

Austin Park is shaping up for the season and it looks beautiful.  We have placed a recycling bin near the entrance.  Please do your part by separating your recyclables from the trash.  Please be considerate of your dog and what it leaves behind for others to step in.  Have a stash of bags in your car and please pick up after your little friend.  The transfer of Austin Park from the village to the town is moving forward and we hope to make some nice improvements in the near future.

Our large tree planting initiative at the conservation area is nearly complete.

Thank you to all of our volunteers that helped with that project.  We will need residents to help keep them watered until they get established.  We love the dogs that come to play and frolic in the pond but please keep them from “watering” our babies.

The conservation committee is marking and naming our trail system.  There are plenty of beautiful trails to explore and enjoy.  We are preparing a map to have here at Town hall and at the Chamber of Commerce detailing our nature areas.

The boat launches will see increased efforts this year to encourage boat washing and draining.  There is a new regulation from the DEC known as “Clean, Drain, and Dry.”  Boaters must not be transporting bilge water or aquatic vegetation from other lakes.  Several lakes in NY already require boats to be steam cleaned before launching.

Please do your part by emptying and cleaning your boat at home.  Invasive species can have devastating impacts on the ecosystem of the lake.  The high water levels continue to be a challenge for erosion and sediment in the lake.  When the lake is this high we must be careful with boat wakes.

Our transfer station is adapting to the new contract and the increased emphasis on recycling that we have undertaken.  Skaneateles has mandatory recycling by local law.  Many residents are embracing our increased recycling efforts and we appreciate that very much. Some residents are indicating that they don’t want to be bothered with it.

These people are increasing the cost for everyone else. Tipping fees for trash/landfill disposal have increased and will continue to increase in the future.

We must process everything that we can.  Almost all paper is recyclable yet I am still seeing a lot of paper in the trash stream.

The solar farm at the transfer station is moving forward.  Please stay tuned for more details on this exciting initiative. Together we can change our destiny.