From the supervisor: Field Days, 81 and the lake

By Jim Lanning

Skaneateles Town Supervisor

Residents continue on with their busy lives despite the daily rainstorms that have plagued our summer. I have always enjoyed the more relaxed pace of August in Skaneateles to the July activities.  We have experienced a relatively safe summer of boating on the lake. I encourage everyone to remain cautious and safe while boating on Skaneateles Lake.

I want to express my appreciation to the Skaneateles Lake Association for all of their cooperation and assistance this year.

We are working cooperatively with them on several projects. They have offered research assistance and coordination on the boat washing station that the town is building in Mandana. Whenever the town needs technical information or engineering they are always quick to offer assistance.

We recently worked with their summer intern Sam Clymer, the Town intern Brook Barkdull, and our Town engineer to complete our WQIP (Water Quality Improvement Project) grant application. The application is to control and mitigate stream bank erosion.

Paul Torrisi, Bob Werner and several others have really been a great resource for the Town.  We are moving beyond endless committee meetings that simply discuss the challenges that face our waters, to actually moving forward with projects designed to make a difference.

Let not the pursuit of perfection delay progress. We are now engaged in real action items that will produce real results. I encourage residents to consider joining the Skaneateles Lake Association or volunteer some of your time.

I have been busy with the county shared services initiative.

This proposal was a law passed by the NY State Legislature forcing counties across the state to put a proposal forward of potential cost saving initiatives. A plan must be organized and presented for public review.

The reality is that municipalities are already sharing services whenever they can to save taxpayer dollars. The transfer of Austin Park from the village to the town is just one example. Local municipal leaders are frustrated by unfunded mandates that come down from the state.

I am doing the best that I can to put forth ideas that save tax dollars without relinquishing local control of our destiny.  The Shared Services Plan will go through a series of public hearings and then items will be considered for approval later this summer.

The I-81 decision is back on the hot seat this week.

I am lobbying as much as I can for a compromise decision that will find a way to keep I-81 traffic on the highway through Syracuse.

The detouring of traffic onto 481 will only increase the Interstate traffic in Skaneateles.

This is not just truck traffic but an increase of all traffic through our community. I encourage residents to send emails and write letters advocating for some form of hybrid solution.

My personal preference is for a short tunnel or trenched highway that would have a grid section on top.  The stand-alone Community Grid option simply will not work. We need to consider the negative environmental impact that the detour will have on our community.

The town board has approved the Fireman Field Days event in Austin Park.

I am the envy of the other Town Supervisors because Skaneateles has a Fire Department that actually raises their own money for equipment purchases.  The field days are a wonderful tradition and they go a long way towards keeping your tax rate low.  Please schedule some time to enjoy the carnival, the music, the parade, and the chicken barbeque.

There is an antique car show on Saturday. Please come out and support the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department. They are always there for us!