From the supervisor: Zoning, the lake and budget
By Jim Lanning
Skaneateles Town Supervisor
The town is excited that the pipe was delivered for our water line replacement project last week. The contractor will start on the Old Seneca Turnpike portion before moving on to the Masters Road portion. It is a good opportunity for residents to see what is going into the ground.
Underground infrastructure is all too often out of sight and out of mind. This new line will replace an outdated line from 1929. It will add fire hydrants where there were none before and it will improve circulation within our system. This stretch of road on Old Seneca Turnpike has some blind spots. I would ask residents to use extra caution along this route and watch for construction vehicles over the next few weeks.
Our planning and zoning consultant, Joel Russell was in town for a few days last week as we unveiled our first draft of our revised zoning code.
The zoning code has been updated to reflect the updated comprehensive plan.
It has also been restructured to make it easier for residents to use and understand. The drafts of both plans are available on our town website and we encourage residents to review them. More meetings will be held and we want feedback from residents.
We were thrilled that we were finally successful in getting village officials to sit down and start a dialogue concerning the Comprehensive plan revisions.
The comprehensive plan was updated and passed in 2015. It was later challenged by a lawsuit. Some very minor revisions have been proposed by our professional consultant. It was good to see dialogue and willingness to compromise between the village and the town.
I am confident that a compromise solution can be worked out. We should be one community in spirit.
Skaneateles Lake has lost the green surface slime that plagued it for most of September. The algae bloom has dispersed but the toxins that it produced continue to be a problem.
With cooler temperatures and more seasonal breezes the lake will continue to cleanse itself. We are pleased with the dialogue that has begun concerning this issue.
Many people are looking for creative ways to reduce the possibility of this happening again. We will make more progress if we focus on our own impacts rather than pointing fingers.
Nutrient loading is the one factor that we have some control over. Residents that are using fertilizers and adding nutrients to their lawns need to ask themselves if it is really necessary given the possible consequences to the Lake.
The budget for the town is nearly complete.
We have been going through it with a fine tooth comb to provide the services resident’s desire and need without raising property taxes. We are cognizant of the fact that not everyone in our community has the abundance of resources to pay additional property taxes. We are doing everything that we can to produce a fiscally responsible budget.
The community lost one of its very best last week with the passing of Myron Steen.
The Sons of the American Legion lined up to pay tribute to one of their own and many in the community came out to support the survivors. From the Laker Limo to the Legion, Myron was always there for us.
He will be sorely missed in our community. If ever there was a guy that would give you the shirt off his back, it was Myron. The American Legion provided a nice reception for the community to collectively share in our grief.
