From the supervisor: Honoring our veterans

By Jim Lanning

Skaneateles Town Supervisor

What a treat it was to drive down Genesee Street last week and see the flags in the park for Veterans Day.

I would like to extend my appreciation of the yearly event to the girls lacrosse team that puts them up. Honoring our veterans is a great way to preserve our peace and prosperity. Is it any coincidence that Veterans Day falls so close to Election Day?  In a way we honor those who helped create and preserve our right to choose.

This is a great time to remind everyone that the Town of Skaneateles has a veteran’s outreach coordinator. Her name is Cindy Meili and she is a wonderful resource. Her objective is to assist veterans in whatever way she can, coordinating with county, state, and federal programs. Our vets were there for us when needed and it is everyone’s duty to treat them with respect and courtesy. Cindy can be reached through the Town hall.  Please contact her if you are a veteran and introduce yourself.

The town is taking the lead on organizing the five towns that surround the lake to form a cooperative coalition of resources. We hope to form an intermunicipal agreement that will consolidate our resources to protect the lake. We need cooperation from everyone to preserve and maintain Skaneateles Lake.

The Town of Skaneateles was forced to take aggressive action towards a construction project last week. It was unfortunate that we were forced to do so. The project was very close to a stream and the lake. An illegal drain was installed to dump silt, mud, and debris, directly into the stream and the lake. The square footage of disturbed land grossly exceeded the approved plans. A blatant disregard for town regulations and approvals will not be tolerated. Regardless of who you are, or your financial status, all construction projects will held accountable to the same rules and regulations. The lake and our environment must be protected.

The election has passed and residents have chosen their leaders for the future. What America does better than any nation on Earth, is to honor the results of our elections.

I am confident that everyone involved will do their best to assure a smooth transition of power.  We are one community with a relatively common objective. I want to express my appreciation for all of the candidates who stepped up to offer their services. I hear a lot of grumblers and complainers, but very few have the courage to run for office.  Thank you to all of the candidates for running.

The town has adopted our budget for 2018. Many hours were spent wrangling with the numbers to produce a budget that provides the services we desire without raising taxes. We actually ended up with a slight reduction in the tax rate. I would like to extend the invitation to the village, school, and county to also hold the line on tax increases. There are many in our community who struggle to make their property taxes.

The village has scheduled a public hearing on the transfer of Austin Park. This should be the final hurdle towards our government consolidation initiative. This will open the door for discussions to take place on the future of the pavilion. I encourage residents to bring forth their ideas and suggestions.

The village will soon be filled with holiday cheer and bustle. The Dickens folks will be returning to help our merchants through another successful season. These merchants pay salaries and taxes that benefit us all. Yes there is the inconvenience of traffic delays and parking shortages. The hours are limited and by now we should all have a plan to avoid the situation if we find it burdensome.