From the supervisor: The holiday spirit

By Jim Lanning

Skaneateles Town Supervisor

Skaneateles finds itself immersed in the holidays. We have decorated town hall and our wonderful staff is doing all that it can for our residents. The winter season is a wonderful time to enjoy all that our community has to offer.

The town office wishes to extend our congratulations and appreciation to the state champion football team. The Carrier Dome was packed and our Lakers brought home the gold.  It was heartwarming to see the entire community get behind our team. The “All In” shirts were everywhere. We may have experienced a bit of home field advantage as a result of the community enthusiasm. It was a great team effort and our hats are off to the players and staff.

The water line replacement project is nearly complete on Old Seneca Turnpike and Masters Road.  The new line has been pressure tested and sanitized.  Services to the homes are being connected and the disruption is almost over. We want to thank those affected by the project for their patience and understanding.  Routine maintenance and replacement of aging infrastructure is an absolute must for local government. We are pleased with the outcome and we will be looking at our system for the next place to pursue an upgrade.  Our appreciation goes out to Senator DeFrancisco for helping us to locate the State funding that made this project possible.

Winter has been slow in developing this year but our road crews have been out to plow several times already.  We have a new plow truck in service and our guys are ready to tackle whatever Old Man Winter can throw at us. Please remember to give them lots of room and stay off the highways as much as possible during the storms.

The new town board is getting ready to take the reins. They have been attending meetings and learning about the existing projects. This is an impressive group of dedicated residents. I am excited about the possibilities that our community will experience under their leadership. I want to thank the outgoing members for their dedicated service and accomplishments.

I was disappointed to read the negative personal attacks regarding a local construction project.  The town took the actions that it felt were appropriate to protect the lake. We continue to monitor and review the project. Our focus is on preserving the quality of the lake and we have no interest in escalating the situation. Remediation and corrective actions are underway and we hope for a peaceful solution to the issue.

I would like to extend my personal well wishes to Mayor Hubbard, his wife and his entire family. I wish them all the best that the holidays have to offer. May their new year be filled with good health, happiness, and prosperity.

I am pleased with all that we have accomplished during my term. I am even more excited about the projects that we started and have yet to complete. Energy saving LED street lighting is still being planned. Our Solar project at the transfer station is still moving forward. The boat washing station is getting ready for next season. I have every confidence that the new board will see the value of these projects both economically and environmentally.

During my term I tried to make decisions and pursue initiatives that would benefit the taxpayers.  I worked hard on environmental issues because I believe we must constantly march toward a sustainable existence. We made progress at the transfer station and I am pleased to see residents joining in to further the environmental movement. It has been a great honor to serve as your town supervisor.