The Cazenovia Town Board last week voted once again offer its benthic mat rental program to lakefront property owners for the 2015 season to continue its efforts to manage excessive weed growth in Cazenovia Lake.

Benthic barrier mats cover a portion of the lake bottom and prevent plant growth by blocking the sunlight required for plants to grow. They also provide a physical barrier against the spread of macrophytes or, more specifically for Cazenovia Lake issues, Eurasian water milfoil.

The town established the rental program in 2013 for lakefront property owners, offering mats measuring 250 square feet at an annual cost of $50 per mat (20 cents per square foot) with a limit of two mats per property owner. The fee included installation, removal, pickup and storage of the mats by the town.

The town continued the program in 2014, and increased the rental fee to $75 per mat (30 cents per square foot) with a four mat limit per property owner.

For 2015, the town will continue the program but has raised the rental fee to 34 cents per square foot ($85 per mat), from the 30 cents per square foot in 2014. There will be a four mat limit for the 2015 season.

For more information or to rent mats, contact Sarah Dennis, administrative assistant to the town supervisor, at 655-9213 option 5.

Also at the meeting, the board:

—Adopted the joint town and village of Cazenovia Climate Action Plan, which will act as a guideline for the municipalities as they move forward with efforts to address the need for the reduction of emissions from local government.

—Continued the public hearings for the proposed town noise ordinance and special events regulation. Supervisor Bill Zupan requested that residents who wish to comment on the special events regulation do so prior to the board’s May 11 meeting, because the board “may be in a position” to close the public hearing at that meeting.

—Scheduled a public hearing to discuss proposed local law A-2015, which would revise the town code concerning the regulation of “the use of public and private sewers and drains, private sewage disposal, installation and connection of building laterals and the discharge of waters and wastes in the public sewer system, and provide penalties for violations thereof.” The public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 11, at the town office.

—Scheduled a public hearing to discuss proposed local law B-2015, to enact a town computer system security breach notification policy. The public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 11, at the town office.

—Approved an inter-municipal agreement with the village of Cazenovia for the use of the boat launch facilities at Lakeside Park, for which the town will pay the village an annual $10,000 fee.

—Officially designated three locations within the town as polling places for 2015: District 1, the New Woodstock Free Library; Districts 2, 3 and 6, American Legion Post 88 on Chenango Street; Districts 3 and 4, Cazenovia high School.

—Approved the use of certain town roads for the annual July 4 Foot Race, the annual Cazenovia Triathlon on Aug. 23 and the New York Run for the Fallen on June 12.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].