During its regular monthly meeting last Monday, Aug. 10, the Cazenovia Town Board attended to routine monthly business and had no major issues to address. The board approved one new local law and proposed another, scheduled two public hearings, approved three work contracts and received an update from the town attorney on the status of the ongoing litigation between the town and Owera Vineyards.
The board also announced that its next regular monthly meeting, to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13, will be held in the New Woodstock firehouse and not in the Gothic Cottage.
At the meeting, the board:
—Held a public hearing on a proposed local law to amend the town code to make referrals from the town zoning board of appeals to the planning board discretionary rather than mandatory. No members of the public spoke during the hearing. After closing the public hearing, the board voted unanimously to approve the law.
—Introduced a local law to allow the board to override the state real property tax levy limit. This is an action the board takes every year as a precautionary measure just in case there is a need to override the tax levy limit, said Supervisor Bill Zupan. While the tax increase limit is typically believed to be 2 percent, this year for the town of Cazenovia the limit will actually be .74 percent, Zupan said. The board scheduled a public hearing on the proposed law to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, during its next regular monthly meeting.
—Scheduled a public hearing for the annual Burdin’s Junkyard permit to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, in the New Woodstock Fire Department.
—Awarded the bid to construct a cold storage pole barn at the Cazenovia Town Highway Department to Gudabri, Inc., for $46,496.
—Authorized the expenditure of $540 as an annual service fee to I.T.S. Inc., to service and maintain the communication equipment in the Cazenovia town offices.
—Authorized an agreement with Racine-Johnson Aquatic Ecologists for the company to perform a rake toss plant survey of Cazenovia Lake to examine the aquatic plant species and abundance in the lake. This agreement, which is done every year by the town, was approved at a cost not to exceed $9,000. This is an increase of $500 from the 2014 contract, Zupan said.
—Approved a request from Cazenovia College to hold a fireworks display at Gypsy Bay Park on Friday, Oct. 23, with no alternate rain date. The fireworks will be part of daylong festivities planned by the college to celebrate the completion of its $10 million Capital Campaign, said Lisa Sasser, Capital Campaign director.
—Heard from Town Attorney John Langey that State Supreme Court Judge Dennis K. McDermott has not yet issued a decision in Owera Vineyards’ lawsuit against the town of Cazenovia that was argued in court on June 29. Owera’s Article 78 suit — which is a challenge to a determination made by a municipal body — alleges that the town planning board exceeded its authority when it placed conditions within its approval of Owera’s site plan approval to build a 6,300 square-foot permanent promotion and marketing facility at its East Lake Road location. Langey said he expects the judge to issue a decision by the end of the month.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
