Cicero — The town of Cicero has put down a deposit on 50 acres of land located on Route 31 for a future new highway garage.
Supervisor Jessica Zambrano announced the decision at the Oct. 28 town board meeting after an executive session.
The town board authorized Zambrano to execute an agreement to purchase 6658 Route 31 for $166,500 with a $10,000 deposit.
Town attorney Robert Germain said it is “unknown” how much of the acreage at the site can actually be developed. There are also wetlands on the property. The town will conduct engineering tests to see if there are any underground buried tanks or contaminants in the soil. The current property owner must demolish a house on the site.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do next,” Zambrano said.
“But at least we have the property,” added Councilor Mark Venesky.
Resident Don Snyder, who was a member of the highway building advisory committee, gave the board “kudos” for taking “the first step.” He suggested the town set aside some money to do some pre-design work.
“Is this going to be a $10 million building? An $8 million building?” Snyder said. “A lot of study is yet to go into this building.”
Highway Superintendent Chris Woznica thanked the board for authorizing the purchase.
Zambrano told the Star-Review that the $10,000 deposit will come out of either the town’s A fund or the fund balance.
“We’d have to pay for most of it out of the fund balance,” she said.
Brewerton Volunteer Fire Department starts ambulance service
The Brewerton Volunteer Fire Department is starting its own ambulance service after TLC Medical Transportation resigned from its agreement with the fire department. The ambulance service will partner with other area emergency medical service agencies.
“We think we can make [our] agency self-sustaining in a few years,” said Warren Darby, a member of the BVFD’s board of directors. “The insurance sees us as a brand-new entity. We have no experience to [qualify for] lower rates.”
Under the Volunteer Ambulance Workers Benefits Law, the town of Cicero will pay 25 percent of the ambulance service’s initial deposit to the New York State Insurance Fund. The town’s portion of the cost is $4,059.16.
