Creation of town DPW, consolidation of water districts on his agenda
Cazenovia town Supervisor Bill Zupan has announced two major projects he plans to undertake in 2018: One is to create a town Department of Public Works (DPW) and the other is to consolidate all the town water districts into one.
Zupan made his announcement during the town board’s Jan. 8 regular monthly meeting.
The creation of a town DPW will simply reflect the varied amount of work that town Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt already does, Zupan said.
“The biggest reason is that since Tim’s been running the water department, it really has become a DPW,” he said. “We’re just trying to reflect the change in calling it a DPW instead of a highway department.”
Hunt received a salary increase this year to reflect his new position, and his title will probably be changed to highway superintendent/DPW director, Zupan said.
As for the water district consolidation, Zupan said the change is mostly for bookkeeping purposes. For example, when the town pays for insurance, labor and supplies for the water districts, everything must be divided by three — and soon into four because of the new Route 20 water district — in the budget. Creating one district simplifies that, he said.
“We’re trying to get efficient,” Zupan said. The current separation of district “creates a lot of work” for the highway superintendent and town bookkeeper, he said.
There will be public hearings scheduled to discuss the water district consolidation idea, Zupan said, but district residents should not see any changes to their service or costs.
Also at the Jan. 8 meeting:
•The board scheduled a joint public hearing with the village board of trustees regarding a petition for annexation of land east of Burton Street/Michigan Road. The proposed annexation from the town into the village is part of a project to build apartments for senior citizens in Cazenovia.
The project, proposed by nonprofit organization Housing Visions, is on a parcel of land currently owned by Jim Burke that lies half in the village and half in the town.
The public hearing for the annexation petition is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, at the Village Municipal Building.
•The board adopted the final Cazenovia Lakefront Development Guidelines and approved a new town law to insert the new guidelines into law to ensure they are used by the town zoning and planning boards when evaluating lakeshore development projects.
The guidelines will present a consistent set of regulations that will ensure the well-being of the lake and address the town’s desire to “provide for the environmentally and aesthetically appropriate development of the town’s lakeshore are and its desire to support property values in the town,” according to town information.
The Cazenovia Lakefront Development Guidelines can be viewed at the town office or on the town website at townofcazenovia.org.
