Cicero receives $75K grant for Riverfront Park
By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Residents and commuters in the town of Cicero can breathe a sigh of relief: An unpopular proposal to build a bus garage across from Gillette Road Middle School has changed sites, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced last Thursday. Developers will now revamp an abandoned industrial site in the town of Salina for the use of First Student Inc., which serves the Syracuse City School District.
McMahon joined Salina Town Supervisor Colleen Gunnip, Cicero Supervisor Mark Venesky, Onondaga County Legislator Tim Burtis, Cicero Town Councilor Dick Cushman and developer Greg Cleghorn of One Remington LLC in a press conference Sept. 19 at Riverfront Park in Brewerton. The elected officials also announced that the town of Cicero will receive a $75,000 grant toward improving the Brewerton waterfront.
First Student is currently located in the Inner Harbor in Syracuse but must find a new location as its lease was not renewed.
Numerous Cicero residents spoke out against the proposal at the planning board’s Sept. 4 public hearing, citing concerns about traffic, noise and the health effects of exposure to diesel exhaust from 185 buses. McMahon and Assemblymember Al Stirpe publicly expressed reservations about the proposed site, the former home of Syracuse Castings.
“We heard loud and clear,” McMahon said of residents’ concerns. “Mr. Cleghorn and his team did nothing wrong — it just wasn’t the right fit.”
The county worked with the developer, Cicero and Salina to find a better location for the bus garage.
“Everybody was looking to find a solution,” McMahon said. “When everybody puts down their swords, you have success.”
One Remington LLC and First Student will present their proposal to the Salina Planning Board in October. The new site is located at 2001 Lemoyne Ave. on the corner of Factory Avenue. Five parcels make up approximately nine acres.
Cleghorn said First Student is committed to transporting the students of the Syracuse City School District safely and at a reasonable cost. He said the Salina site is a better fit for the project.
“Cicero was never a home run,” he said of the project’s previous location. “The town of Salina is a stone’s throw from the city.”
First Student hopes to be up and running in Salina by the fall of 2020.
Cicero receives grant for Brewerton waterfront
Also at the Sept. 19 press conference, local leaders announced that Onondaga County has awarded Cicero a $75,000 grant toward the redevelopment of the Brewerton waterfront.
John Guariglia, an engineer with Saratoga Associates, said the money will be used to reestablish a parking area near Riverfront Park, add an entry from Bennett Street, and add new sidewalks, lighting and green space. A pavilion or small amphitheater is included in the redevelopment concepts as well, according to Cicero Supervisor Mark Venesky.
Cicero Parks and Recreation Director Jody Rogers said the town will return an unused state grant that was meant for acquiring two properties on Bennett Street.
Onondaga County Legislator Tim Burtis said the New York State Department of Transportation is still working on a plan to repair the Route 11 bridge that goes through Brewerton in 2020.
“Residents want the superstructure to remain,” Burtis said.
McMahon thanked the resident-driven Brewerton Revitalization Committee for their efforts to improve the hamlet.
“Most of all, I want to thank our neighbors who have been driving this,” he said. “What we’re seeing throughout the community is when we invest in the public sector, we pique the interest of the private sector.
To learn more about the Brewerton Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, visit ciceronewyork.net/lwrp.
