By Russ Tarby
Contributing Writer
When the Village Board met on Feb. 10, Trustee Michael LaMontagne reported that bids were being accepted this month from contractors interested in working on renovations at the Village Cemetery. The 173-year-old graveyard is bounded on the east and west by Tulip and Alder streets and by Fifth and Sixth streets on the south and north.
Two years ago, 128th District Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter announced that the village had received a $250,000 grant administered through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) earmarked for cemetery improvements.
On the recommendation of a cemetery advisory committee chaired by Dr. Michael Romano, the village hired Environmental Design & Research, a Syracuse-based landscaping firm, to prepare a schematic design for the restoration work. Prior to consulting with EDR, the cemetery committee had been meeting for more than four years during which it secured listings for the cemetery on both national and state Registers of Historic Places.
The cemetery is the site of more than 3,532 interments over the years. In 2000, there were 283 plots still available for purchase, but now there are no longer any plots available for sale, according to the village website.
In its discussions about how to spend the state grant money, Romano said the committee concentrated on “reducing maintenance costs.”
For instance, the steep grassy berms on the cemetery’s north and east sides are extremely difficult to maintain, so the committee recommended a new green vegetation which will not require mowing.
New walkways and granite benches are also being planned at the cemetery, which was established circa 1846. Broken gravestones and stone borders will also be restored.
At the Feb. 10 board meeting, trustees also learned that local Boy Scout Troop 203 is planning a service project to help with cemetery clean-up on May 23, prior to the village’s annual Memorial Day parade.
The village board will reconvene at 7 p.m. Monday, March 16, at the Village Hall on Sycamore Street.
LPD stats for January
At the trustees’ Feb. 10 meeting, via a memo, Liverpool Police Chief Donald Morris reported his department’s activity during the previous month.
In January, LPD officers made 231 traffic stops and issued 194 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws. They also investigated eight accidents.
Officers made 150 residential property checks in the first month of the year while responding a total of 550 incidents and calls for service.
The department made 37 arrests in in January on a total of 47 criminal charges.
