East Circle Drive is one of the busiest roads in the town of Cicero, connecting Route 11 with South Bay Road, where thousands of cars each day enter off I-481 and there’s quick access to stores, restaurants and car dealerships.
And it is here where, in a few months’ time, hopes are that a long-awaited project for rehabilitation of the stream crossing under this road will get underway.
At its meeting on May 13, the Cicero Town Board approved a bond issue where the town would spend $1.5 million on South Bay Road, just after it approved engineering expenditures of more than $88,000 to C&S Engineers for expenditures on the nearby Darlene’s Brook project.
The $1.5 million will be paid in bonds, but the town will have to foot some of the bill. According to Comptroller Shirlie Stuart, Cicero will have to pay $135,000 before work can begin.
When asked by Councilor Judy Boyke if the work would get done in 2020, Supervisor Bill Meyer said that, barring any other delays, the construction can begin in September, but that all the funding for it must be in place before contracts with bidders can get signed.
Councilors Jonathan Karp and Mike Becallo said that, while it was inopportune that the town could not pay the cash for the bond at this point, they still would vote yes because, in Karp’s words, “it’s something we have to do.” Approval was unanimous.
Various building projects filled the agenda for this board meeting, again held via Zoom due to the state’s ban on gatherings of any groups more than 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To the already-completed facility at the Highway Department’s facility on Route 31, an additional $20,000 was approved for Building Innovation Group to add snow guards to the roof in order to keep snow and ice from sliding off the room in large amounts.
The Cicero Senior Center, located at 5924 Lathrop Drive, will receive improvements from the town’s spending of its grants from the Onondaga County Community Development Fund. BlueScope Construction, from Kansas City, was approved to complete the project for $62,631, with subcontract support from Whelan and Curry Construction Services.
Also, a total of $586,000 was approved to four local companies for paving some of Cicero roads, along with profiling and 20 catch basins, while the MRB Group was awarded $4,200 of the town’s salt storage grant.
Two different wildlife vendors, Northeast Beaver and Predator Management and Nuisance Wildlife Control, were approved to remove beavers from various swamps in the town. NBPM will charge $300 per setup and $60 per removal, while NWC is charging $200 per setup and $100 per removal.
