One key aspect of life in various municipalities is the relationship between elected officials and employees, which can prove smooth and efficient or contentious, depending on the situation.
There are no such problems in Baldwinsville, where the Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new five-year contract with one of its key unions at its June 4 meeting.
The deal is between the village and Local 2970 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It began on March 1 and runs through February 28, 2025.
Village Board trustee Mark Wilder, who did much of the work for the village during its negotiations with AFSCME, said it was a relief for all sides to reach this agreement.
“I’m glad we don’t have to come back to this for a while,” said Wilder.
At the same time, the Village Board also retroactively approved the collective bargaining agreement between the village and the Baldwinsville Police Benevolent Association.
That deal with the BPBA ran from March 1, 2017 until Feb. 29 of this year, but in approving those past terms, village mayor Richard Clarke said that talks on a new agreement can get started.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week the village made the official announcement that all scheduled concerts and fireworks displays set for this summer at Paper Mill Island have been canceled.
While those who had concerts hope to return in 2021, the village said it could still hold a food-truck and music festival at the venue later this summer if social-distancing guidelines are more relaxed.
Clarke said that any consideration to do standalone fireworks shows was tempered by the fact that such events draw large crowds from inside and outside the village. He added that the situation could change in latter phases of New York State and Onondaga County’s reopening.
One restaurant in the village, Angry Garlic, reopened this week for outside dining. Restaurant owner Jeff Roger requested a waiver of the open container law and the Village Board granted it to him.
A similar request was made in 2019, said Clarke, and no complaints were registered last summer. Code enforcement officer Gregg Humphrey said that two other restaurants in the village requested outdoor seating and could get approved for it in the weeks ahead.
Canton Woods Senior Center director Ruth Tracy said that the center is still putting together its senior nutrition program, which would feature meals delivered two days a week, and could get that started by week’s end.
Clarke reported that he had received some calls complaining about fishing done on the Seneca River Bridge.
He said that it was important that the garbage cans on each end of the bridge get replaced on a regular basis and that checks would take place to make sure that people had fishing licenses and that fishing would remain restricted to the west side of the bridge, leaving the east side free for pedestrian traffic.
