By Phil Blackwell
A major change is in store for the village of Baldwinsville at its leadership level, which had nothing to do with the result of last week’s village elections.
The Department of Public Works is in search of a new leader after village engineer Steven Darcangelo announced that he was resigning, with his last day on the job taking place Oct. 23.
Mayor Richard Clarke made the announcement of Darcangelo’s departure on Sept. 9. He said that on Tuesday Darcangelo let the village know that he was moving to a job in the private sector for an environmental company.
“Steve took a personal approach [to the job] and did a great job,” said Clarke. “He had a great impact on the village and will be tough to replace.”
Throughout the Village Board of Trustees’ Sept. 17 meeting, words of praise and tribute were offered to Darcangelo for all that he had contributed.
“He didn’t just report to work,” said trustee Bruce Stebbins. “He was an advocate for our community. It’s a tremendous thing.”
Village attorney Robert Baldwin, among others, cited Darcangelo’s work with the village’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals on various projects which will impact Baldwinsville for a long time.
For his part, Darcangelo offered gratitude to both the village and his co-workers for their help along the way.
“I’ve greatly appreciated and enjoyed my time here,” said Darcangelo. “I will miss the village.”
As to finding a new village engineer, Clarke said that a search is already underway but that, in the meantime, DPW Foreman Chuck McAuliffe will handle day-to-day duties in the department and, upon Darcangelo’s recommendation, Plumley Engineering was approved as an interim engineer until a new hire.
As to those village elections, three seats on the Board of Trustees were at stake, with the three incumbents winning each of them.
Megan O’Donnell finished first with 335 votes, just ahead of Stebbins’ total of 330 and Mike Shepard’s total of 329. Each of them easily outdistanced challenger Dennis Sick, who had 96 votes.
All told, 407 ballots were cast in the election, held Sept. 15, which was a move from its scheduled date in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included 65 absentee ballots.
Stebbins said that this was a record turnout for a non-mayoral village election and he and O’Donnell both said they looked forward to four more years on the board.
After a public hearing, the board gave approval to an amendment to a local law allowing the code enforcement officer the village hires to be a resident anywhere in Onondaga County, not just the village.
The new San Miguel restaurant, located on the site of the former Muddy Waters restaurant expected to open late in October, was granted a waiver from a 30-day waiting period for a liquor license.
Clarke also noted that meetings with other mayors in the county revealed that the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency was planning to increase tipping fees 5 to 10 percent in the upcoming year, saying residents should expect an increase in their trash bills as a result.
