My second term as your town supervisor is well underway. The town board continues to address the unique challenges and opportunities that face our community every day. The year 2016 proved to be very busy and exciting, with great things happening in the Town of Cazenovia.
The Gothic Cottage, home of our town office, underwent major renovations this summer. In an effort to stabilize the building, several exterior areas, including some of the roofs, porches, siding and five chimneys, were repaired, replaced and repainted.
The town board introduced, voted on and adopted several zoning improvements, including amending the regulation of solar power and energy systems; we also voted to override the tax levy limit which this year was less than 1 percent. The Town Highway Department completed innovative road and drainage repairs along Lincklaen Road, and began preliminary work in cooperation with the village and the county in preparation for installing a sidewalk on Fenner Road to the high school sports complex.
Throughout the year, CACDA was instrumental in working on several grant initiatives with the town. The town and village of Cazenovia participated in a records management grant, made possible through the New York State Archives, digitizing the municipal real property records, ensuring the preservation of official documents that must be retained in perpetuity. The numerous sewer districts within the town of Cazenovia were consolidated into one unified district and the Community Development Block Grant, made possible through HUD, helped Empire Farmstead Brewery purchase equipment in return for job creation in the community.
Residents of New Woodstock enjoyed several improvements this year. The state police barracks project was completed. Heritage Park, adjacent to the barracks, has a new gazebo with electricity, benches and new plantings. Nets were installed and lines were painted at the nearby basketball court and the sidewalk adjacent to Railroad Street was replaced.
Our battle against Eurasian watermilfoil in Cazenovia Lake continued this summer. In an effort to control excessive aquatic plant growth and nuisance vegetation, the town purchased a new weed harvester. The harvester worked for 77 straight days and removed over 2,600 tons of weeds, which included approximately 17,000 pounds of phosphorus, between the end of May and early October. The benthic mat program was administered for the fourth consecutive summer, installing 118 mats around the lake.
As we move into 2017, we will continue to work on various community improvement projects, including the application of aquatic herbicide to portions of Cazenovia Lake, the potential consolidation between the town and village of Cazenovia, and taking over responsibility for the Cazenovia Wastewater Treatment Plant from Madison County. As always we will continue to seek economic development and growth opportunities for the Town of Cazenovia.
I look forward to another year of representing you at both the town and county level on matters that are important to us all. Happy Holidays!
