Baldwinsville Mayor Joseph Saraceni met with Messenger Editor Erin Wisneski on Tuesday, Oct.16 at Canton Woods Senior Center to chat about what’s new in the village. Canton Woods seniors kept the conversation going with many questions and concerns regarding village happenings.By

Mayor Joe Saraceni kicked off the conversation responding to a question about Tri County Mall. He said the larger of the two buildings was scheduled for demolition, an effort made by the current property owners and owners of Golden Legacy Apartments. However, the demolition will be delayed because asbestos was found in the building.

Another resident suggested replacing the “pink” stop signs immediately adjacent to the school on Oneida Street, which are not only faded, but leaning as well.

“You would really have a lot of nerve arresting [people who didn’t stop for the signs] because they probably didn’t know they were stop signs,” said Joan Petrowski.

She continued by asking about empty buildings in the village including the old Eckerd behind the B’ville Diner.

Joe said the village is currently working with Wide Waters to improve the building façade, but there are no tenants yet.

Another senior suggested bringing a theater back to Baldwinsville, an idea that all present seemed to endorse. This prompted the mayor to talk about the Baldwinsville Performing Arts Center, an initiative that has been put on the village backburner for several years.

“I see the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild purchasing a theater complex behind St. Mary’s,” Joe said adding there was once a concept to build a community theater in that area. Joe said the village recently purchased the land from the state, but it would cost upwards of $6 million for the theater to come to fruition. “Maybe that is something that phases in over time,” he said.

Keeping on the discussion of a movie theater, Larry Wood said, “We’ve got a big projector screen [here at the center]; we could run our own movie with popcorn and everything.”

“[The village] held a movie night on a 20’ by 16’ screen. It was $200 [for the licensing fee] to see the Wizard of Oz,” Joe said about the event held a few years ago on Paper Mill Island. “It was awesome.”

This led to a discussion about possible movie nights at Canton Woods Senior Center, which could be used as fundraisers to help offset the costs of running the center. A dinner theater was also suggested.

“Larry, why don’t you start up that committee,” Joe said.

“I’d love to,” Larry responded.

The village budget was also discussed briefly.

“You’ll see a tax rate decrease in the county,” Joe said, adding, “[the village is] just getting into the budget development process.”

Joe said the village budget has been around $4 million. However, it is estimated that BlueCross BlueShield will be raising rates by 19 percent and there are also pensions to consider.

The state has put a 2 percent tax cap on taxing entities (municipalities, schools), which effects the tax levy (the amount raised through property taxes). Joe said the village tax levy has been about $2 million of the $4 million budget. Considering the tax cap, the village can only raise the tax levy $40,000 per year.

“When you’re talking about insurance rates and NYS pension increases, $40,000 is a drop in the bucket,” Joe said. “When it comes to making difficult decisions such as mandate relief, New York State can’t do it; they can cut off the revenue though. The biggest tax burden is from the state. That’s my soap box.”

“It’s frustrating, I’m a small town mayor and I love it a lot, but I’ve learned a lot,” he added.

Moving on from budget discussions, the seniors expressed an interest in bringing more fast food chains into Baldwinsville, specifically a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Joe said another chain is looking into the former Burger King site including developing a drive through. The establishment would need to work with the surrounding business owners to obtain a drive through.

Charlie Hamm also asked about extending the sidewalks from Tri-County Mall to River Mall because of the busy traffic. It was decided Supervisor Claude Sykes should be invited to the next Coffee with the Mayor event to explore these questions.

Joe closed by saying that the village is now in phase four of the village sidewalk repair program and has replaced between 9 and 10 miles of sidewalk of the 15 miles in the village over the past few years.

Mayor Saraceni and Editor Wisneski are scheduled to meet for coffee at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Canton Woods Senior Center, 76 Canton Street, B’ville. Special guest Van Buren Supervisor Claude Sykes will join the mayor and editor. Community members are welcome to join them for coffee and address your concerns about the village with the mayor or send your questions to [email protected] and Editor Wisneski will ask the mayor for you.