Sara Bollinger – Manlius Town Councilor
Wow! The new Councilors were sworn in January 2nd and got right to work!
Two big projects were presented in January: a proposed apartment complex on the former Megnin farm off Route 5 near the border with the Town of Sullivan and a reimagined Inland Port next to the railyard in Fremont.
Councilors are busy forming two new Committees: a Sustainability Committee and a Comprehensive Plan Committee.
The Sustainability Committee includes Councilors Katelyn Kreisel and Elaine Denton and is currently recruiting members from the community to join. They have already begun work on the concept of a solar farm on the closed landfill on Bowman Road adjacent to the Dewitt solar project.
The Comprehensive Plan Committee is also recruiting interested community members. Led by Heather Allison Waters, this Committee plans to hold some public meetings to gather input for a grant proposal to fund the professional planning services needed to produce a high-quality Comprehensive Plan. It is likely that $50,000 – $100,000 will be needed over three – four years.
The Frosty Forest event January 25th was more wet than frosty. The weather was bad early in the afternoon, but as it cleared up more families came to participate in the arts & crafts and horse-drawn wagon rides. It was too warm for snow sculptures, but the ice sculptor created some amazing works which you can see at Green Lakes as long as it stays cold.
The new Councilors attended a three-day training provided by the Association of Towns.