Councilor Contemplations – February 2022

Town Residents of the three Village Fire Protection Districts and the Kirkville Fire District paid $4,757,135 of their property taxes to the four fire departments in February. Fire and EMS accounts for about 25% of your property tax.


Twin Shores Properties submitted a zone change request for the ‘twin ponds’ property on North Burdick Street opposite the Resorts Lifestyles Retirement apartments. The County Planning Board determined that these changes would have no harmful impacts. SEQR questions were answered, and a negative environmental impact was declared.

During the Public Hearing flooding concerns were identified. Most of the comments were in favor of the change because this parcel has been underutilized and contains some dilapidated houses that will be demolished.

The Town Board approved the zone changes with a stipulation that the new subdivision lines follow the zone lines.


The Board discussed the option of passing the NYS Stretch Code, but no action was taken.


The Board also discussed a letter about the excess truck traffic in Fremont related to the new warehouses and expanded capacity at the CSX railyard. Action was postponed waiting for additional edits from Board members.


Amendments to the local law regarding Solar Voltaic Arrays were introduced on 2/23. Members of the Solar Study Group have worked on these revisions since May 2021. A Public Hearing will be held on 3/23. For context, NYS encourages solar development on closed landfills and the Town of Dewitt has successfully installed a solar array on the adjacent landfill.


Annual Reports: If you are interested in the operations of government, the Planning & Development and Town Clerk annual reports are now available on the 2/9 Agenda and at Town Hall.


Agreements for School Special Patrol Officers were approved for ESM and FM. A new agreement for Town Court Security was approved.