Bill Davern

Comments Re-Onondaga Lake Cleanup

Comment on the Community Participation Working Group meeting on November 1, 2011:

The possibility of lake metallic and non-grindable materials going up to the landfill or anywhere was never discussed at our November 1, 2011 meeting. It was briefly asked at the meeting Tuesday about what happens to bikes, tires, rocks and metal debris that are in the lake where they will be dredging. The debris is removed in a separator at the shoreline when it is raked up from the bottom of the lake and then cleaned.

I recall DEC/ Honeywell discussing this at one of there open meetings. This material will be trucked to an approved Debris Disposal site or placed in special monitored Containment Area per a previous statement by Honeywell and/or DEC.

Also, below is some information on the November 29th meeting that is open to the public. A specific agenda and invitation will be put together for distribution to the public in about one week.

Onondaga Lake Community Forum

The Onondaga Lake Partnership invites you to join them for the Onondaga Lake Watershed Community Forum to discuss current progress and future opportunities of the Onondaga Lake watershed.

The event will take place Tuesday, November 29 at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo (1 Conservation Place).

5:00-6:00pm | open house with refreshments
6:00-8:30pm | presentations & roundtable discussions

The entire community is invited to participate in this important discussion. The Forum will feature presentations from key governmental agencies about current clean-up progress followed by roundtable discussions regarding the future of Onondaga lake.
Hosted by: Onondaga Lake Partnership and Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Trustee Council.

Onondaga Lake Cleanup

The NYS DEC has issued a final construction fact sheet regarding the dredging of Onondaga Lake Sediments, scheduled to begin in 2012.

You can review the document here

Fall Leaf Pickup Schedule

The Highway Department will begin their fall leaf pickup operation, using the following schedule.

Please note, dates and locations may vary due to weather conditions and any other situations that may occur. After the completion of the following scheduled program, any and all other pick-ups will be at the discretion of the Highway Department.

November 1-3 / November 21-23: Kasson Road West to the Elbridge Town line, between West Genesee Street and Howlett Hill Road.

November 4-9 / November 25-30: Hinsdale Road West to the Van Buren Town line, between West Genesee Street and Warners Road/Van Buren Road and Winchell Road.

November 10-15 /December 1-5: Kasson Road East to the Geddes Town line, between West Genesee Street and Gulf Road.

November 16-18 / December 6-8: Hinsdale Road East to the Solvay/Geddes Town line, between West Genesee Street and Warners Road/Belle Isle Road and Thomas Avenue.

IRM for the Crucible Lake Pump Site

The New York State DEC is invited the public to comment on an Interim Remedial Measure (IRM) proposed to address the contamination of the Crucible Lake Pump Site.

You can read their Fact Sheet related to this here.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bill

Beverly Drive Construction

I have received an update from the Town Engineer regarding the ongoing construction at Beverly Drive and West Genesee Street. Verizon, now back to work after their strike, will be done at Beverly Drive on Monday, September 19. The general contractor handling the construction has been requested to provide a schedule for the completion of their work.

The majority of the topsoil and seeding, except at Beverly Drive, will be completed by Friday, September 16. That should result in the removal of most of the barrels along the majority of the corridor, which have been in place for safety reasons.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bill

Referendum to Abolish Tax Receiver

As you may or may not know the Town Board has supported a resolution to abolish the office of Receiver of Taxes and transfer the powers and duties of the office to the Town Clerk, effective November 7, 2011. In order to accomplish this there must be referendum vote.

The referendum vote is is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20th from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Camillus Municipal Building gymnasium, 4600 West Genesee Street. Voters must be registered with the Board of Elections as provided for in Article 5 of the New York State Election Law. Absentee ballot applications are available to all eligible voters and may be obtained at the Camillus Town Clerk’s Office located at 4600 West Genesee Street until 4:00 p.m. on September 19, 2011.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bill

Referendum to Abolish Tax Receiver

The Town Board has issued a letter regarding the referendum regarding whether to abolish the position of Receiver or Taxes.

You can view it here. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bill

Notes from the Community Planning Meeting #2 on June 27, 2011

These are my notes and comments by all from our June 27, 2011 Environmental Benefit Project Community Public Planning meeting #2 held with DEC, Honeywell, ESF, Town of Camillus and Geddes held on June 27, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. in the Camillus Town Hall Conference room.

• Attendees: John McAuliffe (Honeywell), Ken Lynch (DEC), Craig Milburn (Honeywell), Associate Professor Emanuel J. Carter Jr., ESF Department of Landscape Architecture, Manny Falcone (Geddes Town Supervisor), Mary Ann Coogan (Camillus Town Supervisor), Bill Davern (3rd Ward Councilor) and Mark Kolinski was absent.

• Objective: As part of the DEC’s consent order with Honeywell to implement a remedy for the Waste Beds located in Camillus and Geddes, Honeywell, must complete a public planning process for a portion of the property. With expertise from local planning expert Emanuel Carter, Honeywell is working with Camillus and Geddes representatives to get our inputs prior to finalizing a plan for the involved communities. We discussed providing a representative from Camillus and Geddes to participate in an outreach committee to develop a mutually agreeable process, land utilization with Honeywell and DEC, continued the discussion about preliminary ideas and possible outdoor activities but this will be the focus for the planning effort.

1) Project Team: Agreed on using Emmanuel Carter of ESF to chair the Outreach Committee to run/coordinate the Outreach Planning Project inputs from:
     - 2 Representatives from Town of Camillus Environmental Committee
     - Representative from Geddes
     - Representative from Solvay
     - Emanuel may recommend other participants such as local planning Agencies.

2) Homework:
     A) Need to complete site reconnaissance
     B) Complete Survey of Wants and Needs Instruments. What does each Town want done, which groups are interested in further detailed discussion?
     C) Ecological Cover Compatibility. What is possible?
     D) Implement now the “Outreach Committee”
     E) Look at Collection of Assets (property, resources)
     F) Must complete the Closure Cap Plan Timeline (Suggested a Flow Diagram Chart).
     G) Must talk to Syracuse, Onondaga County and incorporate Local School District Participation because of access to the final uses but this is not an immediate need
     H) Have completed a brief peripheral inspection of adjacent developments

3) There will be uses that are compatible with the cap. The utilization should be an extension of the environment for Recreational and Educational needs. The planning and discussions will take place over the next few years. We have to Review National Brownfield Reclamations similar to this project. The next meeting will be in September, 2011.

Consolidation of Tax Receiver & Town Clerk

The Camillus Town Board has been investigating consolidation opportunities for many years now and has already been at the forefront of this concept by consolidating our Assessor's office with the Town of Elbridge's and our Dog Control Office with the Town of Van Buren's in recent years. We've also been looking into internal opportunities to consolidate within our own Town, and abolishment of the Tax Receiver is one of those areas we targeted. Pat Fletcher, our long-time Tax Receiver, was nearing retirement age and it was our intent to pursue this upon her retirement / end of her term of office. Her unexpected and unfortunate passing in May has put the issue at the immediate forefront of our plans, with the intent to achieve some fiscal savings from the change.

On June 28, the Town Board put forth a resolution to have a Public Hearing regarding a proposed referendum to allow the public to vote on whether the Tax Receiver position should be abolished. If the public passes the referendum, the tax collection duties would fall to the office of the Town Clerk. At this early stage of the game, exact figures are not available, but initial assessments done by the staff of the Town Clerk and Tax Receiver offices indicate that financial savings can be achieved through streamlining and updating the current collection processes, as well as making some staffing adjustments, and they will continue to work on developing a sound transition plan that should not negatively impact the services in either office.

The Public Hearing will take place on July 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Board Room of the Camillus Municipal Building. The referendum vote is tentatively scheduled for September 20 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

I will pass along further details as they become available and I would be happy to discuss this consolidation option or answer any questions you have.

Help Save Modified Sports

Current economic times have resulted in the West Genesee School District reducing the modified sports programs. As a result, 300 student athletes will no longer have a chance to play modified sports. A community group has been formed to try to save modified sports at West Genesee and are looking for support. Click here to visit their website to read more about it.

Host Community Meeting with Honeywell and DEC

My notes and comments from our May 24th, 2011 Community Planning meeting:

Honeywell/DEC/TOC Community Implementation Planning Meeting
May 24, 2011 at 1:00 p.m., Camillus Town Hall Conference room
Attendees: John McAuliffe (Honeywell Project Leader), Ken Lynch (DEC), Craig Milburn (Honeywell Community Liaison), Mary Ann Coogan (Town Supervisor), Mark Kolinski (2nd Ward Councilor) and Bill Davern (3rd Ward Councilor)

Honeywell is putting together an implementation plan and met with Camillus Team to get our inputs prior to finalizing a plan for the involved communities. We discussed land utilization with Honeywell and DEC, talked about our preliminary ideas and possible outdoor activities, and what about Hard Shell Structures.

Agreed on using Emmanuel Carter of ESF to chair the committee to run/coordinate the Outreach Planning Project inputs from:

-Representative(s) from Camillus
-Representative(s) from Geddes
-Others on this outreach committee

We discussed the next step which will be to call Mary Ann for a meeting with us again.

Begin the 1st Phase - a survey of Geddes, Camillus, Syracuse and other nearby Communities. Next Phase would be small group meetings for discussions of Recreational uses. Phase 3 will be Finalize Plans based on Public Inputs within the parameters set for 10% usage and plan for Recreational Opportunities. I asked about a time frame for all these activities and meetings; at least two years to complete.

I need to recheck the time table to complete all the capping of 9 through 15 and review the schedule for capping Bed 14 and 15. How does this effect the Communities Host proposals for the 10% usage of the 600 acres?

The Planning will be reviewed by DEC and their feedback will be documented on the proposed usages.

Brush Pickup Schedule

Brush pickup is now on a twice per month schedule, taking place on the first and third FULL weeks of each month. So, for the upcoming months, the pickup will take place the business weeks of June 6 - 10, June 20 - 24, July 4 - 8, July 18 - 22, August 8 - 12, August 22 - 26, September 5 - 9, September 19 - 23 and homes will be serviced on the same day as their trash pickup (larger loads will be noted & scheduled for later pickup with grapple equipment).

There are two holidays during those scheduled weeks: Independence Day on July 4 and Labor Day on September 5. Please note that during those weeks, brush pickup will be delayed one day.

Please call or email me with any questions you may have with regard to the above.

Public Safety Presentation

At a recent Public Safety Committee meeting, Al Kalfass of WAVES gave a presentation regarding public safety and the Town's emergency services.

You can view it here

January 2011 - 3rd Ward Update

Dear Neighbors & Friends…

I would like to welcome the many new residents who have moved into the Third Ward over the past few years and I thank all of you for taking pride in your neighborhood. Your inputs have been extremely valuable in helping us make decisions pertaining to local government operations.

We will make every effort to resolve the many pressing decisions and issues the Town Government must deal with. The Rotary FOUR WAY Test to decision making will continue to be my guide as your representative: "Is it The TRUTH?, Is it FAIR to all concerned?, Will it bring GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?, Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

The County has been laying off staff and they will be unable to mow the West Genesee Street roadside on a routine basis per our discussions last week. The right of way property owners on West Genesee Street may spray grass and weed killer if they wish.

The budget revenue sources will be reduced and we cannot raise taxes. Please feel free to call me or let me know by email your thoughts on how to cut costs. I would be happy to meet with you and the neighborhood to discuss this matter.

Please send me your email address so I can send you other updates about what is happening in our Ward and the Town. These updates will be sent "bcc" to maintain your privacy.

Winter 2011 Update:
Here is an update and reminder on what has been happening in the Ward and Town since my last 2010 report, as well as a review of the present and future Town business:

A)   Town 2011 Taxes, Consolidation and Cost Reductions to date:

•  The 2011 Total Town Tax rate was reduced from $7.51 to $7.08 per $1000 property assessed evaluation or - 5.7%. This is our lowest tax rate since the year 2000 when our Town tax rate was reduced by -5% to $6.93. As a Board, we will continue to responsibly reduce the cost of government. I would appreciate your inputs and concerns for reducing the size of local government.

•  Eliminated five full-time staff in four departments via attrition (cost savings includes benefits) over the past two years.

•  Highway saved $100,000 by putting brush pick up on two week cycle instead of weekly.

•  Contained the cost of required health insurance for full time employees by continued insurance company negotiations; employees have agreed to an increased contribution towards the premiums.

•  Working with the County Comptroller’s office, we have begun the evaluation of consolidation of the Tax Receiver’s office into the Town Clerk’s and combining the two Town Justice Courts to determine what the savings may be.

•  Consolidated the Van Buren Dog Control Office with our Dog Control Office. This had a positive cash flow to our Town of $25,000 and no required new hires. This will continue in 2011.

•  We have continued the consolidation of the Elbridge Assessor with our office which has generated additional revenue for our Town with no additional staff.

•  The County is working with us to determine what, if any, savings will be generated and the benefits to our Town through consolidation of other departments, excluding the Police Department.

•  We continue to control costs as a result of the normal quoting process, energy savings implemented by our Buildings & Grounds Supervisor/Staff, oversight by our diligent Department Heads and consolidation planning. We have begun working on the 2012 budget. Significant funding cuts from NYS, increases in the Town’s contribution to the Health Insurance and NYS Local Employees Retirement Plan will be challenging. We cannot raise taxes.

Your inputs would be appreciated - feel free to contact me by email or phone. I am always available to make presentations at local neighborhood meetings, churches, civic groups and schools.

B)  Numerous Town residents have asked what the budget is for the five volunteer Fire Departments and WAVES: The total appropriations are $1,801,573 for 2011. To date, one volunteer Fire Department has reduced the size of their fleet and there are serious discussions of consolidations. All five Fire Departments and WAVES are working together. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from all Departments holding the line for 2011, that is, Camillus Fire Department, Fairmount Fire Department, Lakeside, Memphis, Warners and WAVES.

C)   Latest Status of Developments in the Town of Camillus:

•  Here is the latest on the new Township 5 (lifestyle center), located on the 68 acres of land which is at the Exit of 695 West at Hinsdale Road: all the plans for this project have been approved. New York State DOT has approved the interconnector road between Hinsdale Road and Bennett Road. Plans have been approved for the new apartment complex and they plan to begin construction of the hotel and theaters once the access road is completed. I still do not have the timetable other than "it is still work in progress". This center will have full-service restaurants, coffee shops/cafes, anchor stores, retail shops and office space.

•  Fairmount Fair is full with the addition of new retail buildings in the mall which includes First Niagara Bank, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, Dress Barn, and Famous Footware stores. The Good News Café has opened next to Fairmount Cleaners and Pelican Pete’s Pub will be opening next to the By The Brook Diner on Milton Avenue.

•  The Gillespie Avenue extension to Chapel Drive and the West Genesee Corridor Construction from Shrineview to Beverly Drive are scheduled to begin this spring. Concerning Gillespie Ave Extension, the bids were received and we are waiting for the State’s OK to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. Once that is done, it is anticipated that the streetscape work will commence in the spring with completion of the work by July 1st. The contract includes the necessary interconnection work for the street extension with West Genesee Street. I do not have a schedule from Mark Pigula, but we had talked about the Town Highway Deptartment doing their work on the street extension sometime in the spring as well.

•  Third Ward Flood Plain Grant Status: Concerning the FEMA Grant to install the overflow culvert in the Third Ward beneath the railroad, FEMA indicated that priority for grant money would be given to municipalities located within Counties that had approved Hazard Mitigation Plans. Once this plan is approved by FEMA (which I would assume is expected sometime in the next few months) then the Town would be eligible to apply for FEMA future funding for the project. We have ~ 60 homes in the FEMA designated Flood Plain.

•  The Empower Federal Credit Union has been approved at Hunt Avenue and West Genesee Street.

D)  Camillus Police Department Statistics (www.camilluspolice.com): Many of us chose to reside in the Town of Camillus because of the sense of community that we feel. Local government provides for many services, including the responsibility of providing for the safety and welfare of those in our community. The Camillus Police Department takes great pride in upholding the entrusted responsibility of keeping our community safe. Our local police department provides a full service, community-oriented style of public safety and they are committed to providing the services that our residents have come to expect. In 2009 they were responsible for 15,999 calls for service within the Town and Village of Camillus.

I continue to support the efforts of our local police department and encourage each of you to visit the Police Department website at www.camilluspolice.com or call (315) 487-0102 to learn more about the services that they provide.

I appreciate all your inputs and I hope you will get involved in our Government.

Sincerely,

Bill Davern Sr.

Background

I was born in Syracuse and have been a Camillus resident since 1967, along with my wife of 51 years, Alice. Together we have raised three children, William H., Jeffrey, and Maureen, all of whom are graduates of the West Genesee Central School District. I possess a B.A. in Physics from Syracuse University and retired from General Electric/Lockheed Martin after 34 years. I began a new career as a part-time Teaching Assistant for students with special needs in 1997 and I am presently a substitute Teacher.

I have a long history of community involvement, including: member of the Camillus Chamber of Commerce, member of the American Legion Camillus Knife Town Post 1540 and BOYS State interview selection committee, ANG 174th Alumni member, Volunteer presenter for: "What's Going On in the Town of Camillus" to the Holy Family Seniors Group, Camillus Seniors Group, Rotary Club, Camillus Chamber of Commerce and WGCSD High School Senior "Participation In Government" classes, volunteer Santa helper for: Town functions, PBAs, Octagon House, VA Hospital and other local charitable, church and non-profit organizations.

I have always felt that our community's greatest assets continue to be our residents, schools, students, churches, dedicated community organizations and Volunteers that make this a great place to live.

Local Goverment's Role in the Community...

The role local government plays in the present community, based on the inputs from Town constituents and my views are as follows:

•  Maintain present infrastructures at reasonable cost & advocate to reduce taxes
•  Consolidate services which will reduce the operating cost of government
•  Rebid Town operation expenses such as heath insurance, etc. to be cost effective and look for alternative options
•  Streamline the approval process to bring in new retail businesses, restaurants and housing developments that meet the needs of our community, but at the same time maintain an improved aesthetic appearance to these developments
•  Continue to discuss with the community what they would like us to do and implement those changes to the best of our capabilities