Ovid Library Expanding into New Spaces

Except for a pile of bricks sitting behind the library and a few outside projects, the major components of the capital project to restore, expand and update the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library in Ovid are complete.

The project got board approval in late 2006 and began fundraising in the summer of 2007, said Barbara Gerlach, treasurer of the library’s board of trustees.

“It’s totally amazing what’s gotten done in two years, we wouldn’t have believed it ourselves,” she said.

Ovid Considers Right to Farm Law

The Town of Ovid Board of Trustees is looking at a “right to farm” law that protects farmers’ rights and establishes a dispute committee to resolve issues between neighbors.

Chris Verrill, a planning board member, first brought the law to the town board in August 2008, said David Dresser, town supervisor. It was referred to the planning board for approval and has been sent to several county boards for review.

“The town board has consulted with the Agricultural Enhancement Board and has sent the proposal to the Seneca County planning board and just received this month their recommendation for approval,” Dresser said.

Trumansburg Village Plans Second Water Plant

The Village of Trumansburg Board of Trustees approved the suggestion of John Hrubos, deputy mayor, to have C.T. Male Associates create an engineering proposal for a potential water filtration facility that would draw water from Cayuga Lake.

The filtration plant looks like the most likely option for the village’s second water source, something that has been mandated by the county health department. The proposal will cost the village $10,800 and the overall project would likely cost between $500,000 and $1 million, Hrubos said.

Writers’ Group Enlivens Library

On Sunday afternoon at the Ulysses Philomathic Library a boy was “bitten” by a couch cushion while retrieving a baseball, a man got his fortune told with complete accuracy and another man had his foot amputated after an accident in a train yard.

Three members of the Ulysses Writers’ Group read from their short stories at the library’s first Sunday Afternoon Speaker Series of 2009. The group’s other three members will read on Sunday, January 25.

Mary Blake formed the writers group when she moved to the area about four and a half years ago. At one point the group had eight members but has since settled down to six writers.

Berggren Steps in as Interim Highway Super

There’s a new man organizing the snow plows and taking care of the roads in the Town of Newfield. Glenn Casterline, former Highway Superintendent, resigned at the end of 2008 and Kevin Berggren was appointed as the new Deputy Superintendent. Berggrem will be acting superintendent until someone is hired.

Newfield Mobile Home Park Violating Codes

The Town of Newfield Board of Trustees is prepared to take the owners of Newfield Estates Mobile Home Park to court if code violations are not corrected by mid-January. Harry Wright, code enforcement officer, approached the board at its meeting on January 8 to report that a final notice had been sent to the owner of the park and that the next step is to have the court enforce action.

Wright explained to board members that the new owner of the park lives out of state and has never seen the property. The man had employed an on-site manager who left the area without notifying the owner, Wright said. The board’s main concern is road maintenance in the park. Unplowed and unsalted roads make it difficult for vehicles to pass and the board is concerned that emergency vehicles may not be able to reach a time sensitive situation.

Van Etten Mayor, Trustees to Seek Re-election

The Village of Van Etten Fire Department currently has a machine to make reflective green address signs. Fire Chief Scott Rodman told the village Board of Trustees that the department will finish the signs that have already been ordered, then may go door to door offering signs to other residents.

Until recently the department as been relying on a neighboring municipality for the signs, which make it easier for emergency services to locate addresses. A single-sided sign costs $15 and double-sided is $18.

The board set March 18 as election day for the village. Voting will take place from noon until 9 p.m. Two trustee positions and the mayorship are open and current mayor James Ammack and trustees James Loomis and John Sandusky plan to run for re-election. Each person seeking a position must have a petition signed by 10 residents submitted to the village by February 10. The village will not be holding a voter registration day this year.

Newfield Planning Board Starts Town Plan

The Town of Newfield Planning Board spent the first few months of its existence attending training sessions and learning about the job at hand. Now that the board is eight months old, its members are beginning work on the town’s comprehensive plan.

Gary Goff, chair of the planning board, said the group was formed to first create a comprehensive plan for the town and later to deal with other issues regarding building in Newfield.

“That’s always been our goal,” Goff said. “From day one it’s been write a comprehensive plan. That’s the only thing we’re working on.”

Goff said creating the comprehensive plan and researching how the town functions are vital to being able to address bigger issues. Right now residents could attend planning board meetings to bring an issue to the board’s attention but its members would not know about details or how to fix it.

“Someone can come and want to talk about traffic issues but we don’t even know about that yet,” Goff said. “We’re not ready to tackle an issue.”

Fire Budget Approved at $316K

The Town of Newfield Board of Trustees and the Newfield Fire Company came to an agreement on the 2009 fire contract only days before the new year started. The two organizations had been discussing the fire budget over the past several months but did not sign a formal agreement until a special meeting on December 30.

The town budget allotted $311,000 to the fire company, but the final amount in the contract totaled $316,068. The extra money is from a contingency reserve fund built up from interest and money not spent by the department. Ultimately, the fire company’s budget is not as high as it initially requested.

TCSD Foundation to Make Teaching Grants

The Trumansburg Central School District (TCSD) Foundation has sent students to Street Survival Driving School, sponsored special speakers for both students and parents and brought a brain gym program to Trumansburg. After reaching the $10,000 mark during the summer, the foundation is back to fundraising and is soliciting grant proposals for its 2009 winter awards schedule.

Lindsay Hart, foundation board member and public relations chair, said the foundation gives out three types of grant throughout the year: teaching grants, blue and gold grants and new technology initiative grants. A grants committee awards the money during each cycle. The committee decided to focus on teaching grants this time around.

“That’s open to anybody in the area that teaches or instructs, so it doesn’t have to be a teacher per se,” Hart said. “It can be a dance instructor or a blacksmith who wants to do a class on blacksmithing.”