Tuesday, January 2 Climax Village Council Members met for the first time in calendar year 2024. A reminder to all CSDN's followers - Village Council Meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of the every month at 6:30 PM in the History Room at Lawrence Memorial District Library. The best place to find any and all information pertinent to residents of the Village of Climax, including the full, official meetings notes, is always https://www.villageofclimax.org.
The January 2 meeting began with public forum. Bill Lewis spoke on behalf of the Lawrence Memorial Library Board letting Village Council know Library Board Members have identified who they believe to be an ideal candidate for the seat vacated by Jim Swarthout's resignation. The Village Council learned a great deal about the Library Board's leading candidate. However, it was agreed no resolution for the open seat would be determined at this meeting. Village Council also has a few candidates interested in the position. Those candidates were unavailable for this meeting due to the holiday season. In the interest of fairness and transparency, it was decided to revisit the open Library Board seat in the near future when any and all candidates are available for consideration.
Bill also presented Lawrence Memorial Library has now surpassed 800 total patrons. The Board is also looking to bring in new, part time librarians to help with gaps in schedule coverage when one or more librarians is unavailable. The recent holidays was a good example of another helper or two could have helped fill such gaps.
A question was raised by Roger Smith about Zoning Commissions and Building Permits. Village Council shared currently all Permit matters go through third party, SafeBuilt. Applications and information can be found directly on the Village website here: https://www.villageofclimax.org/permit-app-links.
TJ Gibson from Public Works shared successes from 2023 as well as items for consideration for 2024. New Tennis Courts, speeds signs, new fuel tanks, and even a new employee in 2023 were among the highlights. TJ is still hard at work on the Cemetery Card File. The project has proven difficult due to the conditions of and language used in many of the records, which are largely handwritten.
For consideration in the year ahead, TJ has much on his radar, not limited to painting and cleaning up wells, repainting of older street signs, lighting in park - reviewing potential locations for cameras. Ongoing discussion in renewing the WWII Monument on Climax Park grounds would involve changes in trees and landscaping, but might open up camera views and create an ease of lighting.
The month of June will bring water testing with approximately 10-25 homes in the Village being tested. Also pertaining to Water, TJ shared he is tabling his pursuit of a new generator for the water system. Since he initially presented a quote last fall, costs on his proposed solution have nearly doubled, making them unrealistic given another solution is already in place.
Several pieces of equipment are past dates for refresh/replacement or are due in the next 5-10 years. Perhaps most urgently would be the Village Pickup Truck. Given mileage and condition, TJ presented different options Village Council will review this month. In addition to getting the new truck, the recommended new model would be able to be fit with plow equipment, helping with an issue with ailing plow trucks. In the last few years plows broke down resulting into contracting service out, which last minute is pricey - nearly $2000 per instance.
Budgets for 2024 were shared and reviewed.
Conversation was begun about a 3% Cost of Living wage increase for Village Clerk and Treasurer. This was tabled to be revisited in a future meeting.
Public Safety - Area residents be weary of an uptick in mail theft. Check and remove mail regularly and keep vigilant eyes and contact authorities with information related to suspicious activity. Also discussed was a recent "SWATting" incident in Fulton/East Leroy area last week. What was ultimately an intentional false alarm, it was a costly one for public safety departments' time and efforts.
For full notes and information on all goings-on in the Village of Climax, please visit their website and communication information found within: villageofclimax.org.
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