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Clerk Hours Monday 9 am–1 pm Wednesday 2 pm–5 pm Saturday 9 am–12 pm Assessor Hours by appointment 806-5500 Zoning Officer Hours Monday 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Supervisor Hours by appointment 252-1046 3705 State Route 34 P.O. Box 71 Scipio Center, NY 13147 (315) 364-5740 fax (315) 364-6802 website:co.cayuga.ny.us/scipio email: [EMAIL REDACTED] Clerk Hours Monday 9 am–1 pm Wednesday 2 pm–5 pm Saturday 9 am–12 pm Assessor Hours by appointment (315) 806-5500 Zoning Officer Hours Monday 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Supervisor Hours by appointment (315) 730-3638 Town of Scipio P.O. Box 71 Scipio Center NY 13147 (315) 364-5740 email: [EMAIL REDACTED] Spring 2018 Town Office Highway Garage (315) 364-7754 Clerk’s Office (315) 364-5740 Fax number (315) 364-6802 Supervisor Gary Mutchler (315) 730-3638 Council members Vivian Cunningham (315) 567-9949 Mark Ferrari (716) 870-3380 Leslie Baxter (315) 237-1292 Gary Whitten (315) 364-8596 Justice Brian Dugan (315) 364-5325 leave message Town Clerk/Tax Collector Tom Olenych (315) 364-8816 Deputy Registrar / Town Clerk Dodie Rowlands (315) 364-7682 Historian Dodie Rowlands (315) 364-7682 Highway Superintendent Mark Chamberlain (315) 364-8719 Assessor Heather Garner (315) 806-5500 Animal Control Officer Carl Collier (315) 253-4367 Code Enforcement Officer Howard Tanner (315) 730-7439 Transfer Station Attendant DJ Grady (315) 224-1817 Website co.cayuga.ny.us/scipio Email [EMAIL REDACTED] Newsletter is on the Scipio website. If you would like to receive a paper copy by mail, please contact the Town Clerk. As always, we welcome comments and feedback. Write, email, call, or stop in during clerk’s hours (Mon. 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Wed. 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM & Sat. 9:00 AM – 12:00 noon). Shopping Local: Shopping local not only supports local businesses, but local government as well. Sales tax revenues are very important to towns and counties, helping to pay for the services local government provides. Shopping in other counties and on-line reduces tax revenues significantly. Spring Clean Up Day: Saturday May 5th., 10 am to 4 pm at the Transfer Station. For Scipio residents only. SIGN IN REQUIRED. For large items too big to bag. No truckloads of construction debris. Special Bin for scrap metal. Household trash to be bagged and tagged as usual. No mattresses, tires, refrigerators, freezers, or batteries. Call (315) 255-1183 for disposal of hazardous materials. Rabies Clinic: Dr. Tyson Benson of the Homestead Large Animal Clinic will again be administering rabies shots at the town offices. The date will be Saturday May 5th. from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. and the cost is $10.00. Spay and neuter services: In addition to Dr. Benson’s services the town has been contacted by Tracey Stevens DVM, CVA of Integrated Veterinary Services who will offer low cost spay and neuter services. The fees for her procedures are as follows: Dog Spay $105.00, Dog Neuter $95.00, Cat Spay $75.00, Cat Neuter $55.00 and Rabies/Distemper Vaccinations $10.00 each. To set up an appointment she can be reached at [EMAIL REDACTED]. (preferred) or by phone at (315) 730-3934. Spring 2018 Transfer Station Hours Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm. Scipio residents only. Household trash must be bagged and tagged - $2.50 per bagful. Tags available from Attendant or Town Clerk. No charge for recyclables. Please place items in the proper bin and break down cardboard boxes Summer Hours Wednesdays Only May 9th. through September 26th. 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM If you’ve got a little time to help your fellow townspeople on Clean-Up Day, please contact: Gary Mutchler at 730-3638, or Town Clerk Tom Olenych at 364-5740. Or email [EMAIL REDACTED]. You’ll be helping others and get to talk to various board members in a relaxed setting. THANKS to all who have helped in the past. We’re on the web! h ttp : / /co.cayuga.ny.us / s c i p i o Electronic recycling: Anytime during business hours at Auburn Computer and Satellite 74 Genesee St Auburn. www.CNYDigital.com [PHONE REDACTED]. ---PAGE BREAK--- From Town Supervisor Gary Mutchler: It was with sadness that we heard Mick Piechuta passed away after serving as Code Enforcement Officer for the Town of Scipio for the past 5 years. At an emergency meeting on March 4th, 2018 the town board appointed Howard Tanner as Mick’s replacement. Howard also serves the towns of Aurelius, Spafford and Springport, as well as the Village of Union Springs and Cayuga County. Howard’s contact information is listed above. It was a pleasure to attend the Newly Elected Officers Training School in Rochester on January 17 – 19 with Vivian Cunningham a newly elected town board member. Vivian and I came away with many new insights, and an appreciation for the fine job our predecessors have done. We want to express our appreciation to Howard Nelson for his fine service to the community over the past four years. We appreciate the highway crew for doing a fine job of keeping our roads accessible for winter travel. The have spent many days on the road by 4 AM in preparation for everyone’s early morning commutes, along with making their last run sometimes ending after 7 PM. Thanks to Mark, Tim, Bill, John and Tom! Our spring cleanup day is scheduled for May 5th. We always welcome any help from residents to aid our neighbors in unloading their loads of debris, which have accumulated over the winter. Remember, this is a special service which we offer town residents and not to everyone with a Scipio Center address. This year we will be offering Wednesday evening recycling hours from 5 to 8 PM during the months of May through September in addition to our regular Saturday hours. This will allow residents to take advantage of this service and be able to enjoy the weekend without having to wait for Saturday hours. We will be having a public hearing on May 9, 2018 to discuss two new local laws. The first is to allow the Code Enforcement Officer to be appointed from outside our town while the second is to have a tighter electioneering law. As always, I welcome your ideas on how to make our town a better place to live. Come to a regular board meeting or contact me directly at (315) 730-3638 or [EMAIL REDACTED] From Town Justice Brian Dugan: Remember to check your Registration and Inspection stickers. These are easy to overlook and if expired could result in costly fines. Spring is coming so watch for farm machinery and children on bikes. We all need to be defensive drivers so watch out for the other guy. I am please to say we have added Eron Klipple as the deputy town court clerk to assist Debbie Kellogg in her responsibilities. Respect our highway department trying to do needed road repairs and mowing road sides. Observe reduced speed limits in work zones. Lastly, always click your seat belt and leave your cell phones off while driving or risk getting ticketed. From Code / Zoning Howard Tanner: I am happy to be your new code office and I’m looking forward to working with the citizens of the town. I have been a certified code enforcement officer for 8 years, working with several other nearby towns and villages. I have 30 plus years’ experience in both commercial and residential construction. My office hours are on Mondays from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM and I can be reached at (315) 730-7439 or at [EMAIL REDACTED]. From Cayuga County Legislator Keith Batman: 2017 was a productive year in the Cayuga County Legislature. As Chair of the Legislature in 2017, I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with other Legislators and County staff to accomplish a number of important initiatives. We developed and passed a balanced budget for 2018, which holds taxes below the NYS imposed tax by almost a full percent. We did this without layoffs or cuts in services and with the addition of some critical positions and initiatives by focusing on efficiencies and County wide priorities. Our environmental initiatives include the designation as a green community by NYSERDA, which enabled us to receive a $250,000.00 grant to promote energy efficiency and will support the development of a strategic plan for the County Power Authority. Reducing our energy foot print, developing solar and other energy saving initiatives are ongoing projects. In the critical area of water quality, we continue our work with local officials, staff, and State officials to deal with toxins in Owasco Lake and hydrilla infestation in Cayuga Lake. The Water Quality Management Agency completed recommendations for road side ditch maintenance and sedimentation issues to reduce off into the lakes. The Owasco Lake Rules and Regulations group was formed to refresh Owasco Lake Watershed regulations, and efforts continue to develop solutions to the critical water treatment issues in the Village of Aurora. With the hope of tying these efforts together the Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority will complete a County wide investigation of water sewer issues in 2018. Our administrator left in early 2017 and we spent time as a legislature, along with department heads, thinking about and attempting to understand why we have such a high turnover in this critical position. As a result, we developed a new framework for the position which I certainly hope will go a long way toward creating stability in this position. After rethinking the position, we hired Justin Woods as the new Cayuga County Administrator. He is on the job providing solid policy leadership and day to day management. And of course, I continue to be honored and available to serve you as your Cayuga County Legislator. If you need anything, please call (315) 294-8070 or e-mail [EMAIL REDACTED]. My first and primary job is to work for you. From Highway Superintendent Mark Chamberlain: After dealing with the up and down temperatures this winter the highway department is getting ready and gearing up for the upcoming spring season. We will be paving approximately two and a half miles of town roads this upcoming season as well as ditching throughout the town, so if anyone is interested in ditch dirt you can call the town barn at (315) 364-7754 and leave a message. Please clearly state your name, phone number and address and I will get back to you. We also have a large pile of wood chips behind our town barn which residents are free to come and help their selves. The number at the town barn is (315) 364-7754. From Town Clerk Tom Olenych: The town is looking to appoint someone as deputy town bookkeeper to assist and or fill in for the town’s bookkeeper in the event she is away for any reason. This is a paid position, and anyone interested can contact me at the town offices (315) 364- 5740. The town has two outside bulletin boards, one for official government business and the other for the residents of the town. So, if you have an event you or an announcement you’d like posted please feel free to take advantage of our social bulletin board. Lastly, I want to urge everyone to take the time to make a visit to the Cayuga County DMV in the county office building when ever possible. I say this, and this just came to my attention, because for every dollar the Cayuga County DMV collects in person 12.7% of that money stays in Cayuga County. This in turn helps keep our taxes down. If you use the internet to do any DMV transactions nothing, zero, zip stays in Cayuga County. It’s less convenient than the internet but the difference it makes to the citizens of Cayuga County is significant. ---PAGE BREAK--- From Town Assessor Heather Garner: If you would like to schedule an appointment, request a review of the market value of your property, have questions regarding your assessment or exemptions please call me at (315) 806-5500. Important Upcoming Dates March 1st. ALL EXEMPTION APPLICATIONS ARE DUE FOR THE UPCOMING 2018 ASSESSMENT ROLL. All exemption applications received after March 1, 2018 will be processed for the 2019 Assessment Roll. March 1, 2018 Taxable Status Date: Property will be assessed as it stands today. March – April 2018: Office Hours, property visits and valuation review call (315) 806-5500 to schedule an appointment. May 1, 2018: Tentative Assessment Roll is available at the Town Offices and on the Cayuga County Real Property website. Change of Assessment Notices are mailed. May 2018 dates and times of “Sitting with the Roll” to be determined and posted in April. Be sure to bring photos, photocopies of appraisal, survey, parcel sales listing, comparable sales (2010- 2016) or any other evidence that supports the full market value of your property. May 31st. Board of Assessment Review is scheduled to hear assessment grievances from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the town offices. June: Office hours and property visits by appointment only. July 1, 2018: Final 2018 Assessment Roll filed and available at the town offices and Cayuga County website. July & August: Office hours and property visits by appointment only. Call me to schedule an appointment. ONLY EVIDENCE can be considered while reexamining the Assessed Value of a property. If you plan to meet with me or with the BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW be sure to bring photos, photocopies of appraisal, survey, parcel sales listings, comparable sales (2010-2016) or any other evidence that supports the full market value of your property. From Leslie Baxter / Scipio Fire Department EMS Captain: Once again the days are growing longer and so are the number of hours your volunteer Fire and EMS personnel are spending training to protect the residents of the town of Scipio. We have seen an increase in chimney fires and would like to remind folks to have their chimneys cleaned routinely. On another note the NYS ban on open burning begins March 16th. and ends May 14th, please be respectful of this state rule. We would also like to remind our residents to practice water safety while enjoying our lakes, life jackets save lives. Please obey all rules and regulations while on the water and boat responsibility. With spring approaching we would also like to remind drivers to be on the lookout for slow moving farm vehicles and increased farm equipment on our roads. We will be honoring the mothers in our community with our Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast on Sunday May 13th. from 7:30 AM until 12:00 noon at the Scipio Volunteer Fire Department. Please come and support your local fire department by joining us for breakfast. As always, we are seeking new members, both social and active, so please come and join us at our open house for NYS Fire Prevention Week on Saturday April 28th. . From Town Historian Dodie Rowlands: There are those who say history is just boring stuff about our ancestors. A few years ago my granddaughter reminded me that I am one of her ancestors. I got to thinking. Over the years as I have watched the beauty of the fields around me being covered with snow, then plowed, planted and later harvested, I got to thinking some more. In a way the soil is the past, the seed is the present and what grows is the future. The only thing we have much control over is the seed we plant. So, I encourage you to share the story who you are and what you believe in with your family and friends Dodie Rowlands (315) 364-7682 or [EMAIL REDACTED] (preferred). Regular Town Board meetings are held at the Town Office on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm. All visitors are invited to attend. If you have an item to bring to the board, you may contact the Town Supervisor or Clerk so that it may be placed on the agenda.