Village of Clyde Mayor's Report on Behalf of the Board of Trustees
As we head into 2023 we, the Village Board and employees, hope to continue our positive focus and determination to provide the best services at the lowest cost possible. Although we are not perfect we hope to better ourselves and the community we care about. I would like to thank the team (Board and employees) that have worked hard to achieve these goals.
Things you may not know but should be aware of:
Did you know that with our system in the water/sewer department we provide services such as online bill payments?
Did you know that the Village provides leak letters (when meters are read quarterly, reports are generated indicating meters that have water being registered all day for more than 7 days)?
Did you know that if you ever run into a financial issue we offer one-time payment arrangements?
We are working hard to provide the best water service in Wayne County. We have replaced many water lines throughout the Village including all of West Genesee Street, a major part of Glasgow Street and we will continue this as funding makes itself available. Infrastructure in the entire state of New York is some of the oldest in the country and we will continue to apply for grants and address this problem. Like I said, we know we have some work to do but I believe we are headed in the right direction.
Our Wastewater Treatment Plant is in the process of some upgrades and repairs. Some of the updates are a result of unfunded mandates from NYS Department of Conservation. The Village has applied and received a total of 1.2 million in grant funding as well as securing a zero interest loan for the remaining costs.
The Village of Clyde has applied for and received a total of $3,147,599 in grant funding since 2014 to now to assist us with many projects ranging from sewer and water lines, safe routes to school, a playground at Lauraville Landing, main street projects (which many business owners used to improve their buildings, inside and out), business façades, and many other areas. We have recently received grant funding to help with planning and the actual rehab that needs to be done to the gazebo in our main park to ensure one of the focal points of our community remains for years to come, and a $500,000 grant to complete much needed upgrades and repairs at Lauraville landing park. Lauraville Landing has become a destination for community members and many boaters who stop to use our facilities throughout the summer. We have a complete list of grant funding received at the Village office if you are interested.
Our DPW (Department of Public Works) continues to work hard to provide services such as brush/leaf pick up, basic street maintenance/cleaning, upkeep to the community parks (Main, Lauraville Landing, and Heritage), water main breaks, and of course plowing snow. We also have major street projects scheduled for this spring. Some of these services would not exist without a village.
Our police department, with one of the smallest - if not the smallest budget in Wayne County, continues to provide services to our community and support the Sheriff's department and NYS police where ever and whenever needed. The holiday fund provides funding for and not limited to the Easter egg hunt, Gifts for families in need at Christmas, Holiday parade of lights, fireworks and much more. A special thanks go out to the many volunteers that help make this a success. This fund would be nothing without everyone’s hard work and dedication through fundraising and beyond.
We continue to work with our code enforcement officer on updating, and creating local laws that benefit the entire community such as unlicensed/unregistered vehicles, cats (yes cats) and general property maintenance, or lack thereof, which has become a big issue in every community. We have created and continue to create local laws that will help us better deal with this problem with no loopholes. In a perfect world everyone would respect their neighbors and make sure the mess they create/don’t deal with doesn’t affect everyone around them. I know it’s a lot to ask but one can dream. Every local law is available at the village office including the Animal Law which was created to help with the feral cat issue and the changes to property maintenance. The Village board is aware and trying to address these issues. If you ask why, try living next to one of the properties in need of property maintenance or feeding multiple cats. On that subject did you know that you should NOT be feeding cats outside in big trays? This not only attracts cats but many other animals that could be unhealthy and is against local law.
Also as a reminder that all motorized vehicles (ATV, Cars, motorcycles etc.) are prohibited from riding on village canal trails. We have been trying to address this issue at Lauraville Landing especially. If you are caught this could lead to you vehicle/ATV etc. being impounded and/or a fine. We work hard to keep these trails and parks in great shape so please respect them. Good news is we are currently working on a system where we could become a golf cart friendly community (this includes some other vehicles also). As the New York state law stands right now if you vehicle does not have a vin number, registered and insured you should not be driving it on the street/roads. We are working on a way to make this process easier for community members.
We are now headed into some contract negotiations and working to providing the best budget we can over the next few months. Neither of these task are easy, we as a Village Board take pride in the fact that starting in 2008 when I took office as Mayor, we have either maintained or lowered the tax rate. This could only happen with the hard work and dedication of every board member, employee, and volunteers who attend and help us with this process. We are determined for this to continue so we can provide the Best services and strive to be the most economical place to live heading into the future years.
Last but not least I would like to thank everyone who volunteered, participated, or attended/supported this year's events/functions throughout the community especially the holiday parade of lights and park lighting. Over the past four years this event has grown and continues to grow with everyone's support. The local businesses, many fire departments, Town of Galen, Savannah CellarSavers, Village employees, Clyde PD, volunteers, SPAN, SOAR, and everyone who attended made this event a success. Mark your calendars next year's event will take place on Saturday November 25th. Arrangements, permits, and planning have already begun so we can continue to make it bigger and better!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please contact us, we are glad to listen. The village board meeting is held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7pm.
Thank you on behalf of the Village board,
Jerry Fremouw, Mayor, Village of Clyde
