Clockville water project moving forward

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. » Clockville residents are a step closer to being linked into public water following Tuesday’s Madison County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Supervisors unanimously approved the county to serve as the lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) for the proposed Clockville Water District in the Town of Nelson, which will include areas generally described as being along Knolls Avenue East, Knofls Avenue North, Nelson Place East, Nelson Place West, Nelson Road, Lincoln Knolls West, Cottons Road, Oxbow Road, Old County Road, and Timmerman Road in said County and consist of 161 properties,

Once again, the Board of Supervisors addressed the process of bringing a proposed organics material recovery center to the Madison County ARE Park, voting to rescind previously approved resolutions. In May, the board passed a resolution determining that a proposed organic materials recovery center was a Type I action - A Type I action means an action or class of actions that is more likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment than other actions or classes of actions – under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. In June, the board passed a resolution establishing the county as the lead agency under the SEQRA.

Tuesday, the board, via resolution, expressed its belief that, “It was pre-mature to start the SEQRA determinations for the proposed organic materials recovery center as there is no agree with any part to have an organic-materials recover center in Madison County.”

Supervisors unanimously agreed to approve Local Law6 of 2017, establishing a new position in county government. The local law establishes a deputy director of solid waste management, a position appointed by the director of solid wastemanagement.

Heartstone Bakery, based in Earlville, will receive a $100,000 economic development community development block grant for ex- pansion.

Supervisors also pushed for a higher annual tax credit amount for volunteer firefighters and EMS workers in the county. The county, which is home to nearly 20 volunteer fire departments, wants the amount of the annual credit to increase from its current rate of $200 to $500, and following a unanimous vote, will recommend that New York State Association of Counties ( NYSAC) support the increase.

“It’s probably well overdue,” said Town of Nelson Supervisor Roger Bradstreet. “We know the difficulty of getting volunteers around the county... It won’t happen until NYSAC and the state push it forward.”

TransPro Consulting, a national public sector management company hired by the county to help facilitate the Madison County Success Plan, gave an update on the community survey input received as part of the success plan.

Between Feb. 10 and March 9 of 2017, 414 county residents completed the survey and nearly 200 people partially filled out a survey, rating the county on its services and corresponding costs to citizens. The survey found that 70 percent of those polled either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: I believe Madison County government provides good value to the community for services provided.”

The survey also looks at which departments residents have recently utilized. The DMV, Board of Elections, Social Services, and Sheriff’s Office, respectively, saw the most amounts of traffic.