Film Shooting

The "Secrets of Jonathon Sperry" film crew has completed shooting in the Village, effective last Saturday. They will continue to film in the Village of Holley for additional footage. All in all, I think it was a good experience having the film crew in Brockport. The pros- showcasing the Village, economic development. The cons- parking and merchant concerns. In the end, you learn from an experience. Should another film crew wish to shoot in Brockport in the future, I think we have some things to improve upon so as to minimize inconveniences on Village residents.

In speaking with the film production team, the theater version of the film will hit screens in about one year from now. We will work with the management at the Strand to try and get an opening night premiere in the Village, red-carpet and all.

Stay tuned.

FAIR Plan

Obviously, the big news of the day yesterday was County Executive Maggie Brooks unveiling her "F.A.I.R. plan" to solve the county's budget crisis. The villages in the county expressed simultaneous sighs of relief as news spread that the budgetary fixes would not adversely affect their county sales tax sharing arrangements in the Morin-Ryan funding formula. School Districts, however, were not so lucky. They'll see a 50% drop in revenue. Local taxpayers will also see increases on their tax bills as a result of a new expense funding formula for Monroe Community College, a formula which will be based on local residency. Per the D&C, "her plan will have localities pick up the $14.3 million that county government now pays to Monroe Community College." To top the F.A.I.R. plan off, the county tax rate is projected to drop 11 cents/1000 and there will be a new fee for vehicle registrations. Quite a lot to digest in one day.


Here's a link to a Democrat & Chronicle video montage.

What do you think of the F.A.I.R. plan?

Tree Board Flyer

Apologies on the lack of updates.

The Tree Board flyer is now available. Here is the link.

Information on tree-planting requests can be found at the Tree Board's web site.

Volunteers Needed

From the Genesee Region of the NYS Special Olympics:

Over 1000 Special Olympics athletes will be coming to Rochester to compete in Special Olympics New York State Fall Games October 5-6. We are looking for 400 volunteers to help on Saturday, October 6th. Here is the application. Athletes will compete in 7 sports competing, including soccer, softball, bocce, golf, equestrian, cross-country and cycling. Most of the sports will be at Total Sports Experience in Gates (along with Olympic Village), with equestrian being at Lehman Farms and Golf being at Churchville Park. (The locations have changed since this application was printed.) Volunteers are needed for every sport! Volunteers need to be at least 13 years of age. (As a quick note, volunteers 13 – 15 can help with lunches, as runners, etc., but there will be no directly athlete contact. 16+ are eligible for any volunteer duties.) This is a great opportunity for students and adults alike, so please pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested.



Thanks so much! Feel free to contact the Special Olympics New York Volunteer Coordinator, Penny Page at ppage@nyso.org with any questions!

National Night Out Review

I neglected to post about my wonderful experience at the Brockport National Night Out. I attended Friday's event with my wife snd two boys and was amazed at the superbly coordinated array of activities- many of which were kid centric- available. From the drug sniffing Border Patrol dog, to McGruff the Crime Dog to Sparky the Fire Safety Dalmation the canine crew was in full effect. Fire apparatus and police cars were on display. Sgt. Mark Phillipy conducted a DWI accident reconstruction demonstration with assistance from the Fire Department and Ambulance Corps. The Mercy Flight helicopter even dropped in on a landing!

Luckily for those present for the free meal, Chiefs Rombaut and Varrenti were assisted in their hot-dog cooking early on by Bambie Zimmerman and others before all of the hots were burned.

Kudos to Sgt. Mark Cuzzupoli for his efforts in managing this wonderful family-friendly event.

Fayette Street Restoration Project

Some photos of the Brockport DPW crew and their restoration work on Fayette Street. The project is slated for completion by the end of this week- to coincide with the re-opening of the Park Avenue Lift Bridge.

DOT Travel Advisory, Park Avenue Bridge

TRAVEL ADVISORY



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

September 12, 2007 Lori Maher

Public Information Officer

(585) 272-4818





PARK AVENUE CANAL LIFT BRIDGE TO BE CLOSED FOR ONE MORE WEEK

Bridge Slated to Re-open by September 21



The Park Avenue Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal in the village of Brockport, Monroe County, originally slated to re-open tomorrow, September 14, will remain closed for another week.



NYSDOT has extended the closure while routine bridge maintenance work is performed including the placement of concrete on the bridge deck.



Cars and small trucks can use the Main Street lift bridge. Large trucks should continue to follow the existing Route 19 Truck Route around the village to avoid the low clearance railroad bridge at the south end of the village on Route 19.



New York State Canal Corporation personnel as part of their work replaced 12 aging, counter weight cables, replaced pit covers and rehabilitated the north-west sheave. In addition, the lifting mechanism was thoroughly greased and the lifting frame was painted.

Blog

Had visitor number 4,000 hit the site this past month...Average per day unique visits are up to 15/day...Over 100 visitors to the blog last week alone...Keep up the visits!

Professional Management

Nice profile link in a local blog about former WNY resident (and Deputy County Executive in Erie County) David Smith's turnaround work in Maricopa County, AZ- the fastest growing county in the nation. Smith's work is a testament to the benefits of professional management in local government.

09/11

Let us never forget.

Information on the Brockport Fire Department ceremonies here.

Park Avenue Bridge Repair Update

From the Canal Corp:

This is a status update on the Park Avenue Lift Bridge Counterweight
Cable Project.

Install counterweight cables (65% completed)

Rehabilitation of SE sheave (90% completed) A sheave is a large pulley
with grooves.

Rehabilitation of SW sheave (10% completed)

Chipping and painting lifting frame (50% completed)

September 14th is our anticipated date for opening the bridge to
vehicular traffic.

SeptemberFest

The ever growing ecumenical-based community event SeptemberFest celebrates its 5th anniversary this weekend. Click here for the information flyer.

Debts, Bonds and Main St

Some people have inquired on the status of the Route 19 project and the Village's debt financing for the proposed project. Here is some background information. The NYSDOT is preparing final plans for a projected Fall 2009 start date on a major reconstruction of NYS Route 19 (Main St) in the Village from the south Village line to the north Village line at East/West Avenue. In doing so, the road will be ripped up thereby exposing the underlying, and antiquated, sewer and water lines owned by the Village and maintained by the Village Department of Public Works. The Village has decided to press forward with the replacement of these lines at a cost of ~$2.6 million dollars. This cost is split about 60/40 between the sewer and water upgrades, respectively and will be paid through a BAN (bond anticipation note) and eventual bond (long term debt). The bond will be paid back over 25+ years in annual installments out of the Village's General and Water Fund in proportion to the total project cost.

The Village Board passed a resolution at the August 27th Board meeting approving the bond financing, which are subject to permissive referendum. These notices were placed in this past weekend's Surburban News, pursuant to local finance law provisions. Upon completion/closure of the permisssive referendum process, the Village will initiate the bond sale with bond counsel and our financial advisers.

What does this all mean for the Village and its finances? Well, we will be replacing infrastructure and thus incurring a debt service which will produce additional (to be determined) six-figure line items in both funds' operating budgets. However, at the end of this current fiscal year, the Village will be debt-free with the general obligation bonds for the Seymour Library building paid off. This is a huge plus for taxpayers. The Village has utilized a "pay as you go" capital project financing strategy so as to eliminate the need to incur debt after debt through bond issuance.

Should you have any questions on the status or financing of the Route 19 (Main St) project, please feel free to contact the Village office.