Paul Szmal: Our guest on FLX Morning each month is the mayor of the village of Newark, Jonathan Taylor. Good morning and welcome back Good morning, and thank you for having me
So one of the things at the board meeting this week was approval of a subdivision on Vienna Street That has to do with some NYSEG facilities. So tell us what's happening at that property
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, NYSEG's I believe they're one of their gas mains comes into the property there the current Substation is in the town and They want to expand on property that's in the village and because it's a large section of property and they need a smaller piece the board is recommending to the zoning and planning boards that they consider approval of the subdivision pending Seeing the plans for the property
Paul Szmal: The village has been doing an annual snow sculpture contest for quite a while now There's been some discussion of maybe trying something different in its place. Does anybody have any specific ideas yet?
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, we do actually, you know, the snow sculpture contest last couple years has been really challenging We just haven't had a lot of snow and it's challenging for the residents and the businesses we like to participate because they need snow at the right time when people are available to do a sculpture and So this year we're completely Changing our tree lighting ceremony and we're getting ready to roll everything out this weekend But our tree lighting this year will include a parade of lights that will start at 5 o'clock on Saturday, November 30th which is small business Saturday as Part of that as well. We're going to have a tree decorating contest So we'll have trees downtown that will put lights on and then families or organizations Really anyone could have a tree and decorate it and we're gonna have a tree decorating contest and we're going to use the prizes that we normally have to the Snow sculpture contest for the tree decorating in addition to that they'll be The Methodist Choir will be singing a lot of other activities going on and it all commences on Thanksgiving with the turkey trot so we're really adding to our holiday activities this year and Really highlighting the businesses and the organizations that make things happen. So it's pretty exciting and we're looking forward to This year's holiday season and I know Robin will send us some pictures and we'll have those on Finger Lakes daily news.com When that happens, there was an item on the agenda for the appointment of Chaz Gambino to become the a permanent code enforcement officer But that it got on Inadvertently before the appropriate waiting time. Is that what it was?
Paul Szmal: Actually Chaz was appointed there was another employee who was on there as well. So Chaz was appointed he was He's been with the village long enough to be appointed permanently We're really happy to have Chaz with us. He's hit the ground running in code enforcement and he's really been He's really been getting around the village meeting a lot of people but you know Taking care of all the code issues that you would expect in any village and he's doing a great job So we're excited to have him on appointed as a permanent employee after the the standard probationary period
Jonathan Taylor: There was a problem with the cooling system at Roosevelt School, which is used by the Wayne ARC and Explained to us what what happened here? They're running water to help this problem and that water is not actually going into the sewer system So they're going to get a little bit of help on their sewer bill
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that is correct. They had a problem with their air cooling system And the solution for about six weeks was to run water over the the tower system and So allow it to stay cool That water never went into the sewer system and in instances where it can be proven or shown That something occurred like this or if there's some type of leak hot water heater breaks Toilet or something that can be proven that it's happened and will relieve the sewer bill if the water doesn't reach the sewer so in the case of Wayne ARC, they had this issue and They were able to get six weeks relief on their bill For the water, they still have to pay for the water But they are not paying the sewer portion of that water that didn't enter the sewer So, you know if we can help out we try to
Jonathan Taylor: Talking with mayor Jonathan Taylor from the village of Newark Runaway blue brewing is going to have their second anniversary party November 15th through 17th, and they're gonna bring a food truck in
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's a great it's really great to see it's great to see any business open up and be successful But you know a young couple that grew up in our community Went to school here have come back opened up a business and now they're there research second anniversary I don't know if they ever expected that They would be able to expand and grow as quickly as they have They started out in a very small space and now they have almost three times the space they started out with two years ago, and it's really exciting to see them as They go through their journey and their and their business continues to thrive.
Jonathan Taylor: I was looking at their website It's runaway blue brewing calm. They do a neat thing. They don't have a full kitchen They have some snack foods and things but they've set up a deal with Pontillo's pizza where you can order off their menu and have it delivered to the brewery for free. That's pretty cool
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's a great. You know, it's great when you find synergies between businesses and having fine toes right across the street You know, they don't have the kitchen so they you know have this ability for people to get food brought into them and Sit there. Enjoy their craft brews is Is really great to see and be able to work together like that and you know That's a great way for small businesses to survive. So It's really exciting to see that they're able to do that.
Jonathan Taylor: I'm a craft beer aficionado So I've got them on my list of places to visit soon
Paul Szmal: We talked about the Christmas celebration the Newark Volunteer Fire Department ladies auxiliary and the police department are doing their trunk or treat It will be on Halloween evening in the municipal parking lot
Jonathan Taylor: Yep, this is about the third or fourth year. At least they've done this for two hours on Halloween evening it's great for families to go to and the firemen the police officers and our ladies auxiliary auxiliary will all be there and It's another option that's for trick-or-treating during the during the Halloween night
Paul Szmal: The village board discussed holding a public hearing on a possible fireworks ordinance. I know where I live It's getting a little bit out of hand. It starts about July 1st and runs like the whole week of July 4th Is that what's happening or just a lot of people shooting off fireworks in the neighborhoods and people are complaining?
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, I think part of that, you know part of the issue is there's a misconception about what's legal and what isn't and there's a lot Discussion prior and a lot deeper dive into our existing ordinances and it was determined during through discussion Tuesday night that we're able that actually our existing ordinances will be suffice to deal with the issues that we're seeing so Our law enforcement is going to make a concerted effort going forward to handle these situations with fireworks that Have been disruptive and we've seen complaints on and I think every community deals with this We had started to kind of reinvigorate the conversation when we saw another local community had changed some of their codes and So that's what started our discussion, but it looks like going forward. We already have what we need in place We were just going to start to enforce it a lot more
Paul Szmal: The board considered making a change to a yield sign near the ultralight batteries property. What would that be?
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, I guess there's our management is telling us that there's a Considerable number of people who aren't yielding the right-of-way and some near collisions. So to make that area safer we're just going to add a stop sign and then and then that'll give you know to make it much more clear that that's a Intersection where you really need to be careful and pay attention and now you'll need to stop before proceeding like any other intersection. So You know, if there's a safety concern that we want to we want to get to we want to deal with this as we can
Paul Szmal: Well, I'd be happy if they did that at about half the yield So I think there's one near my house that people blow through all the time
Also a Consideration of changing the two-hour parking in parking lot M. What where where is that lot and what's the change?
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, we had a lot of conversation about that near the municipal building right behind it But at the end we kind of decided maybe we should keep it that way just in case there was you know, there are times when it's pretty busy in the area and There are other lots where you can park, you know all day long that we would like people to go to so we decided not to make the change at that at this time and You know really parking is kind of a challenging for small municipalities to enforce It requires marking tires and those kind of things and regular routes and other things so a lot of times it doesn't rise to the level of you know, something we're going to manage is as much as other things but on We decided to leave at the two-hour parking and if we have to enforce it We still have that capability to do so
Paul Szmal: We've been talking a lot about the training that members of the Police Department are going through The chief is going to head to the New York State Chiefs of Police Leadership Summit in November that's in Schenectady and then you have an officer going to Ontario County for some crowd management and mobile field force training
Jonathan Taylor: Yeah, it's always important to keep training up for all of our employees in every department and and certainly the Police Department does the number of trainings that are available and really necessary to maintain a very good Police Department that we have and So we're you know, we're thankful that the officers kind of seek out the training and are willing to go and be a part of that and Help make Newark a safer place and deal with different situations and today certainly everywhere things are unpredictable and to have the training Behind you to be able to handle those any situation that may arise is is certainly a plus for everybody
Paul Szmal: We've been talking all year about all the development coming into Newark and that whole part of Wayne County So I always ask each month any any new news of anybody coming in or any rumblings or rumors?
Jonathan Taylor: Well first a two culverts that have been Work on the blue cut culverts that started in March is now open and the West Miller culvert that started in Late June is open as well. So it's great to have those two infrastructure projects done Taco Bell from what I understand is within you know days to a couple weeks of opening. They're just waiting to get connected with NYSEG on their power and hopefully the st. Elizabeth project for Housing will start by the end of the year and coverage the Commons and the old re manufacturing building on Harris Street with a hundred Apartments will start work after the first of the year So there's a lot of construction going on in the village as well as the DRI project and T. Spence night park We're in the design phase right now So the next two to three years there will be a lot of lot going on in the village and generally is you know things kind of Domino in the right direction for us that brings other developers to Newark. So we're pretty excited about what comes next
Paul Szmal: O's and O's is having the grand opening on October 26 so we've been we've been waiting for that and they're ready to go and That's exciting as well
Jonathan Taylor: So there's always something new and exciting going on and we're looking forward to what's next.
Paul Szmal: All right, sounds great We appreciate your time each month bringing us all the news. Thanks again.
Jonathan Taylor: Thank you. Thank you for having me
