The March Syracuse Town Council meeting was held via zoom Tuesday night. At the top are, from left, Fire Chief Mickey Scott; Lauren Zeugner; Attorney Steve Snyder; and Town Attorney Vern Landis. In the second row are Denise Ferrero; Candice Brown; Police Chief Jim Layne;  Councilmen Tom Hoover, Larry Martindale, Town Manager Mike Noe and Councilman Bill Musser; and Steve Brenneman, Aluminum Insight.
In the third row are Council President Larry Siegel; Marlin Miller; Virginial Cazier; and Chad Jonsson. At the bottom was Crystal Walsh, Abonmarche Consultants.

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — The first order of business for the Syracuse Town Council was to approve a dis-annexation of Lot No. 4 in the Fox Run neighborhood during its regular meeting Tuesday night, March 16.

The property, owned by Candice Brown, was the only lot in the subdivision annexed into the town.

The property’s previous owner, former Clerk-Treasurer Paula Kehr-Wicker, had the property annexed so she could run for office.

In passing the ordinance, Councilman Bill Musser said, “I’m for it. I’m sorry we waited this long to do it.” Councilman Tom Hoover agreed, saying, “I think it’s pretty well explained. I think we should have done it in the first place.” He also apologized to Brown.

The ordinance needs to be sent to various local government agencies before it’s official. Town Attorney Vern Landis said he would make sure the matter was handled.

The council approved a confirmatory resolution for Travel Star, one of the new companies moving into the technology park.

Local attorney Steve Snyder asked that the ordinance regarding Aluminum Insights, a company also moving into the technology park, be tabled. Snyder said the Goshen News made a mistake when printing the legal regarding the company and it had to be rerun.

The council approved a resolution allowing deviations for Aluminum Insights. During discussion, Musser asked why questions weren’t asked and issues addressed when the company committed to purchasing the property.

Crystal Walsh from Abonmarche Consultants, which is working with Aluminum Insights, explained site plans took several months to develop and can be fairly complicated. “It isn’t until we’re this far along… that these deviations came about,” she explained.

Musser asked about the signage requirements. Council President Larry Siegel explained Aluminum Insights had to reconfigure its building to fit the site. He also explained the signage covenants for the technology park are stricter than the county sign ordinance. “We didn’t want big obnoxious signs in the park,” he said. He added the covenants are designed to be addressed on a case by case basis.

Councilman Paul Stoelting asked what the covenants had to do with signage. Walsh explained the covenant does not allow for wall-mounted signs or painted signs. Aluminum Insight is also asking for a larger sign than allowed because it will be mounted on a masonry wall in front of the property.

Snyder representing Marlin Miller of John’s Butcher Shoppe, asked the council to approve changing the zoning of the old Syracuse Elementary School to partial residential and partial commercial. Miller wants to convert half the building into 45 apartments and the other half into a food processor.

Miller is willing to agree to several voluntary conditions in exchange for the change in zoning. Those conditions are: no live animals processed on the property, no retail sales  and no modifications without permission from the planning commission.

Snyder said other issues such as water, sewer and traffic have already been addressed. The council approved the change in zoning.

The council approved the Bose McKinney Engagement agreement, an updated version came in approximately 30 minutes before the council was to meet.

In department reports, Town Manager Mike Noe reported he will be taking some vacation time to attend his son’s wedding. A Mexican Restaurant will be going into the Old Duffy’s location with a tentative opening date of June 1. Bids for the technology park road work will be opened March 23.

The waste water treatment plant is switching methods to treat for phosphorus. The plant is also working on dealing with an issue regarding copper limits in the water.

The water department has applied for a notice of intent for Brooklyn Street and the technology park.

Chad Jonsson, park superintendent, reported there will be Easter Egg Hunts held at three different times for three different age groups in an attempt to hold an event and keep people socially distanced. The geocache egg hunt will be held March 27-April 11. Also planned is a princess party on April 17.

Jonsson is still working with Councilmen Larry Martindale and Tom Hoover and the engineer on the new ball park. Siegel asked about the completion date since the engineering has been delayed. Jonsson said if ground can be broken by June 1, there can be baseball at the new park next spring.

The bathrooms located in front of the Syracuse Community Center that had the stainless steel toilets is getting a bit of an update. The toilets are being replaced with porcelain commodes.

Fire Chief Mickey Scott raised a concern regarding the new buildings coming into the tech park. He told the council he hoped these new buildings would have fire pumps because the fire department is concerned about whether it would have enough water if the need became necessary.