Mid-Summer Update from the Supervisor

Digital Safety Seminar

We invite you to attend an important Digital Safety Seminar designed to help parents navigate the challenges of keeping children safe in today’s online world. This session will provide valuable insights into digital risks and practical strategies for online safety.

Topics include:

• Apps and websites that may pose risks

• The impact of social media on young users

• Online solicitation and sextortion dangers

• Effects of excessive tech use on mental and emotional health

• Identifying and preventing cyberbullying

• Communication strategies and online safety resources

This seminar is presented by Cayuga County and is free. 

It will be held at Scipio Community Church, Monday July 28 from 6-8:30pm.

Wind Turbine Project Public Comment Hearing

We encourage everyone to attend the public comment hearing regarding Liberty Renewable’s proposed 24 turbines to be constructed in the towns of Scipio and Venice beginning possibly in the spring of 2027.

The hearing will be held at the Garden Hilton Inn,

74 State Street, Auburn, NY on August 6th at 6 pm. 

Speakers will be allotted 3 minutes to speak.  I personally plan to speak and have been practicing my speech.  We encourage others to practice as well as time flies.  My first practice short speech was 7 minutes long! 

Even more important will be written comments to ORES, and there is no limit on the length for those comments. 

They must be submitted by August 11 by email at ores.comments@dps.ny.gov 

or by going online at https://dps.ny.gov.ores and then clicking on ORES Permit Applications Project NO. 23-03002 and post your comments.

Once ORES has these comments and responds to Liberty regarding the questions, Liberty will need to respond to any concerns that ORES feels is needful of a response. 

I agree with most of the people who live in Scipio that this project will not enhance our community, and I have been working diligently to try to stop this project.  But as we were told way back in August of 2021, when there was an open house at Filmore Glen, the state has the final authority, and the state is all pro-green energy, even though it will take more brown energy to construct these 650-foot-tall structures than they will ever generate.  For reference, the meteorological towers that Liberty has installed, as well as the radio tower on the corner of Geiger and Sherwood roads, are only 200 feet tall, and the Washington Monument in DC is only 550 feet tall.  I personally visited the turbines in Deposit, which are 650 feet tall,  but they are surrounded by hills and forests, which are very dissimilar to the open flatlands of Scipio. 

Please show up and, if possible, voice your opinion on August 6.

If you have observed the construction for the 90-acre solar farm on Center Road just east of Route 34, this is just a small fraction of the disturbance that will occur if these turbines are approved and installed in our beautiful town.

My final comment regarding this project is that God is in control, and if He wants it stopped, it will, and if not, then we will have to accept them just like I had to accept the trouble of farming around numerous electric poles on my farm.

Town Clean Up Days

Our first cleanup day was held on June 14, and many lake residents appreciated the later date so they could participate. 

The fall date is scheduled for October 4.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and see you on August 6 at 6 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary Mutchler

Scipio Town Supervisor

315-730-3638

Free Home Safety Check

June is National Home Safety Month, an important reminder that home safety should always be a priority. Cayuga County Health Department’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP) can assist in providing you and your loved ones with peace of mind through a free of cost home safety check.

During a free home safety check, the HNP team, consisting of health department and Auburn Fire Department staff, will provide a walk-through of the home to check for common home safety concerns including gas leaks, asthma and allergy triggers, fire safety, slip, trip, and fall hazards, and more. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms will be provided and installed as needed, along with additional supplies, including but not limited to shower grab bars, anti-slip mats, mattress protectors, pest control supplies, and childproofing supplies such as baby gates, appliance locks, and outlet covers. All participants will also receive a bucket of cleaning supplies inclusive of a fire extinguisher or fire blanket upon completion of the home visit.

While HNP is not a home repair program, the HNP team can provide valuable education and supplies to make your home safer. If needed, referrals to other agencies can be made on a case-by-case basis.

Any individual that lives within the City of Auburn or the towns of Conquest, Mentz, Montezuma, or Throop, automatically qualify for a free home safety visit. Individuals residing in other parts of Cayuga County must meet certain eligibility requirements, however, these requirements are broad – most anyone will qualify! Take advantage of this opportunity to make your home a safer place for you and your loved ones by scheduling a free home safety check today. HNP visits can be scheduled by visiting www.cayugacounty.us/HNP or by calling the Cayuga County Health Department at

315-253-1560.

Summer Update from the Supervisor

June 6, 2025

After one of the coolest, wettest springs I have ever remembered, we finally enjoyed some nice days this week.  With that comes lots of news!

First, you did not miss the spring cleanup day.  Several lake residents expressed a desire to have it held after Memorial Day so they could participate as well.  So spring cleanup day is June 14 from 9 am to 4 pm.

Our highway superintendent and his crew have been doing a fantastic job of removing the old salt shed and preparing for the new one which is partially funded by a DEC grant.  Footers were poured this week for the new building with construction scheduled for later this month.

They have also been very busy paving parts of Black Street and Rice Road, as well as going about the usual town roadside mowing,

ORES, the office for renewable energy siting, a state office issued a permit to proceed with the plans for Liberty Renewables, a division of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, to construct up to twenty-four 650-foot-tall wind turbines in the towns of Scipio and Venice.  The next step is a public comment hearing pursuant to 16 NYCRR part 1100 to hear and receive unsworn comments from the public. This will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 74 State Street, Auburn, New York, 13021, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.

Our town attorney, Jeff Eaton, attended a similar hearing in another town several months ago and will be commenting on how this meeting will proceed and how we can best comment regarding the situation.  His comments will be heard during our June and July town board meetings, June 11 and July 9.

Enjoy the beauty of Scipio in this beautiful Finger Lakes area and as always, feel free to contact me either by email or phone as listed on our town website.

Gary Mutchler,

Scipio Town Supervisor