As we begin the new year, we express our thanks to Jason Botsford for his 4 years of service on the town board.  We welcome Dan McGarry to fill Jason’s position on the town board.  Also, long-time ZBA chair Keith Welch decided to no longer serve on that board.  Last year, Howard Nelson also made the same decision, and we could not find a replacement until this year.  Keith and Howard had also served on the town board prior to their appointment with the ZBA.  Our heartfelt appreciation is extended to both.

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We are happy to announce that Kendra Janssen and Lee Holmes have agreed to fill these ZBA positions.  Also, Melinda Pitman was reelected to the town board in November, as was Bill Hall as Highway Supervisor and Ann Robson as town clerk, and me as supervisor.  We all appreciate your support in electing us.

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We will soon receive our tax notice, and on average, there is a 7% increase.  This is because the county increased our assessment by 12.5% and 70% of your bill goes to the county, even though the town clerk acts as collector. All other taxes increased by less than 2%. 

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Additionally, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has a new rule, effective December 24, 2025, where a machine-applied postmark shows the date mail is first processed, not when it's dropped off, potentially causing time-sensitive items (like tax returns, ballots) to be marked late. Therefore, if you mail your taxes in and it is close to the deadline, we advise you to go to the post office and drop it off directly to a mail clerk, stating it needs to be postmarked so it can be manually stamped, and you do not incur a late fee.

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We are all very pleased with the new salt shed.  Bill was able to keep the cost at 60% of the estimated cost, and we thank him ever so much for his diligence in helping keep our costs so low.  We are still waiting for reimbursement from the DEC, but it should be coming in the new year.

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With four trucks plowing snow and no major snowfalls so far this year, they are doing a fantastic job of maintaining Scipio’s town roads.  We are not responsible for county or state roads.  Stop in at the town office when someone is there and we will clarify who is responsible for which road. Please slow down and respect all snowplows.  I have said every resident should ride with one of the drivers, and that way you would better understand all that they need to be watching while applying the right amount of sand and salt, so we do not pollute our beautiful Finger Lakes.

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While tests continue to proceed at the sites for the wind towers, no final permit has been granted at this point.  The town and county highway superintendents and attorneys have been diligently working on a project-wide road use agreement as well as a host community agreement; nothing has been finalized at this point.

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The 18-megawatt solar project on Center Road continues to progress and we can see why it will cost $38 million.  We have not seen any figures on the total cost of the proposed 99-megawatt wind project.

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Last year, we held town clean-up days in June and October and the volume was down.  In 2026 we plan to have only 1 cleanup day, and that will be July 18.

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Town residents are always welcome to attend board meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at 7 pm at the town office.  As always, feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.

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Sincerely yours,

 

Gary Mutchler

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Scipio Town Supervisor

315-730-3638 or supervisor@townofscipio.com

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