Watkins Glen continues short-term moratorium

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen board of trustees met Tuesday, Aug. 18 and voted unanimously to extend the short-term rental moratorium by up to a year. Set to expire soon, Mayor Luke Leszyk said that the extension was up to a year to allow the planning board time to draft new zoning laws.
"This is only up to a year," Leszyk said. "It doesn't have to be a year, if they are done in six months it will end in six months. This just gives the planning board the time that they need."
The vote took place after a public hearing during which Leszyk remarked he was surprised no one from the public spoke.
The board voted to allow village officials to seek a bond in the amount of $2-2.5 million to cover short term costs associated with the Clute Park project.
"We have used ($400,000) of general fund money to cover the project and I don't want to keep doing that," said Rhonda Slater, village treasurer.
Instead, Slater recommended a short-term bond to cover costs as the village waits for the state funding to kick in.
"We need to have working capital to pay those bills while we wait for the state," Leszyk agreed.
Depending on the price difference between obtaining a short term bond of $2.5 million compared to $2 million, Slater said her inclination would be to go with the higher amount.
"To give us flexibility if needed," Slater said.
The board also voted to establish Tuesday, Sept. 15 as the date for the village election initially set to take place in March. Two seats on the board of trustees are up for grabs, with Republican Anthony Fraboni not running for reelection. Democrat Laurie DeNardo is running for reelection and is being joined by Democrat Peter Widnyski and Republican candidates Kristen VanHorn and Robert Carson in vying for the available seats.
The board briefly touched upon COVID precautions the village will take during the election but didn't get into specifics as village officials were unclear as to what precautions they would have to take per state or federal guidelines.
Village officials said they would do everything in their power to make polling stations safe for voters.