Watkins Glen advances water system planning

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved taking out bonds worth no more than $21,500,000 at the Feb. 16 board meeting to address the village's water system. Despite the approval, village officials again repeated nowhere near that much money would be spent, and obtaining the bonds is a prerequisite for applying for the different grants.
"Like we stated last meeting there is no intention to borrow that much, not even close to it," said Luke Leszyk, mayor of Watkins Glen. "But we have to show we have that kind of spending power in order to get these grants and projects underway."
During previous meetings, Leszyk explained the work will be completed in steps over time instead of all at once. The priority will be given to the most important projects.
After the board approved the bonds, representatives from Larson Design Group, who is working with the village to get grant funding for the water system improvements, gave a brief presentation regarding the Community Block Development Grant they will be seeking. Following the presentation and a public hearing where no one spoke the board unanimously approved the grant application.
As part of adhering to new state police reforms, the board voted to approve a new officer complaint policy for the Watkins Glen Police Department.
Village Clerk Lonnie Childs was authorized by the board to post union positions as soon as they become available in order to maintain a steady workforce in the village specific to positions with a high turnover rate. Leszyk said the authorization for Childs to post union jobs does not give her the ability to hire anyone for the positions without board approval or for her to create new positions.
At the end of the meeting, which was held virtually over Zoom, Leszyk said the executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo authorized virtual meetings to occur will expire towards the end of February.
While saying he looked forward to getting back to live meetings, Leszyk did caution that Cuomo might extend the order. If live meetings are allowed to occur, Leszyk said village officials will take the rest of the month to figure out the logistics and legality of potentially allowing village officials to attend live meetings virtually due to potential issues regarding COVID-19.