Kendall passes town budget with tax rate increase

Board favors reducing speed limit by school

KENDALL –  Members of the Kendall Town Board unanimously adopted the 2017 budget which includes $1.4 million in total appropriations including water and street light districts.

The 2017 tax rate is $4.60 per $1,000 of assessed property, up from $4.46 in the 2016 budget. The 2017 budget includes a total of $50,273 in appropriated fund balance and $845,116.52 to be raised by tax.

“We remain under the tax cap, that has been our goal,” Supervisor Tony Cammarata said following the board meeting on Tuesday night.

He noted the town’s tax rate has remained flat over the past 10 years, but, “We needed to ensure that we could provide services without cutting back.”

He said putting the budget together was a task. “There were a lot of challenges… to achieve what we had to do, we had to be innovative and creative,” Cammarata said.

He believes the town is moving in a positive direction.

“We are pleased with the progress the town is making,” he said.  So far this year Kendall has issued nearly ten certificates of occupancy for new family homes and businesses, he said.

“Kendall is a sleeping giant,” Cammarata said. “It is a wonderful town with people who are outstanding, with a terrific school district.”

In other business, council members approved a resolution in support of the reduction of the speed limit in front of the Kendall Jr./Sr. High School on Rt. 18/Roosevelt Highway from 50 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour during school hours. Parents and the Kendall School Board of Education have been working to have the speed limit reduced.

Council members agreed the speed limit is creating dangerous conditions outside the school.

“I think it is very needed,” Councilperson Barb Flow said of the proposed change.

Councilperson Bruce Newell reported that a recommendation has been made regarding a consultant for the Lake Ontario State Parkway Transportation Alternatives Feasibility Study, which will determine how the most poorly maintained section of the roadway would be best used. Newell has been part of a selection committee to recommend a consulting firm.

The study will determine if the 12.7-mile section in Orleans County should be repurposed, decommissioned or reduced to less than four lanes.

Newell noted at peak times, the section of the Parkway sees 1,000 vehicles per day.  That compares to 1,500-2,800 for Rt. 18 and 3,500-4,500 for Rt. 104.

“You can understand why the DOT has a hard time justifying maintenance” for the Parkway section, Newell said.

He also had figures on traffic volume going back to 1980.  He said during the peak years between 1991-1993, the section of the Parkway in eastern Orleans County saw 2,250-2,500 vehicles per day.  He said the drop in usage is, “probably partly due to the (current road) conditions as well as less traffic for people working at Kodak and Xerox.”

The Orleans County Planning Department has said that once the study gets underway it could take 12-15 months to complete and the public will have the opportunity to participate.

The Orleans County Planning Department and the Genesee Transportation Council (GTC) are overseeing the study.