Photo courtesy of Julie Bunn: Kendall Lion Club members Ed Haight, Darla Trimm, Gary Crawford and Mike Cusimano  are pictured with fourth-grade students Kaitlyn Bunn and Addison Schultz, and fourth grade teacher Justin Staebell.

KENDALL – The Kendall Lions Club presented each fourth-grader at Kendall with a tree on Friday. The club has been doing this for more than 10 years in celebration of Arbor Day and Earth Day.

Kendall Lions talk to students about community service and the importance of Earth Day. The trees are donated by Flower City Tree, which gives back to the community by purchasing from the  Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District, the Lions Club said.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Nick Picardo, Kendall Central School superintendent, holds a new name plate for Board of Education member Rachel Fisken. Picardo presented new name plates for board members that were made by students using a laser engraver. Audra Keirn, the district clerk, is in back.

KENDALL – The Kendall Board of Education has adopted a $20,413,805 school budget for 2023-24 that doesn’t raise the tax levy. The budget goes before voters on May 16 with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Kendall Town Hall.

Overall spending is up 2.9 percent in the budget compared to the $19,822,921 in 2022-23. The district is able to hold off on a tax increase mainly due to a big increase in Foundation Aid from the state.

The state budget is yet to be finalized, but Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a 12.95 percent in Foundation Aid or by $1,086,108 – from $8,382,316 to $9,468,424. Nick Picardo, the district superintendent, said that increase helps make the district whole on lagging Foundation Aid in previous years.

He noted during Wednesday’s BOE meeting that state aid covers 74 percent of the district overall budget. The total state aid for Kendall is proposed to increase by $1,774,288 or 12.64 percent to $15,806,286, which would be 77.4 percent of the proposed budget.

Property taxes through the tax levy would stay at $4,964,656.

Kendall voters also will be asked to approve up to $350,000 from a Transportation Bus Reserve Fund to replace two full-size buses. Those buses are currently on the market for $165,000 to $170,000 each. The $350,000 cap gives the district some wiggle room if the price is higher than expected, Picardo said.

There is one candidate on the ballot for a five-year term on the Board of Election. Rachel Fisken, the current vice president, is unopposed for re-election.

Code of Conduct Committee also recommends against hoodies covering head

KENDALL – The school district, in an annual review of its code of conduct polices, is being asked to not allow cell phones for students in grades prekindergarten to 8.

The phones would have to stay in lockers or in caddies that hold the phones for a classroom. In the high school, grades 9 to 12, cell phones in the classroom would remain at teacher discretion.

“The big discussion is about cell phones in the school and accessibility,” High School Principal Carol D’Agostino said during a public hearing on Wednesday evening about the code of conduct. “It is very distracting.”

Students are often inundated with dinging or vibrations from texts and other messages through their phones, she said.

The Code of Conduct Committee, which surveyed teachers for their input, also is urging the district to not allow hoodies to be worn in school in a way that covers a head. Those sweatshirts can be worn as long as the hood is down, according to the committee’s recommendation.

The code of conduct was revised for this school year to allow hats and hoodies to be worn, but teachers, in a survey and in staff meetings, have urged the district to not allow the hoodies, D’Agostino said.

Some students pull the hoodies over their heads and wear ear pods, listening to music during class. Or some just put on the hoodie and disengage with the class, D’Agostino said.

When students wear hats, their ears aren’t covered and students aren’t shutting themselves off from interacting with others, she said.

The committee also put in language about “sexting” including where students can not send sexually explicit messages, including where the face of a person is not included but a naked image or sexual act is shown. D’Agostino said some students send messages without an identifiable face in an image and will falsely claim it is a student, often leading to humiliation.

The district’s Code of Conduct Committee does an annual review of policies and makes recommendations of changes to the Board of Education. The board typically has the hearing in April and will vote on the changes in June.

Kevin Watson, the elementary school principal, said he expects the district will need a policy in the near future for artificial intelligence chatbots that can write essays and answer math problems. He can foresee AI being used to complete homework. The district, perhaps as soon as next year, could consider a policy stating students need to do their own work without utilizing AI for assignments.

‘Her drive for students to succeed both in and out of the classroom has been second to none.’

File photos: (Left) Carol D’Agostino, Kendall’s Jr./Sr. High School principal, presents a diploma to Alanna Gordon on June 23, 2017 during commencement at the school auditorium. D’Agostino present ed diplomas to about 1,000 students during her career. (Right) D’Agostino is shown inside the junior-senior high school which received extensive renovations during her tenure.

KENDALL – Carol D’Agostino has announced she will be retiring on June 30, leaving a dream job for her that she started nearly 18 years ago as principal at Kendall Junior-Senior High School.

D’Agostino grew up and graduated from Kendall. She was working at Albion as a high school vice principal when the position opened in her home district.

Kendall is doing a full search process to find D’Agostino’s replacement, said Nick Picardo, the district superintendent.

“For the past 18 years, Carol has passionately dedicated her time as principal to the students of Kendall,” Picardo said. “Her drive for students to succeed both in and out of the classroom has been second to none. Carol’s student-centered approach has helped to shape hundreds of students as they crossed the stage at graduation.”

Kendall is a high-performing district academically. It is included among the top high schools in the country in the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking.

D’Agostino was a member of the Lawnchair Ladies.

“I know our results are good academically,” D’Agostino said. “We don’t have major behavioral problems. We are like a little private school in the public school setting.”

D’Agostino has three grown children and her 10 grandchildren are all in the Kendall district. She went to college a little later than usual to be home when her children were young. She earned a bachelor’s degree in math at age 32.

Then she earned her certification in elementary education and high school math. She followed that with a master’s degree to be a reading specialist and then earned her administrative certification.

She started as a substitute teacher aide at the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES based in Spencerport, and developed a love for education.

Her first full-time job as a teacher was for second grade in Albion.

“I just loved those years,” she said. “They are every special to me.”

She was asked by Ron Sodoma, the Albion district superintendent at the time, to move to the high school and teach math because there was a hard-to-fill vacancy. She did that job for four years and then worked for the district as a MST (Math, Science and Technology) coordinator before taking the job as high school vice principal.

The job leading the junior-senior high school at Kendall then opened and D’Agostino was thrilled to be hired in her hometown.

She has been an enthusiastic presence at Kendall, even performing with students in a cameo role in the recent Annie musical. She also was member for many years with the Kendall Lawnchair Ladies.

She is well regarded outside Kendall and serves on the boards for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, Orleans County United Way, and the Community Services Board for Orleans County.

“I’ve really tried to represent Kendall the best I can,” she said about the boards. “I want Kendall’s voice can be heard, too. Each of these boards serve different elements of the community. They can bring powerful programs to students and their families.”

D’Agostino considered retiring sooner, but wanted to see the district through the challenges of the Covid pandemic and also the transition to a new a superintendent. She feels like the district is in a great place right now.

“I tried to be a true student advocate and treat every student as my own and what I would want for them,” she said. “We help everyone meet their potential – academic, social and emotional.”

Carol D’Agostino addresses the graduates and the crowd during an outdoor graduation ceremony on June 26, 2020. She is joined on stage by Lisa Levett (left), president of the Board of Education, and Julie Christensen, the district superintendent. The stage was donated for use by Kludt Farms and Christ Farms decorated the stage for the event.

D’Agostino showed her creativity and determination in the Covid pandemic, especially with graduation in late June 2020.

Many of the districts recorded students receiving their diplomas individually, and compiled a video for graduation. Districts weren’t able to do indoor ceremonies nut could do them outdoors if capped at 150 people. The state at the time allowed groups of people to count as one person if they stayed in or by a vehicle.

Kendall decided to hold the graduation outdoors in the grounds by the fire department. D’Agostino and the district wanted the grads to have that moment as a class together.

“These milestones are so critical to students,” she said. “We wanted a graduation ceremony. Your graduation ceremony is a rite of passion. Everyone will remember that. We worked with health department to keep it safe and meet the regulations.”

Kendall students, teachers and staff wore pink for the principal battling breast cancer in this photo from February 2017.

D’Agostino said Kendall is a nurturing community and she experienced that love in 2017 while she was battling breast cancer for the second time.

About 300 students, teachers and staff wore pink “Kendall Strong 2017 Team Mrs. D” T-shirts during an assembly in February 2017 in honor of D’Agostino.

D’Agostino said that show of support is just one of the many ways the Kendall community rallies around someone facing a difficult challenge.

“When I had breast cancer they had T-shirts for everyone,” she recalled. “It was an outpouring of love and support. It made such a difference. I have been blessed being a part of Kendall community.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

KENDALL – Adriana Schiavone performs the lead role in Kendall Junior-Senior High School’s production of Annie.

In this scene, she is singing “I Don’t Need Anything But You” with Daddy Warbucks, played by Christopher Nettles. Karter May, back left, is in the role of Drake, the butler at Warbucks Mansion.

Kendall performed the show on Friday and then with two performances on Saturday.

Annie appears on Bert Healy’s radio show and sings “Maybe.” Andrew Cole is in the role of Bert Healy.

During the radio show, Warbucks announces a $50,000 award to a couple that prove they are Annie’s parents.

The orphans are listening to the radio show and they joyously sing “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.”

Lauren Pilon plays the role of Miss Hannigan, the orphanage matron with a drinking problem. She schemes with her younger brother, a convict Daniel “Rooster” Hannigan and his girlfriend Lily. They try to snag the $50,000 reward by pretending to be Annie’s parents, with Miss Hannigan part of the ill-fated plot.

Christopher Nettles plays Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, a billionaire businessman who initially doesn’t like Annie because she is a girl. But he has a change of heart and loves her. Warbucks adopts Annie after the scheme is exposed from the fake parents trying to get the $50,000 reward, and Annie’s true biological are discovered to be deceased.

In this photo Warbucks sings, “New Deal for Christmas.”

James Swift plays Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. president who helps Warbucks finds Annie’s parents. When FDR meets Annie, he is inspired to make a new deal and restore America’s economy.

Grants not keeping pace with rising construction costs

Photo by Tom Rivers: Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said town officials will keeping pursuing state and federal funds to help expand public water in the community.

KENDALL – The Town Board remains determined to expand public water in the community, but Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said rising construction costs are making the projects too expensive right now.

Kendall will need bigger grants and very favorable loan terms to make the projects affordable for residents, Cammarata said at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

The state comptroller sets the affordability for public water projects at $1,040 in annual expense to residents. That includes the cost of water and any debt towards a waterline.

Recent estimates from LaBella Associates put the projects at $1,400 to $1,500 annually – too high for many residents, Cammarata said.

He responded to two residents during Tuesday’s meeting who said they have been asking for public water for several years now.

Truda Slucum of Lakeshore Road would like to be included in the town’s next water project – Water District No. 11.

Beverly Robinson of Lakeshore Road also asked to be included, said the area suffers from sulfur in wells.

Cammarata has been town supervisor for about 10 years. The town has completed four districts during that tenure. But he said they are getting tougher to do as the construction costs rise dramatically.

He is scheduled to meet Congressman Joe Morelle today and would send the message to increase federal grants for the projects. Cammarata also said the town needs low-interest loans through the federal Rural Development, which are 38 years instead of 30. That helps bring down the annual payment to stay below the comptroller’s threshold.

Cammarata said forging ahead now with a district at a $1,500 annual cost to residents would result in “a lot of pushback” because the cost would be too much for many residents.

He said Kendall will continue to look at options to get more public water lines in the ground, including whether smaller districts make a difference in lowering the annual debt costs.

“We’re trying,” he said. “I truly believe to move Kendall ahead you have to have water. We’re going to have grovel to get some funding.”

County Legislator John Fitzak attended the meeting and said residents should consider writing letters to state and federal representatives, explaining the difficulties with their well water. Those testimonials could make a difference, Fitzak said.

“I would suggest a grass-roots efforts with water,” he said about writing the letters. “We need money. Don’t forget us because we pay taxes like everyone else.”

Many STR owners vow to sue, calling law ‘discriminatory’

Photos by Tom Rivers: June Chippendale of Kendall asks the Town Board not to pass a law putting regulations on short-term rentals. She is looking to operate an STR in the future.

KENDALL – The Town Board on Tuesday night passed a law regulating short-term rental properties in the town, an action that some of the STR owners said was “discriminatory” and would result in a lawsuit against Kendall.

The new law also bans any new short-term rentals in the waterfront districts, excluding bed and breakfasts which require a separate special use permit. Existing STRs shall be grandfathered in and allowed to continue.

The Town Board said the waterfront districts have houses closer together on private one-lane roads. The STRs are presenting “parking and traffic impacts,” town officials write in the new law.

The board and community have been debating short-term rentals for several months. Town Board members said there have been complaints in recent years with the rise of short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs and Vrbo.

Some of the neighbors of STRs have complained that some of the STRs are loud, especially at night when the homeowners want peace and quiet after working in the city. Some neighbors said those businesses shouldn’t be allowed on one-lane private roads, and STRs also can drive up neighbors’ property insurance costs.

STR owners who spoke at Tuesday’s meetings said the community has a long history of renting out cottages to visitors. The STRs are nothing new, but have become more popular during the Covid pandemic with people seeking a getaway after being confined to their own homes.

Greg Stuckless of Norway Heights said the income from an STR was essential in allowing his family to put in a breakwall to protection from erosion during the flooding in 2017 and 2019. During an economic downturn the STR revenue helped Stuckless keep up with his bills.

“It’s saved me,” he told the Town Board. “We would have lost our house.”

Greg Stuckless said operating a short-term rental gave his family needed funds, allowing them to keep their home.

Stuckless said the fees in the law are not unreasonable but he said he is concerned about the town increasing the STR owners’ liability for having guests on site and in the community.

The Town Board modified the law after a public hearing last month. An annual licensing fee with the town for an STR will be $250 (or $500 over 2 years), which was lowered from the $1,000 annually in the proposed law. Kendall will require a $1 million liability insurance for STR owners, rather than the $3 million in the draft law.

The town had proposed STR owners would lose their permit to operate if they haven’t had any STR business over six months. That has been changed to one year.

The board passed the new law in a 4-0 vote with yes votes from Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata, and board members Barb Flow, Margaret Lynn Szozda and Paul Jennings.

Rich Miller, a resident of Lakeland Beach Road and a real estate agent, said the town’s new law is “ill advised” and an attack on property rights.

He told the board to expect a lawsuit. About 20 of the rental owners have joined together to hire an attorney to oppose the regulations. They are represented by attorney Steven Barshov of Sive, Paget & Riesel in New York City.

One resident said the STRs are better maintained than most of the properties in the town, with the buildings, lawns and vehicle upkeep. The board should be looking at all properties and not just focusing on STRs, the resident said.

Ken DeRoller, a former county legislator, said Kendall should coordinate its law with the towns of Carlton and Yates as part of a Kendall-Yates-Carlton local waterfront development plan. That LWRP aims for consistency with town regulations along about 25 miles of shoreline. DeRoller urged Kendall to “slow it down” in adopting the regulations.

The town’s property maintenance codes already address issues with poorly maintained structures and don’t require the regulations for STRs, attorney Barshov wrote to the town last month.

Barshov questioned parts of the regulations that limit two people per sleeping room, sprinkler systems above the second floor of buildings used as STRs, and a ban on parking recreational vehicles, campers, trailers or motor vehicles larger than a 1-ton pickup truck.

“The character of a neighborhood is not destroyed by occupants of short-term rental properties doing exactly what residential property can do,” Barshov wrote.

The attorney said the Town Board has misstated the issues with STRs, portraying an “STR war zone” that doesn’t exist. There are only a few isolated incidents and none are “malicious,” he said.

“There are no reports of rampant misbehavior or anything like it at STR properties,” he wrote.

KENDALL – The Town Board is giving the community a chance to comment on two proposed laws to regulate short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs and Vrbo.

The 7 p.m. hearing on Tuesday has been moved from the town hall to the Kendall Junior-Senior High School at 16887 Roosevelt Highway (Route 18).

The town is trying to regulate the short-term rentals after many complaints from neighbors of some of the sites. Neighbors have concerns about noise at night from parties, trespassing and garbage that isn’t picked up.

The town doesn’t want to allow any new short-term rentals in the waterfront districts north of the Lake Ontario State Parkway. The existing rentals, about 8 to 10, would be grandfathered in and could continue to operate.

Kendall is proposing an annual $1,000 annual licensing fee with the town, and wants to require those property owners have a $3 million liability insurance.

The Orleans County Planning Board last month voted against the proposed regulations, with some of the members saying Kendall went too far in the proposal and left some matters as too vague, such as what is the threshold for being too noisy.

The short-term rentals have become more popular since the start of the Covid pandemic, especially in 2020 and 2021 with many people from cities renting homes for weekend getaways.

Some of the highlights of the proposed laws in Kendall include:

• Kendall will continue to allow the pre-existing short-term rentals, but will prohibit them at a location if they are discontinued for six months.
• Transient occupancy considered when living or sleeping accommodation provided for compensation for less than 30 continuous calendar days
• No new transient or short-term rentals allowed in the waterfront districts, excluding bed and breakfasts which require a separate special use permit.
• All applications for a short-term rental license need to include site plans for the property with parking spaces, property lines, driveways and outdoor gathering areas, such as patios and decks.
• The town also wants to see floor plans containing the areas for transient space, a list of the owner(s) of the property as well as the manager with contact information, the number of permanent residents at the site (if any), the number of available parking spaces for transient use, a copy of the house rules provided to transients, and a list of neighbors within 150 feet of the property.
• The short-term rental owner needs to pay $1,000 to apply for the license and then $1,000 for each annual renewal.
• The town can enact penalties for violations that could include improper property maintenance – exposed garbage or litter on premises, failure to return trash containers to their storage location on the day of pickup, failure to maintain property or grounds in a neat and orderly fashion, parking vehicles in undesignated spots such as the lawn, parties that exceed the number of people authorized to be there in the license, failure to adhere to quiet hour restrictions between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., occurrence of excessive noise or nuisances at any other time, and occurrences of transients trespassing on other properties.
• A maximum of two people per sleeping or no more than 8 people total in the STR.
• No recreational vehicles, campers, trailers or motor vehicles larger than a one-ton pickup truck, other than trailers for boats or jet skis to be launched at nearby ramps.
• The locations used as rentals shall not have exterior signage indicating they are a rental. The short-term rentals “shall from all exterior indications be indistinguishable from any conventional dwelling.”
• Owners of the rentals need to provide proof to the town of general liability insurance of at least $3 million with respect to personal injury or death, and at least $300,000 with respect to property damage.
• The owner needs to provide proof to the town that the septic system is in good working order and has been pumped in the last three years (for sites not on a central sewer system.)
• Any violations can result in maximum fines of $3,000, with each continued violation a separate and additional offense.

KENDALL – The Kendall community is invited to an open house on Sunday at the fire hall to bid farewell to the ambulance at the fire department.

The Kendall FD ran the all-volunteer service since 1968. It announced in October the service would cease at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Firefighters will still respond to EMS calls, but transports will be handled by Monroe Ambulance and others in mutual aid.

The open house will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fire hall, 1879 Kendall Rd. Photos will be on display of ambulances through the years. Eric Maxon, a Kendall firefighter for 41 years and treasurer for the ambulance for 23 years, will give a presentation at noon about the history of the ambulance service in Kendall.

The fire department is the last one in Orleans County operating an all-volunteer ambulance service for free.

He said the training requirements and the transports to Rochester hospitals took more time for the volunteers.

“We’ve been known for our ambulance service,” Maxon said today. “But it’s such a burden on volunteers. It’s taken a toll on everybody.”

The fire department didn’t want to continue with the service when it was in doubt there would be a crew to make a timely response.

“We didn’t want a call go out and have nobody show up,” Maxon said.

The open house and decommissioning on Sunday is a chance for the fire department to thank the community for its support for the past 54 years for the ambulance service.

The department will be selling the ambulance and then acquiring a Tahoe that will function as a fly car for basic life support services.

Town Board in Kendall seeks $1,000 annual licensing fee for rentals

Photos by Tom Rivers: Bruce Newell (center) leads the discussion on Thursday about a proposed law in Kendall for regulating short-term rental such as Airbnbs. Newell is also a member of the Orleans County Planning Board, which met in the Orleans County Legislature’s chambers on Thursday. Also pictured include from left Kirk Myhill of Shelby, Paul Schwenk of Carlton, Dan Strong of Carlton (at-large central) and Gary Daum of Yates.

KENDALL – The Orleans County Planning Board last week recommended against a proposed law from Kendall that would regulate short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, in the waterfront district.

Kendall has about 8 or 10 of those sites in the waterfront district, just north of the Lake Ontario State Parkway.

Many neighbors have complained to town officials that the sites in residential neighborhoods are too loud at night, and people staying in the rentals often trespass and don’t take care of their garbage.

“Kendall recognizes these places can operate well,” said Bruce Newell, Kendall’s Planning Board chairman and a member of the County Planning Board. “We’re trying to put a mechanism in place for the problems.”

Kendall wants to ban any new short-term rentals in the Waterfront Residential and Waterfront Development districts. The current short-term rentals could continue but would have to pay an annual $1,000 annual licensing fee with the town, and carry a $3 million liability insurance, stipulations that David Bentley, owner of a short-term rental, said was excessive.

“We aren’t afraid of regulations,” Bentley said during last Thursday’s meeting. “But let’s be reasonable. These are way out of whack.”

There will be a public hearing in Kendall on Jan. 10 about the law. Kendall Town Board would need a super-majority vote of at least four out of five board members after the county voted it down.

Kendall’s proposed law would designate the code enforcement officer to do annual inspections of the sites. The code officer also would be asked to enforce the regulations, and could be called if a neighbor believed a party was out of hand, or if one of the short-term visitors was trespassing.

Some of the County Planning Board members thought that was too much to ask of a code officer. Newell said the town has reached out to the Sheriff’s Office about assistance in enforcing the law.

“We’re very sensitive about the demands it puts on code enforcement,” he said.

Mylynda Kuba, Murray code enforcement officer, said Kendall would need to provide decibel readers to the town code official and establish a standard on where to read them. Otherwise, a noise complaint could be considered subjective.

Newell said the licensing fee would give the town information on who is operating the short-term rentals. Town officials believe some of the sites are under the radar. They may not be reporting their “bed tax,” a 4 percent tax that goes to the county. The bed tax throughout the county last year generated about $80,000.

The $1,000 fee also would bring in some money directly to the town for the short-term rentals because the county currently keeps all of the bed tax.

Ken DeRoller, a former Orleans County legislator from Kendall, urged Kendall officials to work with Carlton and Yates for consistent regulations for short-term rentals among the three lakeshore towns. Carlton and Yates don’t have any regulations for the rentals right now.

Bruce Kirby, a County Planning Board member from Gaines, operates a short-term rental that he said generates about $6,000 in profit a year. He thought a $1,000 fee was too steep.

Kirby said he thought Kendall was trying to do too much with the proposed law.

Dan Strong, a member of the County Planning Board, said the law was “a good starting point” that gets all of the short-term rentals “playing by the same rules.”

Kendall isn’t cracking down on short-term rentals outside the waterfront districts because Newell said those locations are more spread out, and the town hasn’t received complaints from neighbors there.

In the waterfronts districts, the houses are much closer together, he said.

The town’s proposed law would be the first attempt in Orleans County to regulate Airbnbs or other short-term rentals, which became much more popular during the Covid pandemic, with many people from cities seeking a brief escape to a more open rural area.

Some of the highlights of the proposed law in Kendall include:

• Kendall will continue to allow the pre-existing short-term rentals, but will prohibit them at a location if they are discontinued for six months.
• Can operate as legal non-conforming uses.
• Transient occupancy considered when living or sleeping accommodation provided for compensation for less than 30 continuous calendar days
• No new transient or short-term rentals allowed in the waterfront districts, excluding bed and breakfasts which require a separate special use permit.
• All applications for a short-term rental license need to include site plans for the property with parking spaces, property lines, driveways and outdoor gathering areas, such as patios and decks.
• The town also wants to see floor plans containing the areas for transient space, a list of the owner(s) of the property as well as the manager with contact information, the number of permanent residents at the site (if any), the number of available parking spaces for transient use, a copy of the house rules provided to transients, and a list of neighbors within 150 feet of the property.
• The short-term rental owner needs to pay $1,000 to apply for the license and then $1,000 for each annual renewal.
• The town can enact penalties for violations that could include improper property maintenance – exposed garbage or litter on premises, failure to return trash containers to their storage location on the day of pickup, failure to maintain property or grounds in a neat and orderly fashion, parking vehicles in undesignated spots such as the lawn, parties that exceed the number of people authorized to be there in the license, failure to adhere to quiet hour restrictions between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., occurrence of excessive noise or nuisances at any other time, and occurrences of transients trespassing on other properties.
• If the STR commits two or more offenses, the code officer can recommend to the Town Board that the license be revoked and a hearing can be held to consider the revocation.

Standards

• A maximum of two people per sleeping or no more than 8 people total in the STR.
• no recreational vehicles, campers, trailers or motor vehicles larger than a one-ton pickup truck, other than trailers for boats or jet skis to be launched at nearby ramps.
• No rental shall be above the second floor unless there is a sprinkler system.
• The locations used as rentals shall not have exterior signage indicating they are a rental. The short-term rentals “shall from all exterior indications be indistinguishable from any conventional dwelling.”
• The rental shall be limited to registered guests, and no commercial activities, public or private parties, receptions, meetings or similar social gatherings will be permitted. The site shall maintain a register of all transients staying there, including their permanent addresses and dates of their stay. That register shall be made available to the code enforcement officer or Sheriff’s Office if there are complaints about the transients’ behavior.
• Owners of the rentals shall reside within 30 minutes of the sites so they can quickly respond if there is a complaint. If an owner can’t respond within 30 minutes of a complaint, the owner needs to appoint a manager who can be onsite to answer a complaint within 30 minutes.
• Owners of the rentals need to provide proof to the town of general liability insurance of at least $3 million with respect to personal injury or death, and at least $300,000 with respect to property damage.
• The owner needs to provide proof to the town that the septic system is in good working order and has been pumped in the last three years (for sites not on a central sewer system.)
• Any violations can result in maximum fines of $3,000, with each continued violation a separate and additional offense.

KENDALL – Tony Cammarata, the Kendall town supervisor, insists the town was smart to not take action on a contract with Monroe Ambulance.

Kendall was initially part of a seven-town consortium in Orleans negotiating a contract for ambulance services with Monroe Ambulance. The agreement was for $200,000 to be shared among the seven towns, with the amounts based on their share of projected call volume.

Kendall is different from the other seven because it already had ambulance coverage in 2023 at no charge to the town as part of a deal with two fire districts – Kendall and Hamlin-Morton-Walker.

Cammarata spoke with the fire district leaders and they didn’t see a need to commit town funds for an ambulance contract when Monroe already offered to cover the fire districts in the town.

Tom Coyle, the Monroe president and owner, said during Carlton’s Town Board meeting on Tuesday that Cammarata “misconstrued” the contract and the services offered by Monroe.

The new contract with the seven towns would have an ambulance stationed on Holley that would serve Kendall.

But without Kendall not in the contract with the other Orleans towns the ambulances serving Kendall will come from Monroe County. Monroe officials said they plan to have three ambulances available in western Monroe next year. They currently keep ambulances stationed in Brockport which can be routed to Kendall for EMS calls.

Mike Schultz of the Kendall Fire Department said Kendall will be covered and should receive good service as part of the contract with Monroe.

Cammarata insists paying the $18,000 would have been an unnecessary expense for the town in 2023, when it already had coverage from the contracts with Monroe from the fire districts.

Those contracts expire after 2023. Cammarata said Kendall will likely have to pay with town funds in 2024.

KENDALL – The Town of Kendall won’t be spending money for ambulance services in 2023, Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said today.

A proposal from Monroe Ambulance sought $18,000 from Kendall as part of a seven-town consortium for ambulance services in Orleans County. Monroe is seeking $200,000 from the seven towns in a contract in an agreement that would have Monroe stationing two ambulances in the county – one in Albion and one in Holley.

But Cammarata said there are already agreements in place for ambulance services in Kendall for 2023, without costing the town.

The Kendall Fire District has a contract with Monroe Ambulance as the primary ambulance provider. That fire district covers Kendall from the Carlton town line heading east to Norway Road.

The Hamlin Morton Walker Fire District includes the rest of the town from Norway Road to the Hamlin town line, and also includes Hamlin. That district has an agreement with Mercy Flight for ambulance services at no cost, Cammarata said. Mercy Flight recently took over for COVA, which was operating in Hamlin.

“I’m very happy because I don’t have to pay $18,000 and we’re getting coverage,” Cammarata said.

The town supervisor said he spoke with leadership with the two fire districts and they said the town didn’t need to do an agreement on its own with either Monroe or Mercy Flight because there are already existing contracts through the fire districts.

“It was a very easy decision to make once I had all the factual data,” Cammarata said.

Four of the seven towns in the consortium – Albion, Barre, Clarendon and Murray – have approved a contract with Monroe for 2023. Carlton and Gaines officials have scheduled a joint meeting for 6 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the Carlton Town Hall to discuss ambulance services.

Kendall is the last town in Orleans County to lose its volunteer-run ambulance. The Kendall Fire Department announced in October it would cease its ambulance service on Dec. 31 and look to sell its ambulance. That volunteer squad in recent years would respond to about 200 calls a year.

“This was a difficult decision that we did not take lightly. Due to lengthy transport times and lack of staffing, we are unable to offer a service that lives up to the standards we believe that Kendall, and the surrounding communities, deserves,” according to a letter to the community in October from Kendall FD President Bryan Hardenbrook and Fire Chief Dan Schultz.

Beginning on Jan. 1, many 911 calls in Kendall will still have Kendall personnel on scene to start treatment. An ambulance will respond and people will be transported, if needed, to a hospital, Hardenbrook and Schultz said.

Cammarata said the Monroe and Mercy Flight agreements with the fire districts are for 2023, and will be re-evaluated next year.

He said Kendall is in a different situation from the other six towns negotiating the ambulance contract because Kendall has the two fire districts, including one that stretches into another town and county.

“2024 will be a whole new decision-making process and we’ll look to start that early,” Cammarata said. “Next year, it may be that the consortium is the way to go. For now, in 2023, we will have ambulance coverage. This is our best decision for now. The other towns can meet and decide what’s best for them.”