LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 15, 2017 SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ADVERTISERS! They help sponsor the local news section of the Le Roy Pennysaver. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Mayor’s Corner by Greg “ Porp” Rogers 5 years ago, when I began my term as Mayor, I knew the waste water treatment plant, was go- ing to need attention. With years of being kept running by Russ Lathan and Tom Fernaays with little to no resources to be preventatively maintained, the plant was going in a downhill spiral, being 55-year-old and looking it. These two gentlemen did an excellent job keeping us in business, but we needed a plan. With the extreme amount of help from Rick Henry and Eric Wies of Clark Patterson and Lee a plan was developed to take a proactive approach to get the plant back on track. First both Tom and Russ re- tired within a month of each other, which lead the village to search for their replacement. Steve Carroll was chosen to be chief operator of the plant. Un- fortunately, he didn’t have the license needed at that time, so we hired Bill Laurence who had retired from the city of Batavia to oversee the transition until Steve could get his license to run the plant. R.J Lathan went from trainee to fill Tom’s po- sition as second in charge, and started classes for his licensing as well. Later we transfer Andre Carmel to the sewer plant from the DPW to assist with the re- pairs. The three men have made a award winning team. First thing they did is shut down the lab and sent that work out so they could focus on work on the plant. Next the village board and the sewer board toured the plant to view the needs for re- pair. Meanwhile our agreement with We Care expired and they chose to no longer handle our sludge, which forced us to the very expensive option of ship- ping wet sludge. The village board was forced to react with a raise in the sewer rates to keep up. Clark Patterson put together a plan, first buy a sludge press to get us out of the shipping of wet sludge, an 800,000-dollar in- vestment but the money would be recaptured within 5 years. Last December the press was up and running and we were out of the shipping wet sludge business. The village applied for hardship 0% interest financing to reno- vate the plant and successfully got it. This was a huge deal. Next apply for a clean water grant form New York State to help with the renovation cost. Yesterday I got word from the Governor’s that we have been chosen to get 2.25-million-dol- lar grant for the project. This is basically the last piece of the puzzle. The 5-year journey has timed out perfectly as in 2019 we will be making our last pay- ment on debt form before, we did not want to double stack our debt load to do this work. I am not sure if we will be able to lower your sewer bill next year, but relief is coming. Thank You for you patients. And to all the people who helped so much, Rick, Eric and Kelly Lathan who was a huge help with the financing portion of the plan. “ Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into think- ing they can’t lose” Bill Gates The Le Roy Democratic Committee is Raising the Bar for 2017! Town Justice Mike Welsh is a lifelong resident of LeRoy. Cur- rently, he serves as Town Justice and owns a pri- vate practice on Main Street. Mike was also very instrumental in saving the community pool. Town Council Rob Stiles is a small business owner with experience in dealing with municipalities. His problem solving skills and ability to moderate difficult problems allows him to view issues from every perspective before making a deci- sion. In his spare time, Rob coaches youth football and wrestling. He hopes to take on the issues of community with the same fresh, clear mind that he puts into his choices in life. Ninja Calhoun is an avid volunteer and advocate with a focus on youth and mental illness awareness. She is a member of multiple organizations in our community including the PTSO, Moose and Oatka Watershed. She is ready to put in the time and work needed to focus on essential services and business opportunities while maintaining a comprehensive budget. The Le Roy Democratic Committee is Raising the Bar for 2017! Town Justice Mike Welsh is a lifelong resident of LeRoy. Currently, he serves as Town Justice and owns a private practice on Main Street. Mike was also very instrumental in saving the community pool. Town Council Rob Stiles is a small busines owner with experienc in d aling with municipalities. His problem solving skills and ability to moderate difficult problems allows him to vi w issues fr m every perspective before making a decision. In his spare time, Rob coaches youth football and wrestling. He hopes to take on the issues of community with the same fresh, clear mind that he puts into his choices in life. Ninja Calhoun is an avid volunteer and advocat with a focus on youth and mental illness wareness. She is a member of multiple orga izations in our community including the PTSO, Moose and Oatka Watershed. She is ready to put in the time and work needed to focus on essential services and business opportunities while maintaining a comprehensive budget.