The evening of 2025-02-18 was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls Board of Trustees.
Before the public meeting, they held Executive Session. First time of this new approach, and it seems to have gone well. At least from what I could see from the outside. Although… they also went back into Executive Session at the end of the Agenda. So need to become more efficient in time usage? Expected for this kind of change? Or some topics just demand more discussion? (I expect it’s the last.)
Annual report from the Village Historian, Diane Ham. She is a source of interesting stories, and her report was the same. But what stood out the most to me was a comment about the totem pole. Something to the extent of ‘there are no plans to remove the totem pole’. Fair enough, I wouldn’t expect any plans along those lines. But that it was said implies to me one of two things: There have been requests to remove it. Or this was an attempt to head off those requests before they show up.
The County sharing sales tax came up. In particular, that the Village receives ~40% of it’s annual income through this program. Needless to say, this means the Village pays attention to when those checks come in. And takes care in projections for the future.
Following up on an idea that has been tossed around for a while, apparently the Mendon Fire District has said ‘no’ to merging with the Village. And as any merger would require all parties agree, that stops that idea. I’m not surprised to hear this, as it has been a while. We had kind of passed the point where declining to move forward was itself an answer.
An Amber Alert test is scheduled for sometime in the near future. I heard 10AM on 3/8, but I could be wrong. Regardless of the timing, don’t panic when it happens. (Or don’t notice it if you’ve disabled those.)
The Village is purchasing a backhoe earlier then it’s replacement schedule would suggest. The reason is they have found a great deal, essentially half price. Still going to cost ~$90k. But prudent to save money when the opportunity occurs.
Sticking to what they said they would do, the Village is reviewing their parade approval process. Looks like there will be a slight Code change before too long. Then a refurbished parade permit.
The Ambulance is expecting a payroll shortage of ~$28k, so there was a transfer to avoid that. Making payroll is important. The ongoing staff shortage was also touched upon, and how this is system wide, not just Honeoye Falls. While it sounds like the scale is steadily becoming worse, the news itself isn’t really new. But it does raise the question. How long do you report the ship is sinking, before it has sunk? (Or however you want to phrase that concept.)
The Scouts are planning to have a chicken BBQ at the upcoming Environmental Day. I see no problems with this, but find it incredibly ironic. Apparently, so do some of those working on the Environmental Day, as there was push back from them. But the Scouts got their approval, so they will have to work it out. As an aside, while I’m normally not one to buy chicken BBQ, I’m tempted here. Just for the sake of the irony.
Greenlight is exploring offering their internet service in the Village. While I have no complaints on Spectrum’s service, I think having the additional option will benefit everyone. Except maybe Spectrum, which…. doesn’t bother me.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the February 18, 2025 meeting of the Honeoye Falls Board of Trustees.