It hardly seems possible that it was 9 years ago that I was first elected supervisor for the town of Scipio.  Mark Ferrari was also elected as town board member at the same time.  Since he was an architect and builder, I asked him to evaluate our buildings.  The current town office was constructed in the mid 1960’s.  The highway barn was built at the turn of the century.  The court portion of the town office was built about 2010.  All are structurally sound.

It was decided that we needed to upgrade the outside of the town office, improve the interior and upgrade the heating and ventilation system.  We asked for bids which were delayed because of COVID.  When they finally came in, the low bid was $750,000 with a high bid over a million dollars just for an upgrade.  No way was this going to happen.

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We had received $166,563 from the American Rescue Plan Act which is to be used in one-time purchases.  The 4 towns that support the Southern Cayuga Instant Aid contributed $100,000 from their respective ARPA funds to help with the purchase of the new ambulance.

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This past winter we decided to take the renovation project one step at a time and asked for bids to improve the outside of the building.  This meant replacing crumbling blocks on each end of the building and replacing the siding in the gables.  We also wanted to replace the exterior windows and doors, including a window in the door to the judge’s chambers. 

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Since part of the outside renovation project included painting the outside of the building, we quickly realized that the inside offices also needed painting.  We added that item to the project as well as installing new flooring.

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While we spent a little more money than the remaining funds from ARPA, we are pleased with the look of the town office.  Stop by sometime when you see one of us in the office or especially during Ann’s office hours, Tuesday and Wednesdays between 1 and 5:30 pm.

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We ordered a new 10 wheeled dump truck with snowplow over 2 years ago which is expected to be delivered the end of this month.  We also purchased a new 6 wheeled pickup truck with snowplow and sander to assist in the smaller snows and relieve the larger trucks.  This smaller truck was purchased with CHIPS money from the state. The grey pickup truck will be replaced this next year having served 2 years longer than the traditional 2 years program we have been following recently.

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Board members Nancy Hart and Jason Botsford attended the Association of Towns annual meeting in NYC this past February.  They connected with a grant writing company who are working on a grant for 75% of the cost of a new salt shed.  Hopefully this grant will come through, and we will see the construction of this building next fall.  We had applied for the past 4 years through the Soil and Water Conservation District but never received approval.

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Despite all these expenditures, I am happy to say that the financial picture for Scipio remains strong.  We will be raising taxes for the town a little over 1% this year as we have done every year since I came into office.  This is the standard procedure as recommended by the NYS comptroller’s office.  But this does not keep up with the inflation rate. However, in speaking with neighboring supervisors, many have had to override their tax cap often.

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Next year we will be having local elections, and we are always looking for new people to fill our positions.  Currently, we are also looking for someone to be appointed assistant town clerk.

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We continue to monitor events regarding the solar farm on Center Road and the Agricola Wind project in the southeast part of the town.  Continue to monitor the web page for updates regarding these projects.

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As always, feel free to contact me at 315-730-3638 to discuss issues pertaining to this beautiful town.

Gary Mutchler, Scipio Town Supervisor