Fall Marks a Return to Planning
Activities at the Village Hall

The Board of Trustees and village staff are beginning
the process of establishing next year's budget. Our first step is assembling a "wish list" from staff and board members.

The primary components of our general budget include staff salaries; upgrades and maintenance of capital improvements (streets, storm sewers, sidewalks, street trees, street lighting); Department of Public Works equipment purchases and maintenance (trucks, plows, etc.); village facilities maintenance (garage and village hall); administrative equipment and supplies; professional consultants; and special capital projects for waterfront or streetscape improvements. Village revenue is derived from Monroe County sales tax receipts, village property taxes, state aid, investment income, and village permits. For the current, or 2002-2003, fiscal cycle, our projected budget totals approximately $850,000. Our fiscal year runs from June 1 to May 31.

The village also maintains a separate sanitary sewer department budget that is funded by sewer rents from village properties and homes in the Woodcreek neighborhood located just east of the village.

As we prioritize projects and other expenses, we seek your input. Please let us know if there are village services that you feel we could improve, sidewalks or streets that need extra attention, or other needs that you feel we may not have addressed. One of the most rewarding aspects of being involved in the village organization is the high level of interest regularly demonstrated by residents.

A second major planning initiative is being undertaken by the Village Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee. To ensure our recently adopted comprehensive plan does not "sit and collect dust," the committee will prioritize the plan's recommendations and work toward facilitating their realization. The volunteer committee consists of residents and business owners representing both the village and the town. The committee includes a number of people who participated in the comprehensive plan planning process. The committee will be co chaired by Margaret Brizee and Bonnie Salem.

Please contact the Village office if you would like
to know meeting times or other information on either planning process. All village meetings are open to the public and we welcome your participation.

$100,000 Grant Targets
Canal-side Improvements

Senator James Alesi (R-Fairport) has been instrumental in helping the Village of Pittsford secure a $100,000 New York State grant for canal-side improvements. The grant will enable the Village to begin implementing changes recommended in the Comprehensive Plan. That exhaustive study, adopted after months of committee work by residents, staff, and consultants, lays out a thoughtful design for ensuring a healthy future for the Village.

Commenting on the award, Senator Alesi says: "I am pleased to be able to assist the Village of Pittsford in its canal enhancement efforts. This funding rightfully recognizes the canal as a central attraction and vitally important resource for Pittsford and the surrounding community. The grant follows in the tradition of my past grants for projects such as a canal fueling station."

"Ensuring pedestrian safety along the canal is one of our chief concerns," says Mayor Corby. "We want to make sure that crossing Schoen Place can be accomplished easily and safely."

Sometime next year, the metal guardrail currently in use on Schoen Place will be removed. Clearly marked crosswalks will be set up, and a roadside landscape plan will be implemented, with shrubbery helping serve as protective traffic barriers. Additional facilities for fishing and docking, and improvements to the edge of the canal are also part of the plan.

Village resident Rod Mattingly served as chair of the Comprehensive Plan committee whose recommendations helped secure the grant, while Trustee Steve Maddox served as liaison between Senator Alesi's office and the Village of Pittsford. Work on the improvements is targeted to begin next Fall.

Looking Into The Future

Mayor Bob Corby and Village historian Audrey Johnson bury a "time capsule" at the base of the flagpole in front of the Wiltsie Building, home to the Village of Pittsford offices. Inside the metal container are souvenirs of Pittsford, photographs of the Village as it looks now, and newspaper articles documenting the 175th Anniversary celebration. Buried this September, the time capsule will be opened 25 years from now, on July 4, 2027.