Keeping you updated

Free Movie night at Village Hall this Saturday, 12/22/12

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:43:58 -0700

Mayors News Bulletin

Good afternoon! We have some quick things to pass along:

- This Saturday at 2 PM the Community Association is sponsoring two family movies for free. The movies are "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas". They will be shown on the big screen at Village Hall.

- Saturday evening at 7 PM will be for the adults. The free movie will be "Its A Wonderful Life". Come and have a nice time watching some classics.

- Two more abandoned and condemned houses have been torn down. One is on Second below Hartinger and the other is on 4th near McClure's. We're sure the neighbors are glad to have these dangerous eyesores gone.

Have a good night!

Mike

Public Works Announcement and Mayor News Bulletin

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:03:41 -0700

Public Works Announcement  Dog Tags: On January 2, 2013 from 1:00 to 3:00 the Dog Warden will be a village hall selling dog tags. The cost is $8.00 per dog.

2013 Landlord Fee’s: They are due by February 28, 2013. The charge is $20.00 per unit and can be paid at the Public Works Office or mailed.  Mayors News Bulletin

Good afternoon! As we near the end of the year, Council and the Administration want to give you a glimpse of where Middleport is going:

There is no shortage of things that we all would like to see for Middleport. We have an image of what could be, the potential. Of course, the money to pay for those improvements and services is always an issue. Our minds immediately run to increasing taxes and sometimes that has to happen but nobody likes it. So what do we do? Costs are rising. We don't have much money. The knee jerk reaction is to cut back. Slash spending. Let maintenance go. But, that doesn't work. Everything breaks down. Nothing works. You don't get the shelf life out of things that you should and you can't afford to replace anything. It is a death spiral.

Grants are an option. We have done very well with that over the last few years. We have obtained millions in free money for the improvements to the water and sewer systems, the Solar Bees, new wells, extension of waterlines to Hobson, all manner of equipment, Police equipment, supplies and training. Tools to help the Police get the bad guys. You should see this stuff. But, to get those grants we have to show that it is for a good purpose. We will use the money the way it was intended. We have to show we are trying to help ourselves. We are willing to put up some of our own money. The project has to do what it was supposed to do. It has to work. You build up credibility which opens doors to further grants.

We need to be as efficient as possible in every area. We have to maintain what we have. These are long term savings that keep on giving. High efficiency lighting and heating in our new Village Hall. Replacing a single pump in a lift station with a high efficiency one, saved us $400 a month. Do you know how many pumps we are doing that to? Using the solar mixers at the sewer lagoons saved us $80,000 in electricity. Better contracts. Better insurance. Equipment that pinpoints where the leaks are. Less digging means more savings. Changing the process used at the sewer lagoons (the bio-fuel project) could drastically cut the costs to operate the most expensive part of
our water and sewer system. It might even make some money. We have a $100,000 grant to see if that can happen.

We can increase tax payers. How can we do that? It could be as simple as catching those who aren't paying their taxes but we're already doing that. More importantly is getting more people to move into town. We provide good water and sewer, good police protection. We continue to get rid of the abandoned, dilapidated houses. Replace them with new ones. That is the Community Action Project. Encourage people to paint/ fix up their existing homes. Many of our older homes are treasures ready to be polished by new residents. Flowers. Parks. Cleaning up. Our Building Inspector works on that.

Finally, we need to seek innovative sources of income for the Village. All of this can mean less new taxes in the future. The new jail helps fund the Police by providing a service to surrounding communities. The impound lot we're working on will bring in money and help clean up the town. Less taxes is why we are closely studying the proposal to administer Rutland's water and sewer system. If Middleport can make money by providing a service, it means less new taxes down the road.

Have a good weekend!

Mike

Community watch success & meeting, state cert. congrats, demo of abandon homes & more

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:53:45 -0700

Mayors News Bulletin

Good evening! There is a lot going on right now so we'll get some of it out to you tonight.

- We are still having good success from our citizens watching out for the unusual and reporting it. Just recently it led to an arrest and prevented a copper theft at a home. Thanks to all those who are helping.

- If you want to become more informed on what to be looking for, the next Community Watch meeting will be Dec. 20th at 6:30 PM at Village Hall. Lt. Joel Lynch will be discussing drug awareness, how to identify drug activity in your neighborhood and how to become part of the solution.

- Don't forget that you can bring your old prescriptions to the safe drop box at Village Hall. Any day and anytime.

- We want to congratulate all five of our jailers who recently passed state certification test:
Matt Smith Mike Hupp
Alicia Dougherty Scott Kimes
Courtney Nitz
It takes discipline and effort to the studies. They join the other certified members of our jail staff.

- The next round of demolition of abandoned houses started today. A burned out house on Oliver Street came down today.

- There is no final word yet on the new grocery. That campaign continues on the State and Federal level. They are aware of the issue and have promised an answer soon. Meantime, we'll continue to talk with the various officials.

Have a good night!

Mike