DON'T LET THE LEGACY OF SMALL TOWN USA FADE AWAY

The lyrics to Justin Moore's song, Small Town USA go:

     "A lot of people called it prison when I was growin' up
          But these are my roots and that is what I love

               'Cause everybody knows me and I know them

                    And I believe that's the way we're supposed to live

                         I wouldn't trade one single day in small town USA."

                       

There's a lot to be said for growing up in a small town that I didn't so much appreciate when I was younger. Like Justin's song, my roots go deep here, and the things I used to take for granted are extremely important to me today. It seems like there was more of a sense of belonging and real connection that is slipping away.  Do we need to raise our vision higher to our physical environment to empower us to promote a more prosperous and enduring way of life?  How do we promote collaboration between community members to tackle the problems and opportunities in small towns today such as Montezuma? We need to wake up to the fact that its up to us to be more pro-active. With industrialization of agriculture, industrialized delivery systems and the globalization of our economy, our small towns are being by-passed and extremely challenged to endure. 

Today's challenges require us to find the possible solutions that are unique to a place and its people.  We must work towards a community that assures each citizen may hope to prosper and benefit from an inspired community life. We need to raise the bar on what we expect for our community and come together to create a stable, safe and healthy town that reveals our unique heritage and diverse values. One of the greatest challenges that our rural community faces today is the need to find ways for economic stability, growth and achieve a high quality of life.  Unfortunately, there are limited resources, with limited assistance and access to information or the means for implementation.
 
We need to focus on the appreciation for the character of a people and its place. I'm looking forward to hiring an architect firm through the EPF grant in the next few weeks that will offer creative and practical skills towards improving the environments in which we live, work and meet. It is my hope that we will begin coming together to identify our community's needs. We will then begin addressing how they might be accommodated with existing rich natural and historic resources of our region, so we can begin to organize our community towards a shared vision. Working with local leadership and partners, it is possible to protect our small home town legacy from fading away.

2012 -- Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Looking forward to all we can do to bring in the new year, and with it a new "sense of place" to live and support one another. 

HPDC MEETING SCHEDULED

The last meeting of the year of the Montezuma Heritage Design Committee (HPDC) will be held Thursday, December 29th at 7 PM in the Town Hall. We welcome community residents to attend. 

At this meeting we will be reviewing proposals for conceptual design services to develop the park. This planning project is partially funded through a grant received from the Environmental Protection Fund administered by New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. We also will be setting three main goals for the coming year as we partner with the Rivers, Trails, Conservation Assistance and Parks and Trails, New York Creating Healthy Trails, Healthy Places Program to assist us in putting together an Action Plan.

Park Plans Highlighted

I would like to thank Dorothy Long, Contributing Writer to the Post Standard Neighbors Cayuga County section for today's article highlighting Montezuma's plans for the park.  I enjoyed chatting with Dorothy about the article she did. Also, I enjoyed the walk to the aqueduct with Photographer, Stephen Cannerelli  as I shared with him about the historic sites in the park. I appreciate the article and photos helping us to educate the public about the important natural and historic resources we have here.   Supervisor John Malenick was quoted in the article as saying, "We are a very small community, but we are rich in history."  This is so true, and when we recognize the value of our history as an asset, it helps our community focus on what resources we do have.

I would like to make one correction regarding the grant that was received by the town mentioned in the article. It is an Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). The purpose of the grant is to conduct a park design project that will include building understanding and community support, exploring alternatives and preparing the final concept plan. The Town will then use a landscape architect to develop final designs, construction documents. and begin the permit process for this project of the priority components of the park design. The Request for Proposals are due today and the Heritage Park Design Committee will review the proposals, and make a recommendation to the Town Board for final approval at their January town board meeting. 

The article may be read online at:
http://blog.syracuse.com/neighbors/2011/12/montezuma_inches_closer_to_new_park_with_new_planning_grant.html

A Gift Arrives in Time For the Holidays!

Creating a healthy environment is important for our community.  One way to do this has recently arrived for the Town of Montezuma wrapped in a bright green package just in time for the holidays.

To help manage residential organic waste that was previously burned and to build community understanding of the serious health and safety hazards of open burning, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) with the funding for the New York State Clean Air Grants Program under the Clean Air Act.  Open burning of leaves, branches and other organic materials poses serious health risks and safety hazards that results in  releasing harmful pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde and lead.  Also, since open burning of residential waste is the single largest cause of wildfires, it puts the Montezuma Heritage Park and Montezuma National Wildlife that borders it at risk, and it is critical as stewards of this land we protect the habitat of these areas.

The Town of Montezuma received a Clean Air Grant through the DEC to help purchase a chipper. This will allow the Town to provide a service to residents to dispose of organic waste by bringing it to a designated site near the Recycling Center at the Town Highway Department barn. In return residents, will be able to use this recycled product as mulch as it becomes available. Another benefit is it will provide needed mulch along the newly self-guided nature trails now being developed in the Montezuma Heritage Park.

Denny Lapp (left) and Jeff Dawson (right) ready to tackle a huge pile of brush.

Jeffrey Dawson, newly elected Highway Superintendent will be in charge of the operation assisted by highway employee, Denny Lapp.  More information will be published as the needed guidelines for collection are established.

It's a win-win solution  and opportunity for the town -- thanks DEC!

Happy Holidays!


 

Harvesting Wonderful Partnerships!

At this time of year there's so much to be grateful for in our homes and communities. I would like to thank the many individuals and agencies that helped support the Montezuma Heritage Park project.  First of all I'd like to extend a very warm thanks to the Park Design Committee. This group has remained committed spending hours of their time in multiple ways. Also, thank you to the many residents and businesses that have supported our fundraising efforts. Then, there are so many wonderful agencies that helped support the park project  including Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cayuga Community College, Cayuga County Planning, SUNY-ESF  Center of Community Design Research,  NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work & Play Grant (funded by the NYSDOH), Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, The Pomeroy Foundation, Cayuga Community Foundation, Mural Mania and Forever Wild for Everyone Programs.
Now we can add to our list the assistance awarded from Parks and Trails, New York and again this year, the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program for their support.  PTNY Healthy Trails, Healthy People program will be helping us to enrich the quality of life by connecting to multi-use trails in a natural, cultural and historical park setting.  RTCA shares the benefits of the National Park System to help us further identify and accomplish our goals.

Through collaboratively working with these agencies, we will look forward to the coming year strengthening our vision, building constituencies and local support critical to long term success for the park. Easily accessible, close to home, multi-use trails will enhance opportunities for recreation, health and fitness, education and economic improvement, while focusing on areas of natural beauty and historic significance.

We hope you can join us this weekend for the Zumba-thon to benefit the Mural fund for the park. Many thanks to Kristen Decker and teachers from  Stepping Stone Fitness Center and Roy Wilson and his DJ Service for hosting this event.  Area businesses have been generous, and we have some great raffle donations waiting to be claimed if you're the lucky one! Come Zumba, or just watch and enjoy the music! We appreciate your support! It's being held Sunday, November 27, 2011, at the Town Hall, 8102 Dock Street off Route 90 in Montezuma from 1 PM - 4 PM. 

With partners like this, I'm confident the end result will be a park that enriches our lives with recreation, health, fitness, education and economic improvement!

HPDC Meeting

The Heritage Park Design Committee is scheduled for tomorrow night (Thursday, November 17th) at 7 PM at the Town Hall. The meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend. It was scheduled early this month because of the holiday next week.  Happy Thanksgiving!