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!

Which Way to the Park?

Much of the focus for  Montezuma Heritage Park Design Committee this past year has been planning for signage so that people can find the park. So many people have said to me, "I've heard of that Richmond Aqueduct, but where is it?" or "Montezuma? Is that where that Wildlife Refuge is?" This year we've made great progress to be able to help people find the park, trails and historic sites within it. Most of the trails are roughly formed, in good shape, and can be used now, but finding them can be challenging.

Which way to Montezuma Heritage Park?

That's all about to change with the help of the Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work, and Play grant program. This organization's objectives  include establishing walking and recreation trails that focus on walking and biking funded by the state health department. Their mission seeks to bring government, the business community and the nonprofit world together to improve transportation, recreation and nutrition options in Cayuga County. The program encourages healthier choices to improve our lifestyles and creates a new context for physical activity by aiming to re-position it in our parks in terms of well-being, fun, stress reduction, and connections to other people and the natural world.

Through a generous grant received from the program, this winter volunteers will be busy building two new kiosks for the park entrances, benches, and designing signage for the park and along the trails.  With the help of Cayuga Community College and Professor Walter Aikman's Geography class and County Planning, we will have well designed maps to put on our new signage to locate the sites and trails of interest within the park.

My thanks to Sabrina Hesford, of the Creating Healthy Places program for helping us obtain this funding that will  improve our site -- one people will be able to find, and enjoy the many benefits it has to offer. 

Fall at the Richmond Aqueduct

A beautiful Fall photo of the Richmond Aqueduct taken by Jean Mackay, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, on her visit to Montezuma last week.