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SYRACUSE – Police Chief Jim Layne and the Syracuse Town Council discussed options for getting semi-trucks and trailers in and out of the town’s industrial areas safely with minimal traffic disruption at the council’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The brainstorming session, without any official action, centered on the intersection of Brooklyn and Main streets, near the former Syracuse Elementary School building. There are homes on all four corners of the intersection, and an industrial park is on the west end of Brooklyn Street. The ball diamonds for Syracuse’s youth baseball and softball program are also in that area.
Brooklyn Street is offset on either side of Main; westbound traffic on Brooklyn has to cross Main at an angle to continue west. Brooklyn is one way from the former school site to Main.
Town Manager Henry DeJulia said the curb work at Brooklyn and Main had been rebuilt, worn down, redesigned and replaces and worn down again by trucks trying to turn on Main Street. The consensus was that even if there are only a couple of cars in the intersection, which is controlled by four-way stop signs, it becomes difficult for a semi driver to maneuver.
One suggestion was to take the former school site and build a road to Boston Street to improve access to Huntington Street (Ind. 13).
Layne and the council agreed to work with all the parties involved toward an eventual solution, but there’s not a lot that can be done in the short term to make the situation better.
Layne also told the council the town would have an Americans with Disabilities Act audit done by the end of November. The audit is required by the state to be done every three years.
DeJulia reported the Main Street railroad crossing is taking longer than expected to reopen. CSX is making repairs to the crossing, and DeJulia said he hoped it would reopen by the end of the week.
Public Works Superintendent Rob Merchant asked the council to appropriate $45,345 for a new light-duty dump truck with a snow plow attachment. Merchant had three quotes, and said the vehicle would replace a well-worn 23-1/2 year-old truck. The old truck will be sold. The council approved the request.
Merchant also asked the council to change the town’s employee uniform policy. In the employee handbook it says uniforms and laundry service is provided, but that hasn’t been the case for several years. These days town employees wear bright green T-shirts with the town logo and jeans, and handle their own laundry.
Town Clerk Paula Kehr-Wicker said an ordinance would be needed to make the change official, and she would have the document drawn up in time for the November meeting.
Lastly, Merchant reported a chemical spill he traced back to Jasper Plastics. He reported getting the run-around when trying to report it to state officials, but ultimately the spill was contained by booms deployed by the Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire Department. Fire Chief Mickey Scott said it was standard procedure to bill the party responsible for the spill for the boom deployment.
The council agreed to spend $12,391 for another generator for the town hall. The one installed earlier this year was too big for the building. The generator being replaced will be repurposed and used with a lift station, and the money for the new generator will be taken from sewer funds.
Council president Bill Musser said he talked to Guy Fisher of Goodwill Industries, who said the mess around the contribution box will be cleaned up within a month. Another box for a for-profit group has been removed
In other business:
• The 2019 budget and additional appropriations for police and streets were approved by the council.
• Trick-or-treat hours will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.
• The town’s indoor garage sale will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the community center, 1013 N. Long Drive.
• The town clerk’s office will be closed Thursday and again Nov. 1 for training.
