SchuyLines

The following was provided by the Watkins Glen Village Board.

If you’ve been following the news lately, you may have noticed that Watkins Glen has been consistently nominated in the top 10 for coolest small town in America. We are proud of our area’s natural beauty, quaint feel, friendly folk, and burgeoning local tourist industry, all of which seem  to be attracting more and more visitors by the year. Our local economy is on the upswing and we’ve seen new businesses cropping up all over the region as well as many dynamic changes to our long time establishments.

The former Village Water Works Building condominium project is steadily progressing, we have seen several new restaurants open up in town, many of our Franklin Street buildings are being improved with new faces, and other revitalization projects are in the works. Our area has been highlighted in several national TV spots as a “must see” and we owe much of this to you, our business owners and residents, for moving us in that direction.

This is an exciting time for our community, and the Village Board is extremely proud to be part of what makes our area so special. Our dedicated and professional staff has come up with new ways to restructure and retool budgets, operations, and services. With their support and cooperation, we are proud to announce that we have been able to eliminate tax increases for the third year in a row. The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value will be $8.03 for both towns. (That’s a slight (.36%) decrease from last year’s tax rate.)

Please take this opportunity to review just some of the things that we’ve been working on over this past year to help make our Village even better.

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The following was prepared by John King (pictured), the mayor of the Village of Montour Falls.

–By John King–

We are now in 2013 and many Montour Falls village projects are already under way in the new year. But first, let’s review all the great  progress made in the village in 2012.

Year 2012 started with great news: Quinlans Pharmacy agreed to open a store in Montour Falls to replace the old Montour Pharmacy. Even though it took six months to get state licenses, most of the original employees are back to greet and serve you. The Rural Urban Center, originally the Union Grammar School, was transformed into the Flats on Broadway, adding more needed quality apartments to our village. A little later on, the ground floor of the same building, the ‘My Place’ day care, opened its doors to 60 children, a much-needed expansion of day care services in our area.

In addition, NYSEG also relocated from Watkins Glen to the same complex. Then the Schuyler County Humane Society purchased the Kurtz  Enterprise building. All the cats have now been moved into the Humane Society annex and fund raising is still in progress to complete the rest of the main facility this year. Locating here in Montour Falls will give the Humane Society visibility from State Route 14 and give easy access to volunteers.

Next, the Village Bakery opened for business next door to the Over The Top Cupcake store. The bakery is the only one in the area and draws customers for bread and bagels from a wide geographic area.  And let’s not forget the Lakeside Veterinary Clinic that also opened this year on State Route 14. They are skilled in both household pets and large animals such as horses. Last but not least, the JBK Bridal and Prom dress store’s grand opening and  ribbon cutting took place on December 28.

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The following, originally titled “Year in Review – Achievements and Plans for our Future,” was prepared by the Watkins Glen Village Board at the request of SchuyLines. Pictured: Mayor Mark Swinnerton

What a year it’s been!  It’s hard to believe that almost one short year ago, the Village of Watkins Glen Board of Trustees welcomed Kevin Smith and Scott Gibson as its newest members and Mark Swinnerton as the new Village Mayor.  Coupled with the past experience of Wayne Weber, and our recently appointed member, Paul Clifford, it was clear from the start that the Village was embarking in a new direction. With a campaign platform for change, members of the board promised to improve its role in municipal government from several perspectives.

•    Conduct business in an open and transparent manner;
•    Reunite the local government with its community by encouraging open participation and involvement, holding true to the belief that “it’s your government”;
•    Review the overall budget process, making cuts where necessary to ensure that taxes are kept at a minimum;
•    Plan for our future with long-term goals;
•    Make the tough choices on changing policy, programming, and operations to benefit the entire community;
•    Improve partnerships with our municipal neighbors, businesses, and organizations.

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