Mayors of Greene, Bainbridge discuss challenges and opportunities
Village of Greene Mayor Phillip Brown and Village of Bainbridge Mayor Philip Wade at the second Meet the Mayors civic forum on Monday.
NORWICH – Village of Greene Mayor Phillip Brown and Village of Bainbridge Mayor Philip Wade participated in the second Meet the Mayors civic forum on Monday night to take questions from the public and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing their villages.
The forum, organized by Chenango Links, serves as a way to better connect residents of Chenango County with their elected officials.
Brown, a lifelong resident of Greene and mayor of six years, spoke first at the forum, discussing some of the perks in the village including being home to Raymond Corporation and having its own municipal electric department.
Brown said the village is currently in the process of changing all its street lights to LED. Because it has its own municipal electric department, Brown said the Village of Greene spends just $.09 per kilowatt hour of electricity, which is one benefit that keeps Raymond Corporation in the village.
"The addition of Raymond Corporation is a great asset to our community, as well as to this county," said Brown. "We currently employee approximately 1,600 employees on a daily basis and they come as far as Syracuse, Ithaca, and Binghamton."
Another project being undertaken in the Village of Greene, Brown said, is they are currently in the process of finishing up a three-year, $7 million sewage treatment project in order to reduce phosphate levels and comply with state requirements. He said part of Raymond Corporation's processes actually increase the phosphate level that comes into the village plant but together they are working on a solution.
"The biggest challenge we have today is our infrastructure," said Brown.
Wade, a three year mayor of Bainbridge, said while the village has some issues it is working on, including aging infrastructure, declining population, and economic development, it also has a lot of possibilities and his focus is to consider all ideas to find the right solution.
"We need to think globally but act locally, and that may mean also regionally," said Wade.
Wade said the Village of Bainbridge's population was about 1,300 in the 2010 census and that interim estimates suggest that number will go down, adding, "That puts a lot of pressure on your tax base."
He said by refurbishing vacant housing, bringing in new jobs, and establishing constructive relationships with nearby municipalities, the village can attract and retain a younger population to help it thrive for years to come.
But in order to accomplish those goals, Wade said funding must first be in place because villages and towns get only a small chunk of money out of the state budget.
Asked about the possibility of employing grant writers, Wade agreed it was a possibility but said the question is, how do you fund the position. He said Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig said the City of Oneonta will sometimes spend $1 million chasing a $10 million grant, and the challenge is, how do you do it at the local level.
He said a positive step would be to change the perception of local communities and highlight all the possibilities they offer – including relatively low taxes, top notch schools, and a number of community events – to attract new people.
"We've got some issues we've got to work on, we've got some possibilities, and we need to get all the ideas on the table and try to work on these things," said Wade.
The Meet the Mayors civic forums take place at the Bohemian Moon in Norwich. City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Village of Oxford Mayor Terry Stark participated in the first event in October. Chenango Links members say the forums will continue in the coming months.
The forum, organized by Chenango Links, serves as a way to better connect residents of Chenango County with their elected officials.
Brown, a lifelong resident of Greene and mayor of six years, spoke first at the forum, discussing some of the perks in the village including being home to Raymond Corporation and having its own municipal electric department.
Brown said the village is currently in the process of changing all its street lights to LED. Because it has its own municipal electric department, Brown said the Village of Greene spends just $.09 per kilowatt hour of electricity, which is one benefit that keeps Raymond Corporation in the village.
"The addition of Raymond Corporation is a great asset to our community, as well as to this county," said Brown. "We currently employee approximately 1,600 employees on a daily basis and they come as far as Syracuse, Ithaca, and Binghamton."
Another project being undertaken in the Village of Greene, Brown said, is they are currently in the process of finishing up a three-year, $7 million sewage treatment project in order to reduce phosphate levels and comply with state requirements. He said part of Raymond Corporation's processes actually increase the phosphate level that comes into the village plant but together they are working on a solution.
"The biggest challenge we have today is our infrastructure," said Brown.
Wade, a three year mayor of Bainbridge, said while the village has some issues it is working on, including aging infrastructure, declining population, and economic development, it also has a lot of possibilities and his focus is to consider all ideas to find the right solution.
"We need to think globally but act locally, and that may mean also regionally," said Wade.
Wade said the Village of Bainbridge's population was about 1,300 in the 2010 census and that interim estimates suggest that number will go down, adding, "That puts a lot of pressure on your tax base."
He said by refurbishing vacant housing, bringing in new jobs, and establishing constructive relationships with nearby municipalities, the village can attract and retain a younger population to help it thrive for years to come.
But in order to accomplish those goals, Wade said funding must first be in place because villages and towns get only a small chunk of money out of the state budget.
Asked about the possibility of employing grant writers, Wade agreed it was a possibility but said the question is, how do you fund the position. He said Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig said the City of Oneonta will sometimes spend $1 million chasing a $10 million grant, and the challenge is, how do you do it at the local level.
He said a positive step would be to change the perception of local communities and highlight all the possibilities they offer – including relatively low taxes, top notch schools, and a number of community events – to attract new people.
"We've got some issues we've got to work on, we've got some possibilities, and we need to get all the ideas on the table and try to work on these things," said Wade.
The Meet the Mayors civic forums take place at the Bohemian Moon in Norwich. City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Village of Oxford Mayor Terry Stark participated in the first event in October. Chenango Links members say the forums will continue in the coming months.
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