June 10, 2026 Town Board Meeting
Highlights from the June Town Board meeting:
Dairy Month - June is officially declared Dairy Month in the Town of Homer
Legislator Reed Cleland - Reed provided an update during Privilege of the Floor. Reed will be spending July doing a “listening tour”, walking every street in his district and hearing out his constituents. Way to go Reed! What a great model of what engaged representation looks like.
Village Mayor Pat Clune – Comprehensive Plan - Pat provided an update about the Village’s Comprehensive Plan update (which is often confused with the Town’s, but the Town’s is separate and seemingly at a standstill). There will be a public engagement workshop Monday, June 15th at 6:00pm at Center for the Arts where residents can learn more about the Village Comprehensive Plan and share ideas for the future of the Village. The Village also has an excellent website dedicated to this update, https://www.villageofhomerny.gov/comprehensive-plan, and a steering committee made up of residents from different backgrounds. Hopefully we will see the Town follow the Village’s model whenever this process gets moving.
Roundabouts - Mayor Clune also talked about the NYSDOT’s plans for two roundabouts where Rt 90 and Rt 41 intersect Rt 281. Many concerns have been expressed, particularly by Town Board member Sarah Head, about the impacts of the multi-year construction project on farm equipment which must go through these intersections during the construction phase. However, neither the Town or the Village can stop the DOT from installing roundabouts, they can only provide feedback and hope the DOT acts on the concerns.
Speed camera - The town will be purchasing a speed camera to mount to a trailer and locate in problematic areas. However, Sheriff Helms attended the meeting and explained that he recently stationed officers at some locations in the Town of Homer with frequent complaints about speed and found virtually no cars exceeding the 55mph speed limit in those areas.
Highway superintendent Kyle Bean – Kyle says the department is thrilled with the new ditch mowing tractor (we believe this cost around $160,000, so we’re glad it’s working well). Many maintenance and upkeep projects are happening at the highway garage, along with road maintenance, of course.
Zoning Board of Appeals - No names have been brought forward to nominate for the vacancy on the ZBA, but board members were encouraged to pass along any possible nominations to Town Board Member Kevin Williams. Mr. Williams, as we know, was the driving force behind the most controversial proposed zoning law change in recent memory (the billboard proposal), so this is something to watch.
New Conference Room - New tables and chairs were approved for the new lower level conference room.
A 75” TV and Meeting Owl will also be purchased for the new lower level conference room. It still isn’t clear what the Town’s plans for the Meeting Owl or the TV are, there were vague references to recording meetings and possibly holding them on Zoom, and references to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the TV. We will see. In the meantime, OpenGov Homer will continue independently recording meetings, summarizing them here, and posting them, unedited, to YouTube, as quickly as possible, as has been done since July 2024.
Sweeney Road speed limit - The request to reduce the speed limit on Sweeney Road was tabled until next month.