PRESORTED
BROWN ENTERPRISE AND MARKETING 7830 STATE ROUTE 434 APALACHIN, NEW YORK 13732
STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #9 APALACHIN, NY
CARRIER ROUTE POSTAL CUSTOMER
APALACHIN • OWEGO • NICHOLS TIOGA CENTER • NEWARK VALLEY
CAMPVILLE • BARTON • CANDOR SMITHBORO • CATATONK
YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER • www.CommunityPress.us Volume 33
APRIL 2018
Number 4
Little League Opening Day April 28
Open House for the New Apalachin Fire Station - April 29
Owego Little League Opening Day is Saturday, April 28. Highlights of the start of the 67th season include a parade, opening ceremonies at Hyde Park, chicken BBQ, raffle, and a full day of games.
Apalachin Fire Department News An open letter to the Apalachin Fire District taxpayers Dear Apalachin Taxpayers, As of February 15th operations have resumed out of our new Station 1. Thank you all for your support over the past year keeping an extra eye on the equipment and apparatus stored outside of our satellite stations and with your patience as volunteers response time was extended a couple minutes with the longer drives. Fortunately, we had no damage to our equipment during the construction period and response delays were an average of 2 minutes over the past eleven months of construction. With the new station complete, all of our apparatus is now able to be stored indoors. This has the immediate benefit of accelerating response times when volunteers arrive at the station and won’t have to scrape snow off the apparatus. The additional space can be felt immediately when entering the new station as firefighters can walk around the entire vehicle without squeezing between a garage door and a bumper. This station would not have been possible without the support of our community, our volunteer firefighters, and the leadership of a few members that went above and beyond their already heroic contributions. Specifically, I’d like to publicly recognize Fire Chief Mike George who in addition to leading day to day operations, regulatory requirements, and administrative tasks, took on the role of project manager representing the district. With his engineering and managerial experience, our community benefited tremendously from his leadership and legitimately saved the district at least $50,000 that would normally have been invested in a ‘Clerk of the Works’ on a project of this scale. I’d also like to recognize members of the Building Committee: EMS Chief Ray Standish, 1st Assistant Chief Andy Foley, and Commissioner Mary Ann Cascarino. These individuals literally put in hundreds of hours of additional volunteer time during preparation, planning, and execution phases of this project. Their keen eye and diligence led to more than 1,000 corrections and updates prior to the building plans being presented to the contractors for bids. The result of
their effort can be measured by the lack of change orders needed during construction. Overall, approximately ten change orders were executed across all contractors, mostly due to codecompliance, and the contingency fees were approximately 3% of the total construction budget. This is extraordinary where ‘success’ is often defined as ‘change-orders totaling less than 10% is outstanding’. This effort represents potential savings of $200,000 or more! Finally, I’d like to recognize the Fire District Treasurer Fred Meyn who retired February 28th but was enormously impactful at protecting the fire district assets, financial controls, and hundreds of hours of clerical work that is easy for most to overlook. Because of the efforts of the Board of Fire Commissioners and Treasurer Meyn, we also received an ‘A+’ Bond Rating from Standard & Poors. Although a bit early to tell, this will likely leed to additional tax savings in 2019 and beyond. Simply put, this project would not have been successful without the dedication of these and many other volunteers. We’d like to welcome all of you to share in this milestone with the district and your volunteer fire department. On Sunday April 29th, between 1:00 and 5:00 pm, we will host an open house at Station 1. Members of the public are all welcome and we look forward to answering your questions and providing a tour of the new facility. The Membership Committee will be present to accept new applications and provide a warm welcome for you to join the Apalachin Fire Department and learn how you can service your community during the annual Recruit NY event. If you are unable to attend, please feel free to visit our website at www.apalachinfd.com or follow us on Facebook by searching for Apalachin Fire Department. We look forward to seeing you all soon. Sincerely, Brian Rieber Chairman, Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman@apalachinfd.com (607) 765-2974
Dollar General Coming to Apalachin
Construction has started on the new Dollar General store in Apalachin on Route 434 across from the Millennium Bridge.
Apalachin Highway Spring Cleanup Would you like to help? The Apalachin Lions are looking for help with clean up of a section of Route 434 on Saturday, April 28, at 9:00 am. The clean up crew will meet at BEAM Electronics on Route 434 in Apalachin. The Lions normally spend about two
hours picking up trash on a three-mile stretch of Rt. 434 in Apalachin. Bring gloves, and dress for the weather, all clean up supplies will be furnished. For more information, call Lion Paul Huonker, 625-2727.