Homer Board of Trustees Hold Public Hearing For Proposed Street Names – Provides Update on Linear Park Grant

A public hearing was held prior to the start of the Village of Homer Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday. The public hearing was in regards to the proposed street names for the Arbor Brook Flats housing development in the Village of Homer.

During the public hearing, only the Chief of the Homer Fire Department, Jay Riley, spoke asking the board to ensure the fire department is notified on not only what the streets will be officially called, but also keep the department informed when the house numbering takes place so the department knows which way they need to go in the event of a call to the development. Mayor Clune says the village will be working with the Cortland County Planning Department on the house numbering and will keep the fire department informed.

The two proposed street names for the housing project look to be Hastings Court and Dee Street. Hastings Court would run north to south while Dee Street would run east to west from North Main Street to Hastings Court. The development will be in a t-shape with two cul-de-sacs at both ends of the proposed Hastings Court. You can learn more about the development by visiting ArborBrookFlats.com. 

In the meeting, Mayor Clune also provided an update on the grant status for the Linear Park the village has been working on for at least 10 years. The park would be located along Route 11 (Homer Ave.) near the CNY Living History Center. Clune recently had a meeting with Thoma Development and their state representative. He says the village is set for a $244,000 reimbursement pending the Board of Trustees closing out the grant.

“Because this project, which started in 2015, and [the village] is closing this in 2025. It’s been on for 10 years. It triggers a mandatory audit.” Clune said. “So when someone tosses out audit, people get concerned something wrong was done. The only reason why we’re doing an audit is because this took 10 years.”

Clune continued on that discussions with state representatives were good and the work done is “solid” and there were no concerns regarding the audit. Next he made a motion to approve finalizing the process for the grant reimbursement from the final cost break-down and then to submit it to New York State. The motion was approved unanimously. It is to note the grant funding will not cover the demolition cost the village had in the removal of several buildings along Route 11.

With this phase closing out, phase 2 will then be able to begin. Clune anticipates that phase 2 should move a lot quicker than phase 1 for the Linear Park project. 

Towards the end of the meeting, Trustee Ed Porter added that the Village of Homer Beautification Committee is looking for residents to contribute to the committee. Residents may do so by contacting the Village Offices.