Canandaigua City Council held its 2026 organizational meeting Monday, approving council rules and procedures, re-electing Erich Dittmar as City Council president, and setting a public hearing for Jan. 26 on a proposed local law establishing and imposing sewer rents. The council also tabled the sewer-rent local law itself.
Organizational actions and appointments
During the organizational meeting, the council:
- Approved the City Council rules and procedures.
- Re-elected Erich Dittmar as City Council president.
- Designated the Daily Messenger as the official newspaper.
- Reappointed Preston Pierce as city historian.
- Made BID representative appointments: the mayor appointed Steven Cole; the city manager designated Rick Brown; and the council continued Ellen Polimeni as the council representative.
- Approved appointments to the Canandaigua LDC: Denise Chaapel as the proposed representative for the community, and Michael Mills as the council representative.
- Approved a 2026 meeting schedule framework (committees on the first and second Mondays; City Council on the third Monday).
Mayor Thomas Lyon also announced an MLK Day event scheduled for Jan. 18 at noon at the Congregational Church, including comments by community members and presentations by Canandaigua School District students.
Public safety committee proposal raised
During discussion after committee assignments were announced, Councilmember Michael Mills proposed creating a standing Public Safety Committee, saying he did not think the existing committees had enough time to fully address public safety work referenced in a report the city funded and recently received in updated form. Mayor Thomas Lyon said he would work with staff on timing and that it would likely be discussed more at a regularly scheduled council meeting.
Sewer rents: Public hearing set; local law tabled
The council approved a resolution setting a public hearing for 6 p.m. Jan. 26, 2026, in City Council chambers (with a virtual option) on a local law establishing and imposing sewer rents.
Immediately afterward, Councilmember Gwen Van Laeken introduced the sewer-rents local law and moved to table it; the motion to table was approved.
Environmental Committee: Watershed update, stormwater coalition, art donation, beach data, fireworks
After the council meeting, the Environmental Committee convened with Doug Merrill as chair, joined in person by council members Erich Dittmar and J.T. Squires and with Sim Covington participating via Zoom, according to the transcript. The committee approved its agenda.
Watershed and flood-mitigation discussion
Watershed program manager Kevin Alvaney provided an update on flood-mitigation-related work, including discussion of Sucker Brook and a parcel donated by Jim Fralick to the town of Canandaigua described in the meeting as 8.6 acres along a branch of Sucker Brook intended to provide a riparian buffer.
Ontario-Wayne Stormwater Coalition: committee votes to recommend joining
The committee heard a presentation and discussion about the Ontario-Wayne Stormwater Coalition agreement, including background on MS4 requirements under the Clean Water Act and related stormwater program elements.
Director of Public Works Sarah Brown said the city was interested in joining the coalition, which she said provides public outreach and education materials and offers networking and best-practices sharing for staff, noting an annual $5,000 fee.
The committee voted to approve joining the coalition and indicated the action would go to full council, with staff noting there would be a resolution at the Jan. 26 council meeting to formally adopt it.
Public art: Committee recommends accepting donated sculpture at Gibson Street Park
Judy Cermak introduced Baron Nagel, identified as a sculpture professor at FLCC, who proposed donating a sculpture to the city.
Nagel described basic maintenance needs, saying the piece would need periodic cleaning and resealing and estimated the material cost as under $100.
A motion was made to accept the donation and to identify the proposed location as Gibson Street Park (also referred to in the meeting as “hopscotch park” as a community nickname). The committee voted in favor of recommending acceptance and the location to City Council.
Kershaw Beach data collection: Discussion stops short of vote
The committee discussed collecting data on individuals using Kershaw Beach during summer 2026 following budget-workshop questions about Kershaw’s fee structure. Mills said baseline questions included where visitors are coming from and what they would be willing to pay; staff discussed exploring existing data sources and possibly sampling.
Discussion included the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection (FLVC), with Mayor Lyon referencing conversations with a new director and saying there had not been expressed interest in “individual counting” work, while also noting there may be aggregate data sources.
July 4 fireworks: Discussion of possible city-town partnership at Kershaw
The committee’s final agenda item was a discussion about whether the city should partner with the town of Canandaigua for a fireworks display on the lake at Kershaw Park instead of a town-hosted display at Outhouse Park. Council members voiced support for fireworks returning to Kershaw, and staff noted more details were needed about feasibility, including vendor and logistics.
Ordinance Committee: Dumpster ordinance edits advance to full council
Following adjournment of the Environmental Committee, the Ordinance Committee met with Erich Dittmar as chair. The committee discussed proposed amendments to Chapter 585 (solid waste) regarding regulation of temporary dumpsters, including changes aimed at addressing long-term dumpster needs at commercial and multi-family properties and tightening language related to repeated 90-day placements.
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