Penn Yan trustees will review a proposed 5% lodging tax, consider the next step in annexing 38.24 acres from Milo and take up parking and water-main issues when the Village Board meets Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Room 202 of Village Hall, 111 Elm St. The villageās agenda and supporting documents also outline holiday events, utility-bill adjustments, personnel proposals and department reports.
Lodging tax draft would cover hotels and short-term rentals
Trustees are scheduled to review a draft occupancy-tax law that would charge 5% of room rent within the village. It would cover hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts and short-term rentals, with a broad lodging definition that also includes cottages, cabins, vacation rentals and similar accommodations.
Guests occupying a room for at least 30 consecutive days would qualify as permanent residents and be exempt. The draft also provides exemptions for specified government uses and qualifying religious, charitable, educational and animal-protection organizations.
Lodging operators would collect the tax from guests and list it separately from rent on bills. They would register with the clerk-treasurer, display a certificate authorizing collection and file quarterly returns covering periods ending in February, May, August and November. Returns and payment would generally be due within 20 days after each period ends.
Existing operators would have 10 days after the law takes effect to register; businesses opening afterward would have three days. The clerk-treasurer could require shorter reporting periods or a bond to secure payment. Revenue would go into the villageās general fund for allocation by the board to legal village purposes.
The agenda lists the law for review, not adoption. The draft leaves the taxās starting year and part of its state authorizing-law citation blank, so it does not establish a collection start date.
Annexation would bring village-owned land inside the boundary
The board will return to the proposed annexation of approximately 38.24 acres near Elmwood Avenue and the wastewater treatment plant, an item tabled from September. The parcel is already owned by Penn Yan but lies in the town of Milo.
The proposed order describes the property as uninhabited, with land used for municipal utilities and a portion rented for agriculture. Miloās Town Board consented to the annexation on Aug. 17, with five members voting in favor and none opposed. Its resolution identifies the parcel as outside the territory involved in the 2025 annexation litigation settlement.
Tuesdayās proposed action would find the boundary change in the public interest and direct Village Attorney Ed Brockman to prepare a local law to complete it. The board would also request a zoning recommendation from the Planning Board, with zoning classification addressed through a later local law.
Trustees are scheduled to review and complete Part 1 of a full environmental assessment form. The proposed order classifies the annexation as an unlisted action under the state environmental-review process and calls for the fuller form to examine its effects. The draft assessment identifies municipal uses, including public works facilities, and lists no acreage to be physically disturbed by the annexation itself.
Benham Street options would trade traffic direction against parking
The Public Safety Committee is seeking feedback on two possible changes to Benham Street: make it one-way from Clinton Street to East Elm Street while retaining on-street parking, or keep two-way traffic and eliminate street parking.
A letter dated Oct. 13 cites safety concerns raised by residents and others using the street. It asks property owners and residents to explain their parking needs, potential effects on tenants and visitors, access to their properties, and concerns as pedestrians, cyclists or drivers.
Written comments are requested by Nov. 6 by mail or in person at Village Hall. Residents may also speak at the Public Safety Committeeās Nov. 10 meeting at 3 p.m. The committee would use that feedback before recommending a course to the Village Board.
A separate parking resolution on Tuesdayās agenda would begin consideration of amendments to the villageās vehicle and traffic code. It calls for a proposed local law following Public Safety Committee review and recommendation.
Water-main surprises would add to the contract
Trustees will consider two change orders for Nardozzi Paving and Constructionās North Main Street water-main replacement project. Together, the proposed changes would bring the original $701,500 contract to $722,371.35.
The first change order, for $8,310.64, addresses an unexpected cross-connection between the live Main Street water main and a North Avenue line believed to have been abandoned. The connection flooded the trench, and the village had difficulty stopping the flow because of valve conditions. The contractor removed the connection, dewatered and stabilized the trench, and helped reconnect the North Main Street main.
The second, for $12,560.71, covers work around a 6-foot-by-6-foot concrete box culvert found across the new mainās path. Crews had to deepen the trench. After soil conditions prevented an attempt to pull the pipe through beneath the culvert, a vacuum truck was used to clear a path from both sides.
Other utility motions would support Yates County Habitat for Humanityās efforts to obtain grants and funding to develop a 9.5-acre village parcel, declare a sewer-department 2020 Ford F-450 surplus for auction, and approve payment agreements totaling $8,561.10. The utilities report lists 41 agreements for October.
Two proposed sewer-bill credits are $85.48 at 106 Stark Ave. and $83.03 at 125 Main St. The requests concern a leaking outdoor hose and a leaking water heater, respectively; the utility materials say the water did not enter the sanitary sewer.
The board is also asked to approve wholesale water and sewer customer reconciliations for the 2025-26 fiscal year once the clerk-treasurer completes them. Billing adjustments would follow the wholesale-customer meeting scheduled for Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.
StarShine and Halloween hours await board action
The Yates County Chamber of Commerce is requesting approval for StarShine and the Lights on Wheels Parade on Saturday, Dec. 5. The proposed Main Street event would run from 3 to 6 p.m., with setup from 1 to 3 p.m. and breakdown from 7 to 8 p.m. The application describes free admission and estimates attendance of at least 5,000.
Final approval would depend on a $150 application fee, a $500 supply deposit, public works approval of electric-box locations and loads, liability insurance naming the village as an additional insured, state health permits for food vendors, and coordination with code enforcement for temporary operating permits and inspections.
A separate motion would set village trick-or-treating for Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Trustees will also consider paying $300 to the Electric Fund for two 50-amp breakers requested for a Penn Yan Fire Department fundraiser supporting membersā shirts, hats and other items. Public Works notes a Rotary fundraiser proposal in which participants would guess when a barrel placed on ice would fall through; the barrel would be tied off and retrieved.
Finances, military leave and staffing
The proposed warrant totals $994,970.29, consisting of $583,735.43 in the current check run and $411,234.86 paid before audit. Trustees are also scheduled to review the year-to-date treasurerās report and authorize transmission of unpaid 2026-27 village taxes to Yates County by Nov. 16.
A draft military-leave policy would provide eligible employees up to 30 calendar days or 22 workdays of paid leave, whichever offers the greater benefit, in a calendar year or a continuous absence spanning more than one calendar year, for qualifying ordered duty. Additional qualifying leave would generally be unpaid for up to five years, subject to applicable legal exceptions, with provisions addressing health coverage, retirement contributions, notice, reinstatement and protection against discrimination or retaliation.
The draft says employees would pay their normal share of health premiums for absences of 30 days or fewer and could be responsible for up to 102% of the full premium for longer absences. Trustees will also review a confidentiality acknowledgement for staff handling birth, death and fetal-death records.
Personnel motions include changing Recreation Supervisor Stacey Gerhardt from seasonal to part-time status effective Oct. 1 without changing her pay rate, and authorizing Clerk-Treasurer Holly Easling to apply for the six-part Leadership Yates County program at a cost of $1,495.
Training requests include $812 for Easling, Johanna Hullings and Christine Mickelsen to attend the Municipal Electric Utilities Associationās Nov. 4-5 accounting and finance workshop in Syracuse, $100 for code officer James Marshallās Oct. 27-28 building-officials conference in Geneva, $100 for Public Works Director Melissa Gerhardtās Nov. 4 stormwater conference, and $105 for Chris Kerrickās right-of-way recertification course.
The board is asked to choose a date for an audit exit conference with BST Gallagher Flynn from Nov. 17, 18 or 20. Village Hall is scheduled to close from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 28 for an employee open-enrollment meeting. An Oct. 27 county budget workshop at 1 p.m. will address a summer recreation and lifeguard funding request.
Court audits and September department reports
Two resolutions would approve annual examinations of the records of Village Justice Michael Christensen and the acting village justice. Trustees Daniel Henries and Robert Craig performed the examinations on Oct. 15. The resolutions would direct filing of the reports with the state Office of Court Administration and village offices.
Trustees will also consider a parcel-data agreement with Yates County Real Property Tax Service. It would give the village access to digital tax-map data while making it responsible for the necessary equipment, software and safeguards against unauthorized access. The agreement limits use to the villageās ordinary business and prohibits commercial resale.
Septemberās code-enforcement report lists 22 building permits issued, 29 permit-related inspections and 90 open building permits. The Fire Department reports 34 calls in September, 255 for the year through Sept. 30 and 61 active members. Membership motions would remove Robert Galusha and Jayden Jensen from the active roll and add Richard Kennerson.
The Police Departmentās September report records 641 calls for service, 104 traffic tickets, four parking tickets and 37 arrests. It also lists 222 school resource officer calls and 14 mental-health calls.
The agenda provides time for guests, public requests and comments, as well as comments near the end of the meeting. The next listed Tree Board meeting is Nov. 9 at 10 a.m.
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