OBSERVER file photo Lakeside Park improvements are looking to begin in 2024. Because of that, Mayor Rick Syper is asking departments in the village to keep their spending flat for the new year.

MAYVILLE — There are some planned improvements for Lakeside Park, but because of that, village leaders are looking to hold the line in spending elsewhere.

Mayville Mayor Rick Syper has proposed a $2.2 million budget for the 2024-2025 year, with a levy of $830,000. The levy is the amount raised by taxes. The levy for 2023-24 was $813,000.

Syper’s proposed budget has a tax rate of $6.70, which is about 13 cents higher than the current year’s budget. He said the 13-cent increase is permitted by the state’s 2% tax cap spending.

Syper said he requested all departments remain flat in their spending for the upcoming year, partly because of the upcoming park improvements. “The Lakeside Park project and our required local match have made it necessary to have a strategic approach to budgetary planning,” Syper wrote in a letter to the trustees.

LAKESIDE PARK

At the beginning of 2023, the village was approved for a $900,000 improvement project at Lakeside Park. The project was part of the village’s master plan for the park, created in 2022. The park improvements include installing a new kayak launch, a new trail in the park and making improvements to the Chautauqua Belle launch area.

A 25% match was required for the grant. The county’s Partnership for Economic Growth has committed $50,000 toward it, leaving the village to come up with the remaining $175,000.

On Thursday, the village board held a special budget meeting where they discussed the park and the proposed improvements.

They are still in discussions on where exactly the kayak launch will be, but added it will be ADA compliant, so that those with disabilities will be able to use it.

They also have not yet finalized where the trail in the park will be.

During the budget meeting, Syper said it’s important that the Chautauqua Belle owners maintain the property, once the upgrade is complete. He said he met with the owners and expressed concerns about weeds, tires, logs, and other debris on the ground. There’s also a forklift on the property that isn’t stored inside a building.

The Chautauqua Belle is in its ninth year of a 15-year lease, although the lease has to be renewed at the end of 2024 for the last five years.

Trustee Bill Ward said it’s important that both the Belle and the village commit to one another, especially in light of the improvements that could begin this fall.

Syper agreed. “Mayville needs the Belle just as much as the Belle needs Mayville,” he said.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The village board has also tentatively agreed to purchase a $788,000 fire truck from 4 Guys Fire Trucks in Meyersdale, Pa.

Originally the fire department requested a $1.2 million fire truck, but officials said they couldn’t afford that vehicle.

The new truck has a smaller chassis, with less room and storage, however there were enough features on there that fire department members said it could work.

Once ordered, the truck is expected to take three years to arrive. The village is looking to pass a bond resolution, but still plans on using some of the fire department’s reserves for it. The village has started to receive Emergency Medical Services payments, which is being set aside in a designated account. Syper said depending on how much money is generated on an annual basis will help them determine the best options for financing the truck.

The fire department is looking to replace its 1996 engine truck.

Also, the fire department’s budget is being reduced by $8,000. Syper said the cut is due to the town of Chautauqua reducing its portion to the fire department. Both the town and village financially support the Mayville Fire Department with their general funds.