# Webster Ledger > Independent local journalism for Webster, NY Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About URL: https://websterledger.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-05-06T02:34:21.000Z The Webster Ledger covers the decisions that shape life in Webster, New York — town meetings, school board votes, zoning applications, comprehensive plan hearings, the things that get decided in rooms most residents never set foot in. I'm Morgan VanDerLeest. I started this publication because the regional paper covers a county of nearly a million people and Webster can't be the priority it deserves to be. That's not a complaint. It's just math. So I built this. The Ledger is independent. It is not affiliated with any government body, political organization, or advertiser. Editorial decisions are made here, by me. ## Why this exists A lot is being decided right now about how Webster grows: a development moratorium, the comprehensive plan rewrite, zoning applications, a $227 million school budget on the May 19 ballot, cell-tower siting, fiscal choices that show up on tax bills two years later. Most of it happens in public meetings. Almost none of it gets covered. Local news, when it shows up, changes that. It tells residents what's on the agenda before the vote, what got decided after it, and what's likely to come next. It links to the documents. It names the people. It does the math. That is the work. ## Editorial standards ### How the journalism gets made I attend the meetings, read the packets, and decide what is a story. I do the reporting. I write the drafts. I review and approve every piece before it publishes. The accountability is mine. I use AI tools for drafting and research. They make me faster; they do not make decisions. Every sourcing call, every claim, every final edit is mine. Stories where AI was used carry a disclosure. If a story is wrong, tell me. Corrections go on the article, dated, with what changed. ### Conflicts of interest I own my home in Webster. My wife and her family have real estate investments in the Monroe County area that occasionally intersect with the people, properties, and decisions this publication covers. When I cover a zoning vote, a development application, a property transaction, or any other decision where I or my family have a financial interest, I'll say so on the article itself — not in a footnote, not on this page. Right now I am the only person editing the Ledger. When a conflict is significant enough that my involvement would compromise the reporting, the right answer is not to run the story until I can get it reviewed by someone independent or assign it to someone else. I'd rather hold a piece than publish one I shouldn't have written. If you think the Ledger has published something affected by an undisclosed conflict, write to me. That feedback is part of how this works. ## About the founder I moved to Webster with my family and started showing up — Town Board meetings, Planning Board sessions, school budget hearings. I kept noticing the same thing: substantive votes, real money, decisions that matter, and almost no one in the room outside the people whose job it was to be there. There was no publication covering any of it seriously. So I started one. My family and I are here. We're invested in how this town grows. The reporting comes first. That's the rule. ## How to reach the Ledger For tips, documents, story ideas, public-records pointers, or anything else you think the Ledger should know about: [news@websterledger.com](mailto:news@websterledger.com). If you attended a meeting, witnessed something newsworthy, or have expertise on something on a board's agenda, write to me. I read everything. ## How to support the work The Ledger has two reader tiers. Both are useful. **Reader (free).** Everything the Ledger publishes is free to read. No paywalls, no metering. If you want the work to land in your inbox when it goes up, subscribe. **Neighbor (paid, $5/month or $50/year).** You're not buying anything. You're choosing to fund a covering focused on Webster because you think it matters. Neighbor revenue is what keeps the publication independent and lets it grow. ### Welcome to the Webster Ledger URL: https://websterledger.com/welcome/ Last updated: 2026-05-01T18:23:05.000Z ## Glad you're here The Webster Ledger is an independent news publication covering Webster, New York. Local government, development, schools, business, and the civic life that makes this town tick. There are no paywalls and no sponsors. What you get is straightforward coverage of the things happening in Webster that are worth knowing about. ## What to expect We publish when there is something worth reporting. That might be a town board vote, a development proposal going to the planning board, a school budget update, or a story that just needs to be told. You will not get daily noise. You will get coverage that is worth your time. If you subscribed to the newsletter, stories will come to you. You can also check the site at [websterledger.com](https://websterledger.com/) any time. ## Get in touch Tips, story ideas, corrections, questions about how something in town works: we want to hear from you. Reach us at [news@websterledger.com](mailto:news@websterledger.com). Thanks for reading. Morgan Webster Ledger ### Corrections URL: https://websterledger.com/corrections/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T19:26:54.000Z When we get something wrong, we say so here. Corrections are listed in reverse chronological order. The corrected articles are also updated with a visible notice. ## August 7, 2026 **Webster's Town Board votes tonight on a moratorium exemption for the Dinks and Links project** ([webster-town-board-preview-august-6-2026](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-preview-august-6-2026/)) — An earlier version of this article stated that the public hearing on Local Law #3 was the only item on the agenda that takes public comment. Every regular Town Board meeting agenda also carries an Open to the Floor period, with the same five-minute limit. All four speakers at the Aug. 6 meeting spoke during that period. ## August 3, 2026 **What the moratorium actually froze: the one project now in limbo** ([what-the-moratorium-actually-froze](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/)) — An earlier version of this article stated that the moratorium applies to property in one of five commercial and office-park districts. It applies to six. Low Intensity Commercial is two separate districts, LC-1 and LC-2, and Local Law No. 2 names both. ## June 3, 2026 **Planning Board meets tonight. Here's what's on the agenda.** ([planning-board-june-2-2026](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-june-2-2026/)) — An earlier version of this article stated that Dinks and Links would sit immediately west of the Lowe's on Five Mile Line Road. The correct location is immediately east of the Lowe's, per the submitted site plan. ## May 6, 2026 **Verizon cell tower at 1222 Wildflower Drive goes before the Planning Board tonight** ([verizon-wildflower-tower-planning-board-preview](https://websterledger.com/verizon-wildflower-tower-planning-board-preview/)) — An earlier version of this article stated the shot clock started January 31 and would end around June 30\. The shot clock started March 10 and ends around August 10. ### How Webster works URL: https://websterledger.com/how-webster-works/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T12:20:22.000Z Webster runs on a handful of systems most residents never have to learn until the day they do. A tax bill arrives with lines on it you did not expect. A sign goes up on the lot down the street. A board you have never heard of turns out to have a say over a project you care about. These are the guides. Each one takes a single piece of how the town works and explains it in plain language, with links to the documents. Start anywhere. --- - [How Webster is governed](#governed) - [Taxes, assessment, and town money](#money) - [How a project gets approved](#projects) - [How to take part](#participate) - [Living here](#living) ## How Webster is governed Guides to the town and village governments, the boards that handle zoning and environmental review, and the county and state officials who represent Webster. ### [Town or village? A plain-English guide to how Webster is actually governed](https://websterledger.com/town-or-village-webster-ny/) Two separate municipal governments share one name and one ZIP code. How they divide power, who you elect, and when. May 27, 2026 ### [How Webster's two governments actually diverge and cooperate](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-village-diverge-cooperate/) The concrete places the two meet: a tax fund that splits by law, a wastewater permit, a five-party economic development partnership, and a boundary-change vote. July 31, 2026 ### [Who decides what in Webster: the Planning Board, Town Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals](https://websterledger.com/who-decides-what-webster-planning-town-zoning-boards/) Three boards, three different jobs. Which one rezones land, which approves a subdivision, which grants a variance, and who to petition for what. July 24, 2026 ### [What is the Zoning Board of Appeals? A Webster resident's guide.](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/) What the ZBA actually does, when a neighbor's permit dispute lands in front of it, and how you get involved. June 11, 2026 ### [Meet Webster's Conservation Board](https://websterledger.com/2026-07-22-webster-conservation-board/) A five-member board most residents have never heard from, and how it landed real say over development review. July 23, 2026 ### [Who represents Webster: in the county legislature and in Albany](https://websterledger.com/who-represents-webster-county-legislature-and-albany/) Two county legislators, one state senator, and one assemblyman whose seat is turning over. Who they are and how to reach them. July 21, 2026 [Back to all guides](#guides) ## Taxes, assessment, and town money Guides to the property tax bill, the town's capital borrowing, the revaluation now underway, the yearly assessment challenge, and PILOT agreements. ### [How to read your Webster property tax bill](https://websterledger.com/how-to-read-your-webster-property-tax-bill/) Two bills a year, each a stack of separate governments. The town, county, school, and special district pieces, and the math behind every line. July 10, 2026 ### [How Webster's town debt reached $132 million, and who pays it back](https://websterledger.com/how-websters-town-debt-reached-132-million-and-who-pays-it-back/) About $132 million authorized across eight capital projects. What it bought, and which taxpayers and ratepayers repay each piece. July 17, 2026 ### [What is the Board of Assessment Review, and why it matters](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/) Every homeowner has a yearly right to challenge the value the town places on their property. This is where that challenge starts. June 30, 2026 ### [Webster begins townwide property revaluation: what the mailer in your box means](https://websterledger.com/2027-townwide-revaluation-webster/) The first townwide revaluation since 2004\. Data-verification mailers went to all 17,003 properties, and the record is correctable before new values are set. June 22, 2026Current as of June 2026\. See the July follow-up for the latest timeline. ### [Revaluation mailers are back: what happens between now and the 2027 roll](https://websterledger.com/revaluation-mailers-2027-roll-explainer/) What the mailer covers, how to fix it, and what the timeline to the 2027 roll looks like from here. July 30, 2026Current as of July 2026\. Check the town for the live correction deadline. ### [What a PILOT is, how COMIDA approves one, and what the Fairlife agreement contains](https://websterledger.com/what-a-pilot-is-comida-explainer/) Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreements, how a county agency approves one without a school-board vote, and what that means for Webster taxpayers. May 14, 2026 [Back to all guides](#guides) ## How a project gets approved Guides to the site plan and SEQR review process, the notices posted on properties under review, and the commercial development moratorium enacted in June 2026. ### [How a project gets built in Webster: site plan, SEQR, and the approval gauntlet](https://websterledger.com/how-a-project-gets-built-in-webster-site-plan-seqr/) Sketch plan, SEQR, lead agency, negative declaration, special use permit. A plain-language walk from application to final approval. July 9, 2026 ### [What those property review signs actually mean](https://websterledger.com/property-review-signs-webster/) The review statuses printed on the notices posted around town, translated. May 9, 2026 ### [Webster enacted a commercial development moratorium. Here's what it does.](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/) Local Law No. 2 of 2026 pauses commercial approvals across every commercial zone. What is frozen, what is exempt, and which projects are affected. June 9, 2026 ### [What the moratorium actually froze: the one project now in limbo](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/) A moratorium sounds sweeping. Webster's is narrow and precise. How the law works on the ground. June 17, 2026Current as of June 2026. [Back to all guides](#guides) ## How to take part Guides to public comment at Town Board meetings, and to the civic basics a new resident will not find on their own. ### [How to speak at a Webster Town Board meeting (and be heard)](https://websterledger.com/how-to-participate-webster-town-hall/) You have more power at Town Hall than you might think. Exactly how to use it. May 7, 2026 ### [Five things every new Webster resident should know](https://websterledger.com/five-things-every-new-webster-resident-should-know/) None of them are complicated. A few will surprise you if you do not know to look. May 15, 2026 [Back to all guides](#guides) ## Living here: the lake and the parks Guides to Webster's public access points on Lake Ontario, and to where the lake's water level stood at its 2026 seasonal peak. ### [A guide to Webster's Lake Ontario access points](https://websterledger.com/2026-07-27-webster-lake-ontario-access/) Two public parks on the lake, plus nearby options for a lifeguarded beach and a boat launch. What each spot offers, and where to call about reservations. July 27, 2026 ### [The lake has peaked. Here is where Ontario stands.](https://websterledger.com/2026-05-28-lake-ontario-water-levels/) Where the lake sat at its seasonal peak, what changed since the 2017 and 2019 flooding years, and what Webster built for the next high-water event. May 28, 2026Water level current as of May 2026. [Back to all guides](#guides) ### Past voter guides Guides to the [June 16 Village special election](https://websterledger.com/village-of-webster-special-election-2026-06-16/) and the [June 23 primary ballot](https://websterledger.com/june-23-primary-ballot-webster-by-party/) are still online as a record of what was on those ballots. Both elections have passed. ### Something here you want explained? If there is a piece of how Webster works that nobody has written down, say so. Tips and story ideas go to [news@websterledger.com](mailto:news@websterledger.com). ## Posts ### Both Verizon towers are listed for a public hearing Tuesday URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-09-08-zba-verizon-towers-public-hearing/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T12:00:00.000Z Both of Verizon's proposed Webster cell towers are on the Zoning Board of Appeals agenda Tuesday night, each asking for an area variance from the 100-foot maximum height the town code sets for a communication tower. The board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. The agenda is a legal notice that the board "will conduct a public hearing" on eight applications. Approval of the Aug. 11 minutes is the only other item. Waterview Apartments Phase 3 is on the agenda for a fourth straight meeting. The other five items are requests on residential properties. ## The two towers The agenda names Robert Burgdorf as the applicant on both, for Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems d/b/a Verizon. The Lake Road tower would go at Lake Road and County Line Road, on a 7.8-acre parcel in the LL Large-Lot Residential District. The agenda describes a communication tower of 125 feet with a four-foot lightning rod, 129 feet overall, where the maximum height allowed is 100 feet. That listing cites Sections 130-10 and 350-13 of the town code. The Webster North tower would go near 1222 Wildflower Drive, on a 14.2-acre parcel in the R-3 Single-Family Residential District. The agenda describes a tower of 135 feet with a four-foot lightning rod, 139 feet overall, against the same 100-foot maximum. That listing cites Sections 130-10 and 350-12. The Lake Road tower has been before the Zoning Board of Appeals before. It was on the board's agenda in March and again in April, and was tabled both times. The Wildflower Drive tower has not been on a zoning board agenda at any meeting in the town's posted record since September 2025. Tuesday's agenda lists both tower applications among its tabled matters, under the same public hearing notice as the rest of the meeting. At the Planning Board's Sept. 1 meeting, the board was told Verizon is on this week's zoning board agenda for a preliminary introduction of the Wildflower Drive project. The Planning Board tabled both tower applications to Oct. 6 that night, on 5-1 votes. The Planning Board left the Lake Road public hearing open, so residents can still speak on that application. The Ledger's [recap of the Sept. 1 meeting](https://websterledger.com/2026-09-02-planning-board-verizon-towers-tabled/) has the votes and the discussion. ## Waterview Apartments Phase 3 Waterview Apartments Phase 3 is the first of the three items the agenda lists under tabled matters. Legacy Development Co. is asking for two area variances at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive. One would allow a front setback of 18.7 feet where 75 feet is required. The other would allow a single-family district buffer of 38.5 feet where 100 feet is required. The application covers six buildings plus a community center, 56 units in all, on a proposed 13.15-acre parcel. Each building would be two stories. The site is in the MHR Medium High Residential District, and the agenda cites Section 350-14. The June 9 agenda carried a note tabling the application to July 14\. The July 14 minutes record it tabled to the Aug. 11 meeting. The Aug. 11 agenda carried a note tabling it to the September meeting. The Ledger covered the board's [June 9](https://websterledger.com/zba-june-9-2026-results/), [July 14](https://websterledger.com/zba-recap-july-14-solar-denied-waterview-tabled/) and [Aug. 11](https://websterledger.com/webster-zba-recap-august-11-2026/) meetings. The Ledger's account of the July 14 meeting records neighbors along McEwen Drive opposing the application. ## Five residential requests Four of the five ask for area variances. The fifth asks for a special use permit. The Ledger is not naming the applicants on those five items. Item 4 requests a side yard setback of 12 feet where 15 feet is required, for a new garage at 1725 State Road on a 0.68-acre parcel. Item 5 requests a front setback of 49.2 feet where 60 feet is required on a corner lot, for a garage addition at 539 Countryside Lane. Item 6 requests a rear setback of 43 feet where 50 feet is required, for a covered porch at 522 Hackberry Way. Item 7 requests a special use permit for a 6-by-9-foot chicken coop and no more than eight hens at 1054 Klem Road, on a 2.2-acre parcel. The Ledger has an explainer on [how Webster's backyard chicken permit works](https://websterledger.com/webster-backyard-chickens-special-use-permit/). Item 8 requests an area variance to allow the alteration or extension of a pre-existing non-conforming single-family home at 400 Lake Road, for a 460-square-foot addition. That address is a separate property from the tower site at Lake Road and County Line Road. ## How to be heard The public can speak on any of the eight applications at the hearing. The hearing is at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. The Ledger's [guide to the Zoning Board of Appeals](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/) explains how to take part. Chairman Michael Short opened the board's May 12 meeting with a reminder, according to the minutes: > public discussion is going to be limited to five minutes per person per application. And discussion must pertain to the property being reviewed. The board's July 14 minutes record the same five-minute limit. The board is also scheduled Tuesday to approve the minutes of its Aug. 11 meeting, which the town had not posted when the Ledger checked Monday. The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Previously in the Ledger: [How Webster reviews a cell tower application](https://websterledger.com/webster-cell-tower-rules-explained/) (Sept. 2) covers the 100-foot cap, the preference for sharing an existing tower and the limits federal law places on what a board may weigh. The Ledger's [Sept. 1 preview of the Planning Board hearings](https://websterledger.com/2026-09-01-verizon-tower-hearings-sept-1/) covers both applications, the parcels and the town's own radio-frequency reviews. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Speakers at Tuesday's Webster school board meeting are asked to sign up by noon URL: https://websterledger.com/wcsd-board-preview-september-8-2026/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T13:29:58.000Z Anyone who wants to speak at Tuesday's Webster school board meeting is asked to sign up with the district clerk by noon Tuesday. The Webster Central School District Board of Education meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor Professional Development Center at the District Office, 119 South Avenue. Public comment is scheduled for 6:40 p.m., at the end of the meeting. The board's visitor speaking policy asks people who want to address the board to register with the district clerk by noon on the day of the meeting. The clerk is Heather Murphy, at 585-216-0001 or heather\_murphy@webstercsd.org. Fuller instructions are below. The board is scheduled to vote on a $424,420 change order on a Willink Middle School site work contract, and to receive a report on pending challenges to property assessments in the district. The agenda lists Assistant Superintendent for Business Brian Freeman on both. ## A $424,420 change order at Willink The agenda lists a motion to approve the change order. It would cover rock removal on the Willink parking lot reconstruction. The contractor is Pooler Enterprises. In a Sept. 1 memo, Freeman wrote that the change order "addresses an unforeseen field condition involving rock removal above the contract allowance." The scope covers the removal and export of 4,702 cubic yards of rock beyond the 1,500 cubic yards included in the original contract allowance, plus additional rock drilling on site. "As full-depth removal of the parking lot was taking place in both the existing parking lot areas as well as in the expansion area, significantly more bedrock was uncovered and needed to be removed than was allowed for in the original contract," Freeman wrote. In a change request to the construction manager, Pooler Enterprises priced the 4,702 cubic yards at $85 a cubic yard, or $399,670 of the $424,420\. The same request puts the remaining $24,750 at additional rock drilling. The memo puts the original contract sum at $5,250,700\. It puts the net change from prior change orders at $446,327.18, which takes the contract to $5,697,027.18\. Approving Tuesday's change order would take the contract sum to $6,121,447.18. The project's architect is LaBella Associates, D.P.C. The construction manager is Campus CMG Inc. Freeman wrote that both have reviewed and approved the costs. The memo does not say what money would pay for the change order. The district's work at Willink runs on more than one contract. The Ledger [reported on the building work in July](https://websterledger.com/willink-middle-school-construction-2026/), and Tuesday's item is the site work contract covering the parking lot. ## A worst-case $4.4 million in pending court challenges to property assessments A second memo from Freeman, dated Sept. 3, summarizes pending court challenges to property assessments inside the district. The agenda lists it as a report rather than an action. Freeman wrote that tax certiorari is "the legal process by which a property owner challenges their assessment in court, often to get a reduction in their property taxes." The memo puts total potential exposure from all pending certiorari cases at $4,423,159, and says those figures "represent a worst-case scenario and not the expected final outcome." The memo lists 33 properties, all of them in Webster or Penfield. Webster property accounts for $4,155,028 of the total and Penfield property for $268,131. Freeman calls the certiorari cases "the large commercial cases." He writes that the district handles "smaller residential assessment challenges" separately, through the Small Claims Assessment Review process. The district holds $5,051,088 in a tax certiorari reserve fund, which is more than the worst-case total. Freeman described the fund as "a separate account set aside to pay for any refunds that result from these cases, which helps protect the district's operating budget from unexpected expenses." ## Also on Tuesday's agenda The meeting opens at 5 p.m. with liaison reports from students and the WTA. The agenda schedules the WREA Citizenship Awards recognition at 5:15 p.m. Two reports follow at 5:45 p.m., a superintendent's report with campus news and a professional development report. Board business opens at 6:10 p.m. with a motion to approve the July 2026 treasurer's report. Board member highlights are set for 6:20 p.m. The consent agenda comes up at 6:35 p.m. It carries the minutes of the board's Aug. 18 meeting and a set of personnel actions. It also carries recommendations from the Committee on Special Education and the Committee on Pre-School Special Education, along with a cooperative bid for bus parts. Those items are taken in a single motion under the board's rules, and the agenda's note on the practice says items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member. ## How to be heard Tuesday The visitor speaking policy printed with the agenda says people wishing to address the board "should register with the district clerk by noon of the meeting day by phone call or visit" the district's sign-up page. Speakers are asked to limit comments to 3 to 4 minutes. The policy also asks a speaker to be recognized by the president before speaking. It asks the speaker to give a name and the agenda topic, and to name any organization they are representing. The policy does not set a consequence for missing the noon sign-up. It makes the president "responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting," and says the president rules on the appropriateness of the subject being presented. The district's Visitor Speaking page, which the policy links, carries the sign-up form and names the clerk. It does not repeat the noon deadline. The Ledger checked that page Monday. The policy says the board "invites the public to comment on matters regarding the school district," and that "taxpayers, community citizens, school personnel, and school students may openly express themselves directly to the board." It also says the comment section "is a time for the Board of Education to listen," and that meetings "are not an opportunity to engage in dialogue and are not public forums." The agenda schedules public comment to begin at 6:40 p.m. and adjournment at 7:10 p.m. The policy says public speaking time "will be no longer than 40 minutes." The agenda does not say which of those figures governs. Under the policy, the president may impose time limits on individual speakers. The meeting is livestreamed at websterschools.org/boemeetings. The district says on that page that previous meetings may also be found there. Previously in the Ledger: [Willink Middle School construction is underway as part of Webster's $85 million bond](https://websterledger.com/willink-middle-school-construction-2026/) (July 29) covers the classroom addition at the school. [Webster's school board votes Tuesday on the tax warrant, with bills due out next week](https://websterledger.com/wcsd-board-preview-august-18-2026/) (Aug. 18) covers the board's last regular business meeting. [Webster school tax 2026: deadlines and how to pay](https://websterledger.com/2026-08-25-webster-school-tax-payment-deadlines/) (Aug. 25) covers the bills those rates produced. [Webster's Board of Assessment Review, explained](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/) (June 30) covers the grievance step an owner takes before going to court. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Town Board closes environmental review of the Xerox-area road project, 4-0 URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-09-03-town-board-recap-wtip-public-comment/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T20:38:08.000Z The Webster Town Board voted 4-0 Thursday to issue a negative declaration for the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project, closing environmental review of the road and trail package tied to the Xerox campus redevelopment without an environmental impact statement. A negative declaration means the board finds the project will not have a significant adverse environmental impact. The vote came after Town Engineer Keith Mortimer told the board, "I'm not in a position to fully answer" questions a board member had sent that afternoon. The attorney for the town told the board a negative declaration "could be determined tonight without any disruption to the determination of the alienation issue," and said, "I haven't been privy to the study or the substance or the merits of it." All nine items on the agenda passed 4-0\. Councilwoman Jennifer Wright was absent, and the roll call on each item named four members: Supervisor Alex Scialdone, Councilman John Cahill, Councilman Nick Hunter and Councilman Garrett Wagner. Five people spoke during Open to the Floor. ## How the board reached the vote The chair opened item 7 by saying the town engineer had received questions that afternoon, and invited a response. Mortimer said they arrived "about 5:00" and that "we've not had an opportunity to complete our responses." A board member apologized, saying the questions had been written Tuesday and were found still sitting in a drafts folder. "Should we reschedule this?" a board member asked. The open question was whether the trail in the project is parkland subject to alienation, which a board member called "a fairly legal nuance thing." Mortimer said, "I'm not prepared to answer that tonight," and told the board nothing new was being presented and the project's scope was unchanged. The town received no comment on Parts 1 and 2 of the environmental assessment "from either the public or from the board itself," Mortimer said, and impacts were found to be "no or small." Delay would carry a cost, Mortimer said: "an effect on the town being reimbursed for monies that we have spent" through the grant. The attorney for the town said the alienation issue "was not brought to my attention," and described having had "a brief opportunity to look at it during the public comment." Of the study behind the determination, the attorney said, "I haven't been privy to the study or the substance or the merits of it." A negative declaration "could be determined tonight without any disruption to the determination of the alienation issue," the attorney said, provided the change to the trail is minor. Asked what would follow if the board got it wrong, the attorney for the town said that as long as the board follows the review's procedural steps "you're fine," and that otherwise "there'll be some type of action, Article 78 or otherwise." A board member replied that an Article 78 proceeding "would bring this to a halt." Mortimer said the town has met formally twice with the Friends of Webster Trail, and that the proposed alignment "received concurrence" from the group and its trail steward. A board member noted the stewards' comments are "but one factor," and that the board "still has to determine independently ... what level the impact is." A board member said that if timing matters, "especially in the potential reimbursement for the town," it was "important for us to move forward with the vote this evening." Shortly before the motion the board was told the project had had "a very in-depth review that we've been going through with you guys in that presentation a few weeks ago." The board classified the action Type I, a classification corrected on the record before the motion, and voted to issue the negative declaration. Scialdone, Wagner, Cahill and Hunter each voted aye. ## The objection from the floor Earlier in the evening a speaker had urged the board not to issue the declaration, arguing that the state's review law requires a lead agency to "take a hard look" at the areas of environmental concern and give "a reasoned written explanation for its determination." The objection was to how the town packaged the work. The town has treated the transportation work as one project, the speaker said, and the Chiyoda Drive extension should be examined on its own. That piece "does remove a significant wooded parcel that acts as a wildlife corridor." Culverting and diverting the stream in the project's path "permanently alters the natural ecosystem" and raises water temperatures downstream, the speaker said, identifying the stream as a Mill Creek tributary. The filing the Ledger reviewed does not name the stream, so that identification is the speaker's. The speaker also argued that the project's traffic findings would put users of the Bird Song Trail at increased risk, that the comprehensive plan's goal of reducing curb cuts along Route 404 should apply to entrances on Route 250, and that the town should weigh whether the new connection is necessary at all. "A positive declaration would not stop the project," the speaker said. "It would ensure that alternatives, mitigation measures, and public comments are considered before the town commits to an infrastructure program that may shape the corridor for decades." The town's filing describes the same work. Supplemental responses say the two road extensions will clear about 4.11 acres of wooded area, and that a culvert would enclose 800 square feet of an existing streambed. The stream falls under federal jurisdiction as a Water of the United States, and an application has been submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers. NYSDEC classifies the stream Class C. The stream is not subject to state Protection of Waters permitting. The board took up the packaging point during its discussion: under the way the grant is written, the town is "avoiding segmentation by including it in and not calling it out as its own separate project." The board did not take up the speaker's other arguments, among them the stream, the Bird Song Trail crossing, the curb cuts and whether the connection is necessary. ## Other business Item 1 took only the Aug. 20 workshop minutes. The chair said the town's regular attorney needed "to weigh in on a couple changes" and is on vacation, so the draft meeting minutes will be published online and go to the board at the next meeting. Item 8 authorized the supervisor to sign a benefits contract for Police Capt. Mark Reed. A board member said the captain's post was created by resolution a few years ago and is not a union position, so it lacked "the same benefits, longevity benefits that a union position would have." The resolution mimics union benefits to encourage a captain "who is potentially up for retirement next year to stay with us." Item 9 approved recycling a Dell monitor from the Assessment Department. Items 2 through 6 were bills, a prepaid warrant, purchase orders and the 2026 budget transfers and amendments. ## The other four speakers A student described growing in her faith and "learning what it means to live as a Christian young woman." No school or district was named. The Town Board does not set school policy, and the floor rules the chair read set no limit on subject. What has been difficult, she said, is "going to school every day and constantly seeing pride and LGBTQ related messages around me." She told the board, "I understand that other people have different beliefs than I do and I'm not asking anyone to change who they are or what they personally believe." Her ask: "I'm not asking my school to promote my beliefs over someone else's. I'm asking that my beliefs be given the same consideration and respect." A second speaker, who said, "I'm a combat veteran and proud resident of the town of Webster," spoke about humility in leadership, applied to a pride flag raised at Town Hall that later came down. "When the government chooses to recognize a particular group by displaying its symbol, it also creates an expectation around that recognition," the speaker said. "The division was not simply created by removing the flag. The government placed itself in the position when the decision was originally made to raise a flag representing one particular group." The speaker credited a resident who spoke at [the board's last meeting](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-20-2026/), a retired priest who said he and his husband live in Webster. "I totally see people's point that it was misplaced in either taking the place of the American flag or being higher than it," the priest told the board Aug. 20\. "The optics of taking it down has been received by the LGBTQ plus community as a sign that some of our neighbors don't think that we belong here." "If a standard is established for one group, we have to be willing to apply that same standard fairly to everyone," the speaker added. The American flag "does not represent one race, one religion, one political party, one sexual orientation or one particular cause," the speaker said. "It represents all of us." The board adopted a flag policy on a 3-2 vote June 4, according to the town's adopted minutes. Resolution No. 211 made the American and New York State flags the only flags to be displayed on town-owned property, and by its terms took effect June 5\. The only basis the resolution states is that the town "does not currently have a defined flag policy." The resolution does not mention the pride flag, and the same minutes record no separate vote to remove it. A fourth speaker asked whether the board had taken recent action on legalizing recreational marijuana. Under the floor rules the chair read, questions are not answered the same night and speakers are asked to leave their information with the town clerk. The chair answered this one anyway: "We are not answering questions at this time, but no, I will state that for the record. No, Webster is not opting in, nor do we have intentions to bring it up." The speaker, a retired pharmacist practicing in Rochester since 1968, asked the board to weigh "what is the socially redeeming value of this" if the question returns for a vote. A Birch Trail resident asked the board to revisit a renewable natural gas project at the town's water resource recovery facility, which would have captured and sold biogas from the plant's anaerobic digesters. The project "came to an end due to questions regarding the contract with an outside vendor," the speaker said, and "would have been a money maker for Webster." The speaker recalled it being voted down 3-2 and asked the board to take it up again. On July 2 the board voted 3-2 on Resolution No. 242 to immediately cease all work by third-party vendors on the project and rescind payment authorization for work not yet performed, with $165,474 to be returned to the town, according to the town's adopted minutes. The board's last action was a 4-0 vote to go into executive session under Public Officers Law §105 on personnel. The invitation named the town board, the attorney for the town, HR Director Kelsey Feeney, Police Capt. Mark Reed and Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Town Board votes Thursday on environmental review of Xerox-area road project URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-09-03-town-board-wtip-environmental-review/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T12:14:55.000Z The Webster Town Board will vote Thursday on a resolution closing out environmental review for the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project, the road and trail package tied to the Xerox campus redevelopment. If the board adopts the resolution, no Environmental Impact Statement is required. The 6:30 p.m. workshop Thursday is canceled. The 7:30 p.m. regular meeting is on. The meeting is in the Town Board Room, 1002 Ridge Road. The agenda opens with Open to the Floor, where speakers get five minutes each. The environmental resolution is seventh of nine numbered items, so residents can speak on the resolution before the board votes. The town's calendar lists a Hojack Trail Improvements ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. the same day, on the Hojack Trail at Klem Road. ## What the project is The transportation project is funded by a FAST NY Track C grant awarded to the Webster Economic Development Alliance, the project's sponsor, which is carrying out the work on behalf of the town and the village. The applicant's section of the form gives the grant's purpose as "to rehabilitate existing roadways and create roadway extensions to improve circulation, access, and safety in this area." The traffic report says the work will "position the campus and surrounding area for subdivision, redevelopment, and investment of vacant and underutilized property, fostering business attraction in key strategic industries." The grant triggers a process under which Xerox Corporation dedicates privately owned roadways and land to the town and the village, so the company's property can be reached from a public right-of-way and subdivided. The Town Board voted 5-0 on Aug. 20 to approve a Xerox petition to annex a Chiyoda Drive parcel from the town into the Village of Webster. That approval is one step, and the Ledger's explainer covers [what still has to happen](https://websterledger.com/2026-08-25-xerox-annexation-what-happens-next/). The study area runs from North Avenue and Webster Road east to Basket Road, and from Mitcheldean Drive south to Route 104\. Six road components are in the package. Two extend existing roads: Boulter Industrial Parkway west to Salt Road and Chiyoda Drive west to Route 250\. The rest is reconstruction of Orchard Street, Panama Road and Mitcheldean Drive, plus a multimodal trail along Phillips Road. ## The scope of Thursday's vote The project's environmental assessment form states that the work "does not include any redevelopment or new buildings, only transportation infrastructure." Thursday's vote is a finding about the roads. The Xerox campus redevelopment those roads are built to serve is not part of the action under review. Passero Associates, the project's traffic consultant, found no significant adverse traffic impacts at completion in a July 28 report. Twenty years out, the report finds left-turn-lane warrants met and expects a signal will be needed where Salt Road, Mitcheldean Drive and the Boulter extension meet. Both findings assume build-out under part of the 2024 Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area plan, including about 1,133 residential units and 1.8 million square feet of light industrial space. That build-out is not part of Thursday's action. The report's sole recommendation is that future development in the study area provide independent traffic impact studies. ## How the review got here The resolution and the town's June 5 notice classify the project as a Type I action, which the state's environmental review regulations treat as more likely to require an Environmental Impact Statement. The classification also requires a coordinated review among the agencies with a role in the project. Under the regulations a Type I review ends in one of two ways. A positive declaration requires an impact statement. A negative declaration does not. The board designated itself lead agency Aug. 6, after notifying involved agencies June 5\. Consent is assumed if no involved agency objects in writing within 30 days. The board's environmental assessment form, dated Aug. 27 and prepared by Town Engineer Keith Mortimer, rates all 20 areas of potential impact and marks none as potentially moderate to large. The form checks the box for no significant adverse environmental impacts and no impact statement. Supplemental responses filed with the form say the Boulter Industrial Parkway and Chiyoda Drive extensions will clear about 4.11 acres of wooded area. The applicant's Part 1 identifies no species within the project limits that are rare, threatened, endangered, or of special concern and conservation need. A culvert goes into the bed and banks of an existing stream, enclosing 800 square feet of it. The stream falls under federal jurisdiction as a Water of the United States, and an application has been submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers. NYSDEC classifies the stream Class C. The stream is not subject to state Protection of Waters permitting. The town says the embedded culvert design maintains natural stream substrate, aquatic organism passage and stream function. The filing also says the Xerox campus "has several sites currently undergoing remediation or that have undergone prior emergency spill remediation," and that NYSDEC "has selected No Further Action as the current remedy with the continued operation of site-wide groundwater migration control." An environmental easement limits use of portions of the site to industrial and commercial uses. The town says core samples taken for the project indicated no elevated levels of contaminants within the project area, and anticipates no impact. ## The 2027 budget Thursday is also when the 2027 tentative budget becomes the preliminary budget. Under New York Town Law §106 that conversion happens on completion of the board's review, so the conversion is not a numbered item. The town's schedule puts the filing of the tentative budget at Aug. 31. The date for residents to mark is Oct. 15\. At that 7:30 p.m. meeting the board holds the public hearing on the 2027 preliminary budget and adopts the 2027 final budget, both the same night. ## In-year budget items and routine business Two items adjust the current year's budget. Item 5 is a transfer that moves money among 80 existing lines in the adopted 2026 budget, leaving total appropriations unchanged. Item 6 raises appropriations by $90,550\. Part of that takes the Program for Aging from $159,000 to $176,600\. Each increase carries a matching source: $45,400 in intergovernmental charges, $45,000 in departmental income and $150 drawn from fund balance. Neither item raises the tax levy. One item authorizes the supervisor to sign a benefits contract for Police Capt. Mark Reed. The contract is not in the agenda packet. The resolution says the contract will be filed in the town clerk's office. The rest is routine: Aug. 20 minutes, bills, a prepaid warrant and purchase orders as submitted by the director of finance. --- **What the record shows:** The board votes Thursday on a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The town's filing describes 4.11 acres of tree clearing and a culvert through a federally regulated stream, with an Army Corps permit still pending. **What's still open:** Whether the board adopts the resolution. It recites a completed public comment period, and no document the Ledger reviewed establishes whether such a period was held or whether the recital means the 30-day involved-agency objection window. **What we couldn't verify:** No total project cost or FAST NY grant amount appears in the agenda packet the Ledger reviewed. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Both Verizon towers tabled to Oct. 6, and the Lake Road hearing stays open URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-09-02-planning-board-verizon-towers-tabled/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T21:08:48.000Z The Webster Planning Board tabled both of Verizon's cell tower applications Tuesday night and will take them up again Oct. 6\. The board has not finished taking public comment on the Lake Road tower. Every application before the board Tuesday, and what happened to it: - Verizon cell tower, 1222 Wildflower Drive. Tabled to Oct. 6\. The chair later said the invitation to come back and speak should have been given on this application as well. - Verizon cell tower, Lake Road. Tabled to Oct. 6, and the board left the public hearing open, so residents can still speak on it. - 764 Ridge Road, a 15,000-square-foot addition. Tabled to Oct. 6. - Four sign applications. All approved, and listed below. - Exterior lighting at Bloom & Blend, 790 Ridge Road. Approved. Earlier in the Lake Road item the chair said people could come back and speak, and that the invitation should have come on the Wildflower Drive application as well. After the Lake Road vote the chair said the board would not close that public hearing. The Ledger [previewed both hearings](https://websterledger.com/2026-09-01-verizon-tower-hearings-sept-1/) Tuesday morning. ## Why the board tabled The chair told the board it had received a large volume of material in the past couple of days, and that the board should slow down until everyone can respond to it. Tabling also gives people in the community a chance to review the same information, the chair said. Verizon did file the supplemental propagation data the board had asked for. It arrived Aug. 27, and some material arrived the day of the meeting. The vote to table was 5-1 on each application. Before the first vote, a board member argued against waiting. The supplemental material addressed the board's earlier comments and its questions about coverage, the member said, and demonstrated that the selected locations are appropriate. The member was satisfied the information was complete and not sure a delay was necessary. Someone else at the table asked what a further 30 days would produce. Derek Anderson cast the only vote against tabling, on both applications. Verizon's attorney, Laura Smith of Nixon Peabody, asked the board to let the Wildflower Drive application keep moving while the review finishes. The board was told Verizon is on next week's zoning board agenda for a preliminary introduction of the project, and the chair agreed. ## The heights The Wildflower Drive tower is 135 feet with a four-foot lightning rod, 139 feet overall. The Lake Road tower is 125 feet with a four-foot lightning rod. [Webster's code caps communications towers at 100 feet](https://websterledger.com/webster-cell-tower-rules-explained/), measured from the ground surface immediately surrounding the site. ## What the town's consultant told the board The consultant the town hired to check Verizon's work appeared in person Tuesday and answered questions for roughly half an hour. William Johnson of RF Engineering Consultants, a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, reviewed both applications with Professor Steven Ciccarelli. Johnson said they went through Verizon's propagation plots and found a real service gap at both sites. At Wildflower Drive that gap runs to both coverage and capacity. There is no coverage gap at Lake Road, Johnson said, but there is a gap at mid-band frequencies. A call can fail at five bars, Johnson said, because the site serving the phone has no capacity left to carry it. A gap is the first of [three questions the board has to answer](https://websterledger.com/webster-cell-tower-rules-explained/) on an application like this. The board has not reached the other two: whether the proposal will actually fix the gap, and whether it is the least intrusive way to do it. Asked whether a code-compliant 100-foot tower could close the gap, Johnson said reduced heights compromise coverage. Filling in with multiple shorter towers is possible, Johnson said, but the combined impact of several is arguably greater than one taller one. Verizon's head RF engineer has offered no alternative at a lower height, Johnson said. ## What neighbors told the board Comment ran heavily against both towers. One speaker across the whole night spoke in favor. A Wildflower Drive resident told the board a petition with the signatures of 95 residents of the neighborhood had been delivered on Friday to Josh Artuso, the town's Director of Community Development. Speakers argued the record should show technical justification for the amount of height requested. They raised property values, and said prospective buyers had walked away from homes near the Wildflower Drive site. They asked whether the board can require a camouflaged or stealth design. The board's attorney noted the code provides for camouflage, landscaping and aesthetic treatment, and Johnson said stealthing a tower at 125 feet is possible but unusual, with trade-offs in how many antennas the tower can carry. Speakers also raised tree removal. A resident whose property backs onto the Wildflower Drive site said trees will come down and the tower will be visible from the backyard, close enough to both see and hear. A Lake Road neighbor who lives across from that site said the objection is to that corner rather than to the tower, and that a purchase offer on one of the building sites there was canceled the day before the meeting. Several speakers raised health effects from radio-frequency emissions. Some of those speakers said themselves that health cannot be the legal ground for a denial. Webster's code says federal law bars regulating a tower on health effects where it meets FCC standards, citing Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996\. The town's consultant gave the board exposure figures from the reports before it: less than 1 percent of the FCC general-population threshold at Wildflower Drive, and a maximum theoretical 3.27 percent at Lake Road. The one speaker in favor lives in the neighborhood. Coverage there has been bad enough for three years to interfere with work, the speaker said, and calls from home do not go through. A tower is unsightly but it is needed infrastructure. ## How the sites were chosen Verizon's siting analysis says it evaluated eleven parcels for the Wildflower Drive site. One of them, according to that analysis, was town-owned property the Town Board declined to lease. Smith told the board that decision was within the Town Board's legislative purview and a separate question from the zoning approvals now pending. Webster's code sets a district preference for tower locations that ranks co-location and commercial districts above residential, and both towers are proposed in residential districts. ## The town already tried to move the Lake Road tower The chair disclosed after the Lake Road comment period that the board had already tried to get that tower located back in the woods. Town staff and the board met with Verizon, and the supervisor took part in one of those meetings. The town got nowhere with it, the chair said. ## 764 Ridge Road also tabled The third public hearing item on the agenda was tabled to Oct. 6 as well, on a voice vote. Thomas Fitzgerald of MRB Group presented a 15,000-square-foot one-story addition to the existing 11,000-square-foot building at 764 Ridge Road. Fitzgerald appeared for a development company and Vital Signs, the sign company that presented two of the sign applications the board approved earlier in the evening. Comments from the town engineer are still outstanding. They cover ADA compliance, sidewalks, site access and a required fire sprinkler system. The applicant said those were addressed in an Aug. 28 submission. The chair proposed taking preliminary and final approval together on Oct. 6 so no time is lost. ## What did get approved Every application the board approved Tuesday was a sign or a light, and all were approved on voice votes with no dissent. - Penfield-Webster EMS, 607 Phillips Road. One 14.89-square-foot non-illuminated sign. - Supercuts, 900 Holt Road. One 28-square-foot internally illuminated sign at the Holt Road plaza. - Monroe County Water Authority, 593 Basket Road. One 18-square-foot non-illuminated double-sided roadside sign. - McAlpin Industries, 865 Hard Road. Three internally illuminated wall signs, two wayfinding signs and one monument sign, totaling 366.13 square feet. - Bloom & Blend, 790 Ridge Road. Final approval for 36 feet of decorative exterior lighting, the second lighting application the board has handled after 7 Brew. The board also approved its Aug. 4 minutes. ## Where this stands **What the record shows.** Both applications were tabled to Oct. 6 on 5-1 votes to table, with Derek Anderson voting against tabling each time. **What is still open.** Verizon has not documented its outreach to landowners of record, the one finding the town's consultant left open on both sites. The board was told Verizon is on next week's zoning board agenda for a preliminary introduction of the Wildflower Drive project. **What we could not verify.** Tuesday's recording was transcribed by machine, and no second transcription engine was available before publication. This account therefore carries no direct quotations, and everything attributed here is a paraphrase. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How Webster reviews a cell tower application URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-cell-tower-rules-explained/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T21:06:30.000Z Webster's code caps communications towers at 100 feet. Any tower taller than that arrives at the Planning Board carrying the same set of questions, and several of the answers are set by federal law rather than by the town. This guide draws on the town code and on what the town's own radio-frequency consultant told the Planning Board on Sept. 1, 2026, during hearings on two Verizon towers. ## The three questions the board has to answer William Johnson of RF Engineering Consultants, the firm the town hired to check Verizon's work, laid out for the board the three questions it has to answer on an application like this. The first is whether the applicant has identified a significant service gap. The second is whether the proposal will actually remedy that gap. The third is whether it is the least intrusive means that is technically feasible, which is where site selection and the applicant's control of the land come in. Answering the first question does not answer the other two. Objections about site selection, and about the choice of a full-height tower over smaller equipment, both sit under the third question. Johnson said the legal advice on all of it belongs with the board's own attorney. ## Health effects cannot be the ground for a denial Webster's code says federal law bars regulating a tower on the health effects of radio-frequency emissions where the tower meets FCC standards. The code cites Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Residents raise health at these hearings, and some say themselves that it cannot be the legal ground for a denial. Johnson told the board that municipalities are saddled with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the court decisions that followed it, and suggested residents direct their complaints to the senators and representatives who could change it. What the standard forecloses is a denial, not the analysis. The reports before the board on Sept. 1 put exposure at less than 1 percent of the FCC general-population threshold at the Wildflower Drive site, and at a maximum theoretical 3.27 percent at the Lake Road site, the town's consultant told members. ## The 100-foot cap, and where it came from The cap is 100 feet, including antennas and extensions, measured from the ground surface immediately surrounding the site. It applies townwide, not to one zoning district. Late in the Sept. 1 discussion, a board member recalled how the cap came about. The town set it years ago, when the first towers came in, expecting it would hold down the impact on neighborhoods. The member said more towers turned out to be needed instead, and the code was never changed. Johnson said the 100-foot number still serves a purpose, because an applicant who wants to build higher has to come forward and demonstrate need. That is not a bad thing, Johnson said. ## A later carrier can raise an approved tower once Johnson pointed the board to finding number 12 of the firm's July 24 review of the Wildflower Drive site. Current FCC regulations carry a provision for a second service provider coming onto an existing tower, Johnson said. The height of that tower can be raised to accommodate the new carrier without going through the kind of review the board was conducting that night. That height increase is available one time. Once it has been used, Johnson said, the next carrier has to go through the full zoning review. Johnson said that is federal law rather than Webster code, and that concerns about it belong with Congress. Johnson also said this is not a reason to deny an application, only something the board should know is possible. During the Sept. 1 hearings, Verizon's attorney, Laura Smith of Nixon Peabody, told the board separately that another carrier might well need its own tower. Smith also said Verizon itself may come back before the board to increase the height. ## Camouflage and stealth designs The code specifically provides for camouflage, landscaping and aesthetic treatment. The board's attorney raised that on Sept. 1, and noted that a site sitting on a road rather than in a tree line will be seen from the road. Johnson said stealthing a tower at 125 feet is possible but unusual, and pointed to a site Pittsford recently stealthed at about 110 feet that reads as a pine tree from some approaches and clearly does not from others. Stealth branches add wind load and torque at the base of the pole, Johnson said, which limits how many antennas the tower can carry. Johnson's summary was that it is a trade-off between how a tower looks and how it performs. ## Sharing an existing tower comes first Webster's code says shared use of an existing tower is preferred to building a new one, and requires an applicant to document good-faith efforts to co-locate on something already standing. The code also sets a district preference for tower locations. That preference runs from a property with an existing structure suitable for co-location, to commercial districts, to municipal or government-owned property, and then to residential districts, with further tiers below that. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Both Verizon towers go to a public hearing Tuesday. It's the Planning Board's first on either one. URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-09-01-verizon-tower-hearings-sept-1/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T11:32:43.000Z Both of Verizon's proposed Webster cell towers go before the Planning Board Tuesday night, and each one is scheduled for a public hearing. The board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. Eight numbered items are on the agenda, along with approval of the Aug. 4 minutes. The applicant on both towers is Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems LLC, doing business as Verizon. The agenda lists Robert Burgdorf as the applicant's agent on both. Both applications are listed under tabled matters, and both ask for preliminary site plan approval. Tabled matters is the part of the agenda for applications the board has taken up before and is returning to. The board can act on an application at one of these hearings or table it again. The third public hearing Tuesday is on a 15,000-square-foot one-story addition to an existing 11,000-square-foot building at 764 Ridge Road. ## Tuesday is the Planning Board's first hearing on either tower Each application has been before the Planning Board once, and both of those meetings were sketch plan reviews. The Lake Road tower had its review March 3\. The Wildflower Drive tower had its review May 5\. A sketch plan review is informational. The board asks the applicant for materials and raises concerns, and it takes no vote on the application. Tuesday is the first public hearing the Planning Board has scheduled on either tower. Neither application appeared on the board's June 2, July 7 or Aug. 4 agendas. ## What preliminary site plan approval is Tuesday's tower hearings are on preliminary site plan approval. That is not final site plan approval, and it is not the special use permit the town code also requires. Under the town code, a communications tower in the R-3 district or the LL district needs two separate approvals. The Town Board issues the special use permit. The Planning Board grants final site plan approval. Section 130-8 requires both. Each tower carries at least two public hearings. Tuesday's Planning Board hearing is not the last one. The Town Board holds another hearing on each tower later. Under Section 130-11B, the Town Board has 62 days to hold it. The 62 days start once the Town Board has both the Planning Board's recommendation and the Planning Board's final site plan approval. ## The Lake Road tower The Lake Road tower would go on land of Windmill Farms LLC, near the southwest corner of Lake Road and Monroe-Wayne County Line Road. The parcel is 7.8 acres in the LL Large-Lot Residential District. The tax parcel number is 037.03-1-44. The tower would be a 125-foot monopole standing 129 feet overall with a four-foot lightning rod. The lease area is 100 by 100 feet. The tower is designed to carry three carriers. The board recorded two requests to the applicant in the results of the March 3 sketch plan review. It asked Verizon to evaluate alternative locations on the same property farther west of County Line Road. It also asked Verizon to consider whether the portion of the property that lies in Wayne County is suitable for the tower. ## The Wildflower Drive tower The Wildflower Drive tower would go on a 14.2-acre parcel in the R-3 Single Family Residential District. The agenda gives the location as 1222 Wildflower Drive. The town's July 24 engineering review describes the site as private land near that address. The tax parcel number is 065.05-1-48. The July 24 review puts the lease area at 80 by 125 feet and the fenced compound at roughly 34 by 77 feet. This tower is also designed to carry three carriers. The July 24 review describes a 135-foot monopole standing 139 feet overall with a four-foot lightning rod. The agenda lists 125 feet. The Planning Board confirmed on the record in May that the tower is 135 feet and that the 125-foot figure on the board's agenda was a mistake. ## The height limit and the variance Chapter 130 of the town code sets a maximum height of 100 feet for communications towers, measured from the ground surface immediately surrounding the site. That figure includes antennas, extensions and any other device that extends above the tower. The cap sits in the chapter itself and is not a rule of either zoning district. A tower that cannot meet that cap needs an area variance under Section 130-24\. Verizon has filed an area-variance exhibit with both applications. ## The town's own reviews are on file The town retained its own radio-frequency engineers on both applications. William P. Johnson and Steven M. Ciccarelli of RF Engineering Consultants of Rochester filed preliminary radio-frequency site reviews with the Planning Board. The Wildflower Drive review is dated July 24, 2026\. The Lake Road review is dated Aug. 3, 2026\. Both are addressed to Josh Artuso, the town's Director of Community Development. Both are posted with Tuesday's agenda. ## What the board can and cannot consider The town code says federal law prohibits the regulation of cellular and personal communication service towers on the basis of the environmental effects of radio-frequency emissions, where those emissions comply with FCC standards. Section 130-12F cites Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Section 130-12C says shared use of an existing tower is preferred to building a new one. The section requires an applicant to document good-faith efforts to co-locate. Section 130-12E(2) requires the base of a tower to sit at least its own height from any property line. Where the underlying district requires a larger setback, the district minimum governs. ## How to be heard Residents can speak at each of the three hearings. The Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. Section 130-23 sets two notice rules. A legal notice runs in the town's official newspaper at least five days before a hearing. The applicant has to post a sign the town provides at least 10 days before the hearing and keep it up through the hearing date. The sign goes in a conspicuous place at or in front of the front property line. The town code does not require the town to mail notice of these hearings to nearby property owners. Previously in the Ledger: [The week ahead in Webster: school starts Wednesday, three hearings Tuesday](https://websterledger.com/2026-08-28-week-ahead-webster-sept-1/) (Aug. 28) carries the full eight-item agenda. [Verizon cell tower at 1222 Wildflower Drive goes before the Planning Board tonight](https://websterledger.com/verizon-wildflower-tower-planning-board-preview/) (May 5) covers the Wildflower application's history and the code path it follows. [Webster Planning Board orders outside review of 135-foot Verizon tower](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-orders-outside-review-verizon-tower/) (May 6) covers the board's confirmation of the 135-foot height. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### The week ahead in Webster: school starts Wednesday, three hearings Tuesday URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-08-28-week-ahead-webster-sept-1/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T16:43:02.000Z Students in the Webster Central School District return to class Wednesday, Sept. 2\. The Planning Board, the Town Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals each meet once between Monday, Aug. 31, and Tuesday, Sept. 8\. The school board also meets Sept. 8\. The town's 2027 budget passes three milestones on its published schedule. The Town Board workshop set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, is canceled. The regular Town Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. that night is still on, in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. ## Day by day - **Monday, Aug. 31.** No school. Webster Central School District staff have a Superintendent's Conference Day. The town supervisor files the 2027 Tentative Budget with the Town Clerk. Community Office Hours with the supervisor start at 5:30 p.m. at 1002 Ridge Road. - **Tuesday, Sept. 1.** No school. Staff have a second Superintendent's Conference Day. The Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. in the Town Board Room, 1002 Ridge Road. - **Wednesday, Sept. 2.** First day of school for Webster Central School District students. - **Thursday, Sept. 3.** The 6:30 p.m. Town Board workshop is canceled. The Town Board meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Board Room. The board is scheduled to approve the Tentative Budget as presented, which makes it the Preliminary Budget. - **Friday, Sept. 4.** No school. The Preliminary Budget is filed with the Town Clerk. - **Monday, Sept. 7.** Labor Day. Town Hall is closed and there is no school. - **Tuesday, Sept. 8.** The Webster Central School District Board of Education meets at 5 p.m. at Spry Middle School, 119 South Ave., in the second-floor PDC. The school shares that address with the district office. The meeting listing names professional development and the WREA Citizenship Awardees. The district livestreams its board meetings. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 7 p.m. in the Town Board Room, 1002 Ridge Road. ## Three chances to speak Tuesday, Sept. 1 The Planning Board's Sept. 1 agenda carries three public hearings. A public hearing is the part of a meeting set aside for residents to address the board on a specific application. Two of the three are Verizon Wireless tower applications. The applicant on both is Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, doing business as Verizon. - **1222 Wildflower Drive.** Preliminary site plan approval for a 125-foot telecommunications tower with a four-foot lightning rod, along with ground-mounted equipment. The parcel is 14.2 acres in the R-3 Single Family Residential District. - **Lake Road and County Line Road.** Preliminary site plan approval for a 125-foot tower with a four-foot lightning rod. The parcel is 7.8 acres in the LL Large-Lot Residential District. - **764 Ridge Road.** Preliminary site plan approval for a 15,000-square-foot one-story addition to an existing 11,000-square-foot building. ## The rest of Tuesday's agenda Five other items are scheduled without public hearings. Four of them are sign applications. - **Penfield-Webster EMS, 607 Phillips Road.** One non-illuminated sign of 14.89 square feet. - **Supercuts, 900 Holt Road.** One internally illuminated sign of 28 square feet. - **Monroe County Water Authority, 593 Basket Road.** One non-illuminated sign of 18 square feet. - **McAlpin Industries, 865 Hard Road.** Three internally illuminated wall-mounted signs, two wayfinding signs and one monument sign. They total 366.13 square feet. The fifth item is final site plan approval for 36 feet of decorative exterior lighting at Bloom & Blend, 790 Ridge Road. The board is also set to act on its Aug. 4 minutes. ## The budget steps this week The budget items on Monday, Thursday and Friday come from the town's published 2027 Budget Schedule. The town supervisor files the Tentative Budget with the Town Clerk on Monday. The Town Board is scheduled to approve it as presented on Thursday, which makes it the Preliminary Budget. That document is filed with the Town Clerk on Friday. The same schedule sets the public hearing on the 2027 Preliminary Budget for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, and adoption of the 2027 Final Budget for the same meeting. That is the night residents can speak on the Preliminary Budget. ## Finding the agendas The Sept. 1 Planning Board agenda is posted. The Sept. 3 Town Board agenda had not been posted as of Friday. The town posts agendas on its [AgendaCenter page](https://www.websterny.gov/AgendaCenter?ref=websterledger.com). The district posts Board of Education agendas, minutes and its board calendar on BoardDocs, linked from the board page at websterschools.org. Dates here come from the town's online meeting calendars, the town's 2027 Budget Schedule, the Webster Central School District calendar and the posted Sept. 1 Planning Board agenda. Previously in the Ledger: [Back to school in Webster: what parents need to know for Sept. 2](https://websterledger.com/2026-08-26-back-to-school-webster/) (Aug. 26). ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's town board said yes to the Xerox annexation. Here's what still has to happen. URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-08-25-xerox-annexation-what-happens-next/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T21:55:36.000Z The Webster Town Board voted 5-0 on Aug. 20 to approve a petition moving roughly 28 acres of the Xerox campus out of the Town of Webster and into the Village of Webster. That vote is one of two consents the annexation needs. Under New York's General Municipal Law, a town board is one of two governing bodies that has to act on an annexation petition like this one. The village board has its own decision to make, on its own clock, under a rule most residents have never run into: if it says nothing at all, the annexation is approved anyway. The village board meets Thursday evening, its first regular meeting since the town's vote. Here is what the statute requires, who decides next, and what changes for the parcel if the municipal line moves. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## What the vote did, and what it didn't The land would move from the town to the village, not the other way. The paperwork states that direction plainly. Xerox Corporation's filing, submitted under General Municipal Law Section 703, describes itself as a "petition for the annexation of territory known as Tax ID # 65.03-1-41 to the Village of Webster." The cover letter transmitting it to the town describes the request as one "for the Village to annex a portion of the Site currently under the jurisdiction of the Town." The parcel is 28.04 acres at 1345 Chiyoda Drive, owned by Xerox Corporation and assessed at $3,231,900\. The petition swears that the number of inhabitants of the territory is zero and that Xerox owns 100 percent of its assessed valuation, a statement certified by the town assessor. Nobody lives there. It is also not a trade. "It's not a swap," a board member said at the Aug. 20 meeting, adding that people had thought the town and village were exchanging land. Supervisor Alex Scialdone, Deputy Supervisor Nick Hunter, Councilmen John Cahill and Garrett Wagner, and Councilwoman Jennifer Wright all voted aye. The town has not yet posted minutes of the Aug. 20 meeting, so board members quoted here are identified by role rather than by name. A board member said the municipal line between town and village runs directly through the Xerox parcel, and that the split makes it less desirable for a developer to buy and revamp. The point of the move, the member said, is to put the West Campus inside the village so that a developer deals with a single municipality. The environmental determination was not on the posted agenda. The town attorney raised it from the floor, before the presiding officer took up the annexation, and the board then adopted a resolution classifying the annexation as an unlisted action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and finding that it will have no adverse environmental impact. The petition package includes Part 1 of a short Environmental Assessment Form, prepared and certified by the applicant. That is how the state's form is designed to work: it assigns Part 1 to the applicant or project sponsor, and the answers are subject to public review and further verification. ## Two boundary proposals, running in opposite directions Some of the confusion has a real source: there have been two separate boundary proposals on the Xerox campus this year, and they run opposite ways. The first went to Village of Webster voters at a special election on June 16\. That one concerned two portions of a different parcel, 065.19-1-1.1: roughly 32 acres off Phillips Road, Mitcheldean Drive and Resende Road, plus about 1.3 acres along Ridge Road near Route 104\. It would have moved land the other direction, out of the village and into the town, under a different procedure entirely: a boundary diminishment under Village Law, decided at the ballot box rather than by the boards. The proposition failed 125 to 130, with 19 blank ballots out of 274 cast, according to the Monroe County Board of Canvassers. A board member pointed to that outcome on Aug. 20: "The village referendum did not pass the public, so it is now on us." That referendum concerned different land and a different procedure. The petition the town board acted on in August is a different parcel, a different direction and a different statute. It runs under General Municipal Law Article 17, where the two governing boards decide, not the voters. Both proposals trace back to the same underlying planning effort: the Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area plan, or BOA plan, which the town and village jointly asked the New York State Department of State to designate in April 2025 and which received a certificate of designation that June. Xerox's petition calls the annexation "a key step to implementing the vision established in the BOA Plan." A Brownfield Opportunity Area is a state Department of State planning designation covering an area, not an approval covering a project. A BOA designation does not itself approve development or change zoning, and it does not by itself require or complete any cleanup. It is a plan, not a permit. On site conditions, the application states that the adjoining Xerox campus underwent completed remediation for hazardous waste. That characterization comes from the applicant's own filing and has not been independently verified by the Ledger. ## What Article 17 actually requires The statute lays out a sequence, and Webster is partway through it. **The petition.** Section 703 lets the owners of a territory petition for annexation. Xerox's was transmitted to the town on April 23, 2026. **Notice.** Section 704 requires notice to be published and mailed within 20 days after a petition is received, with the hearing set not less than 20 nor more than 40 days after that. **A joint hearing.** Section 705 makes the hearing a joint one. Both boards sit together, and the record has to address whether the petition is sufficient and whether the annexation is in the "over-all public interest" of the territory, the annexing municipality, the area left behind, and any affected school or fire districts. **The determination, within 90 days.** Section 711 gives each affected governing board 90 days after the hearing is concluded to determine by majority vote whether the annexation serves that over-all public interest, and to adopt a resolution with findings and file a signed written order. **And silence counts as yes.** A board that wants to reject the annexation has to say so in writing, on time. If the 90 days pass and no written order has been filed, Section 711 says the board "shall be deemed to have approved the proposed annexation." Approval happens by operation of law, without anyone taking a vote. That rule was on the town board's mind. "This is the last board meeting we have before the 90 day from the joint public hearing that we had with the village," a board member said Aug. 20\. "So if we do not vote tonight it will default to a yes automatically." ## The village board's turn The town has consented. The village board's determination is the remaining consent. The Ledger has not been able to establish from the village's posted record whether the board has acted on the petition, or when the 90 days expire. Three things can happen from here. **If the village board approves**, Section 711 makes the determination "final and conclusive." There is no appeal on the merits. A challenge would have to come as an Article 78 proceeding within 30 days of the order being filed. **If the village board does nothing**, the deemed-approval rule applies and the annexation is treated as approved when the 90 days run out. **If the village board refuses**, the case can go to the Appellate Division, but not at Xerox's initiative. Section 712 gives that right to "the governing board of any other affected local government," which here means the town board. The petitioner has no standing to appeal a village refusal. The application would be due within 30 days after the order is filed with the county clerk. The statute is asymmetrical. It builds a review route into a refusal, which another affected board can take to the Appellate Division. It builds none into an approval, or into a silence that becomes one. ## What changes for the parcel, and what doesn't **The village would become the land-use authority.** That is the largest practical change on this list. Going forward, village zoning and village boards would govern development on the parcel, and the town's boards would no longer have a role in approving what gets built there. Village officials are elected by village voters, so residents of the town outside the village would have no vote for the officials deciding what gets built on the parcel. The Ledger has not been able to establish from the village's posted record which zoning district the parcel would receive, or whether the village must act to assign one. **Schools do not change.** The parcel already sits in the Webster Central School District, which covers both the town and the village. As a general rule school district boundaries are independent of municipal boundaries and do not automatically follow an annexation, but here the question is moot in both directions. No student assignment changes and no one's school tax jurisdiction changes because of this. **Whether the town's moratorium reaches this parcel is not settled by the record.** Webster's development moratorium is Local Law No. 2 of 2026, adopted June 4, 2026\. It bars subdivisions producing more than four parcels, large-scale solar projects and data centers on real property in six named zoning districts: O-P, MC, HC, CO, LC-1 and LC-2, as identified on the town's zoning map last dated May 2021\. That map lists IN Industrial as a district distinct from those six, and the Ledger has not been able to establish which town zoning district covers this parcel. If the boundary moves, the moratorium stops applying either way, because the law by its own terms binds boards of the Town of Webster and property in the town's listed districts. **The tax roll shifts on a fiscal-year boundary, not on the day of the vote.** Once the approving orders are filed with the clerks of the affected local governments, Section 714 requires the annexing board to set an effective date by local law, with due regard to the taxable status dates and fiscal years of the governments involved. Section 710 handles the money: taxes already owed when annexation takes effect stay collectible as if the territory had never been annexed, and from the first fiscal year beginning after the effective date the annexing government collects. In plain terms, the village would gain the parcel on its roll and the town would lose it from the town-wide levy, while county and school jurisdiction are unaffected. "Town taxpayers have no negative impact on this," a board member said Aug. 20\. No public document quantifies the levy effect on either side, and the Ledger is not going to estimate one. **Whether the parcel leaves the town's special districts is not settled by the record.** The assessment roll lists it in the Northeast Joint Fire District along with water, sewer and drainage districts. General Municipal Law Section 709 addresses fire districts only where a city is doing the annexing, so it does not settle what happens when a village does. ## What to watch The village board meets Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Hall at 29 South Ave., and its meetings stream live on the village's Facebook page. The Village of Webster Board of Trustees sits on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The Ledger has not been able to establish from the village's posted record whether the petition is on the agenda for that meeting, or whether the board takes public comment on it. The other markers are the village board's minutes and the town's minutes of the Aug. 20 meeting, which the town posts once the board approves them at a subsequent meeting. One date is still unsettled. The town's posted record does not establish when the joint hearing closed, which is the event that starts the 90-day clock. Previously in the Ledger: [Xerox parcel annexation, traffic law update head Thursday's Town Board agenda](https://websterledger.com/2026-08-20-town-board-preview-xerox-annexation/) (Aug. 20) and [Webster Town Board approves petition to annex part of Xerox campus, 5-0](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-20-2026/) (Aug. 21). ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Back to school in Webster: what parents need to know for Sept. 2 URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-08-26-back-to-school-webster/ Last updated: 2026-08-26T12:00:00.000Z Webster Central School District classes resume Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the first week is two days long. Students attend Wednesday and Thursday, and then there is no school Friday, Sept. 4 or Monday, Sept. 7 for Labor Day weekend. The first full week does not start until Tuesday, Sept. 8. For families lining up childcare, be prepared for that. ## The first two weeks, at a glance - **Monday, Aug. 31 and Tuesday, Sept. 1:** Superintendent's Conference Days. Staff report; no students are in buildings. - **Wednesday, Sept. 2:** first day of classes for all students. - **Thursday, Sept. 3:** day two, and the last day of the first week. - **Friday, Sept. 4 and Monday, Sept. 7:** no school, Labor Day weekend. - **Tuesday, Sept. 8:** the first full week begins, and the school year's first Board of Education meeting is that afternoon at 5 p.m. - **Bell times:** most elementary schools run 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.; Klem Road North and Plank Road North run 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; all middle and high schools run 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. - **Meals:** breakfast and lunch are free for every student, starting the first day. Nearly everything below comes from two district documents: the [Back to School 2026-27 newsletter](https://www.websterschools.org/tfiles/folder1645/Back2School2627.pdf?ref=websterledger.com), the 16-page issue mailed to Webster homes, and the Board of Education's adopted 2026-27 school calendar. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## What time your school starts Bell times are printed in the newsletter's school directory. Five of the seven elementary schools run 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. Two of them, Klem Road North and Plank Road North, start 10 minutes earlier, at 7:40 a.m. Families with children in two different elementary buildings should check both rows. All middle and high schools run 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | School | Hours | Principal | | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------------------- | | DeWitt Road Elementary, 722 DeWitt Road | 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Mark Schichtel | | Klem Road North Elementary, 1015 Klem Road | 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. | Laura Ballou | | Klem Road South Elementary, 1025 Klem Road | 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Martha End | | Plank Road North Elementary, 705 Plank Road | 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. | Craig Bodensteiner | | Plank Road South Elementary, 715 Plank Road | 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Jill Doyle | | Schlegel Road Elementary, 1548 Schlegel Road | 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Kate Hesla | | State Road Elementary, 1401 State Road | 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Anthony Kunecki | | Spry Middle School, 119 South Ave. | 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | Jacqueline Goodwine (interim) | | Willink Middle School, 900 Publishers Parkway | 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | Brian Powers | | Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road | 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | Paul Benz | | Webster Thomas High School, 800 Five Mile Line Road | 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. | Glenn Widor | The district's alternative programs keep their own hours: GOAL, 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.; One Webster Learning (OWL) High, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; OWL Middle, 8:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.; OWL Elementary, 7:50 a.m. to 2 p.m. The newsletter announces no change to school hours this year. ## Buses The district says its Infinite Campus parent portal carries bus schedules, along with attendance, grades and report cards, so that is where to look for your child's stop. No release date for 2026-27 routes is published, so check the portal rather than waiting for an announcement. Transportation answers at 585-265-3840, 6 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. One thing the district does say, in its transportation FAQ: after school starts, bus numbers and stop times can change whenever a route is adjusted, even when the stop location itself holds. A route confirmed this week is not necessarily the route in October. ## Willink families, the parking lot is changing The district says a complete restoration of Willink Middle School's parking lot is underway, and that it "will create a new traffic pattern for pick up and drop off." It also says the specifics are not out yet. In the newsletter's capital project update, the district writes: "Stay tuned for more details as that work is completed closer to the start of school." That is the whole of what has been published. As of publication, neither the district's Willink construction page nor the school's own page described the new pattern. Willink parents should expect the arrival and dismissal routine to be different on Sept. 2 and should watch for the district's notice. Also at Willink, the district says the OWL addition is "taking shape with work to be completed in time for school to start this fall." The Ledger reported [the Willink construction project on July 29](https://websterledger.com/willink-middle-school-construction-2026/), when no building-by-building schedule had been released. ## At Spry, a two-year bathroom project A remodel of all bathroom facilities at Spry Middle School began this summer. The district says it will be a two-year process, staggered across areas of the building. ## Meals are free, and you should still fill out the form Every Webster student receives one complete free breakfast and one complete free lunch daily starting on the first day of school. The district attributes this to its participation in the federal Community Eligibility Provision. Even so, the district asks families to complete a Free/Reduced Price Meal Application, one per family. Approved applications unlock fee waivers for other district programs, including AP exams and driver's education. No deadline is published: the district says a family may submit or update an application at any time during the school year as circumstances change. The application is online through the Parent Portal under the Food Service section, and paper forms are available at each school. Second meals and a la carte items are not free and cannot be charged. Prepaid accounts run through MySchoolBucks, which supports low-balance alerts and auto-replenishment. Checks are payable to "Webster Food Services," one per building. Questions about dietary modifications go to the Food Service Office, 585-670-5104. ## The paperwork that will bite you **Immunizations.** The district's line is blunt: students whose immunization records are not in compliance "will not be permitted in school." All students need DPT, DT or DTaP; hepatitis B; MMR; polio; and varicella. Grades 6 through 12 need one dose of Tdap. Meningococcal is one dose for grades 7 through 11 and two doses in grade 12\. UPK adds Hib and pneumococcal. Medical exemptions only, on the state health department's form, approved by the district physician and renewed annually. Free immunizations are available at the Monroe County Department of Public Health, 111 Westfall Road, 585-753-5150. **Physicals.** Health appraisals are required for all new entrants and for students in PreK, K, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11\. New York now requires the exam on the state School Health Examination Form, and the district says it is no longer permitted to accept other forms. An exam dated on or after Sept. 1, 2025 meets the requirement and should reach the school health office within 30 days of attendance. For Section V sports in grades 7 through 12, the exam must be dated on or after Aug. 1, 2025. **Over-the-counter medication.** The district flags this one itself as an important change. Administering an over-the-counter product in a school health office now requires both a written order from a licensed health care provider and written parental consent. **Registration.** Registration for 2026-27 is [open online](https://www.websterschools.org/registration?ref=websterledger.com) through Infinite Campus. No deadline is published, which is a reason to do it now rather than later. The registration office is at 119 South Avenue, 585-216-0029, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. **PreK and kindergarten.** The 2026-27 PreK lottery closed March 13, and applications filed after that go to a waitlist. The district opened this year's application window in mid-February, so families with a 4-year-old should start watching for next year's announcement around then. For kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old on or before Dec. 1 to be eligible to register, and a child who turns 6 on or before Dec. 1 is required to attend instruction that September. ## What is actually new this year **Four new administrators.** The district hired four this summer, most of them replacing retirees. Chris Callahan, a Webster graduate who started in the district in 2010 and had been Spry's principal since 2023, is now assistant superintendent for human resources. That move is why Spry opens the year with an interim principal, Jacqueline Goodwine, an assistant principal at Webster Schroeder since 2014\. Jenna Felice joins Spry as assistant principal, from Penfield. Chris Golamb is the new director of health, physical education and athletics for Webster Thomas and Willink. **A water safety notice you have not seen before.** A new state law, Education Law section 926, took effect July 1 and requires districts to give parents and guardians information on drowning prevention, water safety and safe and healthy swimming at the beginning of the school year. Webster is posting the state health department's "Safe Swimming Tips for Everyone" card under District, then Legal Notices, on its website. **Replacing a lost student ID badge is free once, then $10.** Each student gets one free replacement if a badge is lost or damaged. Every additional replacement is $10\. The district suggests a backpack clip or lanyard. **The student code of conduct.** The board took up a revised 2026-27 student code of conduct at its Aug. 18 meeting. As proposed, it would define the unauthorized use of "artificial intelligence ('AI') technology or tools" as a form of academic dishonesty; add language stating that the dress code does not limit a student's ability "to wear certain protective hairstyles (including but not limited to braids, locks, and twists)"; and require a building principal or designee to notify local law enforcement of code violations that constitute a crime and substantially affect school order or security, no later than the close of business the day they learn of it. Those provisions are described here as proposed because the Ledger has not confirmed what the board did with the revision on Aug. 18\. Whatever version the board adopts is the one that governs, once the district posts it. ## Phones, in year two The phone rule is not new, but it gets reported as new every August. New York's statewide bell-to-bell restriction on smartphones took effect in September 2025\. Webster's implementing policy, Policy 7316, was approved by the board and took effect last school year. What it means for a student starting sixth grade who has never lived under it: personal internet-enabled devices stay put away for the entire school day. The newsletter spells out the span, from the opening homeroom bell through classes, study halls, lunch, recess and passing time. The district writes about the policy in the past tense, as a settled part of the school day rather than a change coming this fall. ## Dates to mark The first board meeting of the school year is Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. The board normally meets in the second-floor professional development center at Spry Middle School, 119 South Avenue, unless the agenda notes otherwise, so check the agenda before you go. Meetings are livestreamed and archived at [websterschools.org/boemeetings](https://www.websterschools.org/boemeetings?ref=websterledger.com). Anyone who wants to speak should fill out the online speaker form linked at websterschools.org/boemeetings. Families who are unable to complete the form can contact District Clerk Heather Murphy at 585-216-0001 or heather\_murphy@webstercsd.org. From the district calendar, with the district's own caveat that dates are subject to change and that families should plan vacations around test days: - Oct. 9: Superintendent's Conference Day, no school - Oct. 12: No school - Nov. 11: No school - Nov. 19, 20, 23 and 24: PreK-5 parent-teacher conferences, half days - Nov. 25 to 27: No school - Dec. 23 to Jan. 1: No school - Jan. 18: No school - Jan. 26 to 28: Regents exams - Feb. 15 to 19: No school - March 11, 12, 18 and 19: PreK-5 parent-teacher conferences, half days - March 22 to 26: No school - April 14 and 15: Grades 3-8 ELA testing - April 28 and 29: Grades 3-8 math testing - May 18: Annual budget vote and board election - June 14: Last day of classes, grades 9-12 - June 21: Last day of classes, grades 6-8 - June 22: Last day of classes, PreK-5 Eight of those days are half days, four in November and four in March, all of them PreK-5 conference days. That is worth putting on a childcare calendar now. That list is not the whole school year. The district calendar carries additional non-attendance days, several of which apply only to certain grade levels, and a parent planning the full year should work from the district's published 2026-27 calendar, printed on page 13 of the [Back to School newsletter](https://www.websterschools.org/tfiles/folder1645/Back2School2627.pdf?ref=websterledger.com). Two things parents look for every fall are not on that calendar at all. The district's published calendar carries no marking-period end dates and no report card dates, and open house and orientation dates are set building by building rather than published district-wide. For both, watch ParentSquare and your child's school. ## Numbers and links - Supply lists, one district-wide document: [2026-27 school supply lists](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1caeqlYbLLWxH0yTHFufOQjiqrVIbocjk4TPD0SzJiXM/edit?ref=websterledger.com) - Registration: [websterschools.org/registration](https://www.websterschools.org/registration?ref=websterledger.com), 585-216-0029 - Transportation: 585-265-3840 - Food Service: 585-670-5104 - District Clerk and board meetings: 585-216-0001, [websterschools.org/boemeetings](https://www.websterschools.org/boemeetings?ref=websterledger.com) - Monroe County Department of Public Health immunization clinic: 585-753-5150 ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster school tax bills go out this week. Miss Sept. 20 and the installment plan is gone. URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-08-25-webster-school-tax-payment-deadlines/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T16:20:38.000Z Webster homeowners who plan to pay their school taxes in three installments have until Sept. 20 to make the first one. Miss that date and the entire bill comes due. Webster Central School District tax bills go out this week, and for most homeowners that bill is the largest single tax charge of the year. The first installment is due Sept. 15, and the whole bill can be paid with no interest through Oct. 1\. Neither is the date that decides how expensive this gets. Sept. 20 is the cliff. The Town of Webster's legal notice for the 2026-2027 collection puts it in one sentence: "If the first installment is not paid by September 20th, the installment plan is no longer available." The entire school tax then comes due, with the Oct. 1 clock still running. The school board took up the 2026-2027 tax warrant on Aug. 18, and the Receiver of Taxes has since received the warrant and the tax roll. For what the charges on the bill are, and why your neighbor's total differs from yours, see the Ledger's July 10 explainer, [How to read your Webster property tax bill](https://websterledger.com/how-to-read-your-webster-property-tax-bill/). What follows is the calendar. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Two ways to pay, and what each one commits you to **Pay in full.** Sept. 1 through Oct. 1, no interest. Oct. 2 through Oct. 31, add 2 percent, applied to the entire amount of the bill, not to some remaining balance. **Pay in three installments.** The installments are due Sept. 15, Oct. 15 and Nov. 15, and only the first one is paid to Webster Town Hall. The plan costs extra. The legal notice says that "if you elect to use the installment option, there is a service charge on ALL three payments," and the payment instructions printed on the back of the bill say it must be paid with every installment. Neither document states the amount. It is printed on your bill. **A calendar problem.** Sept. 20, 2026 is a Sunday. The legal notice says that when a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, payment will be accepted on the first business day following. But Sept. 20 is written as a cutoff, not as a due date, and no published source resolves whether the plan survives into Monday, Sept. 21\. Treat Friday, Sept. 18 as the last safe day to pay in person, or mail it postmarked no later than Saturday, Sept. 19\. Do not plan around Monday. The school installment plan carries no stated minimum bill amount. Do not assume a threshold applies here. ## Installments two and three do not go to Webster Town Hall This is the most common way a taxpayer on the installment plan ends up delinquent without meaning to. Only the first installment goes to the Town of Webster. The second and third go to the **Monroe County Treasurer**, PO Box 14420, Rochester, NY 14614, or in person at 39 W. Main St., Room B-2\. The county's number for tax payments is 585-753-1200. The third installment is due Nov. 15, another Sunday, and here the published rules appear to disagree. The instructions printed on the bill say Nov. 16 through Nov. 18 adds 1 percent to the third installment, which is hard to square with the weekend-rollover rule in the town's notice. No published source reconciles them, so treat Friday, Nov. 13 as the safe date. ## The whole calendar, and what being late costs - **Sept. 1 through Oct. 1:** full payment, no interest, to the Webster Receiver. - **Sept. 15:** first installment due, to the Webster Receiver. The payment instructions printed on the back of the county bill allow it from Sept. 16 through Sept. 20 with 1 percent added. - **Sept. 20:** the installment plan ends. A first installment still unpaid after this date voids the plan for the year and the full bill comes due. Sept. 20 is a Sunday, and no published source says the cutoff rolls to Monday. - **Oct. 2 through Oct. 31:** full payment plus 2 percent of the entire bill, to the Webster Receiver. - **Oct. 15:** second installment due, to the **Monroe County Treasurer**, not Webster Town Hall. The printed payment instructions allow it from Oct. 16 through Oct. 31 with 1 percent added. - **Oct. 31:** the last day the Webster Receiver accepts anything, after which the school tax rolls return to the Monroe County and Wayne County tax offices. Oct. 31 is a Saturday this year and Town Hall is closed, so the last day to pay in person is Friday, Oct. 30\. The drop box and the postmark still work on the 31st. - **Nov. 1 through Nov. 18:** the Monroe County Treasurer still accepts payment. Full payment carries 5 percent. A second installment still outstanding carries 2 percent. - **Nov. 15:** third installment due, to the **Monroe County Treasurer**. It falls on a Sunday, and the published rules conflict on what that means. See the caution above. - **Nov. 18:** the end. The payment instructions printed on the bill say it in capital letters: "NO PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER NOVEMBER 18." Everything from Nov. 1 forward comes from the payment instructions printed on the back of the county bill and from Perinton's published page, not from Webster's legal notice. The town's notice ends at Oct. 31 and does not describe the November county window at all. ## After Nov. 18, the school bill becomes a January problem Monroe County's treasury describes the mechanism plainly: if school taxes are not fully paid, the outstanding balance plus penalty and interest is re-levied as a county tax on the next combined town and county tax bill, the one that arrives in January 2027\. The county does not publish the percentage. The Town of Perinton, collecting under the same county schedule, puts the add-on at 7 percent. Whether a Webster relevy carries that same rate is not stated in any county document. The debt becomes a county tax line inside a bill with its own escalating interest schedule, starting in February at 1.5 percent per month, and a delinquency of record against the parcel. ## Where and how to hand over the money **In person.** Town Clerk's Office, Webster Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. No credit or debit cards. **By mail.** Payable to Danene M. Marr, Receiver of Taxes, 1000 Ridge Road, Webster, NY 14580\. The postmark governs: "any payment postmarked on or before the due date will be considered on time." A private postage-meter mark does not qualify. **Drop box.** Front vestibule of Town Hall, open 24 hours, checks and money orders only, emptied each morning. **Online.** Through www.monroecounty.gov. A credit card adds a 2.75 percent service charge, per the 2026-2027 legal notice. The county does not publish its e-check fee, and a fee table posted by the Town of Penfield lists it at $10, so read the fee off the payment screen before confirming. Questions about a bill or a payment go to the Webster Receiver of Taxes at 585-872-7064, the number the school district and the town's School Taxes page publish. The town's Receiver of Taxes page lists a second line, 585-872-7060\. Start with 7064. ## If your bank pays the bill for you If a mortgage lender escrows your taxes, the bill goes to the lender, not to you. Verify rather than assume: Monroe County's real property portal shows paid and unpaid status by parcel. Check it in the last week of September, early enough to still pay in full by Oct. 1 with no interest if it has not posted. That timing is the Ledger's recommendation, not an official instruction. ## STAR, and why your bill may look like the discount vanished There are two STAR benefits. The STAR credit arrives as a check or direct deposit from New York State and does not reduce your bill; anyone who bought in Webster since 2015 has this version. The STAR exemption does reduce the bill. So a bill with no STAR line is not evidence of a mistake, and a credit that has not arrived is not a reason to pay late. ## If the bill looks wrong A bill that looks wrong is not a grievance matter now. Webster's grievance window runs in May and the final roll closed July 1, so pay the bill and take the assessment up next spring with the Ledger's guide, [What is the Board of Assessment Review, and why it matters](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/). ## Not every Webster address is on this schedule Walworth and Ontario residents in the district, its Wayne County portions, have no installment option and pay in full only. Penfield residents pay the Penfield Receiver of Taxes, 585-340-8625, and some Town of Webster parcels sit in the Wayne Central School District, which collects at Ontario Town Hall. Check your own bill for the collector and the dates. The amount on the bill is set. The only variable any homeowner controls is when it gets paid, and to whom. Sept. 20 is where that choice narrows. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Pulling a home improvement permit in Webster URL: https://websterledger.com/pulling-a-home-improvement-permit-in-webster/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T00:01:15.000Z A shed needs a building permit in the Town of Webster. So do a fence, a deck, a pool and a roof replacement. Starting without one costs double. The town's 2026 fee schedule prices work done with no prior permit application at two times the required fees. The reason the town cares about that paperwork: a permit is the record that the wiring, framing and drainage were checked by someone other than the person who eventually sells you the house. The Building Department is at Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road. Its number is (585) 872-7036 and it is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The department's page urges residents who are unsure to call for confirmation before starting a project. Everything below comes from documents the town and the village publish. On the town side those are the permit applications and their supplements, the Building Department and Code Enforcement pages, the forms pages and the 2026 fee schedule. The town FAQ supplies one phone number, and the village section comes from the village's own Building Department page. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Town or village Two governments issue building permits inside Webster. The Town of Webster covers most addresses. The Village of Webster runs its own Building Department for addresses inside village limits, with its own inspector and its own forms. The rest of this article describes the town's rules. If you live in the village, start at 28 West Main Street or call (585) 265-3770\. The village office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. The village lists permits as required for: - Fences, sheds, pools and decks - Generators and driveways - Re-roofs - New construction, additions and renovations - Change of use or occupancy - Signs and demolition - Fireplaces, HVAC and plumbing Many village applications can be filed through online forms. The village's instructions say staff will confirm receipt, then contact the applicant to review the application and determine whether more documentation is needed. They also say not to start a project until that has happened. ## What needs a permit The town's Building Department publishes a list of common projects that require a permit. It says the list is not exhaustive. - Accessory buildings - Additions - Change of use or tenant - Decks - Fences - Interior remodeling that may include electrical, plumbing or structural changes - New construction - Roof replacement - Temporary signs, with permanent signs requiring Planning Board approval - Solar panels, roof-mounted or ground-mounted - Standby generators - Swimming pools and hot tubs - Utility sheds The submission requirements sheet attached to the building permit application adds more. It names cabanas, gazebos and arbors. It names finished areas such as basements or bonus rooms. It also names egress windows and bilco doors, along with demolition of a building and tank removal. It says permits are required for all signs. ## What does not need a permit The department lists these as common projects that do not require a building permit. - Cosmetic work such as painting, and replacement of flooring, cabinets and appliances - Patios, platforms or walks less than 12 inches above grade - Playgrounds - Swing sets - Window and door replacements, if you are not changing the size ## Sheds The town allows one utility shed per lot. It has to sit in a side yard or a rear yard in a residential district, no closer than five feet to any boundary line. No part of it may fall inside the allowable front setback. The law sets four size limits. Building area cannot exceed 200 square feet. The longest outside dimension cannot exceed 20 feet. The maximum average building height is 10 feet, which the law measures from the roof peak to the highest eave. A shed also cannot push a lot past its coverage limit. Those limits come from Local Law No. 2 of 2022, which the town reproduces inside its shed application packet. The Town Board adopted it May 5, 2022\. The same law limits a shed's contents to equipment for maintaining the lot, such as lawn and garden tools, snow blowers and pool supplies. A utility shed may not be used at any time as a dwelling or for sleeping. A shed permit costs $20 plus a $30 inspection fee. ## Garages and other accessory buildings A garage, a barn or a workshop is an accessory building, and the town treats it differently from a shed. One accessory building is permitted per lot, in addition to the one shed. Size runs off two ratios. An accessory building cannot be larger than 25% of the main building's square footage or habitable floor area, or 2% of the lot size, whichever of those is larger. The hard ceiling is 2,500 square feet. The town's application packet works an example on a 0.482-acre lot, where 2% comes to 420 square feet. Placement and height are limited too. An accessory building cannot sit nearer the front property line than the rear line or footprint of the house. It has to meet the setbacks that apply to other buildings in the district. It cannot be taller than the main structure, cannot exceed the zoning district's maximum height and cannot exceed 20 feet in any event. **Over 500 square feet, the Planning Board reviews it.** The code section reproduced in the accessory structure application requires Planning Board review of any accessory building larger than 500 square feet, with sketch plan review not required. The town's fee schedule separately lists a $120 accessory building fee under the Planning Department. Ask the Building Department which fees apply before you file. The building permit fee for an accessory structure or garage is 20 cents per square foot with a $100 minimum, plus a $30 inspection fee. The same code section exempts farms from the size limits, from the Planning Board review requirement and from the plan requirements. ## Fences A fence needs a permit, and where it can go depends on how tall it is. In a front setback, no fence may exceed four feet. Stockade fences, other solid fences and chain link are not permitted in the front setback of a residential lot. In rear and side setbacks, the town ties height to distance from the property line. A fence six feet or under can go right up to the line. A seven-foot fence has to sit 10 feet back. An eight-foot fence has to sit 15 feet back. The rest of the fence rules apply anywhere in town. The face side has to face the nearest abutting property, with posts and supports on the inside unless they form an integral part of the face. Barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing are not permitted on residential lots, though they may be permitted on farms and to enclose horse paddocks. No fence may sit in a buffer area or a town easement without prior Town Board approval and a filed licensing agreement. The application asks for a site plan or instrument survey map showing the height and placement of the fence. A fence permit costs $20 plus a $30 inspection fee. Invisible fencing is $20 with no inspection fee. ## Decks and patios Decks are on the permit list. Patios, platforms and walks less than 12 inches above grade are on the no-permit list. The town does not publish the point at which a low deck stops counting as a platform, so call if yours will sit close to grade. A deck application needs construction drawings showing footing size and depth, framing size and spans, and the square footage. It also needs an instrument survey showing where the deck will sit. The town includes a residential deck construction guide in the packet, with joist and beam span charts. That guide requires posts set at least 42 inches below grade and prohibits the sandwich method of attaching beams to posts. A deck or porch permit is 15 cents per square foot with a $50 minimum, plus a $30 inspection fee. A pergola or gazebo is priced the same way. ## Pools and hot tubs The town's pool supplement defines a pool by depth. Its definition reads: > Any structure, basin, chamber or tank which is intended for swimming, diving, recreational bathing or wading and which contains, is designed to contain, or is capable of containing water more than 24 inches deep at any point. That definition explicitly includes inflatable pools. It also covers in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools. Indoor pools, hot tubs, spas and fixed-in-place wading pools are inside the definition as well. For an in-ground pool, a fence or enclosure plan has to be submitted before the permit is issued. Existing site drainage cannot be altered, and grading is part of the final inspection. An above-ground pool needs an enclosure plan in any of these cases: - The pool has an attached deck - A deck is attached to the house - Any excavation is done to level the ground for installation The same drainage and grading rules apply. The barrier itself is state law, and the packet says so. It points to the Residential Code of New York State for the pool enclosure and barrier requirements. An enclosure plan has to show barrier height and the location of self-closing, self-latching gates. Where the house forms part of the permanent barrier, doors within the pool area need alarms compliant with UL 2017, and windows within the pool area may not open more than four inches. For an above-ground pool those plan contents apply where the pool edge is less than 48 inches or where a deck gives access to the pool. Every pool has to have an installed, functioning surface alarm, and the packet requires that alarm to comply with ASTM F2208. A hot tub or spa with sides less than 48 inches high from any accessible area needs a fence or enclosure plan. The alternative the supplement accepts is a safety cover compliant with ASTM F1346. The supplement states that a pool, hot tub or spa may not be used until all inspections are made and a certificate of compliance has been issued. It also puts the final inspection on the applicant, who schedules it by calling (585) 872-7036. Pool fees from the 2026 schedule: an in-ground pool is $85 and an above-ground pool is $60\. A temporary pool is $60\. A hot tub or jacuzzi is $60\. Each carries a $30 inspection fee. ## Roofs, generators and equipment Roof replacement needs a permit, and a residential roof replacement is a flat $50. The re-roof form opens by asking how many layers of existing material are on the roof and whether they will be removed. It then asks for five confirmations. Water-soaked coverings will be removed. Deteriorated sheathing will be replaced. Five named coverings will be stripped before new material goes on: wood shake, slate, clay, cement and asbestos cement tile. Everything will be stripped wherever two or more layers of any covering already exist. The new covering, ice and water barrier, flashing and valleys will be installed in accordance with the New York State Uniform Building Code. Answering no to any of those five confirmations means submitting the manufacturer's installation instructions and a detailed scope of work for approval. Standby generators need a permit. A residential generator is $50 plus a $30 inspection fee. Roof-mounted solar is $50 plus inspection and ground-mounted solar is $100 plus inspection. A retaining wall over five feet in height is $50 plus inspection. Several other pieces of equipment carry flat fees with no inspection fee listed. A residential EV charging station is $50\. A geothermal heating system is $50\. Residential mechanical equipment is $50\. A residential sewer lateral permit is $50. Wood stoves and gas inserts run through the fire marshal instead of the Building Department. A fuel burning appliance permit is $45\. It covers a wood stove or insert, a gas insert and a freestanding gas stove. ## Furnaces, water heaters and a gap in the published lists Three published town lines touch equipment replacement and none of them names a furnace or a water heater. The no-permit list calls replacement of appliances cosmetic work. The permit list covers interior remodeling that may include electrical, plumbing or structural changes. The fee schedule carries a line for residential mechanical equipment at $50. The town does not publish a threshold that settles it. Call the Building Department at (585) 872-7036 before the installer starts. That is what the department's own page tells residents to do when they are unsure. ## Driveways Repaving your own driveway appears on neither of the town's published lists, and the department notes that its permit list is not exhaustive. Call the Building Department at (585) 872-7036 to ask about work on your own property. Work in the town right-of-way is a different permit and a different office. It runs through the Highway Department at (585) 872-1443\. The 2026 fee schedule prices an individual driveway permit at $25 and a driveway culvert permit at $35\. A road cut permit is $35 plus a $1,500 refundable deposit. Village residents should note that the village does list driveways among the projects requiring a permit. ## How you apply Every project starts from the same two-page building permit application. Seven project-specific packets sit alongside it on the town's Forms and Applications page: - Accessory buildings - Decks - Fences - Sheds - Pools and hot tubs - Roofs - Change of use or tenant The application asks for the job site address, the parties involved and a description of the work, along with the construction cost. It also asks whether the Zoning Board or the Planning Board has approved the project, and it allows "unknown" as an answer. Three things come with every application. - **A survey map to scale** showing the location of the work on the property. The form prints that requirement in capital letters. - **Proof of liability insurance and workers' compensation insurance.** A homeowner doing the work without a contractor files a Certificate of Attestation of Exemption, state form CE-200\. It waives the workers' compensation requirement only. The liability insurance requirement stands. - **Certificates naming the town as certificate holder**, listed as the Town of Webster, 1000 Ridge Rd, Webster, NY 14580. Additions to a residential property need an instrument survey and construction drawings. Two stamped sets are required if the construction runs over $20,000, plus one more copy as a PDF. Interior renovations need a floor plan. A finished basement needs an egress window that meets the state building code, and the window has to be shown on the plans. Neither the town's Building Department page nor its permit forms describe an online submission option. Every packet is a PDF that contains a signature line, and the department's counter is at 1000 Ridge Road. ## What it costs Residential permits are either a flat fee or a rate per square foot with a minimum. Most add a $30 inspection fee on top. - **Shed:** $20 plus $30 inspection - **Fence:** $20 plus $30 inspection - **Deck or porch:** $0.15 per square foot, $50 minimum, plus $30 inspection - **Accessory structure or garage:** $0.20 per square foot, $100 minimum, plus $30 inspection - **Residential building permit:** $0.20 per square foot, $100 minimum, plus $30 inspection - **Residential remodeling permit:** $0.20 per square foot, $100 minimum, plus $30 inspection - **Above-ground pool:** $60 plus $30 inspection - **In-ground pool:** $85 plus $30 inspection - **Hot tub or jacuzzi:** $60 plus $30 inspection - **Residential generator:** $50 plus $30 inspection - **Residential roof replacement:** $50 - **Residential demolition permit:** $50 - **Residential certificate of occupancy:** $50 A re-inspection is $25 an hour, and a residential certificate of occupancy reinspection is $25\. A duplicate certificate of occupancy is $5\. A permit renewal is $20, and the fee schedule notes that only two renewals are allowed. Fees change. Every figure here comes from the town's 2026 fee schedule, dated Dec. 8, 2025\. Confirm the current amount with the Building Department before you write the check. ## How long it takes The town does not publish a review timeframe. Neither the Building Department page nor the permit applications state how long review takes, or how long a permit stays valid once it is issued. The village publishes a process rather than a timeframe. Its instructions say staff confirm receipt with an email, then contact the applicant to review the application and identify any additional documentation. ## Inspections The building permit application carries a checklist of inspections, and the Building Department marks the ones a given project needs. The printed options are: - Footing - Foundation - Insulation - Rough framing - Rough plumbing - Under-slab plumbing - Electrical - Final certificate of occupancy - Final certificate of compliance The form also leaves an "other" line. Electrical inspections do not come from the town. The Building Department directs residents to three licensed agencies: - Middle Department Inspection Service, (585) 454-5191 - Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Service, (585) 624-2380 - New York Electrical Inspection Agency, (585) 436-4460 The department's page says inspections by a building official are required at various stages of many projects, but it does not say who schedules them. The pool supplement states it outright: the applicant is responsible for the final inspection and schedules it by calling the Building Department. When a project is finished, the building official issues a certificate. The department's page says that certificate has to be obtained before the structure is used or occupied, and that it verifies the building and its proposed use comply with all applicable building and zoning regulations. ## If you skip it The 2026 fee schedule publishes two direct costs. Work done with no prior permit application is charged two times the required fees. Removing a stop work order sign costs $150. Code Enforcement publishes the path it follows once it finds a violation, whether from a complaint or from a staff observation. It starts with a violation warning letter that names the violation, the code violated and the actions and timeframe required to correct it. If that deadline passes, a notice and order may be issued, often with a shorter deadline. If that passes, the town issues an appearance ticket for Town Court. A Town Justice there can impose fines, sanctions or court orders. Code violation matters are generally heard on the second Friday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Van Ingen Courthouse at 1002 Ridge Road, and those sessions are open to the public. The certificate the town issues at the end of a permitted project is the record that the work was inspected and found to comply with building and zoning regulations, and the department says a structure cannot be used or occupied without one. Work done without a permit produces no such record. A duplicate certificate costs $5, which is how a homeowner or a prospective buyer gets a copy of what was permitted. The town does not publish guidance on what happens when unpermitted work turns up during a sale. Code enforcement questions go to (585) 872-7035 or codeenforcement@ci.webster.ny.us. ## Zoning is a separate question A building permit answers whether the work meets the code. Zoning answers whether it can sit where you want to put it, and the two are decided by different bodies. The building permit application has a line for the zoning district and lines for front, side and rear setbacks, filled in by the office. It also asks whether the Zoning Board or the Planning Board has already approved the project. If a project cannot meet a setback or a height limit, the route is an area variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. A residential variance application is $120 under the 2026 fee schedule, and an appeal for an interpretation of the code is $300\. The Zoning Board of Appeals application and the area variance standards are published on the Planning and Zoning Boards' Forms and Documents page, which is a different page from the Building Department's permit forms. Some projects go to the Planning Board instead. An accessory building over 500 square feet is the one a homeowner is most likely to hit. Permanent signs also require Planning Board approval. Zoning questions go to Community Planning & Development at (585) 872-7037. ## The bottom line If you're staring at a project and unsure whether it needs a permit, don't guess. The town's own list isn't exhaustive, and the price of finding out later is steep: work done without a prior permit is charged at two times the required fee, on top of a possible stop work order and a trip to Town Court. One phone call settles it. For a project inside the Town of Webster, call the Building Department at (585) 872-7036 before you start. If your property sits inside the Village of Webster, call the village at (585) 265-3770\. Either way, a two-minute conversation is cheaper than a doubled fee and a certificate you can't produce when you sell. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board approves petition to annex part of Xerox campus, 5-0 URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-20-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-21T17:53:34.000Z The Webster Town Board voted 5-0 Thursday night to approve a petition to annex a portion of land on the Xerox campus from the Town of Webster to the Village of Webster. Supervisor Alex Scialdone, Councilman John Cahill, Councilwoman Jennifer Wright, Councilman Nick Hunter and Councilman Garrett Wagner each voted aye. The annexation petition identifies the land as Tax ID #65.03-1-41\. The packet's assessment-roll extract lists the parcel at 1345 Chiyoda Drive and 28.04 acres, owned by Xerox Corporation. The town's recordings of [the meeting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Z9vo8QJm0&ref=websterledger.com) and of [the 6 p.m. workshop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FtHSbpnpx8Y&ref=websterledger.com) that preceded it are on its YouTube channel. This recap covers the highlights. ## The annexation A board member said the municipal line between the town and village "goes directly through" the Xerox parcel. The idea, the member said, is to move the West Campus into the village so a developer deals with one municipality. An earlier attempt to settle the boundary went through the village's voters. "The village referendum did not pass the public, so it is now on us," a member said. A member said the town's wastewater plant is on board with the village taking the waste. Another member qualified that it is not a done deal yet. A member said the two boards should sign a memorandum of understanding, so there is a record of what they intended if nothing happens for six years. "It's not a swap," a member said. The member said people had thought the town and village were exchanging land. "Town taxpayers have no negative impact on this," a member said. "This is the last board meeting we have before the 90 day from the joint public hearing that we had with the village," a board member said. "So if we do not vote tonight it will default to a yes automatically." Under General Municipal Law § 711, each affected local government has ninety days after the close of the joint public hearing to determine by majority vote whether the annexation is in the overall public interest, and a governing board that does not make, sign and file a written order within that period is deemed to have approved the annexation when the ninety days expire. The town's record does not establish the date the joint hearing closed, so whether Thursday was the last board meeting before the deadline remains the member's characterization. ## A resolution raised from the floor The presiding officer announced the annexation resolution. The town attorney interrupted from the floor and told the supervisor that an accompanying resolution had to be taken up first. That resolution was not on the agenda the town posted for the meeting. The annexation is an unlisted action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the attorney told the board. A member then moved that the annexation is an unlisted action under SEQR and will have no adverse environmental impact. The motion was seconded and adopted, immediately before the annexation vote. ## What the public said Open to the Floor came first, before regular town business. Four people spoke, described below in the order they took the podium. Two of the four addressed the same subject from opposite directions: a pride flag that had been raised at Town Hall days before the board adopted a flag policy in June, and that later came down. The board adopted that policy, Resolution No. 211, on June 4, according to the town's adopted minutes of that meeting. It provides that "the American and New York State Flags shall be the official flags and the only flags of the Town of Webster to be displayed on properties owned by the Town of Webster." Its only stated basis is that the town "does not currently have a defined flag policy." The resolution does not mention the pride flag, and the town's adopted June minutes record no separate vote to remove it. The vote was 3-2\. Cahill, Wright and Wagner voted aye. Scialdone and Hunter voted no. At the same meeting Scialdone said displaying the pride flag had been his own decision as town supervisor, not the board's. A resident who identified himself as a combat veteran spoke about public trust. He said trust does not require agreement, but it does require believing that officials act in the public interest. "The decision to raise the pride flag on town property is what first brought me to this podium," he said. "Government should exercise sound judgment whenever it acts in an official capacity," he said. "Its role is not to promote one cause over another but to serve every resident equally." A second speaker brought a public-safety request and physical exhibits. He said he came across the remains of a Bigfoot specimen in Adirondack Park in 2024\. "Up here near Chimney Bluffs and off 104, we've seen a lot of activity lately, and there's been a string of accidents," he said. "This could be as simple as some signage along 104 indicating that this could be a Bigfoot Crossing area." A third speaker talked about local solar projects. A fourth speaker, a retired priest who said he and his husband live in Webster, spoke about the same flag from the other direction. "The optics of taking it down has been received by the LGBTQ plus community as a sign that some of our neighbors don't think that we belong here," he said. "And I'm afraid that this action, even if it wasn't meant to, the optics of it are that it's pushing the community even further to the margins." He told the board he accepted the criticism that the flag had been misplaced, and said he understood the decision to remove it to have been made in a spirit of fairness to all residents. ## The rest of the agenda The board enacted Local Law #3 of 2026, amending Sections 320-1, 320-4 and 320-6 of the Webster Town Code relating to traffic regulations. The vote was 5-0\. Scialdone, Cahill, Wright, Hunter and Wagner each voted aye. The board also approved three sets of minutes, the bills, the prepaid warrant, purchase orders, two fence licenses in town drainage easements, a 30-day liquor notification waiver for United Buffet 941, Inc., and the disposition of two police vehicles. A member moved that the board go into executive session for labor and personnel, citing Public Officers Law §105\. The town's recording ends during that motion. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Xerox parcel annexation, traffic law update head Thursday's Town Board agenda URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-08-20-town-board-preview-xerox-annexation/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T12:01:39.000Z The Webster Town Board will consider a petition to annex a Xerox-owned parcel from the town into the Village of Webster when it meets Thursday, Aug. 20\. The petition ties directly to a brownfield redevelopment designation the town and village sought together last year. The board meets in two sessions Thursday. Both are in the Town Board Room at Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. The building sits behind the main Town Hall next to the Justice Courts, easy to spot by its blue roof. A workshop with two presentations and no votes starts at 6 p.m. The regular meeting has 10 numbered items and starts at 7:30 p.m. It opens with the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call and a public comment period. ## Xerox annexation Xerox Corporation has petitioned to annex Tax ID #65.03-1-41, a Xerox-owned parcel on Chiyoda Drive, from the Town of Webster into the Village of Webster. The filing was made under New York General Municipal Law §703\. Xerox filed the petition through attorney Matthew A. Eldred of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP in an April 23, 2026 letter. No one lives on the parcel. Xerox owns 100% of its assessed valuation, according to a certification from Town Assessor Donna M. Komor. The petition frames the annexation as a step toward the Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area plan. A BOA designation does not itself approve development or change zoning. The town and village jointly asked the New York State Department of State for that designation after a 30-day public comment period in April 2025\. The state issued a Certificate of Designation in June 2025\. The petition states the annexation is "a key step to implementing the vision established in the BOA Plan." Part 1 of a Short Environmental Assessment Form attached to the petition is prepared and certified by the applicant, not by the town or an independent reviewer. The form reports no substantial traffic increase from the annexation. It states the site is not in a Critical Environmental Area. It identifies no wetlands on the parcel. The application states the adjoining Xerox campus underwent completed remediation for hazardous waste. That characterization comes from the applicant's own filing and has not been independently verified by the Ledger. ## Traffic law update The board's agenda schedules a vote to enact Local Law No. 3 of 2026, updating and restating the town's traffic control provisions across dozens of streets. The law covers no-stopping and no-parking locations under town code §320-1, stop-sign-controlled intersections under §320-4, and left-turn-only lanes under §320-6\. The resolution classifies the law as a Type II action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a category presumed not to have significant environmental impact. The attached text is a full restatement of the existing code sections rather than a marked list of changes. Many individual entries carry citations to prior resolutions dating back to 2011, 2017, 2020 and 2023\. Those provisions are already in effect and are being republished as part of the restatement rather than added new. The town held a public hearing on the law Aug. 6, 2026\. Notice was published in the Webster Herald on July 22, 2026\. The enactment resolution states only that "all interested persons have been heard." ## Workshop: interns and a transportation project briefing Michael DeBalso is an architecture student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Alana Pigula studies geography and environmental science at Miami University. Both served as this year's summer interns in the town's Community Development and Engineering Department and will present on their work at 6 p.m. Their work covered stormwater outfall inspections and inspections tied to the town's stormwater pollution prevention plan. They also assessed conditions along Lake Road, researched requirements for the Climate Smart Communities program and explored park-district options. They worked on mobile vendor permitting and produced outreach materials for the Conservation Board. At 6:20 p.m., Town Engineer Keith Mortimer will present on the State Environmental Quality Review Act as it applies to the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project. The agenda describes it as a presentation during the workshop time. ## Routine business The board's 10-item regular agenda opens with approval of minutes from the July 30 and Aug. 6 budget workshops and the Aug. 6 regular meeting. It also includes bills, a prepaid warrant and purchase orders as submitted by the Director of Finance. Two resolutions would grant fence-easement licenses inside town stormwater drainage easements. One covers a six-foot vinyl privacy fence on John Leo Drive. The other covers a wooden privacy fence on Glendowan Terrace. A resolution would waive the standard 30-day notice period on a liquor license application for United Buffet 941, Inc. at 941 Hard Road. The waiver was filed by liquor-license consultant Justin Juliano. It is procedural; a full license application follows separately. The board will also act on the disposition of two Police Department vehicles, one to be declared a salvage total loss and one sent to auction. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's moratorium hasn't slowed single-family homebuilding, the town's development director says URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-moratorium-single-family-homebuilding/ Last updated: 2026-08-19T11:59:59.000Z Webster's development moratorium has not changed how many single-family homes are likely to be built over the next 12 to 18 months, the town's Director of Community Development told the Town Board at its Aug. 6, 2026, budget workshop. The large approved subdivisions in town either predate the moratorium or are exempt from it, he said. The law covers six of the town's commercial and office districts and three kinds of development activity, and it carries three exemptions. None of the six is a residential district. The same workshop heard that the Building Department took in $86,000 in permit revenue in July 2026 alone. ## Reminder of what the law covers The moratorium is Local Law No. 2 of 2026\. The Town Board adopted it 5-0 on June 4, 2026. Section 5 applies the moratorium to the subdivision of land resulting in more than four parcels, to large-scale solar projects and to data centers. It also applies to all real property in six of the town's commercial and office districts, as identified on the town zoning map last dated May 2021: - Office Park North (O-P) - Medium Intensity Commercial (MC) - High Intensity Commercial (HC) - CO Commercial Outdoor Storage (CO) - Low Intensity Commercial 1 (LC-1) - Low Intensity Commercial 2 (LC-2) The law's own sentence names Low Intensity Commercial once and lists both of its map designations, LC-1 and LC-2\. They are two districts on the zoning map. Section 5 is open on one further point. It names the subdivision, solar and data center activities alongside the six districts, and the text alone does not settle whether the four-parcel subdivision threshold applies townwide or only inside those districts. The minutes of the June 4 meeting record the law being announced before the vote in terms that applied it to large-scale solar projects, data centers, large-scale residential developments and projects in commercial zones — the announcement's terms, not the enacted section's, which names subdivision of land resulting in more than four parcels, not large-scale residential developments. The town's moratorium page lists the six districts and, separately, subdivisions creating more than four parcels. No Webster board and no town attorney has stated a position on the question on any record located here. Section 6 bars the town from acting on a new site plan, subdivision plan or special permit application for those properties and activities while the moratorium runs. The bar reaches every town board, commission, agency, department, officer, employee, consultant and agent. It covers processing, review, hearings, approvals and decisions. Section 8 exempts three things: - Development applications that had received preliminary site plan or special permit approval as of the law's effective date - Development applications for the redevelopment or rehabilitation of existing structures - Development applications related to ordinary repairs, maintenance or interior renovations The first exemption turns on the effective date: whether an application already held preliminary site plan or special permit approval as of that date decides whether the moratorium reaches it. Section 7 expires the moratorium six months after its effective date, and allows the Town Board to extend it by resolution for up to two additional three-month periods. Section 13 sets the effective date as the day the law is filed with the New York State Secretary of State. The Ledger's explainer covers [why the Town Board adopted the moratorium](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/), what it exempts and which projects were affected when it took effect. That Secretary of State filing date does not appear on any record reviewed here, so the moratorium's exact expiration date is not established. ## What the director told the board Director of Community Development Josh Artuso presented the Building Department's 2027 budget request at the Aug. 6 workshop. Invited to add anything further, he raised the moratorium himself and named the subdivisions already approved or under construction. > "Prior to the moratorium going into effect, and really exempt from the moratorium, we have Aberdeen phases two and three, they've been approved. They're a significant single-family home project. We still have building that's occurring as part of Westwood. We still have building that's occurring as part of Meadows 2, as well as Bella Terra. Those phases are still in their infancy right now, and we have Sienna Reserve that is anticipated starting construction of that development in the first of the year." > "So because the moratorium has gone into effect, but it has not changed probably the number of potential single-family homes that could get built within the next 12 to 18 months." Artuso qualified that as he said it, using the word "probably" rather than giving the board a firm projection. Three of the projects he named came before the Planning Board in 2026\. Bella Terra Phase 3, 66 single-family lots, [won final site plan and subdivision approval on May 5](https://websterledger.com/bella-terra-phase-3-66-homes-webster-planning-approval/), a month before the Town Board adopted the law. Sienna Reserve, ten single-family lots on Orchard Road, [had its subdivision approval extended by one year on July 7](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-recap-july-7-2026/). Aberdeen Estate Phase 3, 36 single-family lots on 52.44 acres off Hazelhead Lane, [received final site plan and subdivision approval 4-0 on Aug. 4](https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-recap-august-4-2026/). Aberdeen Estate Phase 3 sits in the R-3 Single-Family Residential district and Bella Terra Phase 3 in Low-Medium Residential (LMR). Neither is among the six districts Section 5 lists, so the moratorium's district provision did not reach either one. Two of those three board actions came after the Town Board adopted the law. Aberdeen Estate Phase 3 is also a 36-lot subdivision, which falls under the first activity Section 5 names. Section 8 exempts applications that held preliminary site plan or special permit approval as of the effective date, and it does not name subdivision approval. The public record of the Aug. 4 meeting carries no statement of which basis applied. Artuso's answer placed Aberdeen phases two and three among the projects approved before the moratorium or exempt from it. Lot counts play no part in that test either way: the exemption turns only on whether preliminary approval existed by the effective date, not on how many homes a project covers. And the dates above are approval-vote dates, not the date land was actually subdivided, which this record does not establish. ## Permit revenue ran ahead of budget The Building Department's own numbers were part of the same presentation. > "Just in the month of July alone, we brought in $86,000 in permit revenue in one month. So yeah, the staff has been working their tails off, if you will." Artuso told the board 2026 permit fee revenue had passed $215,000 in the first seven months, against the $120,000 he had budgeted for the year. He held that line flat at $120,000 in the 2027 request anyway. He said he checked the projection for distortion from unusually large projects before leaving it there. He said that check turned up one project, McAlpin Industries, which he described as fairly large. He gave the board a second reason the workload was up. > "There was a new code, a New York State Building Code, the 2025 code that took effect in January. There's a lot of additional inspections that are now required. So in an attempt to be able to comply with all of the regulatory requirements, we really would like some additional staff support in this particular division of our operation." The 2027 request presented Aug. 6 moves part-time employee funding from $35,771 to $91,745 and holds the vacant full-time assistant building inspector line flat at $63,142\. Artuso told the board the department could not fill the full-time post and found part-time applicants instead: serving fire investigators who already hold the code enforcement officer certification and wanted the extra hours. He said three of them were funded out of the vacant full-time line. He also told the board Webster has one code enforcement officer covering about 45,000 residents and 19,000 properties. ## How relief works, and the Aug. 6 denial Section 9 lets an applicant ask the Town Board for limited relief. The application goes to the Town Clerk with a $150 fee. The applicant has to show by clear and convincing evidence that the moratorium leaves no reasonable use of the property and causes irreparable injury. The law requires what it calls "dollars and cents proof." The applicant also has to show that it would be unreasonable and unjust not to grant relief. The Town Board took up one of those requests on Aug. 6, 2026, for the proposed Dinks and Links recreation facility on Five Mile Line Road. Those parcels sit in one of the six districts the moratorium covers. The draft resolution posted with the agenda would have granted the exemption. A board member moved from the floor to deny instead, and the board denied the request, 5-0, after testimony from the applicant's representative and public comment from four residents. [The Ledger's full recap of the Aug. 6 meeting](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-6-2026/) covers that testimony and the board's stated reasoning in full. This reporting speaks to single-family homebuilding. It does not establish what the moratorium did or did not do to large-scale solar or data center applications, which Section 5 also names, and neither Artuso's remarks nor the workshop record reviewed here carries a figure for how many homes the three projects above represent beyond what is stated. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's school board votes Tuesday on the tax warrant, with bills due out next week URL: https://websterledger.com/wcsd-board-preview-august-18-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T19:14:03.000Z The Webster Central School District Board of Education is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the 2026-27 tax warrant. The warrant sets the school tax rates. The district's presentation says the bills carrying them go out next week. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. at the District Office, 119 South Avenue. The public comment period is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., at the end of the meeting and after the votes. The board's policy says speakers should register with the district clerk by noon Tuesday. That deadline passed. Someone who did not register may not get to speak. Comment on the student code of conduct comes earlier, at a 5:05 p.m. public hearing. The agenda does not say whether the registration policy applies to that hearing. The district clerk can confirm: 585-216-0001\. Fuller instructions are below. Three different numbers get called the school tax, and Tuesday's packet carries all three. The **levy** is the total dollar amount the district collects. The proposed levy is $131,771,231. The **rate** is charged per $1,000 of assessed value and differs by town. The district taxes property in four towns across two counties. For property in the town of Webster that lies within the Webster school district, the proposed 2026-27 rate is $29.566322 per $1,000\. That is up 3.01 percent from $28.702192. The **bill** is what an individual owner pays. It depends on that owner's assessment and exemptions, not on the district-wide figures alone. In an Aug. 13 memo to Superintendent Brian Neenan, Assistant Superintendent for Business Brian Freeman wrote that "equalization rate drops continue to be the most significant factor influencing year-over-year tax rate fluctuations across all towns." Webster's equalization rate falls from 48 percent to 43 percent for 2026-27\. A lower equalization rate means assessments sit further below market value. The New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services, not the school district, sets equalization rates. A Webster home whose assessment does not change would see its school tax line rise about 3 percent before exemptions. The presentation includes a Webster row for a home assessed at $250,000\. It shows $7,175.55 last year and $7,391.58 this year, an increase of $216.03\. That row describes a home assessed at $250,000, not one that would sell for $250,000\. At Webster's 43 percent equalization rate, a $250,000 assessment corresponds to roughly $580,000 of market value. That conversion is the Ledger's arithmetic on the district's own equalization rate (not directly from the district). STAR is New York's School Tax Relief program, which reduces school property taxes for eligible homeowners. STAR savings shrink separately. The district's slide lists Webster's Basic STAR amount at $448, down $49 from $497\. Enhanced STAR falls to $1,285 from $1,391, a decrease of $106\. Enhanced STAR is limited to households where at least one resident owner is 65 or older. It also carries an income limit. For a household that receives STAR, the smaller STAR amount and the higher rate both push the bill up. The presentation also warns the board that Tuesday's numbers may not be final. It says last-minute assessment changes may force rates to be recalculated. In that case, it says, "the new rate on your tax bill may not match what was approved tonight." ## A code of conduct hearing at 5:05 p.m., a vote at 5:15 The agenda schedules a public hearing on the 2026-27 student code of conduct for 5:05 p.m., with 10 minutes allotted. It schedules the motion to approve the same code for 5:15 p.m. The code is proposed, and it is not adopted unless that motion carries. Dr. Robert Chalwell, the district's Assistant Superintendent for Achievement & Student & Community Engagement, is listed on the agenda as presenting both. The packet does not include a redline. The document attached to the agenda is the complete 2026-27 code with nothing marking what changed. The presentation that would list the revisions is a scanned file whose text could not be extracted. The Ledger compared the proposed code against the 2025-26 version in the board's Aug. 19, 2025 meeting packet. Three provisions appear in the proposed code and do not appear in that earlier document. Artificial intelligence enters the discipline section in the proposed version. It lists among forms of academic dishonesty the "unauthorized use of artificial intelligence ('AI') technology or tools." The word "artificial" does not appear anywhere in the 2025-26 document. The proposed dress code adds protective hairstyles. Its text says nothing in it limits students' ability "to wear certain protective hairstyles (including but not limited to braids, locks, and twists) or to wear their hair in a particular texture." Parallel language is added to the code's definitions of discrimination and harassment. The proposed code also adds a reporting duty on building principals. It states that the Building Principal or a designee "must notify the appropriate local law enforcement agency of those Code violations that constitute a crime and substantially affect the order or security of a school as soon as practical, but in no event later than the close of business the day" they learn of the violation. None of that language appears in the 2025-26 document. The code of conduct comparison above is targeted at the discipline, dress and reporting provisions. It is not a complete list of changes. The Ledger also did not separately confirm that the Aug. 19, 2025 document it used as the baseline is the version the board adopted. ## Also on Tuesday's agenda The agenda puts the 2025-26 reserve transfers ahead of the warrant vote. Freeman's Aug. 10 memo asks for that order, stating the transfers "must be completed before setting the tax warrant for the 2026-27 fiscal year." He recommends transfers totaling $6.25 million. The largest is $3.75 million into the 2026 Capital Reserve Fund. The board approved estimated transfers for 2025-26 on July 6\. Tuesday's item is the final version of that action. Two policies come to the board for a second reading: Policy 6410 (Acceptable Use, Personnel) and Policy 7241 (Student Directory Information). The board approved first readings July 6\. Neither takes effect unless Tuesday's motion carries. ## How to be heard Tuesday Tuesday's agenda has two comment opportunities. The public hearing at 5:05 p.m. is limited to the code of conduct, and it is the only one that comes before the vote on the code. Neither the agenda nor the code of conduct states whether the noon registration requirement covers that hearing. The requirement appears in the board's visitor speaking policy, which governs the 6:05 p.m. comment period. The district clerk's office can confirm which applies, at 585-216-0001. Visitor's speaking time is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and runs up to 40 minutes. It falls at the end of the meeting, after every vote on the agenda, including the tax warrant. The policy says anyone wanting to speak should "register with the district clerk by noon of the meeting day." That registration closed at noon. The policy sets speaking time at 3 to 4 minutes per speaker. The meeting is at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor Professional Development Center at the District Office, 119 South Avenue. It is livestreamed at websterschools.org/boemeetings. Scheduled adjournment is 6:45 p.m. The district clerk is Heather Murphy, at 585-216-0001 or heather\_murphy@webstercsd.org. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster road project backed by $9.8 million state grant goes on view Monday URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-road-project-open-house-august-17-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-17T12:00:30.000Z Road work in Webster's northeast industrial corridor, backed by a $9.8 million state grant, goes on public view Monday evening. The Webster Economic Development Alliance is hosting an open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Village of Webster Community Meeting Room, 29 South Ave. *This is not the typical Town Board meeting location.* New York awarded the money in August 2025 through its FAST NY program. The town calls the work the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project. The environmental review of the same project runs on a separate track. That track is expected to reach the Town Board on Thursday. ## What the project builds The work rebuilds three streets and extends two more in the blocks around the Xerox campus. It adds what the project calls multimodal improvements along four streets. WEDA describes the scope as "key roadway improvements in the vicinity of the Xerox Campus to facilitate future redevelopment opportunities consistent with the Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area." The state's award announcement calls the location the Northeast Area for Technology, or NEAT. The town's March 2025 presentation to the Town Board put the total project cost at $17.3 million. The state grant covers $9.8 million of that. A village HUD grant covers $500,000\. The town's grant application resolution describes the remaining $7 million as investment the town had already made in sanitary sewer upgrades, counted as its equity in the project. The table's other lines cover road and planning work. Boulter Industrial Parkway gets an extension at $3.2 million. Chiyoda Drive gets an extension at $2.3 million. Mitcheldean Drive is rebuilt at $1.6 million. Orchard Street and Panama Road are rebuilt together at $1.4 million. Phillips Road gets multimodal improvements at $800,000\. A further $500,000 of work on Orchard, Panama and Phillips is carried on the village HUD grant. Electrical infrastructure planning is budgeted at $500,000. Those are March 2025 estimates and may have moved since. The package crosses two jurisdictions. Chiyoda Drive and Boulter Industrial Parkway are listed as town work. Mitcheldean Drive, Orchard Street, Panama Road and Phillips Road are listed as village work. The map in the town's presentation puts every piece of it in the industrial blocks in the northeast of town. Route 250 bounds that area on the west and Basket Road on the east. Klem Road is the rough northern edge and Route 104 the southern one. ## What Monday's notice does and doesn't say WEDA's notice says the project is in preliminary design and invites the community to "view the latest design plans and speak with members of the project team." It does not mention SEQR, environmental review or lead agency. It does not say whether comment will be taken, recorded or entered into any record. It sets no comment deadline and asks for no RSVP. It lists no contact person, phone number or email address. It does not say whether the evening is a drop-in or a seated presentation. ## What lead agency means The Town Board voted 5-0 on Aug. 6 to designate itself lead agency for the project's environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. It had declared its intent to take the role on June 4. The resolution classifies the work as a Type 1 action. Type 1 is the state's most serious tier, the class of actions the regulation treats as more likely to require a full environmental impact statement. When more than one government agency has a say over a project, one of them has to run the review. State regulation gives the involved agencies 30 days to agree on which one. Supervisor Alex Scialdone told the board on Aug. 6 that no other agency had come forward to claim the role. The next decision is the determination of significance. The lead agency has 20 days from its establishment to make it, or 20 days from receiving all the information it reasonably needs, whichever comes later. Two outcomes are available. A negative declaration finds no significant adverse environmental impact, and the review ends there. A positive declaration finds the project may carry at least one significant adverse impact. That requires an environmental impact statement, and it opens a formal scoping process with public participation. The determination binds the other agencies. Once the lead agency issues it after a coordinated review, no other involved agency can require its own environmental assessment form, negative declaration or impact statement. For a Type 1 action, the regulation sets no public comment period on a negative declaration. Part 617 does carry a 30-day comment period, but it attaches to a conditioned negative declaration, an instrument the state makes available only for what it calls Unlisted actions. The public's guaranteed formal entry point under SEQR arrives only if the board issues a positive declaration and an impact statement follows. ## Thursday, Aug. 20 The Town Board meets Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Board Room, with a workshop at 6:30\. Scialdone said on Aug. 6 that the project team would be back Aug. 20 to go over the results of the environmental review. The Ledger has not confirmed that the determination of significance is on the Aug. 20 agenda. Regular Town Board meetings carry a public comment period called Open to the Floor. On the Aug. 6 agenda it sat ahead of the numbered business items, and each speaker was allowed five minutes. Monday's event is hosted by WEDA, and its notice does not mention comment. Thursday's is a Town Board meeting. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Who answers when you call 911 in Webster URL: https://websterledger.com/who-answers-when-you-call-911-in-webster/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T11:59:59.000Z Dial 911 anywhere in Webster and the phone rings in the same building it would ring in if you dialed from Greece, Brighton or the city of Rochester. Monroe County runs one emergency dispatch center for the whole county. What happens after that call is where Webster gets complicated. Who shows up depends on what you need. It may be a town department, or one of two fire districts, or a nonprofit ambulance corps. The fire districts are separate units of local government with their own elected boards and their own power to tax. The ambulance corps bills your insurance. None of that is visible from the call. Here is who is on the other end, who pays them, and who you actually vote for. ## One number, one dispatcher Monroe County's 911 center is the Public Safety Answering Point for the entire county. Every 911 call from Webster lands there first. That is true whether the caller needs police, a fire crew or an ambulance. The dispatcher decides which agency or agencies to send. This is the part of the system residents are least likely to get wrong, because there is only one way in. There is no separate number for Webster police as opposed to the fire district. The same holds inside a school with a police officer assigned to the building. The town's school resource officer agreement tells staff that when a situation requires police involvement, "school staff should call 911 and notify the SRO if possible." ## Police: a town department The Webster Police Department is a department of the Town of Webster. It is paid for out of the town's property tax levy rather than through a separate special district. Dennis Kohlmeier is the police chief. The Town Board approves the department's budget each year as part of the town budget. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office holds countywide jurisdiction that applies in Webster the same as anywhere else in the county. Its role there includes the jail, the courts, civil process, marine patrol and mutual aid. Whether sheriff's deputies run routine road patrol inside Webster town limits day to day is not established by the public records the Ledger reviewed. ## Two officers in the schools The clearest example of how the police budget touches another local government is the school resource officer program. The Town Board took up an inter-municipal agreement with the Webster Central School District on July 16, 2026\. The town's posted agenda for that meeting records the resolution as approved, authorizing the supervisor to sign the 2026-27 school resource officer contract. The item had been rescheduled from the board's meeting of July 2, 2026\. The agreement covers two officers and runs through June 30, 2027. The agreement says "the TOWN will provide two School Resource Officers." Any officer assigned "shall be sworn Webster Police Officer(s)." They report through the police department's chain of command. The agreement provides that discipline arising from their SRO duties may only be administered by the police department and only in accordance with the applicable laws, rules, regulations and contractual obligations the department observes. The money moves in one direction, and not the way most people assume. The district does not buy police coverage at a negotiated price. The district reimburses the town for actual salary and benefits for the time the officers are assigned. The town invoices twice a year, in January for September through December and in July for January through June. Overtime is billed separately every 30 days. Overtime for after-school events is charged to the individual school that asked for the officer. The agreement contains no dollar figure anywhere in it. The cost is whatever the two officers cost, worked out after the fact. The town keeps everything else. It sets compensation and benefits, runs payroll, reports pension service and withholds taxes. The district may ask that an officer be reassigned or replaced on performance grounds. The agreement does not oblige the town to agree. It says the town "will receive and consider any such requests." A few other terms matter if you have children in those buildings. The officers have authority to stop, question, interview and take police action without the principal's permission and without contacting parents first. Administrative searches must be at the direction and control of district staff, the agreement says. At no time shall an officer request that such a search be conducted for law enforcement purposes, or have school staff act as the officer's agent. On discipline the language is softer. The principal "should ensure" that non-criminal discipline stays with school staff. The police department also reserves the right to pull the officers out of the schools to keep road patrol staffed or to respond to a critical incident. ## Fire: two districts, and neither matches the town line Webster has no town fire department. Fire protection comes from two fire districts, which are independent units of local government under New York Town Law. Each has its own elected five-member board of fire commissioners. Each levies its own tax on the properties it covers. Neither district stops at the town line. Both also cover part of the Town of Penfield. The North East Joint Fire District covers the east side of Webster and the Village of Webster. It was formed on Jan. 1, 2005\. Three predecessors merged into it: the East Webster Fire Protection District, the Penfield North East Fire District and the Village of Webster's own fire department. The village has not run a separate fire department since. The district operates three volunteer-staffed stations, on South Avenue, Salt Road and Phillips Road. The West Webster Fire District covers the west side of town and part of Penfield. It has been volunteer staffed since 1926\. It operates three stations, on Gravel Road, Backus Road and Plank Road. One title is easy to confuse with these districts. The town's fire marshal is a code enforcement position, not a firefighting one. Andrew Vorndran is the town fire marshal. The marshal inspects buildings for compliance with the state fire code. The marshal does not run trucks or respond to fire calls. ## The ambulance is the piece that works differently Emergency medical service in Webster now comes from Penfield Volunteer Emergency Ambulance Service, a nonprofit based on Jackson Road in Penfield. The previous provider, Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support, gave the town 90 days' notice at the end of December 2023\. The Town Board named the Penfield corps the primary agency for West Webster in January 2024\. It extended that to the northeast district in March 2024\. On July 3, 2025, the board voted 5 to 0 to authorize the supervisor to sign a five-year contract with the corps, according to the approved minutes of that meeting. Police and fire response are paid for before you need them, through taxes. An ambulance transport is billed afterward, to the patient. The corps bills Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers per transport through an outside billing company. That distinction surprises people the first time they open the envelope. The town has also paid the corps directly. At the July 2025 meeting, then-Supervisor Thomas J. Flaherty told the board that Webster contributes $100,000 a year and Penfield $200,000, according to the minutes. He said the hope was that the corps could become self-sustaining within a year or two and that town subsidies could end. What the town pays the corps now, if anything, is not established in the records the Ledger reviewed. Neither is whether either fire district pays the corps anything of its own. ## The Village of Webster The Village of Webster is a separate incorporated government inside the town, with its own mayor and board. On fire service the answer is settled. The village department merged into the North East Joint Fire District in 2005. Police is less clear from the public record. The village lists five departments on its own website: administration, building, finance, public works and wastewater. Police is not among them. That is a fact about the list, not a confirmation of what the village does or does not have. ## What this looks like on your tax bill Four separate charges pay for what arrives when you call. The town tax line funds the police department, along with the rest of town government. A fire district line funds one of the two districts. Which one depends on your address rather than on whether you live in the village or elsewhere in the town. The county tax line funds county government, including the 911 center. The fourth is on your phone bill. New York collects a public safety communications surcharge on wireless service, and counties collect a separate 911 surcharge on access lines. Both support emergency dispatch. The Ledger did not confirm Monroe County's current rate or what share of the 911 center's budget it covers, so no figure appears here. ## Electing the fire commissioners Both fire districts hold elections every year, on the second Tuesday of December. Each board has five commissioners serving staggered five-year terms. That means at least one seat is on the ballot every December, and a vacancy can add a second. In December 2025 the North East Joint Fire District elected one commissioner to a five-year term and one to fill a two-year vacancy. These are the officials who set a tax line on your bill. They are elected on their own day, separate from town, county and school district voting. ## How to reach them For any emergency the number is 911, whichever service you need. One dispatcher sorts the rest. For everything else, each organization keeps its own non-emergency line and publishes it. The Town of Webster's site lists the police department and the fire marshal. Each fire district runs its own site. So does the ambulance corps. If you are not sure which fire district covers your address, the town's website lists both. That is worth settling before December, when the commissioners are on the ballot. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's new in-car police cameras also read license plates URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-police-in-car-cameras-read-license-plates/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T11:59:59.000Z Webster's police cars carry cameras that read license plates. Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier disclosed the capability to the Town Board on Aug. 6, at the town's second and last budget workshop for 2027\. The department put the cameras in its patrol cars for the first time in 2026. He volunteered it, unprompted, inside his explanation of a single budget line at a public meeting the town livestreamed. Kohlmeier described the system to the board in one stretch of remarks: > "In 2026, for the first time as an agency, we implemented in-car cameras. It's from the same manufacturer as our body-worn cameras, so they work integrated. An example would be when an officer is driving down the road, the camera is always recording at least a 30-second loop. So if there's an accident, that accident is captured on camera. Otherwise, when the officer turns the lights on, the camera will activate. It also activates the body-worn camera through the same signal. ... Those in-car cameras are also license plate readers, so they also provide the functionality of processing the license plates that are being captured by the camera. That helps officers on patrol. It helps them on traffic stops, things like that. So it was a big improvement to operational capability by switching vendors, and so far we've had a lot of success with that." The presentation ended with a call for questions. The board asked whether the department is short of active duty officers, and asked Kohlmeier to email members the spreadsheet he had prepared. No one on the board came back to the plate readers, and they did not come up again anywhere in the recording of the meeting. New York has a model policy for plate readers, and it binds nobody. The justification memo behind a bill now pending in the state Senate says the state has no uniform standards governing the use of the systems. A state records schedule sets a one-year retention for license plate reader data. The current model policy points to that schedule, and the State Archives says local governments must adopt it by resolution before using it. ## What the budget papers show The line he was explaining is A3120.40102 Service Contracts. The department requests $88,716 for 2027 against $69,500 in 2026, an increase of 27.6%. A second line moves the other way. Capital Purchases, Miscellaneous falls to $18,000 for 2027 from $65,000 in 2026\. Kohlmeier said the 2026 figure carried a temporary increase for body-worn camera purchases. The police worksheet is dated July 14, so any figure in it may have moved since. ## What the state says, and what it does not The Municipal Police Training Council, part of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, published a License Plate Reader Model Policy in June 2022\. Its stated purpose is "to provide guidance to law enforcement agencies in developing written policies and procedures." Agencies, it says, "are encouraged to customize these protocols to meet their agency's needs." A bill to set statewide standards is pending. Senate Bill S963, sponsored by Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, would direct the training council to develop minimum standards for plate reader systems and require agencies to post them. Its justification memo states that "New York currently does not have uniform standards in place governing the use of ALPRs." The bill sits in the Senate Consumer Protection Committee. The model sets a retention period. Section VI.B says plate reads "shall be retained for a minimum of one year in accordance with NYS Archives retention and disposition schedule." A footnote sends that to Public Safety Item 1241 of the State Archives retention schedule for local governments. The Archives says local governments must adopt that schedule by resolution before using it. The item sets one year for license plate reader data. It holds hot list hits drawn from the state's eJusticeNY Integrated Justice Portal for as long as the case investigation they relate to is held. Logs of who searched the data are to be kept six years, a period the policy ties to the same schedule. The model also defines what plates may be checked against, and the definition is broad. It runs from stolen vehicles and stolen plates to wanted persons, suspended or revoked registrations, AMBER Alerts and national files such as the National Crime Information Center. It also covers plates entered by hand and tied to crimes in any local jurisdiction or to "other investigative targets." On a hit, the model says an officer "shall verify" that the captured image matches the plate number and state of registration before making a stop. It treats plate data as for official use only. It allows sharing for legitimate law enforcement purposes, and it directs that outside disclosures be documented by requester and reason. ## The county has its own related program Webster's system is not the county's. The Monroe County Legislature approved an Automatic License Plate Reader program for the Sheriff's Office, announced by County Executive Adam Bello and Sheriff Todd Baxter on May 23, 2025\. The announcement says the program is fully funded by a state Division of Criminal Justice Services law enforcement technology grant. It says the Sheriff's Office was awarded the largest amount of the 378 New York agencies that applied. It also says Monroe was then the only major county in the state without such a program. It names Erie, Onondaga, Albany and New York City as places that had already deployed one. The two systems capture plates differently. The county's cameras are fixed at locations. WXXI reported in April 2025 that 85 sites were proposed. Webster's readers are mounted in patrol cars and move with them. The state leaves the rest to each agency. The sharing arrangements and the written rules for day to day use are decided by the department and by the Town Board that funds it. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster zoning board approves two variances, food truck request tabled to December URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-zba-recap-august-11-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T11:59:59.000Z The Webster Zoning Board of Appeals approved two residential area variances Tuesday night, one for a six-foot privacy fence on a corner lot and one for a new house that will sit inside the required front setback. Both votes were 5-0\. A third application, to park a food truck in a backyard, was tabled to December at the applicant's request. ## A six-foot fence on a corner lot The board granted a Cardile Drive homeowner permission to build a six-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot. The code bars solid and chain-link fences from a front setback outright, and holds any other fence there to four feet. Under the code a corner lot's side yard counts as a front yard, which is what made the fence a variance request. The applicant said he had moved in a few weeks earlier, and that he and his wife have a young dog and a child on the way. Asked what six feet achieves that four cannot, he said he understood the code to allow four feet, in picket or chain link. "I just rather feel more comfortable with the six foot so I'm not on display with the rest of the neighborhood," he said. At least two residents spoke, both with questions rather than objections. One asked whether drivers would be able to see around the fence. A board member answered that two oak trees stand at the corner with the fence line set inside them. The other said they had lived in the neighborhood since 2004, when the town allowed fences only where there was a pool and none at all on corner lots. They asked what had changed, and whether other neighbors could now do the same. A board member said front-yard fences are not permitted under the code, that the applicant was asking for relief from that rule, and that the board was looking only at this property. The board had granted the same relief [on July 14](https://websterledger.com/zba-recap-july-14-solar-denied-waterview-tabled/), approving a six-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot on Bright Stream Way, where it noted an existing tree line that screened the fence from view. The board found that a four-foot fence would not give the applicant the privacy he wanted, and that the variance was not significant, describing it as two additional feet. It found the difficulty self-created because the applicant had bought a corner lot. The applicant still needs a permit for the fence itself and has one year to finish the work. ## A food truck, and a request to wait A Hailey Drive homeowner asked to keep a 20-foot commercial food truck in their backyard, on a crushed stone pad next to a shed. The applicant told the board they had made the same request a little over a year earlier, and that the truck would sit there seasonally, May through September, starting next year. Town agendas show that earlier application was withdrawn before the board acted on it. The truck is currently in the way of deliveries and driveway parking, the applicant said, and completely visible to adjoining neighbors. The pad would put it "completely out of the way covered by foliage during these months." The neighbors next door are in the process of moving out but are still there, the applicant said, and they have a problem with the request. The applicant asked the board whether to wait until they had gone. The applicant was told the board would not give advice, and that an applicant controls the application and can go forward or ask to have it held. Tabling the request would not make the board set aside the visibility and aesthetic questions that would apply to anyone living in that neighboring property, whether or not those neighbors come to speak. The board had already heard the application once, the applicant was told, and it was not clear how much a delay would change its review. The applicant asked to have the application held. Offered October 14, November 17 and December 8, the applicant chose December 8, and was told, "We'll see you on 12-8." ## What the 41 feet is measured to The third application was for a new single-family home on Vosburg Road. It sought a front setback of 41 feet where the code requires 50. David Cox, P.E., a civil engineer representing the homeowners, told the board the 41 feet is measured to a covered entryway. The house itself would sit farther back. "The majority of the structure would be 46 feet with that small covered entryway being 41 feet in the front setback," he said. This lot is also a corner lot, which gives it two front setbacks. Cox said the mature trees along Vosburg would be preserved, and that shifting the house to clear the front setback would push it toward a closer neighbor. One resident, who said they live across the street, asked how large the house would be and raised construction debris and traffic. A board member said the plan appeared to address most of those concerns, and that the board's decision was limited to the setback. The board found that the corner lot reduces the buildable area and that the difficulty was therefore not self-created. It approved the variance 5-0\. Permitting follows, with one year to reach substantial completion. ## Waterview Phase 3 was not discussed [Waterview Apartments Phase 3](https://websterledger.com/webster-zba-preview-august-11-2026/), a 56-unit apartment project at Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive, was listed first on the agenda, under tabled matters, with a note saying it is tabled until September. The recording of Tuesday's meeting contains no discussion of it. The chair opened by saying the board had three scheduled matters, and the three it took up were the fence, the food truck and the Vosburg Road home. The agenda names no date for that meeting, and no one named one on the recording. The town's published calendar puts the board's September meeting on Sept. 8. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's zoning agenda for Tuesday lists Waterview Phase 3 as tabled to September URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-zba-preview-august-11-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T11:59:59.000Z The agenda for Tuesday's Webster Zoning Board of Appeals meeting states that Waterview Apartments Phase 3 is tabled to the September meeting. The application is listed first, under tabled matters. The agenda does not give a date for the September meeting. Waterview Phase 3 is a 56-unit project the board [tabled in July](https://websterledger.com/zba-recap-july-14-solar-denied-waterview-tabled/). The variance requests on the agenda are the same ones the board had in front of it July 14\. Legacy Development Co., Inc. is asking for a front setback of 18.7 feet where 75 feet is required, and a buffer of 38.5 feet from the adjacent single-family district where 100 feet is required. The front setback sought is roughly a quarter of what the code requires. The buffer is under 40 percent of the required distance. The plan is six buildings plus a community center, each building two stories, at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive. The agenda describes the site as a proposed 13.15-acre parcel. The parcel is in the MHR Medium High Residential district, and the agenda cites Section 350-14 of the town code. The application was on the board's [June 9 docket](https://websterledger.com/zba-june-9-2026-results/) as well. That agenda carries a similar note, recording the application as tabled to the July 14 meeting. Before any public business that night, the board chair announced that it would be tabled until July. The Ledger's account of that meeting records no reason for the announcement and no vote by the board on the application. The board did not vote on the variances July 14\. A member drafted a motion to grant them with conditions. Those conditions included specific building shifts, buffer plantings and a recommendation that the town study traffic control at two nearby intersections. Before the board could vote, a dispute arose over whether the motion had a valid second, and the member who had seconded it withdrew. The applicant's attorney, Chris Nadler, asked the board to table the matter rather than risk having the motion fail outright. The board voted unanimously to table it until further notice. The application has been on three consecutive ZBA agendas. The board has not voted on the merits at either of the first two. The July 14 requests were renewals. The board granted the same two variances roughly a year earlier, and those variances expired before the developer acted on them. Nadler gave the board an account of the delay in July. Nadler told the board July 14 that finalizing the plans had been stalled by a state court order out of Albany. He said the order had frozen the state Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing the wetland jurisdictional determinations the project needs. That was his account to the board four weeks ago. The Ledger has not confirmed the current status of that order in either direction. Neighbors along McEwen Drive opposed the renewal in July. They disputed the applicant's account that the new buildings would match existing setbacks. They also objected to the project's density and its proximity to nearby single-family homes. Letters from other McEwen Drive residents were referenced at that meeting. ## Three residential requests, and the July minutes The agenda lists three scheduled matters. An application on Cardile Drive seeks a 6-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot. The parcel is 0.41 acres in the R-3 Single-Family Residential district. The agenda cites Sections 350-12 and 350-79\. The board approved similar relief on Bright Stream Way on July 14, citing an existing tree line. A second application, on Hailey Drive, asks to park a 20-foot commercial food truck on a crushed stone pad in the backyard. The parcel is 0.66 acres, also in the R-3 district. The agenda cites Sections 350-12 and 350-44. The third, on Vosburg Road, seeks a front setback of 41 feet where 50 feet is required for a new single-family home. The lot is 0.57 acres in the R-2 Single Family Residential district, and the agenda cites Section 350-11\. David Cox, P.E., is listed as the representing agent. The board is also set to take up the minutes of its July 14 meeting. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. The three scheduled matters are the applications the agenda has set for Tuesday. The Ledger's [guide to the Zoning Board of Appeals](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/) explains how residents can participate and what the board does. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's biggest departments close budget season with flat levies, and none got there by spending less URL: https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T15:49:15.000Z Three of Webster's largest departments closed the town's 2027 budget season Thursday with a tax levy line that is flat, falling or set at zero. None of the three got there by spending less. The police department's law enforcement levy falls $11,949 for 2027\. An $85,000 federal bonus line that ends accounts for more than that entire decrease, and a separate police benefits block in the same worksheet rises $175,000\. The highway department's part-town fund raises nothing at all in taxes. It balances on a $3 million draw from fund balance, which is $400,000 larger than last year's draw. The library's levy line also reads $0, because the library is paid for by a transfer out of the general fund rather than a levy of its own. That is how the library fund is built, not a change for 2027\. The levy line stayed at zero while the transfer rose: $3,000,768 for 2027, up $241,766\. A board member told the room the budgets will not stay as flat as they look, because three union contracts are still open. **In this piece:** - [Why three levy lines read zero](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#why-three-levy-lines-read-zero) - [Police: a levy that falls because a federal line ends](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#police-a-levy-that-falls-because-a-federal-line-ends) - [Highway: a $3 million draw holds the part-town levy at zero](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#highway-a-3-million-draw-holds-the-part-town-levy-at-zero) - [The library: the $0 levy line and the transfer underneath it](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#the-library-the-0-levy-line-and-the-transfer-underneath-it) - [The $150,000 zoning line, and the grant that has not yet been awarded](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#the-150000-zoning-line-and-the-grant-that-has-not-yet-been-awarded) - [The raises question now has four different answers](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#the-raises-question-now-has-four-different-answers) - [What happens next](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/#what-happens-next) Six worksheets covering seven presentations came to the Webster Town Board on Thursday afternoon, at the second and last of the town's 2027 budget workshops. Community development, engineering, the town clerk, the police department, the sewer fund, the Webster Public Library and the highway department each walked the board through a request. These were the departments the chair had called "all of the big ones" when he closed [the first workshop](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-raises-unsettled/) on July 30\. The sewer fund, which residents pay through a bill rather than a tax, is covered in [a separate piece](https://websterledger.com/webster-sewer-rates-2027-fairlife/). A budget workshop is department heads explaining their own numbers to the board that oversees them. There is no public comment period and no adversarial voice in the room. Each department posted a worksheet with the agenda, showing 2027 against 2026 line by line. Five of the six are dated July 23\. The police worksheet is one revision older, dated July 14, so any police figure below may have moved since. These are departmental worksheets, not the compiled tentative budget the supervisor files with the town clerk, and that filing is still to come. ## Why three levy lines read zero The six worksheets span five separate funds, and they do not sit on the same tax base. That matters before any of the numbers below make sense. The general fund town-wide and the highway town-wide fund are paid by every town taxpayer. The general fund part-town and the highway part-town fund are paid only by property owners outside the Village of Webster. The sewer fund is paid by sewer ratepayers, not by taxes at all. The library fund carries a $0 levy line and is funded by a transfer from the general fund. Our [guide to reading a Webster property tax bill](https://websterledger.com/how-to-read-your-webster-property-tax-bill/) walks through which of those lines lands on which bill. So "the library raises nothing in taxes" and "highway part-town raises nothing in taxes" are both accurate, and neither describes what the town actually spends. There is no single figure for what the six departments add up to, because there is no single tax base underneath them. The town-wide portion is comparable. Adding the general fund town-wide levy lines across the four worksheets that carry them gives $10,930,715 for 2027 against $10,737,905 for 2026, an increase of $192,810 or 1.80%. That excludes tax collection, which has no levy line and runs a planned surplus. It is not comparable to the $3,767,666 total published after the first workshop, which covered seven units that all sat in one fund. ## Police: a levy that falls because a federal line ends Law enforcement appropriations rise $11,251 for 2027, to $5,870,275\. The amount to be raised by taxes goes the other way, down $11,949 to $5,605,775. One line explains most of that. A3120.10054 Officer ARPA Bonus Compensation carried $85,000 in 2026 and carries $0 in 2027\. The chief of police told the board it was not a discretionary payment the town chose to stop making. > "One for discussion, ARPA bonus. That was a contractual benefit for the officers as part of the last contract negotiations. Obviously that's not carrying over to '27, so that's not in the budget." That is the second workshop in a row where Webster's remaining federal pandemic aid shows up as something ending. At the first workshop it was parks and recreation, where the money was never a line item at all and its end showed up only in which account paid for a program. Here it has an account number of its own, and the account goes to zero. Policing does not cost less next year. A separate employee benefits block in the same worksheet rises $175,000, or 4.8%, to $3,822,000\. Medical insurance for police goes from $560,000 to $670,000\. Medical insurance for police retirees goes from $1,220,000 to $1,327,000\. The retirement contribution line falls $50,000 and partly offsets both. Both blocks sit in the general fund town-wide, on the same worksheet. The chief flagged the retiree line specifically. Officers retire young and then spend a long stretch on retiree benefits, he told the board, and the town has been using contract terms that reduce the retiree contribution for officers who stay longer. ## Highway: a $3 million draw holds the part-town levy at zero Highway Superintendent Patrick Stephens presented a budget spread across four funds. The highway town-wide fund is nearly flat. Its amount to be raised by taxes is $1,306,066 against $1,303,639, up $2,427\. That is a separate fund from the general fund town-wide lines counted earlier, which include highway administration, so the two figures do not overlap. The highway administration lines, which sit in the general fund town-wide rather than the highway town-wide fund, move for a reason that is easy to misread. Stephens said seasonal part-timers have been consolidated out of several seasonal labor lines into the part-time employee line, and that the reclassification accounts for about three-quarters of the increase in that section. It is bookkeeping, not hiring. The part-town side is where the pressure sits. Appropriations rise $329,951, or 5.0%, to $6,875,937. Two things close that gap, and neither is a tax. The fund's share of Monroe County sales tax falls $134,000 to $3,283,000\. The worksheet labels that share as 49% for 2027 against 51% for 2026\. And the appropriated fund balance line goes from $2.6 million to $3 million. The mechanism was stated plainly on the record. New York's tax cap limits how much a local government can increase its property tax levy from one year to the next, and a town board can exceed it only by adopting a local law to override it. > "The highway part-town fund has a sizable fund balance to keep us under the tax cap." > "This highway part-town fund, we actually reduced the tax rate to zero, which allows us to use sales tax money in the general town-wide fund, which actually is helping pay for some of the debt service on the highway building. So we're going to do that as long as we can. At some point I'll have to flip back, but it's been a pretty good strategy so far." It is not a highway quirk. Two hours earlier, closing the community development presentation, the finance director described the same approach for the general part-town fund: the levy brought to zero so the sales tax can be used town-wide, and the town trying to keep that going as long as it can. This is at least the fourth consecutive year both part-town levies have been set to zero this way. The town's 2025 adopted budget says it used sales tax revenue and appropriated fund balance to bring the part-town tax rate to zero for 2024 and 2025, and the 2026 adopted budget carried the same combination forward. What changed for 2027 is the cost of continuing it in the highway part-town fund, where the draw grows $400,000 while that fund's sales tax share shrinks. A fund balance draw is a one-time source by definition. The worksheets show what is being drawn and not what remains, so they do not answer how long the approach can run. The other half of the sales tax story sits in the community development worksheet, where the part-town general fund's share rises from 12% to 18%, worth $402,000\. The finance director told the board the reallocation is deliberate and happens every year. > "It's paid to us on a quarterly basis and it's currently being split between the general town-wide fund, this fund here which is the general part-town fund, and the highway part-town fund. So I do reallocate it each year to maximize the benefit, and we actually had a pretty good increase here of $402,000." Those two lines together are up 6.3% across the two funds. Departments that presented at the first workshop carry their own sales tax lines, so this is a subtotal and not the town's sales tax revenue. ## The library: the $0 levy line and the transfer underneath it The library's total appropriations rise 9.3%, from $2,835,740 to $3,099,339, and none of that lands on a library tax line. The levy line reads $0, and the general fund transfer that pays for the library instead is $3,000,768 for 2027, up $241,766. The line driving most of the increase was conditional on a vote that had not happened. L9950.90000 Transfer to Library Capital Reserve carries $150,000 against $0, followed by a footnote in the worksheet itself: "This line item is dependent on the Webster Public Library Board establishing a capital reserve at the next scheduled board meeting." Strip that line out and the library's appropriations rise 4.0%. Library Director Adam Traub used a different measure and reached 3.3%: with the reserve removed, that is how much more the library is asking of the general fund. Either way, he told the board, the reserve is more than half of his increase. ## The $150,000 zoning line, and the grant that has not yet been awarded One line in the six worksheets carries no offsetting revenue for 2027. B8020.40296 Masterplan / Smart Growth Zoning Revisions goes from $50,000 to $150,000\. The line that offset it last year, B410.03989 Masterplan Grant Revenue, goes from $50,000 to $0\. The combined effect is that the Planning Board's amount to be raised by taxes rises from $71,954 to $221,503, an increase of 207.8% and the largest percentage jump in the set. That line sits inside the general fund part-town, the fund whose bottom-line levy is brought to zero, so it is a worksheet allocation rather than a levy a taxpayer is billed. That is not a grant that went away. It is a grant the town has applied for and has decided not to book until it is awarded. Webster asked New York State for $150,000 to rewrite its zoning code through the state's Smart Growth Community Planning Program, as [we reported last month](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-rewrite-state-grant-2026/). The state has not announced awards. Director of Community Development Josh Artuso explained the budget treatment. > "You will see the smart growth zoning revisions as being reflected as a $150,000 expense. We did just last week submit the grant application to New York State by the deadline. But nonetheless, we must reflect this in our budget." The finance director answered immediately: "We'll hold off on showing the revenue until we know for sure." So the 207.8% is a worst case, and Artuso told the board he is hopeful the state grant will offset it. If the state funds the application, the revenue side comes back and the levy impact largely disappears. If it does not, the worksheet line carries it. The worksheet shows the second outcome because that is the one the town can currently prove. ## The raises question now has four different answers The first workshop's headline was that no department request included a cost-of-living adjustment, because the town's three union contracts are all being negotiated. That was restated Thursday. > "I should probably say that the 2027 budget does not include COLA increases for the employees because our three union contracts are all being negotiated currently. So those numbers won't go in until we know them. So that's why you see some of the salary amounts are relatively flat year to year." Thursday's presentations showed the picture is not uniform. Most town departments carry no COLA and flat salary lines, as described. The sewer fund did budget a placeholder. Asked about a compensation line roughly $100,000 higher, the presenter said part of it is a requested maintenance mechanic and part of it is provision for a settlement. "We have budgeted in COLA just in case, and step increases," he said. A board member noted on the record that this "differs from our other lines, our other departments." The highway department carries no COLA and no blue-collar contract, and still budgets salary growth. > "It's flat, but it doesn't include the blue collar contract. It doesn't include the COLA. So I take the, I assess the 36 or so employees that we have and try to anticipate merit increases. What we look at represents about a 5% increase across the board, through just which folks get merit, which ones don't. That's based on an estimate by me. I try to be conservative. If I think somebody's on the right track, we put that in the budget. It doesn't mean they automatically get it. They still have to earn it." And the library, outside collective bargaining entirely, budgeted a 3% cost-of-living increase and 1% steps. So "the 2027 budget contains no raises" is not accurate. The largest single unknown in the budget is still the settlement of three union contracts covering town employees. What Thursday added is that different funds have made different assumptions about how that lands. The board made the point itself. A member observed that the budgets look flat year over year because of the open white collar, blue collar and police negotiations, and asked when there would be any insight into the increases. The finance director said not at this time, that it was too preliminary. > "It's going to change. It's not going to be as flat as it appears." ## What happens next One town-wide cost is still an assumption rather than a number. The finance director told the board he applied the same medical insurance increase, about 12%, across every fund presented Thursday, calculated off actual spending rather than off a quoted premium, and that he hopes to know the real figure in September. It is why medical insurance rises in parallel in departments that have nothing else in common, up 19.6% in the police worksheet and 31.4% in sewer, and again at the library. After that the numbers move into the compiled tentative budget the supervisor files with the town clerk, then to board review, a preliminary budget published for the public, a public hearing and a vote. Monroe County towns are required to file a tentative budget with the town clerk by Oct. 30 under state Town Law. Webster filed on Aug. 29 last cycle and adopted on Oct. 16, which is the town's habit rather than the statutory schedule. The board met again at 7:30 the same evening for [its regular meeting](https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-6-2026/), on a separate agenda. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's sewer rate falls $8.89 a unit for 2027 URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-sewer-rates-2027-fairlife/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T15:22:23.000Z Webster's sewer plant brought its 2027 budget to the Town Board on Thursday, at the second and last of the town's 2027 budget workshops. The sewer fund is the only one presented Thursday that a resident pays through a bill rather than a tax, and it is the only one where the combined charge is falling. > "For O&M we're at a rate of $141.36, which is down about $23 from the previous year. But you'll see that the capital rate went up about $15\. Overall, the rate is down about $8 when you combine the two." The worksheet matches those figures. Combined, a unit is billed $249.54 for 2027 against $258.43, a decrease of $8.89\. That decrease rests on the Fairlife revenue described below, which the department told the board is not contractually guaranteed. Behind that, the amount to be raised by operations and maintenance charges falls $350,181, or 13.8%. The amount to be raised by capital charges rises $235,532, or 15.8%. Across both, ratepayers are asked for $114,649 less than in 2026\. Total expenditures fall 1.4% to $11,118,232. A budget workshop is department heads explaining their own numbers to the board that oversees them. There is no public comment period and no adversarial voice in the room. These are departmental worksheets, not the compiled tentative budget the supervisor files with the town clerk, and that filing is still to come. The rest of Thursday's presentations are covered in [a separate piece](https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-flat-levies-zoning-line/). ## The largest revenue growth is not contractually guaranteed Fairlife is the largest reason the operating side can fall. G210.02118 Fairlife Sewer Rents goes from $590,400 to $851,620, and the worksheet shows the billed unit count rising from 3,600 to 6,083\. G210.02129 Fairlife Capital Charges nearly doubles, from $331,200 to $650,881. The plant built its revenue assumptions on that relationship, and said so plainly while walking through the hauled-in waste lines. > "We were banking on five or six trucks a day, which was 65,000 gallons a day... But we didn't want to talk about any other haulers, that was just going to be upside. So we were going to be conservative because we knew Fairlife was pretty much guaranteed." Fairlife brought one truck a day for the first several months and brings two now. The department budgeted $1.98 million for the current year across the hauled-in lines and expects to land near $1.8 million. "First year is tough. We have no history to go on," the outgoing chief plant operator said. A board member then asked whether Fairlife was guaranteed. > "I have a question about Fairlife, because you said Fairlife is guaranteed. Is Fairlife guaranteed? Do we have a contract that it's guaranteed? Because I thought they had options." The answer: > "Guarantee was a strong word. They have that much, and we're the closest one. It will save them to bring it to us, and our price is very competitive with around the area." The outgoing chief plant operator then corrected the word: "Not guaranteed, I'm sorry. I wish it was guaranteed." On the sewer rent side the estimate runs the other way, and the department said so. "We have currently collected $871,000 in the first two quarters, and we were only budgeted for $590,000\. Again, very conservative on that." The 2027 request for that line is $851,620, below what two quarters of 2026 already brought in. One 2027 revenue line is new and describes a service the plant has not started performing. G210.02124 Septic Waste appears at $260,000 against nothing in 2026\. "Septic waste, we haven't taken any in, and we are projecting at about $260,000, but I think that's a very conservative number," the department told the board. The rest of the customer base is not shrinking. Commercial sewer rents fall 14.6% on a unit count that is flat at 1,500, and Penfield's fall 11.3% even though its billed units rise from 1,220 to 1,268\. Both are billed less because the town cut the per-unit rate, not because they sent less. Xerox is the one class that loses units, from 600 to 550, and its rents fall 21.7%. A second industrial customer is on the way. Industrial pretreatment rises from $5,000 to $7,000, because Fairlife has been added to the sampling schedule and because the plant expects McAlpin online at some point in 2027\. That is the only place McAlpin appears in the sewer fund. It carries no revenue line, and the department made no estimate of what it will send. ## Where the costs moved Chemicals are the largest cost pressure among the plant's supplies. Polymer rises $64,850 to $194,850 on the plant's new processes, and ferric chloride rises to $213,750, partly because outside waste brings in more phosphorus. Sludge hauling moves the other way, down $110,000 to $250,000, which the department credited to its new sludge dryer. In June the plant ran the belt press alone for the first half of the month and added the dryer for the second, and hauling cost in that second half came in 80% lower in dollar terms. That is one half-month against the one before it, offered as an early example rather than a settled result. The department also brought a list of reductions it worked out with the finance director and the board's sewer liaison, including cuts to repairs and cleaning and a shift of several capital items into an already bonded project contingency. Telephone costs fall from about $21,000 to $4,000, after staff replaced copper phone lines at the town's 22 pump stations with cellular connections on the existing alarm keypads. Plant staff put the saving at about $12,000 a year, and said the copper was not pulled until the cellular connections had run for a test month. The plant is also facing a permit change. Its total residual chlorine limit is being cut to 0.25 milligrams per liter from a current 2, and the department has a study before the state Department of Environmental Conservation on how to get there within five years. The options it is weighing range from repurposing the old village clarifiers as a contact tank to ultraviolet disinfection, which it called very expensive. ## Staffing On staffing, two salary lines move. G8130.10147 Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator falls 19.8%, from $157,443 to $126,197\. That is the retirement the board handled in June, when it [appointed Dwayne Hilfiker](https://websterledger.com/town-board-meeting-june-18-2026/) as chief plant operator effective July 4 and set him to cross-train with outgoing chief Rick Kenealy. Hilfiker rose internally and is not at the top of the scale. Kenealy told the board the line falls "with me leaving and Dwayne stepping in at the lower scale." G8110.10150 Deputy Commissioner of Public Works goes from $117,730 to $0, and that change was proposed months earlier. At an April 2 workshop, Kenealy and the town's personnel director presented the board a reorganization that would put the chief operator at the top of the plant's structure, un-fund the deputy commissioner post and use that money to create an additional full-time operator position, keeping overall staffing at the same number. The minutes record a presentation and a general discussion, not a vote, and note that several of the changes require Town Board approval while others must be negotiated with the union. Kenealy described the same change on Thursday as a new organization chart that defunded the position. The worksheet's arithmetic does not support reading the two budget lines as one job merging into the other. Sewer debt service is close to flat overall, with bond anticipation note principal up 55.4% against interest down 25.4%. The finance director said the town sold a note at a net interest rate of about 2.8%, against 3% budgeted, and expects to roll it into a serial bond in 2027\. Sewer debt service is part of Webster's [$132 million in outstanding debt](https://websterledger.com/how-websters-town-debt-reached-132-million-and-who-pays-it-back/). ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board denies Dinks and Links moratorium exemption, 5-0 URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-recap-august-6-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T22:08:15.000Z The Webster Town Board denied a hardship exemption from the town's development moratorium Thursday night. The vote was 5-0. The exemption would have let the proposed Dinks and Links project keep pursuing approvals while the moratorium runs. The draft resolution posted with the agenda would have granted it. No board member moved that resolution. Supervisor Alex Scialdone instead moved from the floor to deny, reciting the same findings in the negative. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Dinks and Links is a proposed indoor and outdoor recreation facility of about 39,100 square feet at 912 and 922 Five Mile Line Road. The parcels sit in one of the six commercial and office districts [the moratorium covers](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/). Section 9(B) of Local Law No. 2 of 2026 sets the standard. An applicant must show, by clear and convincing evidence including dollars-and-cents proof, that it is unable to make any reasonable use of the property. It must also show irreparable injury and that denying relief would be unreasonable and unjust. ## The case and the questions Joseph Cattalani appeared for Dinks and Links LLC. He said the project had been before the Planning Board for about a year. The building and the site plan had been moved three separate times to satisfy the town, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Lowe's. He said the DEC would not issue a permit until the town completed environmental review. "When we came into this a year ago, there was no speak of a moratorium," he said. The chair reminded the room that the question was not the merits of the project but whether the findings for relief could be made. He asked whether the applicant had sought an extension from his lender or the property owner. Cattalani said he had, and had not been turned down. Asked for an exact dollar amount spent to date, he said he did not have one and put the amount at more than $100,000\. No documentation of that figure was given to the board. Councilman John Cahill asked whether the applicant owned the property. "We do not," Cattalani said. "We are under contract. This is the owner over here." A member said the board had been given no proof of the spending or of any extension. Cattalani offered to supply documentation. He said he could produce the contract covering the extensions and "an M&T letter saying that they're going to extend us through late October." The chair moved on to the next board member. Councilman Garrett Wagner pressed on the dollars-and-cents question, and Cattalani answered on the project's timeline rather than its costs. Asked whether the delays had occurred before the moratorium, he said all of them had. Asked whether any had occurred as a result of the moratorium, he said the project's financing, staffing, foundation work and construction trades would all come into play. The motion to deny came shortly after. ## What the public said Four residents spoke during Open to the Floor. Most of the comment concerned the exemption. A resident who said he owns the adjoining Sunset Valley community urged the board to deny. He said the applicant does not own the land, pays no property tax on it and holds only a purchase contract. An exemption, he said, would set a precedent other developers would come looking for. A second speaker who also said she owns the adjoining Sunset Valley community spoke for herself and for 70 residents of what she described as an affordable senior housing community bordering the property. She asked what financial proof could exist when the applicant does not own the land. She said items from the Planning Board's review remained outstanding. Another speaker walked the Planning Board's handling of the application date by date. He said the public record does not show that the project received the preliminary site plan approval or special permit that Section 8 of the law exempts automatically. "The proposed resolution reaches legal conclusions, but it does not identify the evidence supporting them," he said. A fourth speaker argued in support, saying the project should have been grandfathered. He said the moratorium carries costs of its own, pointing to a lumberyard parcel on Holt Road that he said has been left unmaintained under it. A landowner in that position has no reason to do more, he said: "I've got to pay my taxes, but I'm not going to do anything else." He called that a byproduct of the moratorium. He also said speeding on Holt Road is out of hand and said the police department should hold a community meeting with the chief about it, putting the police budget at $9.5 million a year against 64 speeding tickets written in 2024\. He said the department's 2025 annual report has not been posted, and that he had watched a town budget presentation earlier that day and could not read the police budget on the screen. The Ledger has not verified the ticket count or the status of the report. ## The motion and the vote Scialdone moved to deny, saying the prospect of lost financing alongside available extensions was not clear and convincing evidence with dollars-and-cents proof. Town Attorney Kyle Taylor advised the board to read the criteria into the resolution. One more speaker was allowed before the vote. He said he had been with the property owner's business for 51 years and that it would be unfair for the applicant not to be able to proceed. "We are here to follow the law in this portion here and we need to follow the guidelines set within the moratorium," Scialdone answered. "We can't let personal beliefs get involved in this." The motion, as restated, found that "the applicant has not demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence including dollars and cents proof that the moratorium prevents reasonable use of the property." It found no demonstration of irreparable injury, and none that denying relief would be unreasonable and unjust. Scialdone, Councilman Nick Hunter, Cahill, Councilwoman Jennifer Wright and Wagner each voted aye. "If you get the extensions, it's only a six-month moratorium," the chair told the applicant afterward. Local Law No. 2 says the moratorium expires six months after its effective date without further action, with up to two three-month extensions available. The town says the moratorium is active. ## A resolution finished on the floor The board adopted a video and audio recording policy for town boards the same night, after writing part of it aloud. In the posted draft of Item 6, the list of bodies the policy covers sat inside highlighted angle brackets. It appeared that way twice, in the first recital and in the operative clause. Those are drafting markers for language that has not been settled. The brackets held four names: the Town Board, the Planning Board, the Zoning Board and the Conservation Board. Rather than hold the vote, the board settled the language in the room. Hunter introduced the item and said it had not originated with him. He said the Conservation Board meets monthly and is not currently recorded. The four specific boards were named in discussion, matching a suggestion from the town clerk. A fifth body was then added: the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Director of Community Development Josh Artuso, who oversees that committee, said its meetings are already recorded and that it did not need to be named in a resolution. "The committee is a temporary thing, it's not a governing body like the other boards are," he said. The board included it anyway, with a member saying there was no harm in doing so and that naming a committee already being recorded closed the loop and would end when the committee did. The Conservation Board has never been recorded. A member said the town's communications director wanted an August meeting to prepare it first, and recommended starting Sept. 1\. An annual review was added on the town clerk's suggestion. "Yes, we're doing some live workshopping people here, so stay with us," the chair told the room. The adopted motion covers the four bracketed boards plus the steering committee. It takes effect Sept. 1, 2026, and is to be reviewed annually at the town organizational meeting. It passed 5-0. ## An item that was not on the agenda The board also approved something the posted agenda did not carry: an amendment to Monroe County's cooperation agreement for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships programs. The federally funded program runs through the county in three-year cycles, and the town has taken part since 2002\. The amendment bars the town from selling, trading or transferring HUD funds provided by the county. The town sent a notarized signature and then learned a board resolution was also required. The deadline is next week, the chair said. A board member asked whether a drafted agreement existed, noting it was not in the town's SharePoint. "I did review it minutes before this meeting here," Taylor said. "It's a one-page amendment." Scialdone said he could not move a resolution authorizing himself to sign. Hunter moved it. It passed 5-0. ## The rest of the agenda Nobody spoke at the public hearing on Local Law #3, the town's vehicle and traffic regulations. A member recommended waiting until the Aug. 20 meeting to vote and the chair agreed. Three items concerned the townwide reassessment planned for 2027\. The board accepted a resignation from the Board of Assessment Review and engaged GAR Appraisal LLC to appraise the Fairlife plant at a cost not to exceed $7,000\. Both were 5-0\. It also moved and seconded a resolution creating a temporary Board of Assessment Review member position. The board voted 5-0 to authorize up to $256,476 in contingency and client savings spending at the wastewater treatment plant. Two other sewer items did not come up: a heating and cooling contract for the plant, and a contract amendment shifting asphalt paving from the town's scope of work to a contractor's. Neither drew a motion or any discussion, and no explanation was given. Item 12 also departed from the posted resolution. At Cahill's request the board added the Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator title to the handbook's commuter use vehicle chart rather than replacing the Deputy Commissioner of Public Works title, as the resolution proposed. The board also declared its intent to be designated lead agency for environmental review of the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project. It appointed a school tax collector for the Wayne Central School District portion of Webster. It approved six surplus Parks Department assets for recycling. Minutes, bills, warrants and purchase orders passed in separate votes. All were 5-0. The board took 15 recorded roll call votes in all. It meets next on Aug. 20. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's Town Board votes tonight on a moratorium exemption for the Dinks and Links project URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-preview-august-6-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T19:25:55.000Z Correction (Aug. 7, 2026): This article originally said the Local Law #3 public hearing was the only item on the agenda that takes public comment. Every regular Webster Town Board meeting agenda also carries an Open to the Floor period, with the same five-minute limit, and the Aug. 6 agenda did. Residents did not need a public hearing to address the board. The article has been updated. The Webster Town Board meets tonight with a request for relief from the town's development moratorium on the agenda. Item 8 would grant a hardship exemption to the proposed Dinks and Links project, an indoor and outdoor recreation facility of about 39,100 square feet planned for 912 and 922 Five Mile Line Road, just west of the Lowe's store. The parcels sit in one of the six commercial and office districts [the moratorium covers](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/). To grant relief, the law requires an applicant to show by clear and convincing evidence, including dollars-and-cents proof, that the moratorium leaves no reasonable use of the property. The draft resolution granting the exemption is posted with the agenda. The applicant's submission is not. The resolution says dollars-and-cents proof was provided, but does not summarize it or give a figure. The project needs the exemption because it did not hold preliminary site plan approval, which is what the law exempts. [The Planning Board tabled it on June 2](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-june-2-2026-2/), two days before the Town Board adopted the moratorium. The town says the moratorium is active and runs through the end of 2026\. The Town Board decides this exemption on its own, and a vote tonight is final. ## The public hearing: Local Law #3 The meeting opens at 7:30 p.m. with a public hearing on Local Law #3, Vehicle and Traffic Regulations. Each speaker gets five minutes. Residents can also speak during Open to the Floor, which is on every regular Town Board meeting agenda and carries the same five-minute limit. The board [scheduled the hearing at its July 16 meeting](https://websterledger.com/town-board-recap-2026-07-16/), where Town Engineer Keith Mortimer had previewed what the law covers. ## Also up for a vote Item 6 would establish a policy on video and audio recording for the town's boards and committees, and on making those recordings public. It is a final decision tonight, and the draft resolution is posted with the agenda. Three items concern the wastewater treatment plant. The largest, Item 15, would shift the plant's asphalt paving from one contractor to another. The resolution recites a proposed paving cost of about $1.86 million from Navitas, the incoming contractor. That is a figure quoted in the resolution rather than an amount the board is approving. The rest of the night runs shorter. Item 5 opens environmental review on a town transportation project. Items 9, 10 and 11 staff up for a townwide reassessment in 2027, including temporary seats on the Board of Assessment Review. Item 12 moves a 24-hour take-home vehicle assignment to the Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. Item 16 clears six lots of Parks Department equipment for recycling. Items 1 through 4 are the consent block of minutes, bills, warrants and purchase orders. All 16 numbered items are up for a vote. ## Before the meeting: a budget workshop at 4:30 The board's second 2027 budget workshop starts at 4:30 p.m. Seven department heads present tentative budgets in slots running to 6:10 p.m. Workshops carry no resolutions and take no votes. ## If you want to be there The workshop starts at 4:30 p.m. today, Aug. 6, and the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Both are in the Town Board Room, which is located behind the main Town Hall building next to the Justice Courts (building with the blue roof) at 1002 Ridge Road. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Planning Board extends a 47-apartment approval with a day to spare URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-recap-august-4-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T11:59:59.000Z The Webster Planning Board voted Tuesday night to extend the site plan approval for Cobblestone Place Phase 2 by one year, to Aug. 4, 2027\. The approval was set to expire the next day. The Ledger [reported Tuesday morning](https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-preview-august-4-2026/) that the approval ran out Aug. 5\. The board's next meeting is Sept. 1, after the lapse. Under Section 269-17A, an applicant whose final site plan approval has expired "shall be required to reapply for preliminary and final approval." Had the board not acted Tuesday, the review of a 47-apartment building would have started over. The public hearing opened and closed with no speakers. The board granted the extension on a voice vote. The applicant's engineer explained the delay. Monroe County's health department has finished its plan review with no further comments. It is waiting on a utility easement for a private water main the project is installing. A meeting with the adjacent owner, identified on the record as U-Haul, was set for the next day to finalize it. "We just had to file for the extension due to the easement request," the engineer said. The engineer said the Monroe County Water Authority has signed the mylar set and the state stormwater filing is complete. A contractor is engaged for the site work. All of that is the applicant's own account. The chair returned to a concern from the original review. The site is tight, and there is nowhere obvious to put snow. The engineer pointed to 10 garage spaces under the building and a corner of the property for piling. ## An offer nobody took Four of the board's seven members were present: chair Anthony Casciani, Mark Giardina, Sven Vetter and Peggy Maltman. Four is a quorum. Before the first item, the chair offered every applicant the chance to wait for a fuller board. > There's nothing really too big, but we only have four members of the board out of seven. We do have a quorum, but I will offer the chance if anybody that has an application does not want to work with just the four, rather have a full board, you're more than welcome to. We'll set it up for another meeting. Nobody took it. All five applications were heard. The board acted on four. The fifth was a sketch plan review, which calls for no vote. ## Aberdeen's next 36 lots Aberdeen Estate Phase 3 won final site plan and subdivision approval 4-0\. It was the only roll-call vote of the night. The approval covers 36 single-family lots on 52.44 acres off Hazelhead Lane, for Forest Creek Equity Corp. The item had been [tabled since March](https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-preview-august-4-2026/). The discussion took about four minutes. The chair recalled earlier concerns about a berm and a conservation easement. Both were treated as resolved. The revised plan set marks the easement area, and a copy has gone to the town. The approval carries a long list of conditions. Stormwater facilities go in first. Downspouts connect to the storm sewer. The project engineer must certify the work before any certificate of occupancy issues. The board set its own deadline too: significant construction within one year, which the motion put at Aug. 4, 2027\. The approved drawings are dated Jan. 13, 2026. The board could not make out the drawing number in its own file and used that date instead. ## Why the sign company's addition went back a step Vital Sign Building Addition at 764 Ridge Road came in for sketch plan review. No vote was taken. The code calls for none at that stage. The preview left a question open. The paperwork asked for preliminary and final review in July, but the project turned up a month later at the earlier step. Thomas Fitzgerald, the representing agent, answered it. The application had been headed for preliminary and final review, he told the board, and was postponed over development issues involving cargo boxes at the rear of the site. Town engineering had one open item. The oil-water separator has to tie into the sanitary sewer. The plans show it tying into the storm sewer. The chair closed on that point: "The only thing would be that your drains, your floor drains, tie into the sanitary and not the storm." Two other notes came up. The town asked for an as-built drawing of the original building and got the approved site plan instead, which lacked what the sewer department needed. The board was also told Webster sets a lower land-disturbance threshold than the state for requiring a stormwater pollution prevention plan. This project falls just under the 25,000-square-foot mark. Total site disturbance is about half an acre, on the applicant's figure. The rear setback measures 103 feet against a 100-foot requirement. The applicant returns for preliminary and final review, with no date set. ## Two sign packages, one code question The board approved the 7 Brew sign package at 935 Hard Road on a voice vote. A separate resolution first classified it a Type II action under the state's environmental review rules. The agenda lists five signs totaling 107.11 square feet. That closes the signage the board [held out of its July 7 final approval](https://websterledger.com/7-brew-hard-road-final-approval-2026/). Ryan Kiely, the applicant of record, did not appear. A colleague presented in Kiely's place, citing a family conflict. The package is one internally illuminated round sign on the front elevation facing Hard Road. The drawings show nothing on the rear. Both side elevations carry the logo, plus non-illuminated directional arrows and the words "drive-through coffee." No member raised a question. The board also approved four internally illuminated wall signs for Canandaigua National Bank at 1155 Ridge Road. Again on a voice vote, again after a Type II resolution. The applicant is Melissa Driskell of Sign and Lighting Services LLC. The bank has rebranded and is replacing signs at branches across the county. The four wall signs are channel letters and a channel logo. The plans include night renderings showing the lettering and logo lit against a dark wall. That is the arrangement the town's sign code asks for. The longest exchange was about a different sign. The monument sign out at the road is shared with three other businesses. The bank is not building it. It is swapping two panel faces on a structure that already exists. A member asked how the "National Bank" wording at its lower left is lit. "It's a white acrylic that's lit from the inside," the bank's representative said. A member replied that the code calls for only the lettering to be lit, not the lit white background behind it. The code writes that point as a guideline, not a requirement. Section 265-4A(3) says signs with interior illumination "should" have only letters and logos lighted, not backgrounds. Three other requirements in the same subsection say "shall." The plans show the member had found the one piece of the application that departs from the guideline. The monument panel is a white face with the graphics on its surface, so the background glows and the lettering does not. The representative said the replacement matches the panel beside it, belonging to a children's day care, which is also white acrylic lit from inside. The board asked whether that panel is lit at night. Nobody was certain. It heard no objection and approved the four wall signs. Earlier in the item, a member asked whether it matters that the monument sign carries no street number. Section 265-4B says the property address "shall" be displayed on the top center of all monument signs. The representative said the sign advertises businesses at several different addresses. The plans bear that out: four businesses share it. The board approved the signs without resolving the question. Nothing in the chapter creates an exception for shared signs. Nothing in it says whether swapping a panel on an existing sign triggers the rule at all. ## Adjourned in 32 minutes The board approved the minutes of its July 7 meeting. The whole thing ran 32 minutes. The next meeting is Sept. 1. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### A 47-apartment approval expires Wednesday. Webster's Planning Board holds the hearing Tuesday. URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-preview-august-4-2026/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T12:00:00.000Z The Webster Planning Board holds a public hearing Tuesday night on whether to extend the site plan approval for Cobblestone Place Phase 2\. It is a three-story, 47-unit apartment building at 1025 Ravenside Lane, behind Webster Plaza off Ridge Road. The approval expires the next day, Aug. 5. The board's next scheduled meeting after Tuesday is Sept. 1, which falls after the approval lapses. That makes Tuesday the last regular meeting at which the board can act on it. Under Section 269-17A, if a final site plan approval has expired and the applicant still wants to proceed, "the applicant shall be required to reapply for preliminary and final approval." The whole review starts over. Section 269-17B requires an extension request before the approval lapses. It has to come early enough to allow publication, notice and a public hearing. That hearing "shall be held to consider whether such extension shall be granted." The code also lets the board attach "additional conditions or modifications" to the approval. The same board granted [a one-year extension to the Sienna Reserve subdivision on July 7](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-recap-july-7-2026/), after a hearing at which neighbors raised drainage concerns. Members said then that the question was whether to extend the approval, not to reopen the design. The board is not deciding Tuesday whether an apartment building is allowed on this site. That was settled last August. After a public hearing, the board granted preliminary and final site plan approval for a three-story building on a five-acre lot in the Medium High Residential district. The town's approval describes its 47 apartments as market rate. The approval went to VOA Cobblestone Place HDFC Inc. with conditions. Among them was a provision making it "subject to the determination of the ZBA for requested variances." The clock comes from the town's own approval letter, whose final approval checklist reads: "Significant construction shall occur within one year, as deemed by the Planning Board, to expire on 8.5.26." That is the letter's wording. Under Section 269-10B, a final site plan approval expires after one year unless a building permit has been taken out within that year for the work shown on the plan and site development or construction has begun, as the board determines. An extension is the remedy the code provides when that one-year test has not been met. The plan set has kept moving through town and county comments, with revisions logged in December, February and May and a mylar issued July 6\. The applicant on Tuesday's agenda is Brickwood Management of Rochester. The extension application was signed July 12, three weeks before the hearing. The plans give a completion target of fall 2027\. Phase 1 is already built next door at 1023 Ravenside Lane. The agenda calls the item a final site plan and subdivision approval extension. The approval letter grants site plan approval only. The application checks Site Plan Review and lists one lot. The underlying plats were filed with Monroe County in 2011 and 2020\. The site plan approval is the live item. ## Thirty-six more lots at Aberdeen Aberdeen Estate Phase 3 returns Tuesday under tabled matters. Forest Creek Equity Corp. is seeking final site plan and subdivision approval for 36 single-family lots on a 52.44-acre parcel off Hazelhead Lane, in the R-3 Single-Family Residential district. The item has not been before the board since March 3, when it was tabled. The same meeting approved Aberdeen Phase 2 with conditions, 20 lots on 17.10 acres. The two phases share a developer, a subdivision and a parent parcel: 56 single-family lots moving through the board inside six months. For scale, the board approved [Bella Terra Phase 3, a 66-lot subdivision on Webster's south side](https://websterledger.com/bella-terra-phase-3-66-homes-webster-planning-approval/) on May 5. Aberdeen Estates is an active Ryan Homes community. Phase 3 expands a neighborhood people already live in. ## A sign company's own building, at sketch plan review Vital Sign Building Addition at 764 Ridge Road is up for sketch plan review. The plan is a 15,000-square-foot one-story addition to an existing 11,000-square-foot building on about four acres. The parcel sits in the CO Commercial Outdoor Storage district, one of six commercial districts named in [the development moratorium the Town Board adopted in June](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/). The owner and applicant of record is Webster Auto Mall LLC. The business operating there makes interior and exterior signage. The paperwork asks for a later step than the item lands on Tuesday. A June 16 letter of intent from the project's engineer asked the town to put it on the July 7 agenda "for preliminary & final review," with an $820 check enclosed for that review. It was not on the July 7 agenda. It appears Aug. 4 at sketch plan review. Under the code that step comes before preliminary approval and "shall not be a public hearing." Whether and when it returns for preliminary and final approval is a question for Tuesday night. Monroe County reviewed it in June under General Municipal Law Section 239-m and urged electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. ## Two sign packages The 7 Brew drive-through coffee stand on Hard Road is back with the signage the board held out of its [final approval July 7](https://websterledger.com/7-brew-hard-road-final-approval-2026/), when it gave the applicant about a month to file a separate signage plan. The agenda lists five signs totaling 107.11 square feet in the High-Intensity Commercial district, at 935 Hard Road. That is the address the parcel lacked in July, and the one emergency services require on the building. Canandaigua National Bank is seeking four internally illuminated wall signs totaling 122.12 square feet at its branch at 1155 Ridge Road, in the Medium-Intensity Commercial district. Neither sign item carries a public hearing. Both come to the board under Section 265-7 of the town code. ## If you want to speak The Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. Cobblestone Place Phase 2 is the only item on the agenda that carries a public hearing. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster opens 2027 budget season with raises not yet negotiated URL: https://websterledger.com/budget-workshop-2027-raises-unsettled/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T18:46:10.000Z Six town departments and the justice court brought opening 2027 budget requests to the Webster Town Board on Thursday, at the first of two public workshops that open the town's budget season. Assessing, finance, human resources, information technology, parks and recreation, the court and communications each walked the board through a request. Every figure they presented shares the same missing piece: none of them include a cost-of-living adjustment for town employees. That is deliberate, and it was disclosed before the first department spoke. Finance Director Paul Adams told the board the budget carries no COLA because the town's union contracts all expire at the end of 2026 and negotiations for new ones are underway. "Once we know that number we'll put it in," he said. Step increases, the scheduled movement of employees up a pay scale, are already built in. That movement is not itemized. It sits inside each salary line, which is why the worksheets put no price on it. The placeholder is the largest open variable in the 2027 budget. Personnel accounts for about 55% of Webster's annual budget. The town's own 2026 budget message puts employee compensation, benefits and retiree benefits together at that share of a $48.4 million net expenditure budget, and a consultant's proposal to handle the town's labor negotiations, posted in the town's online document center, states it as 55.5%. Three union contracts, covering roughly 125 full-time employees, all expire Dec. 31, 2026\. That is unusual on its own: the same proposal notes the CSEA and police contracts have historically been offset by a year. The proposal also puts a price on precision. "A settlement difference of ¼% per year saves $255,000 during a three-year contract period," it states. A budget workshop is a particular kind of event. Department heads explain their own numbers to the board that oversees them. The chair said at the open that this was a workshop rather than a formal board meeting, with no public comment period, and there was no opposing party in the room. Each department posted a worksheet with the workshop agenda, dated July 14, showing 2027 against 2026 line by line. The numbers below come from those worksheets. That makes them checkable. It does not make them settled. Every line is a department request, none of it carries COLA, and the compiled tentative budget the supervisor files with the town clerk is still to come. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Assessing: the revaluation spike starts coming down Assessing brought the night's largest decrease by a wide margin. The worksheet takes the amount to be raised by taxes from $844,704 to $625,509, a drop of $219,195. The driver is the townwide revaluation. The town pays its revaluation contractor for a full twelve months in 2026 but not in 2027\. The reassessments line falls from $264,000 to $83,000, and Assessor Donna Komor told the board that the remaining money "will disappear in 2028." It does not reach zero in 2027\. "That's the spike year and I'm coming back down closer to normal," she said. Two lines move the other way, both tied to what comes after a revaluation. Wages for the Board of Assessment Review triple, from $5,000 to $15,000, and legal consulting rises from $12,000 to $15,000, in anticipation of more property owners challenging their new assessments. Komor called the grievance-wage figure a best guess and said she may revise it, pending a board decision on adding members to the review board. Property owners are in the [data-correction phase](https://websterledger.com/revaluation-mailers-2027-roll-explainer/) of that revaluation now. The town had asked that any changes to property inventory be made and returned by Aug. 1. ## Finance: an AI invoice module, and an unbudgeted arbitrage check Adams put his department's total appropriations at about $570,000, up roughly $29,000, covering three full-time employees and one part-time. That figure spans two blocks on the worksheet: $523,124 for the finance department against $496,842 in 2026, plus a separate audit accounting block of $47,000 against $44,800\. Together, $570,124 against $541,642, an increase of $28,482\. The finance department's own $523,124 draws $463,124 from the tax levy in 2027, against $436,842 in 2026\. A $60,000 transfer from the sewer fund covers the difference. The new item is a Munis Automation Module, an add-on to the town's financial software that would use AI to pull information off invoices. Adams budgeted about $4,500 to implement it and roughly $1,500 for training, and he volunteered the caveats: the product is still in development, is being beta tested at a couple of other sites, and is not expected to be fully available until the end of the year. "I put it in the budget, but it's kind of an unknown whether we're actually gonna go with it or not at this point," he said. His part-time personnel line does fall, from $24,812 to $18,850\. Asked directly whether that reflected the automation, he said no. "I've actually have not reduced any of the employee costs due to the automation." Also in the request: $6,000 to engage a third-party consultant as the town's Munis systems administrator, which Adams framed as an internal-control improvement after former Director of Personnel Brayton Connard, who had handled many of those duties, retired. The financial consultants line rises by exactly that amount, from $10,800 to $16,800. One item has no money behind it. Adams told the board he did not include a consultant for an arbitrage calculation, the check on how much interest a municipality earns on money it borrowed for capital projects. Earnings above a federal limit have to be rebated to the IRS. Webster [borrowed $101,141,000](https://websterledger.com/how-websters-town-debt-reached-132-million-and-who-pays-it-back/) in August 2025 through a bond anticipation note and a serial bond, and Adams said he has been tracking the earnings himself. "We probably should have the calculation done sooner than later," he said. ## Human resources: a $17,000 decrease, almost all of it one line Director of Personnel Kelsey Feeney presented a budget down about $17,000, and said nearly all of it comes from a single line. Human resources takes $123,569 from the tax levy in 2027 against $141,236 in 2026, a drop of $17,667, and the director of personnel salary alone accounts for $16,407 of that, falling from $102,876 to $86,469\. Feeney gave the board the reason. Connard was at the top step of the pay scale, she said, and she is not. ## Information technology: a deferred year catches up Information technology's capital line jumps from $21,300 to $103,908, nearly fivefold and the largest single line increase in the seven worksheets. The department takes $377,140 from the tax levy in 2027 against $302,083 in 2026\. Director of Information Technology Steve Peace framed the jump as deferral catching up rather than growth: the 2026 capital line came in far below a historical norm he put near $70,000, because a network infrastructure upgrade consumed the year and nothing new was bought. The main 2027 items are three new servers, which Peace said he hopes to get for about $15,000 apiece, additional Wi-Fi access points for the recreation and highway departments, and a roughly $30,000 one-time software purchase licensed for 44 months so it expires alongside the support on equipment already installed. Peace listed offsets, and the worksheet carries them. Computer system technical support falls from $38,700 to $32,731 as the town drops outside monitoring contracts and brings that work in house. The worksheet lists exactly three payroll lines: a network administrator at $94,907, a systems assistant at $75,112 and a help-desk position at $50,482. ## Parks and recreation: the last of the ARPA money Parks and Recreation Commissioner Chris Bilow gave the longest presentation, covering seniors, recreation and parks. Across all three accounts he put 2027 revenue at $1,419,600 against appropriations of $3,077,273, calling them up about 6% and about 5%. The worksheets match both totals to the dollar: revenue rises 6.1% and appropriations 5.6%. The request includes no new full-time positions. The recreation center billed about 560 monthly memberships before COVID and roughly 200 at the pandemic trough. "This past month we were at 760," Bilow said, well above the pre-COVID peak. Membership revenue rises from $210,000 to $260,000, while drop-in classes fall from $20,000 to $7,500 as people who try a single class convert to full memberships. This is also the department where Webster's remaining federal pandemic aid runs out, and it does not appear as a line item. There is no ARPA entry anywhere in the worksheets, in either year. The town has been using American Rescue Plan Act money to offset senior and youth program costs, and Bilow said the remaining funds "are gone actually as of November this year." The federal deadline for spending State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds is Dec. 31, 2026. On the seniors side, Bilow flagged one revenue assumption. The town budgets nutrition revenue conservatively, he said, because "we do have some seniors that even that daily lunch fee is a struggle." Department-wide, tax support rises 5.2%, slightly slower than spending, and that total conceals a split. The amount raised by taxes for the senior account rises 17.5%, from $54,539 to $64,109, and for recreation 14.8%, from $591,920 to $679,586\. Those are the two areas Bilow named as ARPA-funded, "both in our senior as well as our youth program areas." The park account moves the other way, down 1.6% to $913,978, mostly because capital improvements fall from $150,000 to $80,000, and that decline is what pulls the department total back down. The programs continue and no new positions were requested. The two accounts Bilow named are the two rising fastest. How much of that the end of the federal money accounts for cannot be read off these worksheets, which carry no ARPA line in either year. Part of it is not ARPA. About $27,500 of recreation's increase is a part-time payroll line Bilow said had been broken out of another line and should have carried about $26,000 in 2026\. Net that out and recreation's tax support rises about 10% rather than 14.8%. Across the three accounts, tax support rises by $81,937\. One board member added the caveat that applies to every number presented Thursday: "of course we don't have the COLA in there." ## Justice court: $180,862 collected, $83,230 kept The justice court presented a small and stable budget. Appropriations total $375,788, up $3,545 from 2026, against $82,000 in budgeted fine revenue, leaving $293,788 to be raised by taxes. The justices' salaries are unchanged at $102,760, or $51,380 each. Court security rises from $49,000 to $52,000. Judge Thomas DiSalvo turned to what a town court actually returns to the town. He handed out the State Comptroller's report showing Webster court fines of $180,862 in 2025\. Comptroller's Justice Court Fund data for the Town of Webster puts the exact total at $180,862.50, of which $79,257.25 went to New York State, $18,375.00 to Monroe County and $83,230.25 back to the Town of Webster. That is a distribution of money actually collected in 2025, not the $82,000 the town has penciled in as fine revenue for 2027. "We're not in the business of collecting fines," DiSalvo said, describing fines as set against the offense and the defendant's ability to pay. He also said state legislation, which he placed in June 2023, took away the court's ability to have a driver "scoffed" for unpaid fines, and that this has had "a chilling effect" on collection. ## Communications: three new lines, and year four of five Director of Communications Bridget Harvey presented for the town's newest department, which takes $179,863 from the tax levy in 2027 against $176,275 in 2026\. Three lines that carried nothing in 2026 are funded: subscriptions at $2,400 for design, recording and email software; citizen outreach at $1,200 for production and postage on other departments' mailings, including the revaluation and the comprehensive plan; and mileage at $400 for a communications assistant who travels between town locations nearly daily in a personal vehicle. The $20,000 website design and maintenance line is the town's contract with its website vendor, spread across a five-year redesign cycle now in its fourth year. Both staff and board members expressed frustration with the platform, describing it as not user friendly, and a board member undertook to review the contract for flexibility. "If there's flexibility in that contract, I'll find it," the member said. ## What happens next Across the seven units that presented, the amount to be raised by taxes comes to $3,767,666 for 2027 against $3,813,919 for 2026, down $46,253 before COLA. Assessing's one-time revaluation drop accounts for more than all of it. Strip Assessing out and the other six rise 5.8%. The big departments have not been heard yet. Highway, police, sewer, the library, the town clerk, community development and engineering did not present Thursday, and the chair closed by telling the room, "I will see you all next week for all of the big ones." A second budget workshop is set for Thursday, Aug. 6 at 4:30 p.m., according to a July 22 column in which Supervisor Alex Scialdone called the workshops "the midpoint of the budget process." The town posted that agenda Monday, and it schedules those seven remaining units between 4:30 and 6:10 p.m. That same evening the Town Board holds its regular meeting, which includes a public hearing on Local Law No. 3, set by board motion July 16. After the workshops, the numbers move through the rest of the process: a tentative budget filed with the town clerk, board review, a preliminary budget published for the public, a hearing, and a vote. Every figure presented Thursday will change at least once before then, because none of them include the raises. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How Webster's two governments actually diverge and cooperate URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-village-diverge-cooperate/ Last updated: 2026-07-31T12:00:00.000Z This year, Webster's Town and Village governments have drawn certain tax dollars through legally distinct channels, held separate state permits for what used to be one shared wastewater arrangement, sat together at the same economic development table, and let a private company put a piece of the map up for a public vote. Readers who want the basic structure first (the two boards, the two tax bills, the election calendar) should start with our earlier primer, [Town or village? A plain-English guide to how Webster is actually governed](https://websterledger.com/town-or-village-webster-ny/). This piece assumes that ground is already covered and goes into what actually happens when the two governments' jobs meet. ## Where the town tax bill splits by law New York Town Law requires any town that contains an incorporated village to keep certain budget lines separate: a town-wide fund that every parcel pays into, village included, and a part-town fund that only the parcels outside the village pay into. The logic is that village residents already fund an equivalent service through their own village government, so charging them again for the town's version of it would double-charge them. Webster's 2026 adopted budget shows the mechanism in its fund structure. Fund A, the General Fund, is town-wide and covers all 16,894 parcels in the town, village included. Fund B, the General Fund's part-town counterpart, and Fund DB, the part-town Highway Fund, apply only to the roughly 15,397 parcels outside the village. This is a different mechanism from the Village's own tax rate, covered in our May piece. That rate layers directly on top of the town tax village residents already pay. The part-town funds are a legally required split inside the town's own levy. One wrinkle applies to this year specifically. The Town zeroed out its part-town tax rate for 2026, drawing on sales-tax revenue and fund balance instead. Village and non-village residents are currently paying the identical $5.52 per $1,000 of equalized assessed value. The zero rate is a budget choice the Town Board made for this year. It does not mean the part-town and town-wide split has disappeared structurally; the funds still exist on the books and could carry different rates again in a future budget. ## A wastewater permit that used to be shared, and now isn't For years, the Village of Webster's wastewater treatment plant at 613 Webster Road pre-treated its effluent and sent it to the Town's plant for chlorination and discharge, all under the Town's State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, NY0021610\. That is still how the Village's own website describes the arrangement. Records from the state Department of Environmental Conservation show something changed on paper in 2024: the Village requested and received its own SPDES permit, NY0026794, effective March 2024 through February 2029, authorizing the Village's plant to discharge up to 2.5 million gallons a day to Lake Ontario under that permit rather than the Town's. On the ground, though, the routing has not changed: the Village's flow still runs into the Town's plant. DEC's Region 8 draft permit for NY0026794, dated Feb. 24, 2026, includes a Monitoring Locations diagram that labels the link directly: an "Effluent Pipe (Village WWTP to Town WPCF)" feeding a "Combined Outfall at Town WPCF" before the water reaches Lake Ontario. The separation the Village asked for still has to be built. That same draft permit's Schedule of Compliance carries a target completion date of Sept. 1, 2028 for an independent Village disposal system, and the final post-separation effluent limits take effect only once the work is done and the state accepts it. The Village's project page for the plant does not publish a cost estimate for that work. The Town's plant, still operating under NY0021610, is partway through a $94.3 million bonded upgrade, reported 86.8 percent complete on the Town's wastewater project page. ## Two governments, two park systems Parks are another place where the same word means two different budgets depending on which side of the village line a resident stands on. The Village independently operates five parks totaling 22 acres: Milton R. Case Memorial Park, Wilmorite Recreation Area, Schantz Park, Veterans Memorial Park, and Harmony Park. That system runs on its own village parks budget, distinct from the Town's spending on its recreation facilities, which include Sandbar Park, a Town capital project with roughly $9.5 million in bonded improvements across four sub-projects. Ask "which government maintains this park" in Webster, and the honest answer is: it depends on the parcel. ## Where they sit at the same table Division is not the whole story. The Webster Economic Development Alliance, known as WEDA, is a five-party partnership formed in 2009: the Town of Webster, the Village of Webster, Webster Central School District, the Webster Chamber of Commerce, and the Village of Webster Business Improvement District all sit on the same nonprofit board. Since 2014, WEDA has secured more than $10 million in state and federal funding for local projects, most recently a $9.8 million FAST NY grant for infrastructure near the former Xerox Wilson Campus. ## When the boundary itself went on the ballot Town and village lines are not permanent by default. New York Village Law Section 18-1804 allows a village boundary to be adjusted by petition and referendum, and Webster tested that this year. The June 16, 2026 Village general election ballot included a proposition, filed by Xerox, to shift roughly 33 acres of an industrial parcel out of the Village and into the Town. Had it passed, the territory would have left the Village entirely, and the Town would have become the sole authority for zoning, land use and permitting there instead of the two governments each signing off. The proposition was tied to the Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan, a redevelopment framework the Town and Village jointly designated and the state certified in June 2025\. That joint designation is itself a case of the two governments planning together even while remaining legally separate. The proposition failed, 130 no to 125 yes, with 19 blank ballots cast out of 274 total, a five-vote margin, according to the Monroe County Board of Canvassers' official certification. ## The bottom line Webster is still two separate elected governments sharing one ZIP code. What 2026 shows is what that structure produces day to day: a tax levy that splits by law even when this year's rate does not show it, a wastewater arrangement that is mid-change on paper, a shared parks vocabulary that hides two budgets, a five-party partnership that raises real money together, and a boundary that can be put to a vote, even if that vote comes up short. For a fuller map of which board decides what for the town, see [Who decides what in Webster: the Planning Board, Town Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals, explained](https://websterledger.com/who-decides-what-webster-planning-town-zoning-boards/). ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Revaluation mailers are back: what happens between now and the 2027 roll URL: https://websterledger.com/revaluation-mailers-2027-roll-explainer/ Last updated: 2026-07-30T12:00:00.000Z Webster property owners have had a form sitting in a kitchen drawer since early June: a Property Inventory sheet listing the acreage, square footage, age, and condition the town has on file for their home or land, with a request to flag anything that's wrong. It's the first public-facing step in the town's 2027 townwide revaluation, and the correction window is closing soon. The town has said corrections are due by August 1, a date that comes from Supervisor Alex Scialdone's June column rather than the mailer itself (more on that below). This piece walks through what the mailer is, how to correct it, and what happens next, all the way to the tax bill that will eventually reflect it. ## What the mailer actually is The Assessor's Office, working with consultant KLW Municipal, Inc. of Buffalo, mailed Property Inventory forms to Webster's roughly 17,000 property owners in early June as the start of Phase 1 (Data Analysis) of the town's three-phase 2027 Townwide Revaluation Project. The form asks owners to check the physical details the town has on record and report discrepancies before the town moves into valuation work. The idea is straightforward: an accurate inventory produces a more accurate assessed value later. Webster's last townwide revaluation was in 2004. ## The cover letter mixup Some of the early-June mailings went out with the inventory form but without the cover letter that was supposed to explain what to do with it. The town posted a corrected letter, which opens by apologizing for the confusion and explaining that the letter was meant to accompany the form all along. One detail worth noting for anyone trying to nail down a deadline: the corrected letter itself lists the correction channels and the meeting schedule, but it does not state a return-by date. The August 1 date comes only from the Supervisor's June 10 column, not from the letter residents actually received. ## How to correct your form: three channels The corrected letter lays out three ways to submit a change: - **Online:** go to [websterny.gov/77/Assessment-Office](https://websterny.gov/77/Assessment-Office?ref=websterledger.com), choose "Verify Property Data," search your property in the town's Beacon portal, and use the Feedback Form button in the lower left to submit a correction. - **Email:** scan your marked-up form and send it to Webster@klwgroup.com. - **In person or by mail:** drop it at the Assessor's Office at Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road (there's a drop box in the vestibule after hours), or mail it to the same address. The town also held five informational sessions this summer: three in mid-June led by KLW's Robert Koszarek, plus two additional sessions on June 23 that were added specifically because some of the original mailings had gone out without that cover letter. All five have already happened, so this is a matter of record for anyone who missed them rather than something still on the calendar. ## What "redistributes, not raises" means, and what it doesn't The town's standing message on this project is that reassessment does not raise the property tax levy, it redistributes it. That line is accurate for the town as a whole: reassessment does not let the town collect more money in total. It does not mean every household's bill stays flat. Here's the distinction. The total levy is fixed by the town's budget process, separate from reassessment. What reassessment changes is each property's share of that total, based on how its assessed value moved relative to the townwide average. A property that appreciated faster than the town average will end up carrying a larger share of the levy after reassessment. One that appreciated more slowly, or lost value, will carry a smaller share. Then-Supervisor Tom Flaherty described the mechanism this way when the project launched in July 2025: assessed values would likely roughly double townwide, he said, while the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value would be cut by about half, an average effect that leaves the typical tax bill close to unchanged. That describes the average case, not a guarantee for every owner. Whether your share goes up or down depends on your property specifically, not the townwide total. It's also worth separating this from a second, unrelated source of change: a given tax bill can move from year to year because of ordinary budget and levy decisions (town, school, county) that have nothing to do with reassessment. Reassessment affects how the existing levy is split up among properties; it doesn't determine whether the levy itself grows in a given year. ## What happens next, through the 2027 roll Per the town's own project materials, the corrections window now underway is followed by several more months of work before any new value reaches a tax bill: - Through the rest of 2026, the town and KLW move into sales and market data analysis, then valuation and valuation review. - Full disclosure notices, showing each property's new assessed value and an estimated tax impact, are expected to mail in early 2027\. Per the town's most recent published timeline, that falls in the February to March 2027 window. - Owners get at least two opportunities to ask questions about their new value before formal Grievance Day, including informal by-appointment meetings with KLW staff. Per that same timeline, those sessions also fall in the February to March 2027 window. - The Tentative Assessment Roll is expected to be filed May 1, 2027, with formal Grievance Day following on May 25, 2027 (the fourth Tuesday of May, consistent with the town's standard annual assessment calendar rather than an exception to it). - The Final Assessment Roll is expected July 1, 2027. - Any change from the revaluation first shows up on the September 2027 school tax bill and the bills that follow. Those month-specific 2027 dates come from KLW's 2025 planning presentation to the Town Board, the most recent published timeline available. The near-term facts, the early-2027 disclosure mailing and the September 2027 tax bill, are confirmed independently in the town's own Revaluation Fact Sheet. ## Where to go for more The town's project page is [websterny.gov/874/2027-Townwide-Revaluation-Project](https://websterny.gov/874/2027-Townwide-Revaluation-Project?ref=websterledger.com), with the Data Mailers page at [websterny.gov/945/Data-Mailers](https://websterny.gov/945/Data-Mailers?ref=websterledger.com). Questions can go to reval@websterny.gov or 585-412-2320. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Willink Middle School construction is underway as part of Webster's $85 million bond URL: https://websterledger.com/willink-middle-school-construction-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T16:24:57.000Z Construction crews have broken ground on a new classroom addition at Willink Middle School, the clearest sign yet that Webster Central School District's $85 million "Building Our Future" bond has moved from blueprints to physical work this summer. The addition is being built for the district's OWL (One Webster Learning) Middle School Program, according to the district's own construction updates for the building. WCSD describes OWL as a special education program that integrates social emotional learning with academics and related services, one the district says lets it keep students in its own buildings instead of referring them to a program outside the district. The program currently spills into hallway space, and the new southeast-wing addition is designed to give it dedicated classrooms. Elsewhere in the building, WCSD says it is adding a new bathroom on the second floor and overhauling the main office, including new wiring, lighting, and a renovated conference room. The district's page for the building also lists a canopy project among the work underway, though it has not published details on that piece. ## An $85 million bond, approved in 2023 Webster voters approved the Building Our Future bond on Oct. 11, 2023, authorizing $85 million in capital work across all 11 WCSD buildings: seven elementary schools, Spry and Willink middle schools, and Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas high schools. According to the district's bond materials, the Willink addition is the only entirely new construction in the whole program; the rest of the bond funds renovations and replacements such as roofs, elevators, lighting, and bus loops. District materials from 2023 said the borrowing was structured so the project would have no impact on the tax levy, combining state aid with money already set aside in the district's capital reserve. ## More work bid for future summers According to a summary of the district's December 2025 board meeting, the WCSD Board of Education accepted bids for what was described as a multi-year package of capital work covering three summers. The package includes projects at Spry and Thomas, roof work, and other smaller-dollar work. The district has not published a building-by-building schedule showing which of those projects will happen this summer as opposed to 2027 or 2028. ## Already finished: Schroeder's Phase 1 work At Webster Schroeder High School, bond-funded work described on the district's site is already done. WCSD says the south athletic parking lot has been fully restored, interior ceilings and lighting have been upgraded, and new accessibility buttons are active at the main entrance and bus loop. ## Where residents can check the project themselves WCSD maintains a capital project page at [websterschools.org/capitalproject](https://websterschools.org/capitalproject?ref=websterledger.com) with the original bond scope, and separate construction-update pages for Willink and Schroeder. The district does not currently publish a live budget-to-actual tracker or construction dashboard, so residents looking for itemized costs or a running timeline of the work will not find one on the district's site. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Where the Webster Comprehensive Plan stands URL: https://websterledger.com/where-the-webster-comprehensive-plan-stands/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T14:48:46.000Z The Town of Webster's draft Comprehensive Plan took in another round of public input Monday night, when roughly a dozen residents used a three-minute public comment period during an open house and public forum at the Justice Court Building to weigh in on the 2040-horizon planning document. A handful more added written comments during the interactive style open house with poster board slides (some examples are included at the bottom of this article). The draft, released at the end of June, is not close to final. It still has to be compiled with all other public input, reviewed by the town's planning committee, and carried through a multi-step adoption process at the Town Board before it becomes official policy. ## What's in the draft plan The document, branded the "Bicentennial Plan," carries the tagline "Rooted in History, Growing with Purpose," a reference to the Town's 200th anniversary of its 1840 founding, which the plan's 2040 horizon year approaches. It is Webster's first Comprehensive Plan update since 2008\. The Town hired Colliers Engineering & Design to prepare it, with funding assistance from the New York State Department of State's Environmental Protection Fund. The update is structured as a "Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan Update," built around principles such as mixed-use neighborhoods, infill development, resource preservation and multi-modal transportation. The Comprehensive Plan Committee, whose membership represents bodies including the Planning Board, Conservation Board, Zoning Board, Town Board, the school district, the Chamber of Commerce and a local trails group, has guided roughly 18 months of engagement since the project's winter 2024-2025 kickoff: stakeholder meetings, a public workshop in spring 2025, pop-up events, committee meetings with public comment, and ongoing survey, email and website input. New York State law requires only two public hearings for a comprehensive plan update, one before the committee and one before the Town Board. The town's outreach has already gone well beyond that minimum, according to the consultant team's framing at Monday's meeting. The plan's vision statement rests on five pillars: a connected and safe transportation network, enhanced parks and recreation, a vibrant local economy, expanded housing options under a "Neighborhood Living" heading, and protection of natural resources with increased resiliency. Those translate into six formal policy goals covering Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Local Economy, Neighborhood Living, Natural Resources & Resiliency, and an integrating Community Development Strategy. Environmental and resiliency measures account for the largest share of proposed action items, 25, followed by transportation, 23, economic development, 16, and housing, 10. Rather than proposing a new zoning map, the plan lays out 11 "future land use character areas" describing the intended look and feel of different parts of town, from established single-family neighborhoods to shoreline areas and mixed-use commercial corridors. It generally treats the town as built-out, steering future growth toward infill and redevelopment of existing commercial and industrial land. The plan does not specify density numbers for most of these areas, meaning the zoning changes needed to implement it have yet to be written. A Priority Action Plan narrows the longer list down to 16 near-term priorities. Three-quarters are slated for completion within one to two years, and about half are low-cost studies or zoning-code amendments rather than capital projects. They include developing an Active Transportation Plan and expanding sidewalks, reviewing commercial zoning to encourage mixed-use and infill redevelopment in underused shopping plazas, commissioning a townwide housing market study, updating zoning around tree preservation and cluster subdivision design, and open-space planning tools including a conservation overlay district and a digitized update of the town's environmental protection maps. Town-wide, Webster's population has been essentially flat in recent years (39,696 at the 2020 Census, an estimated 39,272 in 2024) after 5.2 percent growth the prior decade. The median age, 47.3, is notably older than Monroe County (40.1) and New York State (39.6), and residents 65 and older make up about a quarter of the population. Median household income, at $87,153, runs above both the county and state figures. About 83 percent of the town's housing stock is single-family, and the plan describes multi-family and affordable housing options as "limited." An estimated 49 percent of renter households are considered cost-burdened, including 18 percent severely burdened, while the rental vacancy rate, around 4 percent, is tighter than the county's or the state's. Earlier this year, the town enacted a temporary development moratorium, timed to align near-term development activity with the plan update and anticipated zoning changes. The town's wastewater treatment plant is also undergoing an $80 million expansion, from 5 million to 7.1 million gallons of daily capacity, to accommodate future growth. Monday's session opened an interactive open house then shifted into a roll call of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, brief remarks from Supervisor Alexander Scialdone and the project manager from Colliers Engineering & Design, and then the public comment period. ## What residents raised **Process and implementation.** One resident, citing what she described as roughly 100 policy action items in the plan, asked who would be responsible for implementing and delegating them across the Town Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board and Conservation Board. **Climate and sustainability language.** A resident who has previously been active on sustainability issues asked for more specific, actionable language tying the plan's environmental objectives to New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and to Monroe County's goal of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. **Housing attainability.** A resident in her 30s said homeownership in Webster is currently unattainable for her generation, describing peers who have moved back in with their parents. She suggested the town consider starter-home alternatives such as tiny-home communities, and said she wished the plan's surveys had done more to capture input from young adults who have had to move back home. **Ownership, schools and the tax base.** Another resident argued the plan should prioritize homeownership specifically, citing an analysis of the town's assessment roll estimating that about 62 percent of existing single-family homes, including the median home, sit on lots smaller than current zoning would allow. He argued that more ownership options, including for residents looking to downsize, would do more for the tax base and school enrollment than continued rental growth. **Sandbar Park.** A resident praised recent improvements at Sandbar Park but said the absence of a restaurant there has removed what had been a major community gathering draw, estimating the site once drew 300 to 400 visitors on a good summer night. He asked the town to keep pursuing a way to restore a comparable amenity. **Green space and natural resource protection.** A resident speaking on behalf of the Webster Open Space Committee asked the plan to more explicitly protect existing vegetation in buffer areas and outside of lot-coverage maximums, not just preserve whole parcels; sharpen the definition of infill development to distinguish previously disturbed sites from undeveloped green space; present overlay districts as tools that still require future code updates rather than as already achieving their intended protections; and add Friends of Webster Trails and Webster Open Space Committee priority parcels to future land-use and open-space maps. A second resident echoed those points, citing the volunteer capacity of local conservation groups and the town's Conservation Board to help implement them once adopted, and offered general praise for the scale and organization of the planning effort. **Individual sustainability action.** Another resident welcomed the plan's sustainability framework but asked that it also empower individual homeowners to act, citing current code restrictions, such as lawn-height rules that prevent wildflower meadows, as an example of regulations that could be loosened to support resident-level environmental stewardship. In closing remarks, the Comprehensive Plan Committee acknowledged the broad range of issues raised over the course of the process, including affordable and attainable housing and zoning changes, as still needing to be compiled and resolved. Committee members reiterated that public feedback remains wanted through the compilation cutoff, regardless of whether it aligns with the committee's own views. ## Examples of the written comments during the interactive open house ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8008.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8009.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8010.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8011.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8012.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8013.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8014.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8015.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/07/IMG_8018.jpeg) Some of the poster board slides and the associated comments ## What happens next Monday's forum was not the final step in the process, the project manager from Colliers Engineering & Design told attendees. Public comment submitted through the town's planning website, webster2040.com, remains open; a committee member raised the question of a cutoff date for compiling input, but no date has been set. If you are interested, you should submit written comments as soon as possible (likely within 1-2 days to include with this round of revision). From here, town staff and the consultant team will compile all input received to date, including Monday's comments and website submissions, for the Comprehensive Plan Committee. The Committee will then hold its own formal public hearing and issue a recommendation on the draft plan to the Town Board. Final adoption runs through the Town Board, which will manage a State Environmental Quality Review, a referral to Monroe County, its own public hearing, and a final adoption resolution. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### A guide to Webster's Lake Ontario access points URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-07-27-webster-lake-ontario-access/ Last updated: 2026-07-27T12:00:00.000Z Webster has two public parks on Lake Ontario, and they are built for different jobs. Monroe County's Webster Park, a 550-acre property on Holt Road, has a fishing pier, lake and creek access, camping, and rental lodges, but no designated swimming beach. The Town of Webster's Sandbar Park, on Lake Road, has a canoe and kayak launch, shoreline fishing, and a playground, but no swimming beach and no launch for trailered boats. Neither park is a beach in the usual sense, though both put visitors right at the water. This guide covers what each park actually offers, where to launch a trailered boat if that is what you are after (not in Webster), and where to find the nearest lifeguarded place to swim (also not in Webster). ## Webster Park, Monroe County Webster Park is at 255 Holt Road and covers about 550 acres along Lake Ontario. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The park has a fishing pier, shoreline and creek access for fishing and small boats, hiking trails, picnic shelters, cabins and lodges available for rent, and a campground with its own reservation line. There is no designated swimming beach at Webster Park. Day use and parking are free at Webster Park. Monroe County parks generally do not charge day-use fees. Camping and lodge or shelter rental rates are not posted online. Call 585-753-PARK (585-753-7275) for lodge and shelter rental pricing, or the campground line, 585-269-4544, for camping reservations. ## Sandbar Park, Town of Webster Sandbar Park is at 302 Lake Road and is open dawn to dusk. It has a canoe and kayak launch, shoreline fishing access, a playground, seasonal restrooms, and picnic space along the Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay waterfront. Like Webster Park, there is no designated swimming beach here, and the launch is built for hand-carried canoes and kayaks, not trailered boats. Sandbar Park's current amenities, including the kayak launch, playground, and shoreline rebuild, came out of a 2022-2023 state and town flood-mitigation project. For more on Lake Ontario's water levels and the flood infrastructure behind that rebuild, see the Ledger's earlier piece, [“The lake has peaked. Here is where Ontario stands, and what Webster built since the last time it got bad.”](https://websterledger.com/2026-05-28-lake-ontario-water-levels/). Sandbar Park has free admission and free parking, with no day-use fee. Call the town's parks line, 585-872-7103, for questions about shelter reservations or other park services. ## If you're trailering a boat Webster itself does not have a public trailered boat launch. The nearest one is Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park, at Route 590 and Culver Road in the Town of Irondequoit, a short drive from Webster Park. It is operated by New York State Parks, has a concrete ramp, and offers parking for 28 cars and trailers. A few private marinas along the Webster and Irondequoit Bay shoreline, including Mayer's Marina on Lake Road in Webster, also advertise launch ramps. These are commercial operations, not public facilities, so access and fees vary by location. Call ahead before assuming you can launch there. ## If you want to swim The nearest designated, lifeguarded swimming beach is Ontario Beach Park, a Monroe County facility in Rochester's Charlotte neighborhood. The guarded swimming season for 2026 runs June 26 through Sept. 7, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Readers without a kayak of their own can rent one nearby at BayCreek Paddling Center, 1099 Empire Blvd. in Rochester, on the south end of Irondequoit Bay. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Who decides what in Webster: the Planning Board, Town Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals, explained URL: https://websterledger.com/who-decides-what-webster-planning-town-zoning-boards/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T14:24:41.000Z If you follow local news, you have seen the names go by: the Planning Board approved a subdivision, the Town Board set the budget, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance. Three boards, three different jobs, and it is easy to lose track of which one handles what. The short version is that Webster splits its land-use and governance decisions among three separate bodies. One makes the rules. One applies them to specific projects. One grants exceptions and hears appeals. Knowing which is which tells you where a decision gets made, which meeting to attend, and who to petition when you want something done. ## The Town Board: the one you elect The Town Board is the only one of the three whose members you choose at the ballot box. Voters elect a town supervisor and four council members townwide. The supervisor serves a two-year term; council members serve four-year terms. It is the town's legislative body, and its powers are the broadest of the three. The Town Board adopts the annual town budget, enacts local laws and ordinances, and sets zoning by adopting and amending the town's zoning map and code. When land is rezoned from one district to another, that is a Town Board action, not a Planning Board or ZBA action. The Town Board also appoints the members of the other two boards. In plain terms, the Town Board is the body that writes and changes the rules. If you want land rezoned, a local law passed or amended, or a say in how the town spends its money, this is the board that decides. The Town Board meets on the first and third Thursday of each month, with a workshop at 6:30 p.m. followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m., in the Town Board Meeting Room at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. ## The Planning Board: projects, site plans, and subdivisions The Planning Board is made up of residents appointed by the Town Board, each serving a seven-year term. Its members are not elected. The Planning Board works within the rules the Town Board sets. It does not change zoning; it applies the existing code to specific projects. Its core job is site plan review: before most new development can proceed, the applicant brings a site development plan to the Planning Board, which reviews it against the town's standards. The board handles site plans for the uses the zoning code permits, with the exception of single-family detached homes. It also handles changes of use in existing structures and certain accessory uses. It reviews and approves the subdivision of land into new lots. The practical test is whether a specific project meets the code. The Planning Board is not deciding whether the rules are right; it is deciding whether a proposal in front of it fits the rules already on the books. The Planning Board meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Town Board Meeting Room, 1002 Ridge Road. ## The Zoning Board of Appeals: exceptions and appeals The Zoning Board of Appeals, or ZBA, is also appointed by the Town Board, with members serving five-year terms. It is a quasi-judicial body, meaning it acts more like a judge than a lawmaker: it takes testimony, weighs evidence, and issues written decisions that carry legal weight. The ZBA is the venue for two situations. The first is when the code does not fit a particular property and an owner needs relief, which is a request for a variance. The second is when someone believes the town misapplied the code, which is an appeal of a decision by the building or zoning enforcement officer. The board also issues interpretations of the zoning code when its language is unclear. The ZBA cannot rewrite the code. It grants limited, case-by-case relief from rules that already exist, or it decides an appeal. If a request is really asking to change the rules themselves, that belongs to the Town Board. The ZBA meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Town Board Meeting Room, 1002 Ridge Road. For a fuller walk-through of variances, the five factors the board weighs, and how to participate in a hearing, see our guide, [What is the Zoning Board of Appeals? A Webster resident's guide](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/). ## Who to petition for what If you remember one thing, make it this: match your request to the right board before you show up. - **Want to subdivide land, or build a project that needs site plan approval?** That is the Planning Board. - **Want a variance from a setback or another dimensional rule, or want to appeal a code enforcement decision?** That is the Zoning Board of Appeals. - **Want land rezoned, a local law passed or changed, or a voice in the town budget?** That is the Town Board. ## How the three fit together The cleanest way to hold the difference in your head is by what each board is allowed to do with the rules. The Town Board writes and changes the rules. The Planning Board applies the rules to specific projects. The ZBA grants relief from the rules and hears appeals when someone thinks they were applied wrong. The other dividing line is how the members get their seats. Only the Town Board is elected. It, in turn, appoints the members of the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals. So the body that makes the rules answers to voters directly, while the two boards that apply and adjust those rules answer to the board that appointed them. ## How to weigh in Each board offers a way for residents to be heard, but the format differs. Town Board meetings include time for public comment on town business. For how that works in practice, see our guide, [How to speak at a Webster Town Board meeting (and be heard)](https://websterledger.com/how-to-participate-webster-town-hall/). The Planning Board and the ZBA hold public hearings on the applications in front of them. Neighbors who receive a mailed notice of a hearing can comment, in writing before the date or in person at the hearing. Written comments become part of the official record. Agendas for all three boards are typically posted in advance on the town's website. For a broader primer on how Webster is structured, including the difference between the town and the Village of Webster, see [Town or village? A plain-English guide to how Webster is actually governed](https://websterledger.com/town-or-village-webster-ny/). Three boards can look like a maze from the outside. From the inside it is simpler: one makes the rules, one applies them, one handles the exceptions, and each one meets in the same room at Town Hall on a schedule you can plan around. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Fire destroys Bauman's Farm Market building in Wednesday blaze URL: https://websterledger.com/baumans-farm-market-fire/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T12:00:00.000Z A fire destroyed the main market building at Bauman's Farm Market & Greenhouses early Wednesday morning. The family farm business has roots on both sides of the Webster-Penfield line. The blaze broke out around 2:30 a.m. at 1340 Five Mile Line Road, near Plank Road. The property carries a Webster, NY 14580 mailing address and the 200-acre farm spans both towns, but the market building itself sits in Penfield. West Webster Fire Department led the response, backed by mutual aid from several area departments as strong winds pushed the fire to a second alarm. Roughly 60 first responders worked the scene for several hours. No injuries were reported, according to the family and news coverage of the fire. "On July 22, our Farm Market building was destroyed by a fire. We are incredibly grateful that everyone is safe," the Bauman family said in a statement posted to the business's website, thanking firefighters, EMS and law enforcement. Bauman's has operated as a family farm and market since 1908, with the current generation running it since 1984\. Daniel Bauman, the owner's son, described watching the building burn. "It's like losing an old friend," he said. "I saw a building engulfed in flames... it was kind of too late to do anything." A longtime employee at the market said the loss goes beyond the business. "It's not just a store, it's a home," she said. A neighbor said simply, "I am sad and heartbroken." The cause of the fire has not been determined and remains under investigation. ## What's still unknown Investigators have not yet named a cause. The extent of the damage beyond the main market building, including whether an adjacent barn was also lost, has not been consistently confirmed across accounts. Early indications suggest the farm's greenhouses and equipment were largely spared, but that assessment is preliminary. The family has said it is taking things one step at a time and has not announced rebuild plans. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Meet Webster's Conservation Board: the environmental review board you've probably never heard from URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-07-22-webster-conservation-board/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T01:10:14.000Z On July 16, Conservation Board member Charlotte Cabili stood before the Webster Town Board with a pitch: put Webster up for Tree City USA, a recognition program run by the Arbor Day Foundation for municipalities that formalize how they plan for and manage trees on public property. It was a routine 6:30 p.m. workshop presentation, no vote required, and it produced none of the sharper exchanges that dominated the rest of that night's meeting. It was also something else: a rare public appearance by the town's Conservation Board, which doesn't vote on the kind of business that regularly makes the agenda and isn't listed on the town's centralized Agenda Center. Tree City USA applies only to town-owned property, not private land. To qualify, Webster would need to clear four standards: an active tree board or department with legal authority over public tree-care decisions; a tree-care ordinance (which can be language folded into existing town code rather than a standalone document); documented minimum spending of $2 per resident per year on tree-care activity, which can include contracted work, paid staff time and volunteer hours; and an annual Arbor Day observance, such as a public tree-planting event. Cabili cited two dollar totals for that $2-per-capita threshold during the same presentation: about $90,000 at one point, and $94,000 at another. Webster's population is estimated at about 45,200 residents, per the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey estimate. That population figure puts the $2-per-capita threshold at just over $90,000, closer to the lower of the two numbers Cabili cited. Cabili offered to hold individual half-hour conversations with each Town Board member, alongside fellow Conservation Board member Gregory Lawrence, to gather feedback before bringing a second workshop back to the full board. If Webster pursues Tree City USA, the application deadline with the Arbor Day Foundation is December 2\. Board members raised two practical questions during the discussion. The first: whether the Highway Department, already described as stretched thin, and the Parks Department had been looped in on the added tree-management workload. Cabili said they had not been yet, and agreed they should be. The second: whether volunteer labor could be used for higher-risk tree removal work as opposed to lower-risk planting and pruning, a liability question flagged for the town's insurance carrier and Town Attorney Kyle Taylor. Establishing a formal tree board or ordinance would require a local law; discussion suggested Taylor would draft that language with Conservation Board input, using a similar ordinance in the Village of Fairport as a model. ## Who is the Conservation Board, and how did it get real authority? Most Webster boards residents can name (the Town Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals) get regular coverage because they vote on things: variances, site plans, budgets. The Conservation Board doesn't run on that rhythm, which is part of why it's easy to miss. But it isn't a ceremonial committee either. New York's General Municipal Law, Article 12-F, lets towns create a baseline conservation advisory council: a purely advisory body of three to nine members with no formal standing in land-use decisions. A town can upgrade that council into a full Conservation Board, with more formal standing in development application review, once it completes a town-approved inventory of open space. Webster has cleared that bar: its board operates under General Municipal Law Sections 239-x and 239-y as a Conservation Board, not the more limited advisory-council version many New York towns never move past. ## A real voice in development review According to the town's own description of the board, the Conservation Board reviews development applications for environmental impacts (wetlands, tree mitigation, erosion, visual impact) and formally advises the Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals on what it finds, referencing the Town Comprehensive Plan, Town Code and SEQR guidelines. That review has shaped real outcomes: when the Planning Board granted preliminary site plan approval to a 7 Brew Coffee kiosk at Hard Road on June 2, the approval carried a condition, drawn from Conservation Board recommendations, for landscaping along Hard Road. The board's authority to review and advise on those referrals comes from New York General Municipal Law Sections 239-x and 239-y. The town's own page describing the board does not specify a review timeline for how long the board has to weigh in. ## Who sits on the board Five members currently sit on the Conservation Board, all appointed by the Town Board: Chair Dennis Gorlick, and members Charles Zlotkus, Susan Deasy, Charlotte Cabili and Gregory Lawrence, according to the town's Conservation Board page. Town Board resolutions show appointment terms don't all run on the same clock. Susan Deasy was appointed Feb. 6, 2025 (Resolution No. 82, approved 4-0) to a two-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026\. Gregory Lawrence was appointed March 5, 2026 (Resolution No. 114, approved 5-0) to a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2028\. The town's board page describes seats generally as three-year terms; Deasy's shorter term is consistent with filling a vacancy mid-cycle rather than a different underlying rule for her seat specifically, but that inference was not confirmed directly against the Town Code's own stated term length. ## How residents can engage Unlike the Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, the Conservation Board's meetings and minutes are not posted on the town's centralized Agenda Center. The board meets the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Webster Town Board Room, 1002 Ridge Road, according to the town's Conservation Board page. Residents with questions about a specific development application, or interest in a future seat on the board, can start with the town's Conservation Board page or the town's general contact line, 585-872-1000, 1000 Ridge Road. For now, Tree City USA doesn't require a public hearing or a vote to keep moving forward. What's scheduled next is individual conversations between Cabili, Lawrence and each Town Board member, plus a second Conservation Board workshop, before any formal application goes in. If Webster applies, the Arbor Day Foundation's deadline is December 2. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Who represents Webster: in the county legislature and in Albany URL: https://websterledger.com/who-represents-webster-county-legislature-and-albany/ Last updated: 2026-07-21T12:40:08.000Z When New York State Sen. Samra Brouk's office published its 2025 Year in Review, one line named Webster directly: a $120,000 state capital grant that let the North East Joint Fire District, which covers the Webster Volunteer Fire Department's response area, replace aging extrication equipment, the hydraulic "jaws of life" tools crews use to free people trapped in car wrecks, with newer third-generation units. It is the kind of concrete, traceable state dollar that is easy to miss unless you already know who represents Webster in Albany, and in the Monroe County Legislature, in the first place. The grant was announced in September 2024, and it drew a direct thank-you from Webster's own fire department. "Senator Brouk successfully secured grant funding from New York State for the purchase of new Hurst tools (aka the jaws of life). These tools will enhance the department's ability to respond promptly and effectively... On behalf of the Webster Fire Department, we express our deep gratitude for her efforts in securing this critical, lifesaving equipment," said Steven Kozak, the Webster Fire Department's 1st assistant chief, in the New York Senate's press release announcing the funding round. Webster is represented by two Monroe County legislators, one state senator, and one state assemblyman, though that Assembly seat is in the middle of changing hands. Here is who holds each office today, what each has done for Webster where the public record shows it, and how to reach them. ## Monroe County Legislature: two districts cover Webster Unlike the state-level seats, Webster is split between two County Legislature districts. Broadly, District 8 covers the eastern half of town and District 15 covers the western portion, extending into parts of neighboring Penfield, according to multiple public sources reviewed for this piece. The precise street-by-street line between the two districts was not confirmed to publishable precision here. Residents who want to know exactly which district covers their address can call the County Legislature office at (585) 753-1922 or use the county's online lookup tool at monroecounty.gov/legislature-find. **District 8: Mark Johns (R).** Johns was appointed to the seat on April 13, 2022, to fill a vacancy, won election later that year, and was reelected in 2023 to his current four-year term. He is the ranking member of the Legislature's Intergovernmental Relations Committee and also sits on the Recreation and Education Committee. Johns ran for the Republican nomination for the state Assembly's 130th District in this year's June 23 primary and lost; he holds only his County Legislature seat, not any position in Albany. (More on that Assembly race below.) His office is at 39 W. Main St., Room 409, Rochester, NY 14614; phone (585) 753-1922. **District 15: Frank Ciardi (R).** Ciardi represents District 15, covering parts of Webster and Penfield, and was elected to his current four-year term in 2023\. He is the ranking member of the Legislature's Planning and Economic Development Committee and also serves on the Agenda/Charter Committee. He can be reached at (585) 753-1922, on his cell at (585) 232-6380, or by email at legislatorciardi@gmail.com. Both Johns and Ciardi are Republicans. The full 29-member County Legislature has held a Democratic majority since the 2023 election, with Yversha Román, D-District 26, serving as President since early 2024, the first Latina to hold that post. ## New York State Senate: Samra Brouk, District 55 All of Webster falls within State Senate District 55, represented by Samra Brouk, a Democrat, who has held the seat since 2021, when she succeeded Republican Rich Funke. The district also covers East and West Irondequoit, Penfield, Perinton, Fairport, Pittsford, East Rochester, and part of the eastern City of Rochester. In Albany, Brouk chairs the Senate's Mental Health Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Children and Families, Elections, Health, and Local Government committees. Brouk is up for reelection in November 2026; Chris Brown, a Webster Republican, is the certified Republican and Conservative-line challenger, with no primary held on either side. The $120,000 extrication-equipment grant described above is one of the more concrete, Webster-specific state dollars her office has secured; it is confirmed both on the North East Joint Fire District's own website and in her office's year-end summary of state-funded municipal and emergency-services projects. Her district office is at 274 N. Goodman St., Suite B127, Rochester, NY 14607; phone (585) 223-1800. ## New York State Assembly District 130: a seat in transition All of Wayne County, plus the Town of Webster in Monroe County, makes up Assembly District 130\. Brian Manktelow, a Republican and Conservative Party member from Lyons, has held the seat since January 2019 and remains the sitting Assembly member through the end of his current term in December 2026. In January 2026, Manktelow announced he will not seek reelection. In his public statement announcing the decision, he said "this decision was not an easy one" and that he intends to "remain committed to giving back and staying involved, just in a different capacity." Two candidates have already won certified primaries to succeed him: George Dobbins, a Republican, and Carl Fitzsimmons, a Democrat. Both head to the November 3 general election. (Mark Johns, the County Legislature District 8 representative described above, also ran in that primary but was not one of the two winners.) Manktelow's Assembly office can be reached at (315) 946-5166. ## Quick reference: how to reach Webster's representatives - **Monroe County Legislature, District 8 (eastern Webster):** Mark Johns (R). 39 W. Main St., Room 409, Rochester, NY 14614\. (585) 753-1922. - **Monroe County Legislature, District 15 (western Webster and parts of Penfield):** Frank Ciardi (R). (585) 753-1922, cell (585) 232-6380, legislatorciardi@gmail.com. - **NYS Senate, District 55:** Samra Brouk (D). 274 N. Goodman St., Suite B127, Rochester, NY 14607\. (585) 223-1800. - **NYS Assembly, District 130:** Brian Manktelow (R, C), representing through December 2026\. (315) 946-5166. Not sure which county legislative district covers your address? Call the Legislature office at (585) 753-1922 or use the lookup tool at monroecounty.gov/legislature-find. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Town Board presses police chief on school-officer contract language, sets Aug. 6 date for traffic-law hearing URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-recap-2026-07-16/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T02:32:40.000Z The most substantive exchange at the Webster Town Board's July 16 meeting came after the board cleared four routine consent items with no dissent recorded: Councilman John Cahill's pointed questioning of contract language in the school resource officer agreement, the first non-routine item on the night's agenda. The board went on to clear its nine-item agenda with no noted opposition on any item. The board also settled a date last week's preview article had to leave open. The public hearing on Local Law No. 3, the town's new vehicle and traffic regulations, will be held **Aug. 6, 2026**, not Aug. 3 as the previously posted agenda had listed. Supervisor Alex Scialdone, making the motion himself, said the board had to double-check the date because of an unusual three-week gap before the board's next meeting, rather than the normal two weeks. The hearing will be advertised in the July 22 Webster Herald. ## Pressing on the police chief on contract language Item 5 authorized the Supervisor to sign the 2026-2027 School Resource Officer contract with the Webster Central School District, the same item the board had tabled on July 2 after members said they could not locate the underlying agreement to review. This time, Councilman Nick Hunter, the board's police liaison, told the board the document had arrived, and Town Attorney Kyle Taylor said he had reviewed it and found no legal issues. Before the vote, Councilman Cahill raised two questions. First, he asked whether the contract's cost-sharing language, a 75/25 split between the district and the town for the officer's salary and benefits, includes pension payments; the police chief confirmed it does, telling the board it covers "everything that's included for the officer." Second, Cahill flagged language on page four of the contract stating the school resource officer may "stop, question, interview, and take police action without prior authorization of the principal or contacting the parents." He pressed the board on whether children should have parents contacted before being questioned, and an extended discussion followed. The police chief and Attorney Taylor said the clause addresses jurisdictional lines, meaning the school cannot block or direct an officer's police powers, and is separate from the police department's own policy governing when parents or guardians must be present, which the officials said includes recognized exceptions such as imminent threats or certain child-welfare investigations. That means the parental-notification safeguard Cahill raised is a matter of the department's own internal policy, not the contract language the board was voting to approve. Councilwoman Jennifer Wright said the contract language itself reads as "a little ambiguous" even as she accepted the chief's explanation of how it works in practice. Scialdone, who said he was casting his third annual vote on this contract, said there had been no history of problems with the arrangement in 12 years, and that he trusts Attorney Taylor's legal read. Cahill separately raised a process point unrelated to the contract's substance: by his recollection, this was the first time in roughly five years that the board has actually seen the underlying memorandum of understanding alongside the contract before voting on it. Town Clerk Danene Marr and another staff member confirmed that past practice had been a genuine gap and said the document will be provided to the board going forward. No amendment to the contract language was proposed or made; the language Cahill flagged was not changed and takes effect for the 2026-2027 school year as written. The board approved the contract 5-0, with Cahill voting in favor alongside the rest of the board. ## Traffic law hearing set for Aug. 6, substance previewed The Local Law No. 3 hearing date had been the subject of some confusion: the town's posted agenda listed Aug. 3, while an attached draft resolution listed Aug. 6\. Thursday night resolved it. Scialdone's motion, made on the record, set the hearing for Aug. 6, 2026, explaining that the board needed a date that accounted for the longer-than-usual gap until its next meeting. Town Engineer Keith Mortimer previewed the substance of the law at the earlier workshop, the first detailed look at what had been missing from the posted meeting packet. The law adds three sets of provisions to town code: - A no-parking and no-standing rule for the full length of Tebor Road, tied to the fairlife plant's truck traffic. Mortimer told the board that after what he called "a long, drawn-out conversation" with the company, fairlife's truck queuing will happen entirely on the company's own property rather than staging on the road itself. - At least four new stop-sign-controlled intersections created by residential development, each placing a stop sign on the minor approach to a larger road; Mortimer cited Alyssa Way at Schlegel Road as one example. - New protected left-turn lanes tied to the Bay Road Road Diet, a Monroe County-led project that will reduce Bay Road from four lanes to three and add a center turn lane. Mortimer said the new turn pockets, created through restriping, are intended to reduce rear-end, sideswipe, and head-on collisions, and will go into effect once the county's striping work is complete. Mortimer said the code amendment is meant to make these already-planned physical changes enforceable under town law. ## Other votes The board also approved, all by 5-0 votes with no recorded opposition: - **The ORPTS memorandum of understanding** for the state-supported 2027 town-wide property reassessment (Item 6). Town Assessor Donna Komor told the board no budget is attached to the agreement itself; the reassessment project is already funded separately, and the memorandum mainly formalizes coordination with New York State, including a state fee schedule that would apply only if the town's outside contractor were unable to complete the work. Komor confirmed two figures for the record: a target uniform percentage of value of 100 percent, and a valuation date of July 1, meaning Webster stays on the state's standard assessment cycle. - **A 30-day notice-period waiver** for AMC Webster 12's liquor-license class change (Item 8), a routine item Town Clerk Danene Marr said comes up periodically for license changes at existing businesses; town staff confirmed no zoning issues. - **A Police Department surplus list** for recycling and disposal (Item 9), introduced briefly by Councilman Hunter as "mostly file cabinets and such." - **Bills, a prepaid warrant, and purchase orders** from the board's consent agenda. The board also approved the July 2 minutes with no recorded opposition. ## Workshop: a path toward disability warning signs Also at the 6:30 p.m. workshop, Mortimer presented the town's proposed process for placing "child with disabilities" warning signs on residential streets, a discussion carried over from the July 2 workshop. Mortimer said the idea began with a resident request roughly a year ago for an autism warning sign, and that his research found no consistent town process for any kind of disability-related street signage, so his department built one, adapted from a City of Buffalo model, covering autism, deaf, and blind children. Under state criteria, a sign requires a completed application, a doctor's note verifying the child's condition, and a road that carries fewer than 2,000 vehicles a day with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less. Signs would need annual re-verification and could be removed if a qualifying child moves or turns 18. Board members focused mainly on outreach, how residents would learn the program exists. One idea that drew general enthusiasm: partnering with the Webster Central School District to distribute the application through the district's own communication channels, such as ParentSquare, without the district disclosing which students have disabilities. The board did not take a formal vote or issue a directive; Mortimer described the program as a process his department is developing, not a policy requiring board adoption. ## Workshop: Tree City USA Charlotte Cabili of the town's Conservation Board presented on Tree City USA, an Arbor Day Foundation recognition program open to municipalities that maintain a tree board, a tree-care ordinance, a minimum level of documented tree-care spending, and an annual observance event. The program applies only to town-owned property, not private land. Cabili cited a minimum spending threshold of $2 per capita, translating to roughly $90,000 to $94,000 depending on the figure cited during the presentation, but clarified that qualifying does not require new spending, since existing staff time, contracted tree work, and even volunteer hours can count toward the total. Cabili said 11 Monroe County municipalities currently hold Tree City USA status, citing Irondequoit, Brighton, and Penfield as examples. Board members raised questions about both cost and capacity. One member asked whether the $90,000-to-$94,000 figure represented mandatory new spending; Cabili said it does not, since staff time, contracted work, and volunteer hours already going toward tree care count toward the total. Another member asked whether the town's Highway Department, described in the discussion as short-staffed and "stretched thin," had been consulted, since the program calls for more proactive tree management than the town currently practices; Cabili said the department had not yet been looped in and agreed it should be. Members also asked about liability for volunteer labor on higher-risk tree removal work, a question flagged for the town's insurer and legal counsel. Establishing a tree board and ordinance would require a local law; the discussion suggested Attorney Taylor draft the ordinance language with the Conservation Board's input rather than the other way around, citing Fairport's existing tree ordinance as a possible model. No vote was taken. Cabili said she would offer individual conversations with board members ahead of bringing the program back for a second workshop; the Arbor Day Foundation's application deadline, if the town pursues it, is Dec. 2. ## Public comment A Webster resident and self-identified combat veteran, addressing the board during the open floor period, spoke about the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance and the responsibility of elected officials to represent all residents regardless of party. He said he was speaking "not as a Republican, not as a Democrat" but as a concerned veteran. Scialdone thanked him for his service. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How Webster's town debt reached $132 million, and who pays it back URL: https://websterledger.com/how-websters-town-debt-reached-132-million-and-who-pays-it-back/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T11:59:59.000Z Webster has authorized roughly $132 million in capital borrowing across eight active projects, has actually borrowed about $103 million of it so far, and this year saw the cost of paying that debt back climb about 18 percent. That increase was a major driver behind the town's 2026 tax-levy increase. This is a look at what the town borrowed for, how municipal borrowing works, and which taxpayers and ratepayers repay each piece. ## How much the town has borrowed The town's 2026 Budget Presentation, dated October 16, 2025, lists eight active capital projects with a combined bond authorization of $132,050,000 as of August 31, 2025\. Authorization is a ceiling, the amount the Town Board has given itself permission to borrow, not the amount actually spent. Of that ceiling, the town had borrowed $102,621,000 and had incurred $74,089,701 in net project costs, or about 56 percent of the total authorized. The largest project by far is the Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase II upgrade, authorized at $81.5 million, of which $67 million has been borrowed. Next is the Highway Building at $28.25 million authorized and $24.5 million borrowed. The Tebor Road to Phillips Road sewer conveyance pipe is authorized at $7.1 million and nearly finished, with $6.9 million borrowed. The Vosburg Road pump station is authorized at $5.7 million but has barely begun, with $380,000 borrowed. Four Sandbar Park sub-projects account for a combined $9.5 million in authorization. In August 2025 the town completed its most recent major financing, renewing a 2024 bond anticipation note and issuing a serial bond that together totaled $101,141,000 across five of those projects. The sale carried the town's Aa1 bond rating, the second-highest tier Moody's issues, and drew a $1,276,292 premium from bidders. The net interest rate was 2.6662 percent on the note and 4.4529 percent on the serial bond, which amortizes over nine years. ## How municipal borrowing works Towns rarely pay cash for large capital projects. Webster uses two debt instruments. A bond anticipation note, or BAN, is short-term borrowing, typically for one year, issued while a project is under construction and sized to the cash the project needs at that stage rather than its full cost. The town renews the note each year, paying interest and re-borrowing the principal, until the project is substantially complete. At that point the note is converted into permanent long-term financing. The town renewed its 2024 note in August 2025 rather than converting it, because the Highway Building and treatment-plant projects are still under construction. A serial bond is that permanent, long-term debt. It pays down principal in installments each year, called serial maturities, rather than in a single balloon payment at the end. Each year's debt-service line in the budget is one of those installments. Most of the town's borrowing is general-obligation, tax-exempt debt backed by its full faith, credit, and property-taxing power, which is why the interest rate is low relative to what a private borrower would pay. One slice is different: the Tebor Road to Phillips Road pipeline was issued as a taxable bond, because federal rules disqualify tax exemption when a private company is the primary beneficiary of the financed asset. ## Why the cost rose this year Across all funds, the town's net debt service rose from $5,271,174 in 2025 to $6,230,728 in 2026, an increase of about 18 percent. The town's finance office described the figure as expected to stabilize as the treatment plant and Highway Building projects finish drawing down their borrowing. ## Who pays it back The debt does not fall on one group of taxpayers. It splits along the projects. About 71 percent of the authorized borrowing is tied to the sewer system. The Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase II project alone, at $81.5 million, is 61.7 percent of the $132 million total, and it is repaid through the town's Sewer Fund rather than the general property tax. To service that debt, the town more than doubled its sewer capital charge, from $43.28 to $94.03 per unit between 2025 and 2026\. That charge is paid by the parcels connected to the sewer capital-charge district. Growing commercial sewer revenue is the town's second sewer-side repayment source; commercial sewer charges and entrance fees rose to about $6.2 million in 2026 (per the 2026 Budget Message), largely because a new commercial user, the fairlife dairy facility, came fully online in January. The Highway Building, the largest general-fund project at $28.25 million, is the piece repaid the conventional way, through the property tax levy. Its debt service appears in the 2026 budget as $325,000 in principal and $967,306 in interest. Because that project is nearing completion and its note will convert to a permanent bond, its cost is rising, which is the largest driver of the general-fund, tax-levy portion of the debt-service increase; the sewer fund's debt service grew by a larger dollar amount but is offset by sewer revenue and recycled bond premium. The four Sandbar Park sub-projects, at much smaller dollar amounts, are repaid through the General Fund and a standing transfer from the Parkland Trust Fund earmarked for Sandbar Park debt. The town also recycles the $1,276,292 premium it received on the August 2025 sale. Rather than spending it, the town books it as future revenue and transfers it back into the General and Sewer funds to offset interest cost while the note is outstanding. ## What fairlife covers The Tebor Road to Phillips Road conveyance pipe was built primarily to serve the fairlife facility, and fairlife reimburses 96 percent of that bond's annual debt service; the Sewer Fund covers the remaining 4 percent. The town budgeted $770,161 in reimbursement in 2025 and $825,041 in 2026. Fairlife also pays a fixed entrance, or connection, fee of $21,900,000 under its agreement with the town, spread across ten years from 2025 through 2034 at a flat $2,190,000 a year. That is the only piece of fairlife's obligation with a hard contractual total. The rest of what fairlife pays is usage-based and grew sharply as the facility ramped up. Its sewer rents for operations and maintenance rose from $179,100 in 2025 to $590,400 in 2026 as its billed capacity grew from 900 units to 3,600\. Its sewer capital charge rose from $34,200 to $331,200 over the same period. The town also budgeted about $1,235,000 in 2026 for high-strength organic waste fees based on the facility's projected discharge. The entrance fee continues on its fixed schedule through 2034, and the usage-based charges and debt reimbursement continue for as long as the facility operates and the pipeline bond remains outstanding. ## A recent pullback At its July 2 meeting, the Town Board voted 3 to 2 to halt a separate renewable natural gas project, an add-on to the treatment plant estimated at about $9 million. Councilman John Cahill, Councilwoman Jennifer Wright, and Councilman Garrett Wagner voted to cease payments; Supervisor Alex Scialdone and Councilman Nick Hunter voted no. The project depended in part on a federal tax credit whose eligibility a hired consultant had been retained to assess but had not confirmed before the board acted. Members who voted to stop cited a pipeline-interconnection contract with RG&E that placed liability on the town, a revised RG&E estimate that raised projected annual operating costs from $15,000 to $100,000, and a potential loss of as much as $22 million over 20 years. That project was never bonded and is not part of the $132 million capital-debt total. The Ledger reported that vote in [its July 3 recap](https://websterledger.com/town-board-recap-july-2-2026/). ## Staying under the cap For 2026 the town set a total tax levy of $22,855,143, an increase of 2.91 percent over 2025, and an equalized tax rate of $5.52 per $1,000 of assessed value, up about 2.4 percent. New York limits how much a municipality can raise its levy each year. Webster's 2026 levy came in $6,107 under that state cap. The full 2026 budget, budget message, and budget presentation are posted on the town's website at websterny.gov. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What's on the Webster Town Board agenda Thursday: the paperwork behind the 2027 reassessment URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-preview-2026-07-16/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T13:38:38.000Z The Webster Town Board meets Thursday, July 16, with a workshop at 6:30 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. The agenda runs mostly to administrative and scheduling business, and the item that reaches the most households is a routine-looking authorization that formally starts a full town-wide reassessment for 2027\. Here is what is on the agenda and why it matters. ## The paperwork behind the 2027 reassessment Item 6 would authorize the Supervisor to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS) for support services tied to the 2027 town-wide assessment revaluation. In plain terms, it is the back-office step that starts a full reassessment of every property in Webster, with new values landing on the 2027 tax roll. It is the machinery behind the reassessment residents saw previewed in mailers earlier this summer. A town-wide revaluation resets the tax base and produces winners and losers among homeowners even when the total amount the town collects does not change. Whether a given household's bill rises or falls depends on how its new assessment moves relative to everyone else's. Separately, two seats on the Board of Assessment Review, the panel that hears residents' challenges to their assessments, remain vacant after resignations at the start of July. The agenda does not list appointments to fill them. ## A school-officer contract, back for a second look Item 5 would authorize the Supervisor to sign the 2026-2027 School Resource Officer contract with the Webster Central School District. The board tabled the same item on July 2 after members said they could not locate this year's signed agreement to review before voting. Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier said the matter was not time-sensitive, and the board rescheduled it to July 16\. The question Thursday is simply whether the board now has the document in hand and approves it. ## A new traffic law heads toward a public hearing Item 7 is a scheduling step, not an adoption vote. According to the posted agenda, it would set a public hearing on August 3, 2026, on proposed Local Law No. 3, Vehicle and Traffic Regulations, to be advertised in the July 22 Webster Herald. The substance of Local Law No. 3 was not included in the posted packet. Town Engineer Keith Mortimer is set to present on it at the workshop earlier in the evening, so residents get a first look at what the law would change the same night the hearing is scheduled. ## A liquor-license notice waiver for the movie theater Item 8 is a request to waive the 30-day advance-notification period the town would normally take before a state liquor-license application moves ahead. According to the resolution, the town received a New York State Liquor Authority standardized notice form on July 10, 2026, from American Multi-Cinema, Inc., the operator of AMC Webster 12 at 2190 Empire Boulevard, for a change in the class of its on-premises liquor license. The company has asked the town to waive the standard 30-day notice period, and the resolution states the applicant will not be in violation of any Town of Webster zoning ordinances. ## Also at the workshop Two other items are on the workshop agenda, both presentations with no vote scheduled. - Conservation Board members are set to present on the Tree City USA program, an Arbor Day Foundation recognition that asks a municipality to maintain a tree board, a tree-care ordinance, a community forestry budget, and an annual Arbor Day observance. - Mortimer is also set to lead a discussion of a proposed "Child with Disabilities" warning-sign program. As described in the agenda, an application would require a doctor's note and annual verification that the child still lives at the address. A sign would be considered on residential roads carrying fewer than 2,000 vehicles a day, posted at 35 miles per hour or less, for a child under 18. ## Routine business The regular meeting opens with consent items: approval of the July 2 workshop and meeting minutes, bills, a prepaid warrant, and purchase orders. Approving the July 2 minutes makes that meeting's actions part of the official record. Item 9 would declare a list of Police Department property surplus for recycling or disposal, including file cabinets, desks, radios, older Ford Explorers, cameras, and a firearm. ## How to weigh in The meetings are open to the public in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. Residents who cannot attend can find the agenda and, once posted, the minutes through the town's meeting records. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster ZBA denies Solar Garden appeal, tables Waterview Phase 3 again URL: https://websterledger.com/zba-recap-july-14-solar-denied-waterview-tabled/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T19:33:25.000Z The Webster Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0 Tuesday night to deny an appeal that challenged the town's classification of the Webster Solar Garden as an industrial use rather than a special use requiring review under the town's Solar Energy Law. The board reached that decision without ever ruling on a procedural question, whether the appeal itself had been filed within New York's 60-day window, that had tabled the case at its June 9 meeting. The appeal, filed by five residents of the Grand Meadows Way and Pine Lakes Trail neighborhoods that border the solar site, challenged a classification decision made by Josh Artuso, Webster's Director of Community Development, who determined in an April 1 notice that the project qualified for review as an industrial use rather than triggering the special use permit process under the town's Solar Energy Law. At Tuesday's meeting, the appellants' attorney argued the board should move directly to the underlying classification question. He argued first that no valid timeliness clock had ever started because there was no formal "filing" that triggered it, and separately that even if the appeal were late, the board should resolve the merits anyway rather than risk a case bouncing back through State Supreme Court over the timeliness issue alone. The board agreed to proceed to the merits without deciding the timeliness question either way. On the merits, the board found that the town's Solar Energy Law requires a special use permit for large-scale solar projects only in residential districts, and that the Solar Garden site sits in an industrial district, where the code's industrial-use provisions do not themselves call for a special use permit. The appellants' attorney argued the distinction carried practical stakes: a special use permit review would have required the planning board and town board to weigh a broader set of siting factors, while the industrial-use classification requires only confirming that the proposed activity matches a permitted use on the list. Board members said they did not read the two code sections as being in conflict, so no dispute between a specific and a general provision needed to be resolved. One board member noted, without challenge from other members, that New York courts require zoning code to be read as a whole, an argument the appellants' attorney had raised to support reading the residential-district language more broadly. The board considered that argument and rejected it on the record. The vote to deny the appeal was unanimous. During the public hearing, one of the appellants spoke against the project directly, telling the board that new homes are under construction roughly 200 feet from the site and that the project required clearing roughly 17 acres of trees, figures that reflect the appellant's own account and were not independently verified. The Solar Garden sits on the former Xerox campus adjacent to a capped, Xerox-era hazardous waste landfill under active oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The appeal's denial leaves the Webster Solar Garden's industrial classification, and the Industrial Use Permit the Town Board approved on a 3-2 vote in April, in place. A separate Article 78 lawsuit challenging that Town Board approval remains pending in court and is unaffected by Tuesday's ZBA decision. ## Waterview Apartments Phase 3 tabled again The board also took up Waterview Apartments Phase 3, Legacy Development Co.'s proposed 56-unit expansion of six buildings and a community center at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive. The applicant sought renewal of two area variances, an 18.7-foot front setback where 75 feet is required and a 38.5-foot buffer from the adjacent single-family district where 100 feet is required, that the same board had granted roughly a year earlier. Those variances had expired before the developer acted on them. Chris Nadler, the applicant's attorney, told the board the renewal notice arrived within days of a personal medical emergency, and that he failed to calendar the deadline as a result. Separately, he said plan finalization has been stalled by a state court order out of Albany that has frozen the state Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing wetland jurisdictional determinations the project needs. Neighbors along McEwen Drive opposed the renewal, disputing the applicant's characterization that the new buildings would match existing setbacks and raising concerns about density and proximity to the single-family homes across McEwen Drive. After extended discussion, a board member drafted a detailed motion to grant the variances with a list of conditions, including specific building shifts, buffer plantings, and a recommendation that the town study traffic control at two nearby intersections. Before the board could vote, a procedural dispute arose over whether the motion had a valid second, and the member who had seconded it withdrew. Rather than risk the motion failing outright, the applicant's attorney asked the board to table the matter instead. The board did, voting unanimously to table Waterview Phase 3 until further notice. No variance was granted Tuesday. ## Three routine variances approved The board also approved three residential variances unanimously and without significant discussion. It granted a rear setback variance of 42.4 feet where 50 feet is required for a 1,080-square-foot addition at 1249 Millcreek Run, citing similar additions elsewhere on the street and an unusually small existing house. It approved a 6-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot at 1084 Bright Stream Way, noting an existing tree line that screens the fence from view. And it approved a 200-square-foot utility shed in the front yard of a corner lot at 785 Somerdale Drive, sited near two property lines but screened by an existing berm and mature trees. All three applicants have one year to complete their projects. The board also approved the minutes of its June 9 meeting by voice vote. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Local coverage of the people, places, and decisions that shape Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### 7 Brew wins final approval for Hard Road drive-through URL: https://websterledger.com/7-brew-hard-road-final-approval-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T11:59:59.000Z The Webster Planning Board granted final site plan approval for a 7 Brew drive-through coffee stand on Hard Road, clearing the project's last board hurdle at its July 7 meeting. The board voted unanimously to approve. The approval covers a 510-square-foot prefabricated, double drive-through-only coffee stand on a 0.73-acre parcel on Hard Road, in the town's High-Intensity Commercial District. The applicant is Brew Team NY, LLC, the 7 Brew franchisee. Doug Beachel, the company's director of entitlements, presented the application. The board granted preliminary approval June 2, and last Tuesday's vote was the final sign-off the project needed before it can pursue building permits. The final approval carries conditions. The most recent plan revision, dated June 29, governs, including updated landscaping that adds four trees across the front. Exterior lights must carry aluminum shielding, a fix the board accepted after learning the LED fixtures cannot be dimmed without flickering, with the shielding to be captured in the building-permit drawings. The drive-through menu speaker must have adjustable volume so it can be turned down if neighbors complain. On-site snow storage must include an under-drain, with excess snow trucked off-site. The approval expires July 7, 2027 if significant construction has not begun. One condition drew a close look at the property's drainage. A board member said he had visited the site on the Sunday morning after Saturday's heavy rain to check that the swale was draining, and found the water had subsided. The same member noted that the neighboring Popeyes project had planted birch trees in the bottom of the shared swale, where he said they now sit in standing water. Later in the discussion, another board member caught two birch trees drawn inside the swale on 7 Brew's updated landscape plan, and the board's conditions bar any plantings in the swale. A signage package was not part of the resolution. The applicant must submit a separate signage plan to town staff. The parcel does not yet have an assigned street address, which will be required on the building for emergency services. The applicant told the board, “We're going to be moving quickly.” ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Local coverage of the people, places, and decisions that shape Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster ZBA revisits the solar farm appeal, and a timeliness question could end it URL: https://websterledger.com/zba-july-14-preview-xerox-solar-waterview/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T19:35:44.000Z A resident appeal challenging how the town classified the Webster Solar Garden project returns to the Webster Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, July 14, and the board may decide a procedural question that could end the appeal before it reaches the central dispute. The appeal was tabled June 9 and is the headline item on a lighter July agenda. It targets a classification decision that determined the solar project should be reviewed by the Town Board as an industrial use rather than under the town's Solar Energy Law, which would have required a special use permit. The five appellants, residents from the Grand Meadows Way and Pine Lakes Trail neighborhoods that abut the site, want the ZBA to reverse that determination and rule that the project falls under the Solar Law. Before the board can weigh that question, it may have to settle a procedural one: whether the appeal was even filed on time. New York Town Law gives 60 days from an administrative determination to appeal it. At the June 9 meeting, the board's counsel, John DeMarco of DeMarco Taylor Law Group, pointed to two possible dates for when that clock started: a July 2025 Town Board resolution that referenced the industrial-use determination, and an April 1, 2026 email from Josh Artuso, the town's Director of Community Development, notifying board members and the public. The appellants contend the April email was the first public notice. DeMarco countered that the 2025 resolution was posted on the town website. If the board decides the earlier date controls, it could dismiss the appeal as untimely without ever ruling on the industrial-versus-solar question. If the appellants prevail on the merits instead, the determination would be reversed and the project would face review under the Solar Law's special use permit pathway, which carries different standards. A separate Article 78 lawsuit challenging the Town Board's approval is proceeding in court. DeMarco told the board in June that the ZBA's decision and the lawsuit would not affect each other. The board tabled the appeal June 9 after members said they had not had time to review materials handed to them shortly before that meeting, and asked that any new documentation arrive at least a week in advance. Whether the appellants met that request is one thing to watch Tuesday. The Webster Solar Garden, developed by Montante Solar in partnership with Xerox on roughly 19 acres of the former Xerox campus, received an Industrial Use Permit from the Town Board on a 3-2 vote April 2\. The Planning Board approved the final site plan in January. ## Waterview Phase 3 returns after being tabled June 9 The board is also set to return to Waterview Apartments Phase 3, a 56-unit expansion tabled from June 9\. Legacy Development Co. wants to build six buildings and a community center at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive, in the Medium High Residential district, and needs two area variances to do it: a front setback of 18.7 feet where 75 feet is required, and a 38.5-foot buffer from the adjacent single-family neighborhood where 100 feet is required. The chair tabled the application before any testimony in June. Whether it is heard Tuesday or tabled again is an open question. ## Three routine residential variances Three new residential items round out the agenda. One resident is seeking a rear setback of 42.4 feet where 50 feet is required for a 1,080-square-foot addition on Millcreek Run. Another resident is asking to place a 6-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot on Bright Stream Way, and a third resident is seeking to place a 200-square-foot utility shed in the front yard of a corner lot on Somerdale Drive. Corner lots have two street-facing front yards, and owners often need relief to build along a side frontage that functions as a back yard. The board is also scheduled to approve the minutes of its June 9 meeting. ## How to attend The ZBA meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, in the Town Board Meeting Room at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. Members of the public may speak during the public hearing portion of the meeting. The full agenda is posted at websterny.gov. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Local coverage of the people, places, and decisions that shape Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How to read your Webster property tax bill: town, county, school, and special districts URL: https://websterledger.com/how-to-read-your-webster-property-tax-bill/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T19:20:07.000Z Most Webster homeowners never get a single "property tax bill." They get two, months apart, and each one is really a stack of separate governments sharing the same envelope. A town, a county, a school district, and often a handful of special districts all take a slice. Owners inside the Village of Webster get a third bill on top of those two, mailed separately by the village. Each sets its own number on its own schedule. Once you know what the pieces are and how the math works, the bill stops being a mystery and becomes a short list of line items you can actually read. ## Two bills a year, not one Webster property owners are billed in two rounds. The combined **town and county tax bill** is mailed on or about December 31 each year and collected in the winter. The **school tax bill** is a separate mailing sent at the end of August and collected beginning in September. If your taxes are paid through an escrow account with your mortgage lender, the bills go to the lender instead of to you, but the same charges still apply. Keeping the two bills straight matters, because the largest single charge most owners pay does not appear on the bill with the county's name on it. It is on the school bill. ## The math behind every line Every taxing body on your bill works from the same two numbers: the **assessed value** of your property and a **tax rate**. The assessor in the Town of Webster places an assessed value on every parcel in town and files it on the annual assessment roll. Each government that taxes your property then sets a budget, decides how much of that budget has to come from property taxes (the amount it needs to raise is called the **levy**), and divides that levy across all the taxable value in its boundaries to produce a **tax rate**. In New York, that rate is expressed per $1,000 of assessed value. The arithmetic for any one line is: **(assessed value ÷ 1,000) × tax rate = the tax for that line.** A home assessed at $200,000, taxed at a rate of $10 per $1,000, would owe $2,000 on that line. Your total bill is that same calculation run once for the town, once for the county, once for the school district, and once for each special district that serves your property, then added up. No single official sets the whole number. It is the sum of independent decisions. ## The kinds of slices **County.** Monroe County's share funds countywide obligations. The county describes its portion in categories that include state and federal mandates such as Medicaid and social services, general county services like the road patrol, parks, and the 911 system, and a sales-tax credit that offsets part of the property tax for town residents. **Town.** The Town of Webster's share funds town government and town services. It rides on the same winter bill as the county portion. **Village.** Owners whose property sits inside the incorporated Village of Webster pay an additional village tax that funds village government. The village bills it separately (its own bill, mailed around June 1 on the village's own fiscal year), so village residents get a third bill the rest of the town never sees. Most Webster addresses are outside the village, which is one more reason two owners in the same town can see different bills. **School.** The Webster Central School District levy is usually the single largest piece of the whole year. School districts raise most of their local revenue through the property tax, and the school levy is large relative to the town and county budgets, so the September bill typically dwarfs the winter one. Not every Webster address is in the Webster Central district. Parts of the town sit in the Wayne Central School District, which sets its own separate levy and rate. **Special districts.** These are the smaller, service-specific line items, and they are the ones readers most often do not recognize. A special district is a defined area whose residents share the cost of a specific service: fire protection, street lighting, sewers, water, and drainage are common examples. Because these districts cover specific areas rather than the whole town, two neighbors can carry different special-district charges. A home connected to public sewer or public water pays district charges that a nearby home on a private septic system or well does not. ## Why your neighbor's bill can differ from yours Two houses with identical market value on the same street can owe different totals, and it is not an error. The most common reason is the school district line. Webster contains more than one school district, and district boundaries do not follow town lines, so one house can fall in Webster Central and another in Wayne Central, each with its own levy and rate. Special districts are the second reason: sewer, water, lighting, and fire charges depend on which districts actually serve a given parcel. Exemptions are a third. New York's STAR program, for example, lowers school taxes for owners who qualify and have registered, for some as a reduction shown on the school bill, for others as a separate check from the state, so the benefit reaches some households and not others. ## Where equalization rates come in One more piece explains a number on the bill that confuses many owners: the **equalization rate**. A school district or the county often has to collect taxes across several towns at once, and different towns assess property at different fractions of full market value. To split a shared levy fairly, New York State calculates an equalization rate for each town, a state measure of how the town's assessed values compare to full market value. The equalization rate is the tool that lets a district raise its levy evenly across towns that assess differently. Webster is one of four towns in the Webster Central School District, and each carries its own equalization rate, recalculated by the state from year to year. Equalization is also why a townwide revaluation, like the one Webster has undertaken, changes assessed values without automatically changing the total levy a government collects. The revaluation resets the assessed values the rates are applied to. The Ledger's explainer on that project, ["Webster begins townwide property revaluation,"](https://websterledger.com/2027-townwide-revaluation-webster/) walks through what the reassessment mailer means for owners. ## If a number looks wrong The assessed value is the figure an owner can formally challenge, and New York builds one window each year to do it. The Board of Assessment Review hears grievances from owners who believe their assessment is too high, on a fixed annual calendar, using a single state form. That process is its own subject, and the Ledger's guide, ["What is the Board of Assessment Review, and why it matters,"](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/) lays out the dates, the form, and the steps. Knowing the structure turns the bill into something manageable: two mailings a year, a short list of governments, and one piece of arithmetic repeated down the page. The town assessor can answer questions about an assessed value, and Monroe County's finance office can answer questions about the town and county bill itself. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How a project gets built in Webster: site plan, SEQR, and the approval gauntlet URL: https://websterledger.com/how-a-project-gets-built-in-webster-site-plan-seqr/ Last updated: 2026-07-09T12:00:00.000Z Say a company wants to drop a new coffee stand on a commercial strip, or a builder wants to carve a street of new houses out of a field on the town's south side. Before a single shovel goes in the ground, the plan has to run a gauntlet of town review that can stretch across months and produces a vocabulary that turns up in nearly every Planning Board story the Ledger publishes: sketch plan, SEQR, lead agency, negative declaration, preliminary and final site plan, special use permit, conditions of approval. None of it is designed to be reader-friendly. This guide walks a hypothetical project through that process, from the first informal sit-down to the final sign-off, and translates the terms along the way. ## Who decides what Three town bodies touch development, and they do different jobs. The Town Board writes and changes the zoning law itself, including rezoning a parcel from one district to another. The Zoning Board of Appeals grants relief from the rules already on the books, mainly variances, case by case. (We have a separate guide to the ZBA.) The body that reviews most actual building plans is the Planning Board, a group of appointed members who meet monthly. When a project fits the zoning already in place, the Planning Board is usually the only board it has to satisfy. Its main tool is site plan review: a look at how a specific project will sit on a specific piece of land, covering the building, parking, drainage, lighting, landscaping, traffic, and how the site connects to its neighbors. ## Step one: the sketch plan The first stop is usually informal. Before filing for any approval, an applicant brings a rough concept to the Planning Board for what the town calls a sketch plan review. This happens at a regular meeting, but it is not a public hearing and no vote is taken. It is a conversation. The applicant lays out the basic idea, and the board tells them, in broad strokes, what it will want to see: the studies, the drawings, the details that a full application will have to include. The point is to surface problems early, before the applicant has spent money engineering a plan the board would never accept. ## Step two: the preliminary site plan, and SEQR Next the applicant files a preliminary site plan, the first formal submission. This is the detailed package: survey, engineering drawings, stormwater management, landscaping, and the rest. It is also where a term that intimidates a lot of readers enters the picture: SEQR. SEQR is the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a New York law that requires a government body to weigh the environmental effects of a project before approving it. The key rule for readers to understand is the timing: a board cannot legally vote to approve an action until it has completed this review and issued a determination. SEQR comes first. A few pieces of the SEQR vocabulary: **Lead agency.** When a project needs approval from only one board, that board runs the environmental review and is the lead agency by default. When several agencies have a say, a county or state permit, for example, they sort out among themselves which one takes the lead. That coordination step is why the phrase "lead agency" shows up even on projects that look purely local. **Type II, Type I, and Unlisted.** The law sorts actions into three buckets. Type II actions are those the state has already decided have no significant environmental impact, and they are exempt from review entirely. Type I actions are large or sensitive enough that the state presumes they may need a hard look. Most routine local projects fall into a middle category called Unlisted, which get reviewed but with less machinery. **The EAF.** To run the review, the applicant fills out an Environmental Assessment Form, or EAF, laying out the project's details. The board uses it to judge whether the project could have a significant impact. Unlisted actions typically use a short form; larger Type I actions use a long one. **Negative declaration.** If the board finds the project will not have a significant adverse environmental impact, it issues a negative declaration. Despite how it sounds, this is the ordinary, favorable outcome: the green light that lets the review close and the approval move forward. The large majority of local site plans end here. **Positive declaration.** The rare alternative. If the board finds the project could have a significant impact, it issues a positive declaration, which triggers a full Environmental Impact Statement: a lengthy study of the effects, the alternatives, and the ways to reduce harm, with its own rounds of public comment. A positive declaration adds many months to a project and is uncommon for the kind of work that comes before a town Planning Board. ## The public hearing Where the public hearing falls in the process is a common point of confusion. In Webster, it comes at the preliminary stage: the town's site plan law directs the Planning Board to hold a public hearing before it acts on a preliminary site plan, and a subdivision gets its hearing at the preliminary plat stage as well. Final approval is different. Once a plan has cleared that preliminary hearing, the code does not require a second hearing for final site plan approval, which the board takes up as a regular meeting vote. When a hearing is held, it is advertised in advance in the town's official newspaper, and state law puts the board on a clock: it must hold the hearing within a set window after receiving a complete application, and act within a set window after the hearing closes. Those timetables trace back to New York's Town Law, which frames site plan review (Section 274-a), special use permits (Section 274-b), and subdivisions (Section 276); Webster's own procedures are codified locally, site plan review in Chapter 269 of the town code and subdivisions in Chapter 296. A public hearing is the public's formal opening. Any resident can attend and speak, or submit a written comment for the record beforehand. Neighbors within a set distance of the project typically receive a mailed notice. This is the same participation window described in our ZBA guide, and it works the same way: a short, signed, specific letter carries real weight. ## Preliminary approval, then final After any required hearing and the completed SEQR review, the board votes on the preliminary site plan. Approval at this stage is a meaningful milestone, but it is not the finish line. The board almost always attaches conditions, a list of items the applicant must resolve before coming back. When a drive-through coffee stand was proposed on Hard Road in 2026, for instance, the Planning Board granted preliminary site plan approval but required the applicant to return with a stormwater pollution prevention plan, a landscaping plan, designated snow-storage areas, and a written response to the town's review comments before final approval. That is a textbook preliminary approval: yes in principle, with homework. Once the conditions are satisfied, the applicant files a final site plan that folds in every change the board asked for. The board reviews it against that list and, if satisfied, grants final site plan approval. For projects that involve building public-style infrastructure such as roads or drainage, the board can also require a bond or letter of credit, a financial guarantee that the work will actually get finished. Only after final approval can the applicant pull building permits and begin construction. A project that fits its zoning cleanly can move through this track without ever visiting the Town Board or the ZBA. When 66 single-family lots were approved on the town's south side in 2026, the plan conformed to the parcel's existing residential zoning, so it needed no rezoning and no variance, just subdivision and final site plan approval from the Planning Board. ## Special use permits Some uses are allowed in a given zoning district only with extra scrutiny. Zoning codes call these specially permitted uses, and they require a special use permit on top of site plan review. The idea is that the use is acceptable in principle, but the town wants to review the specifics before signing off. In Webster, some special uses are decided by the Planning Board and some by the Town Board, depending on the use. Where the Planning Board handles both the special use permit and the site plan, the two are typically reviewed together rather than one after the other. Either way, the reviewing board weighs the use against standards written into the code, typically whether the proposal fits the character of the area and whether it would harm neighboring properties, and it can approve, deny, or approve with conditions. ## Conditions of approval The phrase "conditions of approval" appears in almost every Planning Board vote, and it is worth understanding as its own thing. A conditional approval is still an approval: the board has said yes to the project while requiring specific items to be completed, corrected, or documented before it can proceed. Conditions are how the board approves the concept while keeping leverage over the details. They are also why a project can be reported as "approved" one month and still not be under construction several months later: the vote cleared the concept, but the conditions were still being worked out. ## Why the vocabulary matters Read enough of these stories and a pattern emerges. A project surfaces at a sketch plan review, files a preliminary site plan, clears SEQR with a negative declaration, clears any required public hearing, wins preliminary approval with conditions, satisfies them, and returns for final approval. The words are technical, but the arc is simple: an idea gets steadily more detailed and more scrutinized until the town is confident enough to let it be built. Knowing where a project sits on that arc is the difference between reading a headline as a done deal and reading it as one step in a long process. Most of the time, it is the latter. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Planning Board extends Sienna Reserve subdivision approval by one year URL: https://websterledger.com/planning-board-recap-july-7-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-08T14:29:46.000Z The Webster Planning Board voted Tuesday to grant a one-year extension of its approval for Sienna Reserve, a 10-lot single-family subdivision on Orchard Road, carrying the approval to July 7, 2027\. The vote followed a public hearing in which three Blue Creek Drive residents described flooding on their properties and questioned the project's drainage plan. The extension involves no changes to the approved design. Insite Land Development Inc., the applicant, asked for the additional year so its construction schedule could catch up, and told the board it intends to break ground within the year, building the subdivision's stormwater pond and infrastructure first. During the public hearing, one resident of Blue Creek Drive told the board that in each of the past two years his property has taken on about three feet of water, at one point within 15 feet of his house, and asked whether the planned detention pond and regrading would improve the problem or worsen it. Another resident of Blue Creek Drive, raised the same concern. A third asked whether regrading would kill trees the plan calls for preserving and send more runoff onto his property. Engineers for the project told the board the detention pond is designed to hold and slowly release runoff from the new development only, not drainage from the existing neighborhood, and that a bypass swale off Orchard Road already carries some water past the site. Michael C. Bogojevski, P.E., of BME Associates said the pond would be built first in the construction sequence. Several board members said the drainage and grading questions had been raised and reviewed when the subdivision received sketch-plan, preliminary and final approval in 2025, and that the matter before them was whether to extend that approval, not to reopen the design. The board granted the extension unanimously. ## The rest of the docket The board approved five other items Tuesday, all unanimously. **A new sign for Invio, approved.** The board approved one internally illuminated, 60-square-foot wall sign for Invio at 855 Publishers Parkway, a minor revision to a lighter blue vinyl. The sign company Vital Signs is the applicant. **A lot-line correction near Ridge Road, approved.** The board granted final approval to the Bay Ridge Corner Resubdivision at 423, 425 and 429 Ridge Road and 1036 and 1036A Bay Road, reducing five lots to four. The adjustment corrects property lines drawn in the 1920s and 1930s that ran through existing buildings; the septic systems are being redone, and a drainage complaint from an adjacent owner was resolved with a new culvert. Zoning variances for the plan were already in hand. Land surveyor Scott Measday, LS, and engineer Walt Baker of DSB Engineers presented the application. **Final approval for the 7 Brew coffee stand.** The board granted final site plan approval to the 7 Brew drive-through coffee stand on Hard Road, the step that follows the preliminary approval it granted June 2\. The applicant is Brew Team NY LLC, whose franchisee is Doug Beachel. Conditions include shielding on the site lighting (already installed, and non-dimmable because the LEDs flicker when dimmed), speaker-volume controls, a snow-storage and trucking plan, and no plantings in the drainage swale, after the board found two trees drawn in the swale on the revised landscape plan and had them relocated. A separate signage package is due within a month. The speaker noted that the recent Penfield location, near BayTowne Plaza, has an official open date of July 13. **An accessory building on Lake Road, approved.** The board granted both preliminary and final site plan approval for a 615-square-foot accessory building at 1052 Lake Road, following a public hearing at which no one spoke. Architect Amanda Costanza, AIA, represents the homeowners who plan to demolish an existing two-story structure, combine the parcel with the adjacent 1050 Lake Road lot, and use the new building for storage only, with no apartment or rental. The approval is conditioned on the lot combination being completed before construction begins, and carries a one-year clock to July 7, 2027\. The homeowners said preventing the property's conversion to a short-term rental was part of their reason for buying it. **Sign changes for Burger King, approved.** The board approved a sign package for the Burger King at 940 Hard Road, three wall signs totaling 73.65 square feet, as part of a rebrand. The plan consolidates two sets of illuminated channel letters into one, adds an internally illuminated building-logo sign on the east elevation, which currently has no signage, adds crown light fixtures on two sides, and updates the drive-through menu-board technology. The board also approved the minutes of its June 2 meeting. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's zoning rewrite is coming: where the comp plan stands, and the state grant that would pay for it URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-rewrite-state-grant-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T12:00:00.000Z Webster is preparing to ask New York State for $150,000 to rewrite its zoning code, the decades-old rulebook that decides what can be built where in town, to bring it in line with a long-range plan the town expects to adopt later this year. The Town Board voted 5-0 on July 2 to authorize the grant application, with all five members voting in favor. The application itself is due to the state by its July 31 deadline. The request goes to the New York State Smart Growth Community Planning Program, submitted through the 2026 Consolidated Funding Application. If awarded, the money would pay for a community-wide overhaul of Webster's zoning code, the work carried out by the consulting firm Jean O'Connell & Associates along with town staff. Officials have estimated the rewrite would take 12 to 18 months. The state program has about $4.8 million available statewide this cycle, according to the Department of State, and funds comprehensive plans, targeted area plans and zoning ordinances for municipalities across New York. Director of Community Development Josh Artuso has said Webster received $100,000 from the same program in 2023 to help fund its current planning update, and he has pointed to that award as a reason to expect success on a second request. The town's resolution seeks $150,000 with what it describes as a 25 percent local match, reported at $37,500\. Under the state program's own rules, an applicant must cover at least 10 percent of a project's eligible cost, with the grant funding up to 90 percent, so Webster is proposing to put up more than the state's minimum. ## Why a rewrite, and why now The push is tied to "Webster 2040," the town's comprehensive plan update, which launched in 2025\. The Comprehensive Plan Committee held its final scheduled meeting this spring, and the process has moved toward public engagement and adoption. A public open house and a formal public hearing are set to come before the Town Board votes on adopting the plan, with completion targeted for summer 2026. A comprehensive plan is the town's long-range vision for land use and growth. Zoning is how that vision gets enforced, parcel by parcel. Webster's current comprehensive plan is 18 years old, adopted in 2008\. Its zoning map was last comprehensively revised in 2003, and some of its parking rules date to the 1960s. The grant-funded rewrite would replace those aging rules with a code built to match the 2040 plan once it is adopted. The rewrite also connects to a step the town has already taken. In June the Town Board adopted a six-month development moratorium, Local Law No. 2 of 2026, on a 5-0 vote, temporarily freezing certain commercial site plans, large subdivisions, and large-scale solar and data-center projects while the plan and the zoning that follows it are updated. The Ledger has previously reported on [what the moratorium froze](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/) and on [the board's decision to enact it](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/). With the application now authorized, if the state funds it, the code rewrite would begin as the comprehensive plan reaches adoption, with the 12-to-18-month timeline running from there. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### 7 Brew's final vote, and what else is on Webster's Planning Board docket July 7 URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-board-preview-july-7-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T13:21:27.000Z The Webster Planning Board is scheduled to take up final site plan approval for the 7 Brew drive-through coffee stand on Hard Road when it meets Tuesday, July 7, the decision step that follows the preliminary approval the board granted June 2. A yes vote would clear the project's last board hurdle before it can move toward building permits. The applicant is Brew Team NY LLC, whose franchisee is Doug Beachel. The plan calls for a 510-square-foot prefabricated, double drive-through coffee stand on a 0.73-acre parcel in the town's High-Intensity Commercial District. 7 Brew is a drive-through-only, no-lobby coffee company that has grown to more than 700 stands across 38 states, with open locations in Penfield, Greece, and Brockport. Webster reviews site plans in two board steps. Preliminary approval fixes the plan and attaches conditions; the applicant then satisfies those conditions and returns for final approval, the sign-off needed before pursuing building permits. When it granted preliminary approval June 2, the board asked the applicant to provide a stormwater pollution prevention plan and a comment-response letter, and to revise the plans to show on-site snow-storage areas, a landscaping plan and a continuation of the bio-retention area to the east. Whether the board finds those conditions satisfied is the substance of Tuesday's vote. ## Another Hard Road item Also on Hard Road, the board will consider a sign application for the Burger King at 940 Hard Road: three wall signs totaling 73.65 square feet. The Burger King and 7 Brew parcels sit on the same stretch of Hard Road. ## A subdivision extension, with a public hearing The board will also hold a public hearing on a request to extend approval for Sienna Reserve, a proposed 10-lot single-family subdivision on Orchard Road. Insite Land Development Inc. is asking for a one-year extension of its final site plan and subdivision approval. Under the town code, subdivision and site plan approvals lapse if a project is not carried out within a set period, and because the request involves a subdivision it carries a public hearing. The subdivision was a tabled matter on the board's Aug. 5, 2025, agenda, at that point still seeking final approval. Builder Crosstown Custom Homes lists the Orchard Road homesites as coming soon, with no lots currently available; construction has not begun. ## Also on the agenda Three other items round out the docket. Vital Signs is seeking approval of one internally illuminated 60-square-foot wall sign for Invio at 855 Publishers Parkway. An application for a 615-square-foot accessory building at 1052 Lake Road is up for preliminary and final site plan approval, with a public hearing. And the board is set to approve the minutes of its June 2 meeting. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board votes to halt its renewable natural gas project URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-recap-july-2-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-03T19:35:21.000Z The Webster Town Board voted Thursday to stop its renewable natural gas project, ending the roughly $9 million plan to capture and sell the gas produced at the town's wastewater treatment plant. The board approved a resolution to immediately cease all work by third-party vendors on the project and to rescind authorization to pay for work not yet performed. Town Attorney Kyle Taylor confirmed the resolution would effectively end the project. The board voted 3 to 2 to end the project. Councilman John Cahill, Councilwoman Jennifer Wright, and Councilman Garrett Wagner voted to cease payments; Supervisor Alexander Scialdone and Councilman Nicholas Hunter voted no. The RNG project was an add-on to Webster's larger wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The town's digesters give off gas as they break down sewage, and Webster currently flares, or burns off, most of it. The project would have captured that biogas, refined it to pipeline quality, and sold it. A November 2025 presentation put the added cost at about $9 million and projected a federal investment tax credit of $6.8 million to $8.5 million to offset much of it, leaving the net cost dependent on whether that credit came through. In February, the board hired the firm MS Consultants, in a contract worth up to $121,500, to verify whether the project qualified for the credit, with a written right to stop the work if it did not. ## Other business **A school resource officer contract, tabled.** The board postponed a vote on a 2026-27 school resource officer agreement with the Webster Central School District after members could not locate this year's signed agreement to review before voting. Councilman Garrett Wagner, joined by Hunter, said the board and its attorney should review the actual document first. The police chief confirmed the matter was not time-sensitive, and the board rescheduled the vote to July 16. **A Verizon cell-tower review, approved.** The board authorized an independent radio-frequency engineering review of two proposed Verizon cell tower sites, to be performed by consultant William P. Johnson and reimbursed by Verizon Wireless. The matter returned after being held over from June 18\. Town staff said about 10 firms were solicited and one responded. The board approved the original scope, a review of Verizon's propagation data, after Verizon declined to pay for additional independent drive testing; the board left open the option of adding drive testing later if the first report shows gaps. An attorney speaking in public comment, David Rasmussen, urged the board to require independent drive-test data as well, saying the review is only as good as the data it examines. **Two grant applications, authorized.** The board approved two applications. One is to the Monroe County Community Climate Action Fund for up to $10,000 to replace about 3.4 acres of town roadside grass with low- or no-mow native plantings; the board set the required local match at the 50 percent minimum, or $5,000, declining to put in more. The other is a $150,000 Consolidated Funding Application to New York State's Smart Growth Community Planning Program to fund the next phase of the town's comprehensive plan, the zoning-code update; the board voted to meet the 25 percent match in-kind through staff time rather than in cash. **A Parks position, reclassified.** The board reclassified a part-time laborer position at Parks and Recreation into a part-time cleaner position to cover the 1 to 9 p.m. gap at the recreation center, which liaison Councilwoman Wright said had gone uncovered amid rising membership. **Consent items.** The board approved its June 18 minutes, the bills, a prepaid warrant, purchase orders, and a fill permit for a residential landscaping project at 430 Pellett Road. It also accepted the resignations of Hugh Lee and David Paine from the Board of Assessment Review, effective July 1, leaving two seats open on the panel that hears residents' challenges to their property assessments. The Ledger recently explained [how the Board of Assessment Review works](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/). ## A dog-shelter crisis takes center stage at the workshop At an earlier workshop, the police chief and the town's animal control officer laid out a growing problem with Webster's animal sheltering. The town's single approved kennel is rated only for 24-hour holds, but one dog has been held there for 17 days. In the past day, the officials said, the animal went into heat distress overnight in a non-air-conditioned equipment bay and had to be moved. The officials traced the problem to 2023 and 2024, when the veterinary service the town had relied on for sheltering was bought out and stopped offering it. At the same time, New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets raised its shelter standards, with a compliance deadline of December 2026\. After that, the officials said, violations carry civil penalties and the town could face suspension of its shelter operations. The town holds a $400,000 state grant toward building a shelter, but cost estimates for a standalone or retrofit facility have ranged from about $1 million to $1.5 million. An effort to share a shelter with neighboring towns collapsed after Irondequoit, the leading partner, withdrew. Cahill pressed for a cost-per-dog comparison with other municipalities and criticized an earlier estimate that relied on a single engineering firm and a hand-drawn sketch. Hunter noted the town's worst-case exposure to fines and argued a capital project may be unavoidable to stay compliant. The board agreed that any construction would go out to a full request for proposals rather than to a single firm, and the supervisor said he would poll other Monroe County supervisors on their shelter costs and dog counts. ## Public comment Eight residents spoke. Comments centered on town spending and debt, the proposed Verizon towers, and the animal shelter. Chris Nacca urged the town to build public awareness of the kennel problem and floated lower-cost options, such as renovating a vacant storefront. David Rasmussen, an attorney whose family lives near a proposed Verizon site, supported the engineering review but pressed for independent drive-test data. Sean Hanna criticized the RNG project as built on projections set against the town's debt, drew an unfavorable comparison with neighboring Perinton's finances, and condemned the RG&E contract; he also urged the board to heed residents on the proposed cell towers or risk a lawsuit like an earlier one over a solar project. Peter Elder criticized what he called baseless online attacks on two former town supervisors, Ron Nesbitt and Cathy Thomas, saying whoever maligned them should be ashamed. Emily Yang of the group Color Webster Green and Conservation Board chair Dennis Gorlick both backed the native-plantings project; Gorlick suggested a town-run shelter could earn revenue by boarding animals for other municipalities. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Village of Webster asks residents: what should Schantz Park become? URL: https://websterledger.com/schantz-park-redesign-village-feedback-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-02T12:00:00.000Z The Village of Webster is asking residents to help shape the future of Schantz Park, and the comment window is open now. In its June 5 newsletter, "View from Main Street," the Village said it is reviewing a set of design ideas for the park and wants to hear from the people who use it before anything moves forward. The ideas on the table are options under consideration, not an approved plan, and gathering resident feedback is the point of the exercise. According to the newsletter, the concepts being weighed could reshape much of the park. One idea would install a walking path or trail around the perimeter, roughly 0.35 of a mile. Another would resurface the basketball court. The existing tennis courts could be converted into pickleball courts. The newsletter also describes a possible change to the park's playing fields. The baseball field could be replaced with soccer nets and an obstacle course in the style of a ninja warrior course. The playground could see new climbing equipment along with a new surface installed underneath it. The parking lot could also be modified, with a new surface and 12 parking spots. Taken together, the Village framed the ideas as a way to "create a multi-use park that our residents can enjoy for years to come," according to the newsletter. Deputy Mayor Jerry Ippolito, the Village Public Works staff, and Village Trustee Mike Morency are reviewing resident feedback, the newsletter said. Because the design is still in the idea stage, resident input carries real weight on what, if anything, gets built and in what order. The Village is collecting comments through a form at [villageofwebsterny.gov/parks](https://villageofwebsterny.gov/parks?ref=websterledger.com). Residents who want a say in how the park takes shape can submit their thoughts there. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What's on Webster's Town Board docket July 2: a vote to halt payments on the RNG project, and more URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-preview-july-2-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-01T13:08:17.000Z The Webster Town Board meets Thursday, July 2, and the headline item is a proposal to stop spending on the town's renewable natural gas project, an addition to its wastewater treatment plant that could add roughly $9 million to the cost of that work. The board takes up that resolution at its 7:30 p.m. regular meeting, following an informal workshop at 6:30 p.m. Here is what is on the docket, and how to follow along. ## The renewable natural gas project The resolution, as written on the agenda, would "cease all payments related to the RNG project for expenditures not yet incurred." In plain terms, it would stop the town from paying for any RNG work it has not already committed to. The RNG project is an add-on to Webster's larger wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The town's anaerobic digesters give off gas as they break down sewage, and Webster currently flares, or burns off, most of that gas. According to the town's November 20, 2025 presentation, the RNG component would instead capture that biogas, refine it to pipeline-quality renewable natural gas, and sell it. The same presentation put the added cost at about $9 million. The town expected to sell the gas for revenue, and it projected that a federal investment tax credit of $6.8 million to $8.5 million would offset much of the $9 million, leaving the net cost dependent on whether that credit came through. In February 2026, the board hired the firm MS Consultants to verify whether the project qualified for that federal tax credit. The contract, worth up to $121,500, gave the town a written right to stop the work without further cost if the eligibility test failed. The board has not publicly said why it is moving to halt payments now. The agenda lists the resolution but names no sponsor and carries no supporting memo, and the reason is expected to be given at the meeting. The Ledger will report the vote and the board's stated rationale afterward. ## Other items on the agenda Beyond the RNG resolution, several other items are on the July 2 agenda. The descriptions below come from the posted agenda; sponsors, exact figures, and final terms are settled at the meeting and in the minutes that follow. **Two assessment-board vacancies.** Two members of the Board of Assessment Review, Hugh Lee and David Paine, have submitted resignations effective July 1, and the board is set to accept them. That would leave two seats open on the panel that hears residents' challenges to their property assessments. The Ledger recently explained [how the Board of Assessment Review works](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/). **A state planning grant.** The board is set to consider applying for a $150,000 grant from New York State's Smart Growth Community Planning Program, administered by the Department of State and applied for through the state's Consolidated Funding Application. The application would commit the town to a local match of roughly 25 percent, or about $37,500\. Planning work would be done by Jean O'Connell & Associates and town staff. **A school resource officer contract.** Also on the agenda is a 2026-27 school resource officer agreement with the Webster Central School District. **A returning cell-tower review.** A contract for an independent engineering review of two proposed Verizon cell towers returns to the board after being held over from June 18\. The board set the matter aside that night after questions about the scope of the review, and rescheduled it to July 2\. The review would be performed by an independent radio-frequency engineer, the cost of which is to be reimbursed by Verizon Wireless, rather than borne at town expense. ## How to follow along The Town Board meets at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. The workshop begins at 6:30 p.m. and is the board's informal session: members hear presentations and discuss items but take no votes. The regular meeting follows at 7:30 p.m., when the board votes on resolutions, awards contracts, and takes public comment. Both sessions are open to the public. The full agenda and supporting documents are posted on the town's Agenda Center at websterny.gov. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What is the Board of Assessment Review, and why it matters URL: https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-board-of-assessment-review/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T19:00:07.000Z If you own a home in Webster, the value the town places on it each year decides a large part of your property tax bill. When an owner believes that value is wrong, the first place to challenge it is not a courtroom and not the assessor's desk. It is a panel of neighbors called the Board of Assessment Review. The Board of Assessment Review, or BAR, is a body that New York's Real Property Tax Law requires every town, city, and village to keep. Its job is narrow but important: to hear formal complaints from property owners who believe their assessment is too high, and to decide whether to lower it. For most homeowners, it is the entry point to the entire process of contesting an assessment. ## What the board actually does It helps to separate two roles that are easy to confuse. The assessor sets the value, called the assessment, on every parcel in town. The Board of Assessment Review is a separate body that reviews complaints about those values. Once a year, on a date set by state law, the board hears grievances, weighs the evidence an owner brings, and issues a written decision. It can confirm the assessor's value or reduce it. It cannot raise it. ## How the board is put together Under Section 523 of the Real Property Tax Law, a town's board of assessment review has between three and five members, appointed by the town's legislative body. In Webster, that is the Town Board, and the town seats five residents who have knowledge of real estate values in the community. The structure is built for independence. Members serve five-year terms that run from October 1 through September 30, staggered so that roughly one seat comes up each year rather than the whole board turning over at once. State law bars the assessor and anyone on the assessor's staff from serving, and it requires that a majority of the board be people who are not town officers or employees. The members choose one of their own to serve as chair each year. The point is that the body hearing your complaint is not the same office that set the number you are complaining about. ## The calendar that controls everything Challenging an assessment is governed by a fixed annual calendar, and missing a date can end a grievance before it starts. In Webster the key dates are: - **March 1, taxable status date.** Ownership and the condition of a property are fixed as of this date for the coming roll. - **May 1, tentative assessment roll filed.** This is when owners can see the assessment proposed for the year ahead. - **Fourth Tuesday in May, Grievance Day.** This is the deadline to file a complaint, and the day the board sits to hear them. Webster follows the same fourth-Tuesday-in-May date used by most New York towns. - **July 1, final assessment roll filed.** The roll is locked in for the year. The practical window is short. Owners review the tentative roll in early May and must get a complaint in by Grievance Day. ## How a Webster homeowner files a grievance The complaint is made on Form RP-524, titled Complaint on Real Property Assessment. It is a New York State form, and the Webster Assessment Office posts a current copy online and provides it in person. A few things make or break a filing: - **The deadline is a receipt deadline, not a postmark deadline.** The form has to be in the hands of the assessor or the board by Grievance Day. Webster warns that postmarks do not count, so an owner mailing close to the date risks missing it. Delivering in person is the safe route. - **There is no fee** to file a grievance in Webster. - **Bring evidence of value.** A recent purchase price, sales of comparable nearby homes, a professional appraisal, or photographs documenting problems with the property all help make the case. The board weighs what an owner presents. - **You do not have to appear in person.** An owner may submit the form alone, attend the hearing to speak, or send a representative. The board may ask for additional information before it decides. Completed forms and questions go to the Webster Assessment Office at Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Rd. The Assessment Office can be reached directly at 585-872-7051. ## What happens after the board decides The board mails each complainant a written determination that states the reasons for its decision. An owner who is not satisfied has two further options, and both must be started within 30 days of the day the final roll is filed. The first is Small Claims Assessment Review, known as SCAR. It is the low-cost path built for homeowners, available for owner-occupied one-, two-, and three-family homes. It carries a small filing fee, currently $30, and a hearing officer reviews the case. An owner does not need a lawyer for SCAR. The second is a tax certiorari proceeding under Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law, filed in State Supreme Court. This is the route for larger or commercial properties and generally requires an attorney. ## Why it matters The assessment is the number that drives the tax bill, and the Board of Assessment Review is the one chance built into state law each year for an ordinary owner to contest that number without hiring a lawyer or going to court. That makes it one of the more useful civic bodies most residents never think about until a bill surprises them. The board's role looms largest during a townwide reassessment. When a community updates its assessments, more owners see a changed value at the same time, and more of them have questions about how that value was reached. The grievance process is the formal way those questions get heard, and the board is where they land. Knowing the body, the calendar, and the one form turns a process that looks intimidating into a handful of concrete steps: read the tentative roll in May, gather evidence, file Form RP-524 by the fourth Tuesday, and make your case to a panel of your neighbors. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### 7 Brew drive-through coffee wins preliminary approval for Hard Road URL: https://websterledger.com/7-brew-hard-road-webster-planning-board-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T12:00:01.000Z A drive-through-only 7 Brew coffee stand cleared its first major hurdle at Town Hall this month, winning unanimous preliminary site plan approval from the Webster Planning Board at its June 2 meeting. The project still has conditions to satisfy and a return trip to the board before it can be built, but the vote moves 7 Brew a step closer to Hard Road. The applicant is Brew Team NY, LLC, listed on the agenda under Doug Beachel, a 7 Brew franchisee. The plan calls for a 510-square-foot prefabricated, double drive-through-only coffee stand on a 0.73-acre parcel on Hard Road (SBL 079.15-1-1.313), in the town's High-Intensity Commercial District. ## What 7 Brew is For residents who have seen the brand at other locations around the region, 7 Brew is a drive-through-only coffee company. The stands carry no indoor seating and no lobby. Customers order at a window, often directly from a staff member rather than an intercom, and the compact, prefabricated buildings are designed for fast service. The menu runs well beyond drip coffee, with energy drinks, teas, lemonades, smoothies, shakes, and sodas alongside the coffee lineup. The company has grown quickly nationally, expanding from a few dozen stands in early 2023 to roughly 700 across more than three dozen states, according to the company. The brand has been moving into the Rochester area in recent years, with open stands in Greece and Brockport and an approved location in Penfield. The Hard Road proposal would add Webster to that regional footprint. ## What was approved, and what comes next The board granted preliminary site plan approval with conditions. Before the project returns for final approvals, the applicant must provide a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) and a comment-response letter answering the town's review notes. The plans must also show on-site snow storage areas, a landscaping plan, and a continuation of the bio-retention area to the east. The application first came before the Planning Board at its May 5 meeting, where it was tabled pending a traffic study and the stormwater plan. With those items addressed, the project returned on June 2 for the preliminary approval. The next step for the applicant is to return to the Planning Board for final site plan approval once the conditions are met. For now, the Hard Road stand remains a preliminary approval with conditions still to be met. The Ledger will report final action when it returns to the Planning Board. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Local coverage of the people, places, and decisions that shape Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Planning Board approves 66 new homes at Bella Terra Phase 3 URL: https://websterledger.com/bella-terra-phase-3-66-homes-webster-planning-approval/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T15:20:34.000Z *One of Webster's larger single-family subdivisions cleared its final hurdle weeks before the town's June development moratorium took effect.* --- Bella Terra Phase 3, a 66-lot single-family residential subdivision on Webster's south side, won final site plan and subdivision approval at the Planning Board's May 5, 2026 meeting, clearing the way for the project to move toward construction. The project covers 21.2 acres on a new road to be extended south of Bellora Way. The land carries the parcel identifier SBL# 065.02-1-40.225 and sits in Webster's Low-Medium Residential (LMR) zoning district, the designation the town uses for single-family neighborhoods at moderate lot density. Because the project conforms to that existing zoning, the approval required no rezoning or variance. The applicant is Tom Thomas. The project engineer is Michael Montalto of Costich Engineering, a Rochester-area civil engineering firm. ## Where it is Bellora Way runs through the existing Bella Terra development on Webster's south side. The new homes will be built along a road extended south from that street, expanding a residential area that has been under active development for several years. Bella Terra is a multi-phase project. An earlier phase, Bella Terra Phase II, a townhouse development at the southwest corner of Salt and Schlegel Roads, is already listed among the town's active residential developments and is under construction. Phase 3, the 66 single-family lots approved May 5, is the newest addition to that footprint. ## What 66 new homes means A 66-lot subdivision is a substantial addition to a single neighborhood. New single-family construction at that scale typically brings more vehicle traffic on connecting roads, additional demand on town services and the Webster Central School District, and new property-tax base for the town and county. The town's broader growth has been a live topic this year. Webster's Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2008, and in June the Town Board adopted a [temporary development moratorium](https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/) to maintain the status quo while a consultant drafts an updated plan. That moratorium took effect after Bella Terra Phase 3 had already received its final approval, so the May 5 decision was not affected by it. ## What comes next With final site plan and subdivision approval in hand, the developer's next steps move toward construction permitting and, eventually, home sales. The public record does not specify a construction start date or a timeline for when the first homes would be completed. The Town of Webster maintains a public list of residential developments and a "[Property Under Review](https://www.websterny.gov/550/Property-Under-Review?ref=websterledger.com)" page where residents can track active projects. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### A 115-pound robot named Reboot rolled into Webster's elementary schools URL: https://websterledger.com/sparx-reboot-robot-elementary-school-visits-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-25T12:00:00.000Z The robot can roll, climb, and play a version of basketball, and last week it did all three in front of some of Webster's youngest students. Webster's high school robotics team, SparX, spent part of June bringing its 2026 competition robot, named Reboot, on a tour of district elementary schools. Students at Dewitt Road, Schlegel Road, and State Road elementary schools came face-to-face with the machine, and demonstrations at Klem North, Klem South, and Willink Middle School were scheduled to follow, according to webster on the web, which reported on the visits June 21. SparX is FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1126, a program that has drawn students from both Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas high schools since it was founded in 2002\. The team built its competition robot in roughly six weeks for the 2026 season, then rebuilt the machine significantly between regional events and named the result Reboot. According to webster on the web, Reboot weighs about 115 pounds and can launch balls more than 10 feet into the air. The robot was built for this year's FIRST Robotics Competition game, REBUILT presented by Haas. In the 2026 game, alliances of robots score foam balls called Fuel into goals, cross obstacles, and climb a tower before time runs out, which explains the rolling, shooting, and climbing the elementary students watched up close. SparX competed at two regional competitions this spring. The team brought its original season robot to the Finger Lakes Regional at Rochester Institute of Technology in March, then rebuilt the machine into Reboot, which competed at the New York Tech Valley Regional at MVP Arena in Albany in April. The elementary visits are a familiar tradition for high school robotics programs, which often bring competition robots into younger classrooms to spark early interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. For a seven-year-old watching a 115-pound machine sink a shot from across the gym, the pipeline from elementary curiosity to high school engineering starts with a single demonstration. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Dobbins wins Republican primary in Assembly District 130; Democratic race too close to call URL: https://websterledger.com/ad-130-primary-results-june-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-24T20:58:12.000Z George Dobbins won the Republican primary for the 130th Assembly District once Wayne County's results came in, while the Democratic race remained undecided Wednesday as the district's two counties completed their count. The two primaries drew the most local interest among Webster voters. The district spans Monroe and Wayne counties, which report their results separately. Dobbins trailed in Monroe County, where Mark C. Johns led the three-way Republican primary, but took the lead and the win once Wayne County, the majority of the district, reported. On the Democratic side, Carl Fitzsimmons led in Monroe County, and that race awaits Wayne County's count before a winner is known. The state comptroller and 25th Congressional District races were decided. Thomas P. DiNapoli won the Democratic primary for comptroller, and Rep. Joseph D. Morelle won the Democratic primary in the 25th Congressional District. ## 130th Assembly District, Democratic primary In Monroe County, Fitzsimmons led with a majority of the county's vote, taking 1,187 votes, about 56.2 percent, to Joseph Lamanna's 915 votes, about 43.3 percent. Write-in votes totaled 9, for a Monroe County total of 2,111\. Fitzsimmons led by 272 votes. These figures reflect Monroe County's portion of the district only, with all 37 of the county's election districts reporting. Wayne County, which makes up the rest of the 130th Assembly District, reports its results separately. No winner has been declared. ## 130th Assembly District, Republican primary Dobbins won the three-way Republican primary, according to unofficial results reported by multiple outlets after Wayne County, the majority of the district, reported its count. Districtwide, Dobbins led with 2,087 votes to Johnson's 1,743 and Johns's 1,478. The margin turned on Wayne County. In Monroe County, Johns led the field, taking 790 votes to Johnson's 465 and Dobbins's 393\. Dobbins overtook both once Wayne County, which makes up the larger share of the district, reported. Monroe County's results, with all 37 election districts reporting, are available on the Monroe County Board of Elections Enhanced Voting page. Wayne County's results, which provided the decisive margin, are reported by the Wayne County Board of Elections. ## State comptroller, Democratic primary DiNapoli won the statewide Democratic primary for comptroller. In Monroe County, with all 659 precincts reporting, DiNapoli led with 25,784 votes, about 72.0 percent. Drew Warshaw followed with 5,694 votes, about 15.9 percent, and Raj Goyle with 4,148 votes, about 11.6 percent. Write-in votes totaled 176. ## 25th Congressional District, Democratic primary Morelle won the primary. In Monroe County, with all 659 precincts reporting, Morelle led with 23,583 votes, about 63.2 percent. Robin Wilt followed with 11,345 votes, about 30.4 percent, and Sherita S. Traywick with 2,233 votes, about 6.0 percent. Write-in votes totaled 151. Because those contests had only Democratic primaries, no Republican primary results appeared on the Monroe County ballot for state comptroller or the 25th Congressional District. All figures are unofficial. Monroe County figures reflect Monroe County Board of Elections results, and districtwide Republican primary figures reflect unofficial results reported by multiple outlets after Wayne County reported. Boards of elections will continue counting absentee and affidavit ballots in the days after the primary, and totals will change before results are certified. Percentages are rounded and may not total 100. The Republican and Democratic primaries appeared on separate ballots, and only voters registered with each party could vote in that party's contest. Polls across New York closed at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The winners of Tuesday's primaries advance to the general election on Nov. 3. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Local coverage of the people, places, and decisions that shape Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Arboretum throws a party for America's 250th this Wednesday URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-arboretum-250th-celebration-june-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T12:00:05.000Z The Webster Arboretum is marking the nation's 250th birthday with an afternoon of music, lawn games and food trucks on Wednesday, June 24, and the whole town is invited. The celebration runs from 3 to 7 p.m. at the arboretum inside Kent Park, 1700 Schlegel Road. It is part of the wave of America250 programming taking place across Webster and New York State this summer, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Organizers have lined up an afternoon built for families. The activity list includes story times, scavenger hunts, a Duck Derby, lawn games, kids' crafts, and guided tours of the gardens and the poetry path. Food trucks will be on site, and the Patriot Guard is slated to take part. The music runs throughout the afternoon. Scheduled performers include the Chorus of the Genesee, Dance Party with Denise, the Webster Village Band, Striking Strings and Fathers' Night Out. Ganondagan will share traditional Haudenosaunee stories and talk about Seneca daily life for children. Admission is expected to be free. The arboretum bills itself as open 365 days a year at no cost, and there is no ticket price listed for Wednesday's event. For anyone who has not been, the Webster Arboretum is a community park tucked inside Kent Park off Schlegel Road, with about a mile and a half of trails winding through gardens, groves and a pond. It is run as a community resource and stays open year round. The Curry building on the grounds is available for rentals. Wednesday's event is one of several local tie-ins to the country's semiquincentennial, the formal name for the 250th anniversary. Webster held a summer celebration earlier in June with food trucks and live music. Parking and trail access are available on site at Kent Park. Families planning to stay for the full afternoon may want to bring a folding chair or a blanket for the music. The arboretum is at 1700 Schlegel Road, Webster. The celebration runs 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, with full details on the [Webster Arboretum website event page](https://www.thewebsterarboretum.org/events/americas-250th-anniversary?ref=websterledger.com). ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster begins townwide property revaluation: what the mailer in your box means URL: https://websterledger.com/2027-townwide-revaluation-webster/ Last updated: 2026-06-22T17:56:27.000Z If a letter from the Town of Webster Assessment Office landed in your mailbox over the past two weeks, it is not junk mail, and it is worth a few minutes of your attention. The town has begun its first townwide property revaluation since 2004, and the data-verification mailers now reaching all 17,003 properties are your best chance to correct the record before new market values are set for the 2027 assessment roll. Here is what is happening, what it means for your tax bill, and what you can do right now. ## What a revaluation is A revaluation is a fresh look at the assessed value of every property in town. Webster last did a full townwide revaluation in 2004\. After more than two decades, some properties have drifted to over-assessed and others to under-assessed relative to what they would actually sell for today. The 2027 project is meant to reset every parcel to current market value so the assessment roll is uniform again. The town has retained KLW Municipal Inc. to carry out the work. The first phase, now underway, is data verification: making sure the town's records of what is actually on each parcel are correct before any new value is calculated. ## Why this matters for your tax bill This is the part worth understanding clearly. A revaluation does not, by itself, raise the total amount of property tax the town, county, or school district collects. That total, the tax levy, is set separately through each budget. What a revaluation does is redistribute the existing tax burden. When your assessed value rises relative to your neighbors, your share of the bill goes up. When your assessed value falls relative to your neighbors, your share goes down. Some owners will pay more, some will pay less, and the shift happens parcel by parcel based on how each property's new value compares to the rest of the town. That is why the accuracy of the underlying data matters to every owner, not just to people who think their assessment is too high. ## Why the mailer is your moment The data-verification phase is the one point in the process where you can fix errors before they get baked into a value. The mailer lists the town's record of your property: details like square footage, number of bedrooms, and other features. If something is wrong, this is the time to flag it: a finished basement counted that was never finished, a bedroom that does not exist, square footage that is off. Every parcel will also receive an exterior inspection, including new photos taken from the public right-of-way. No one needs to enter your home for this phase. To verify or correct your data, you can: - Respond to the mailer directly using the instructions printed on it. - Email KLW Municipal at webster@klwgroup.com. - Use the drop box at the Assessment Office in Webster Town Hall, or mail corrections to the Webster Assessment Office, 1000 Ridge Road, Webster, NY 14580. General questions about the project can also go to the Town Assessment Office at 585-412-2320. ## After values are set Once new values are assigned, owners who disagree will still have the formal route of grieving their assessment through the town's grievance process. But that case is far easier to make when the data underneath the value is already correct. Fixing an error now is simpler than disputing a value later. ## Where to learn more The town's Assessment Office, with KLW's Robert Koszarek, has held a series of community sessions explaining the data mailers. The final two are set for Tuesday, June 23, at 1002 Ridge Road in Webster: one from 1 to 3 p.m. and one from 6 to 8 p.m. Webster also administers several property tax exemptions that can lower an individual bill, including exemptions for limited-income seniors, veterans, volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, and people with disabilities and limited income. Eligibility rules and income limits apply, and most applications are due by March 1\. Details are on the town's exemptions page at websterny.gov/79/Exemptions. The STAR and Enhanced STAR school-tax relief programs are administered separately by New York State. Full project details are posted on the town's revaluation page at websterny.gov/874/2027-Townwide-Revaluation-Project. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Names New Wastewater Chief; Cell Tower Review Pushed to July URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-meeting-june-18-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-19T11:43:34.000Z The Webster Town Board appointed a new chief operator for the town's wastewater treatment plant Thursday night and signed on to a state-funded cybersecurity program, while holding off on a closely watched independent review of two proposed Verizon cell towers until next month. The board appointed Dwayne Hilfiker as chief wastewater treatment plant operator, effective July 4, 2026\. Hilfiker will work alongside outgoing chief Rick Kenealy for a period of cross-training before Kenealy retires. The vote was unanimous. Hilfiker rose internally, moving from the maintenance side of the operation to the operations side and earning his 3A and 4A operator licenses before becoming assistant chief operator. Kenealy, who was on vacation and could not attend, sent a statement read aloud by Human Resources Director Kelsey Feeney. "Running a facility like the one at Webster takes more than just a title," Kenealy wrote. "It takes an individual that not only has the institutional knowledge to operate it to its utmost efficiency but also an individual with integrity that has passion for the job and truly cares about its employees and town residents." The statement noted a local connection: Hilfiker's great-grandfather once owned the land where the treatment plant now sits, and Hilfiker played on the property as a child. Council members praised the promotion. "I think that's wonderful when we are able to develop town staff into leadership roles," Councilwoman Jennifer Wright said. The town's wastewater operation is in the middle of a major treatment plant upgrade that several board members described as a centerpiece project for Webster. ## Cybersecurity agreement The board authorized the supervisor to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the New York State Office of Information Technology and the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services for endpoint protection and response services. The vote was unanimous. Councilman Garrett Wagner, the board's information technology liaison, said the protection is provided through the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike under an arrangement the state has built into its budget for the next three years. "For us, it doesn't cost us anything," Wagner said. "Our tax dollars already spend it." ## Cell tower review tabled The board declined to act Thursday on a contract for an independent, third-party engineering review of two proposed Verizon cell towers, voting instead to reschedule the matter to its July 2 meeting. The proposed contract would hire William P. Johnson, an RF engineering consultant based in Batavia, to evaluate Verizon's claims about the need for the towers, with Verizon required to fund the review through an escrow agreement. Community Development Director Josh Artuso said the town contacted roughly 10 firms nationally and received a single response. Supervisor Alex Scialdone credited Planning Board Chairman Anthony Casciani with the idea of an independent review. Discussion centered on whether to expand the contract to include RF drive testing, field work that would measure signal frequencies on site. Johnson does not perform that work himself and would subcontract it to a third party, board members were told, potentially raising the cost. Town Attorney Kyle Taylor advised that adding the field work would change the scope and budget Verizon had agreed to fund, and recommended the board table the resolution rather than approve it and amend it later. "I just don't know that I would recommend moving forward with the contract if you're going to be changing such a material element of that contract," Taylor said. The board voted to reschedule the item to July 2\. A Verizon attorney present at the meeting said the company had extended its review timeline to late August. ## Other business The board took several other actions, all by unanimous vote: - Authorized an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Webster for shared equipment and services, allowing the two governments to assist each other on projects and during emergencies. - Approved a license agreement for a split-rail fence within a town stormwater drainage easement at 1072 Shoemaker Road. - Approved a license agreement for a 6-foot monument sign for fairlife within town easements at 1886 Tebor Road. - Accepted the permanent dedication of Alyssa Way in Westwood Estates Section 3, a 0.32-mile stretch from Allison Lane to Schlegel Road, into the town road system. - Accepted the resignation of Adam Prescott from the Zoning Board of Appeals, effective June 8, and appointed John Accorso to fill the unexpired term, ending Dec. 31, 2028. - Awarded the wastewater treatment plant's polymer solution bid to Polydyne Inc. at a price of $1.77 per pound. The company was the sole bidder. - Approved a series of surplus, recycling, auction and trade-in items from the Highway, Sewer, Parks and Recreation, and Police departments. The Highway Department's list was unusually large following the demolition of the former highway building. Residents used the open-to-the-floor period largely to address the board's recent decision regarding a Pride flag at Town Hall. The Town Board's next regular meeting is scheduled for July 2, 2026. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Free local journalism for the Town of Webster. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Town Board Begins Environmental Review of Transportation Project, Weighs Zoning Grant Bid URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-workshop-june-18-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-19T11:31:16.000Z The Webster Town Board took up the environmental review of a major roadway project and weighed a bid for state grant funding to overhaul the town's zoning code during a workshop Thursday evening, June 18. No votes were taken. The workshop, which preceded the board's regular meeting, consisted of two staff presentations and board discussion. Action on both items is expected in the coming weeks. ## Transportation project enters environmental review Leigh Anne Kimber of the Webster Economic Development Alliance and Town Engineer Keith Mortimer briefed the board on the State Environmental Quality Review process for the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project, a set of road extensions and rehabilitations previously known as the FAST New York project. Kimber said the project qualifies as a Type I action under state environmental law because it would disturb more than two and a half acres of land near a park, triggering the most thorough level of review. The board declared its intent to serve as lead agency for that review on June 4 and is expected to formally take on the role at its July 16 meeting. The review will conclude with one of two findings: a negative declaration, meaning the project poses no significant environmental impact and can proceed, or a positive declaration, which would require a full environmental impact statement before construction approvals could be sought. Kimber told the board that early investigations had turned up no wetlands and no rare plants or animals on the site, and that the State Historic Preservation Office issued a 'no effect' determination letter, finding the project would not affect historic or archaeological resources. She said the determination of significance is targeted for August 20 and pressed board members to stay engaged through a series of summer workshops. "My greatest fear is that we get to August 20th and you're not ready to make that decision," Kimber said, asking members to review materials and bring questions to upcoming sessions. Councilman Garrett Wagner thanked the project team for its work. "This is a very simple, in a way, project. We were just talking about it's just roads, but it's infinitely complex," he said. ## Town weighs $150,000 zoning grant application Earlier in the workshop, Director of Community Development Josh Artuso asked the board to support applying for a 2026 Consolidated Funding Application grant through the New York State Smart Growth Community Planning Program. The town would request $150,000 to fund revisions to its zoning code that align with the comprehensive plan update now underway and expected to be adopted later this year. The grant covers up to 75 percent of project costs, leaving a local match of $37,500, which Artuso said could be met with cash or in-kind town staff time. He noted $4.8 million is available statewide, with a July 30 application deadline. Artuso said the request builds on the town's track record with the same funding source, which previously supported Sandbar Park, the salt barn, and a $100,000 award in 2023 for the comprehensive plan update. "Once an agency funds an initial step in a larger project and you successfully complete it on time and budget, you are significantly more likely to obtain the next round of funding," Artuso said. Asked by board members whether the $150,000 figure was a ceiling, Artuso said he had budgeted conservatively and expected the actual cost to come in lower. He said the town would work with grant consultant J. O'Connell & Associates, Inc. to prepare a competitive application before the deadline. ## What comes next Artuso said he would return in about two weeks with a resolution authorizing the town to submit the grant application and commit to the local match. On the transportation project, the board is expected to declare itself lead agency at its July 16 meeting, with a determination of environmental significance targeted for August 20. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What's on the Webster Town Board agenda Thursday: a zoning-rewrite grant, two cell towers, and a change on the Zoning Board of Appeals URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-06-18-town-board-preview/ Last updated: 2026-06-18T12:00:01.000Z The Webster Town Board meets Thursday, June 18, with a workshop at 6:30 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Board Room, the blue-roof building behind the main Town Hall at 1002 Ridge Road, near the Justice Courts. Here is what is on the agenda and why it matters. The headline item is not a vote. At the 6:30 workshop, the board is set to hear a presentation on applying for a 2026 state grant to pay for rewriting Webster's zoning code so it lines up with the town's coming Comprehensive Plan update. It is the concrete next step after the development moratorium the Ledger has reported on. ## The grant that would pay to rewrite the zoning code The moratorium was a pause. This is what the pause is meant to lead to. In [a piece published earlier](https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/), the Ledger walked through Local Law No. 2 of 2026, the six-month development pause the Town Board adopted June 4\. The law's stated purpose is to hold the status quo while the town finishes an updated Comprehensive Plan. Thursday's workshop takes the obvious next question, once the plan is done, how do you change the rules to match it, and puts a funding plan in front of the board. The presentation, titled "Smart Growth Community Planning Program, Town of Webster, NY, 2026 CFA Grant Application," proposes that the town apply through New York's 2026 Consolidated Funding Application for a Smart Growth Community Planning Program grant to fund new or updated community-wide zoning regulations. The slides say those regulations would be written "to align with the recommendations set forth in the comprehensive plan update, expected to be completed later this year." The deck lists the program's stated purposes as supporting "climate resilience, housing availability and affordability, accessible and livable communities, and waterfront development." This is a presentation, not a vote. There is no grant-authorizing resolution among Thursday's regular-meeting items. The deck's own "next steps" slide makes that explicit: a future Town Board resolution authorizing the grant application and the local match still has to come, the application would be developed with grant consultant Jean O'Connell and Associates, and it would be submitted through the CFA portal by July 30\. In other words, Thursday is the board hearing the pitch and weighing whether to authorize an application later. On the dollars, the deck presents these figures: a grant request of $150,000, grant funds covering up to 75 percent of the project, and a 25 percent local match stated as $37,500\. That $37,500 share would come from the town, meaning local taxpayer dollars. The program's minimum request is $75,000, and the slides note $4.8 million is available statewide. To be eligible, a municipality must have a Comprehensive Plan update under development through the program, which Webster does. The presentation also lays out the history. Webster received $100,000 from the same state source in 2023 to fund the Comprehensive Plan update now underway, and the slides note the program has previously helped fund Sandbar Park and Salt Barn construction. The deck pegs the zoning code rewrite itself at an estimated 12 to 18 months of work. Even if the board likes what it hears Thursday, the public process continues well past this presentation. Beyond that authorizing resolution, the milestones ahead include adoption of the updated Comprehensive Plan and a request for proposals to hire the consultant who would carry out the zoning rewrite. Each of those is a later point where residents can weigh in. ## Two Verizon cell towers back on the agenda Item 14 on the regular-meeting agenda would authorize Town Supervisor Scialdone to sign an engagement letter with William P. Johnson, an RF engineering consultant, for an independent third-party review of two proposed Verizon cell tower sites. Under the arrangement described in the resolution, the cost of that review is to be reimbursed by Verizon Wireless. The same independent-review arrangement also appeared on the board's June 4 agenda. Both sites are ones the Ledger has reported on before. One is at 1222 Wildflower Drive (parcel 065.05-1-48), zoned R-3 Single Family Residential, where a roughly 135-foot wireless facility has been proposed. The other sits on a 7.8-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Lake Road and the Monroe-Wayne County Line Road (parcel 037.03-1-44), zoned Large-Lot Residential, where a roughly 125-foot tower has been proposed; an area variance for that site was tabled at the Zoning Board of Appeals in April. The applicant in both cases is Verizon Wireless. Hiring an outside engineer lets the town's boards have Verizon's own engineering vetted by an independent expert, at Verizon's expense, before they vote. The consultant, Johnson, is described in his service proposal as a Rochester Institute of Technology professor emeritus in telecommunications engineering who is also admitted to the New York bar and who has worked on prior Webster wireless matters. ## A seat opens on the Zoning Board of Appeals Two related items, 10 and 11, would change the makeup of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the panel that rules on variance requests, including the height variances that come with cell tower proposals. Item 10 would accept the resignation of Adam Prescott from the ZBA, effective June 8\. Item 11 would appoint John Accorso to fill the unexpired term, which runs through December 31, 2028. ## Also on Thursday's agenda A run of other items rounds out the regular meeting. - **Westwood Estates road dedication (item 9).** The board is set to accept the permanent dedication of Alyssa Way, a 0.32-mile stretch running from Allison Lane to Schlegel Road, by a deed of dedication from Combat Construction LLC. The action follows the board's June 4 acceptance of three park-district parcels in the same Westwood Estates Section 3 subdivision. - **New wastewater plant chief (item 8).** The agenda calls for appointing Dwayne Hilfiker as Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator, effective July 4, serving alongside current chief Rick Kenealy for cross-training before the handoff. - **Treatment-plant polymer bid (item 13).** The board is set to award the polymer solution bid for the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Phillips Road to Polydyne Inc. of Riceboro, Georgia, at $1.775 per pound, on a one-year term with two optional one-year extensions. Polydyne was the only responsive bidder. - **fairlife monument sign (item 12).** A license agreement would allow a six-foot-tall monument sign within town sewer and snowplow-turnaround easements at the fairlife property at 1886 Tebor Road (parcel 066.03-1-28.001). - **Shared-services and cybersecurity agreements (items 5 and 6).** The agenda includes an intermunicipal agreement between the Town and the Village of Webster for shared equipment and services, and an intergovernmental agreement for endpoint-protection cybersecurity services with New York State agencies. - **Easement licenses (item 7).** A license would permit a split-rail fence within a town stormwater drainage easement at 1072 Shoemaker Road (parcel 064.08-2-43), with a letter of support from the Highway Superintendent confirming the drainage is unaffected. - **Surplus property (items 15 through 19).** Several town departments, including Highway, Sewer, Parks and Recreation, and Police, are set to declare equipment surplus for recycling, trade-in, or auction. The agenda also opens with item 1, approval of the minutes from the June 4 workshop and June 4 meeting. Once approved, those minutes become the official record of the June 4 actions, including the moratorium vote. ## The workshop also hears from the economic development alliance Alongside the grant presentation, the 6:30 workshop is set to include a presentation on FAST NY, the state's program for readying shovel-ready development sites, by Leigh Anne Kimber of the Webster Economic Development Alliance. ## How to weigh in The meetings are open to the public in the Town Board Room behind the main Town Hall at 1002 Ridge Road. Public comment is open to the floor by signing up at the meeting before 7:30pm. There is a typical limit of five minutes per speaker (sometimes reduced if there are many sign ups). Residents who want to follow along but cannot attend can find the agendas and, once posted, the minutes through the town's meeting records. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What the moratorium actually froze: the one project now in limbo URL: https://websterledger.com/what-the-moratorium-actually-froze/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T19:02:11.000Z Correction (August 3, 2026): This article originally stated that the moratorium applies to property in one of five commercial and office-park districts. It applies to six. Low Intensity Commercial is two separate districts, LC-1 and LC-2, and Local Law No. 2 names both. The article has been updated. When the Webster Town Board adopted a development moratorium on June 4, the word itself sounded sweeping. A moratorium suggests a town hitting pause, a freeze across the map. The reality on the ground is narrower and more precise. As of this writing, the new law has caught essentially one active project. That project is Dinks and Links, a proposed indoor and outdoor recreation facility on Five Mile Line Road. At the Planning Board's June 2 meeting, two days before the Town Board adopted the moratorium, the board tabled the application without granting it preliminary approval. That single fact, the absence of a preliminary approval before the law's effective date, is what now leaves it in limbo. To understand why the freeze is so small, you have to understand where the law draws its line. ## The bright line: approved before the effective date, or not The moratorium, Local Law No. 2 of 2026, was adopted by the Town Board on June 4 by a unanimous 5 to 0 vote. It takes effect upon filing with the New York State Secretary of State. The law states its own purpose. The town's Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2008, and amid growing development pressure the board adopted a temporary pause to maintain the status quo while a third-party consultant drafts an updated Comprehensive Plan, a process the law says is expected to take roughly six to seven months. Its reach is also prospective: for six months, extendable to as long as a year, the law bars the town from approving new commercial-district site plans and subdivisions of more than four parcels. The law does not stop projects that were already far enough along. Under Section 8-A, any application that had received Preliminary Site Plan or Special Permit approval before the effective date is exempt. That one threshold decides almost everything. The clearest illustration was decided at the very same meeting. At the June 2 Planning Board meeting where Dinks and Links was tabled, a separate project in Webster's High Intensity Commercial district, the 7-Brew drive-through coffee proposal, received preliminary site plan approval. Because it cleared that bar before the law took effect, it is exempt. Dinks and Links did not, so it is not. Piranha Rents, an equipment rental and storage operation on the same Five Mile Line Road corridor and in the same High Intensity Commercial district, tells the same story from further back. It received final site plan approval in December 2025\. Same kind of commercial project, same stretch of road, opposite outcome, decided entirely by when the approval came through. That is the engine of the moratorium. Most pending commercial and subdivision applications in town had already reached preliminary approval, so they fall outside the freeze. The set of projects actually stopped is small because the exemption is broad. ## What the moratorium does not touch Being inside a covered commercial district is not enough, on its own, to freeze a project. The law applies only to specific kinds of applications: new site plans, subdivisions, and special use permits. Sign approvals are the cleanest example. Several pending sign applications sit in commercial districts the moratorium covers, including High Intensity Commercial, Medium Intensity Commercial, and Commercial Outdoor Storage. None of them is blocked. A sign approval is not a site plan, a subdivision, or a special permit, so it falls outside the law's reach even though the property is in a covered zone. The same holds for the long list of residential variances, accessory structures, and already-approved subdivisions on the town's project rolls. Area variances are a different category of application entirely. Subdivisions that were approved before the effective date are exempt. The bulk of what is moving through the town's boards is untouched. ## The scope, stated plainly Here is what the moratorium actually covers. A project is frozen only if it meets all three of these conditions. First, it has to be one of the affected activities or sit in one of the affected districts: a subdivision of land resulting in more than four parcels, a large-scale solar project, a data center, or a project on property in one of six commercial and office-park districts, namely Office Park North, Medium Intensity Commercial, High Intensity Commercial, Commercial Outdoor Storage, and the two Low Intensity Commercial districts, LC-1 and LC-2. Second, the pending application has to be a new site plan, subdivision plan, or special use permit. Variances, sign approvals, and zoning interpretations do not count. Third, the application cannot already be exempt. It must not have received preliminary site plan or special permit approval before the effective date, it must not be the redevelopment or rehabilitation of an existing structure, and it must not be ordinary repairs, maintenance, or interior renovation. The law runs six months from its effective date, to roughly early December, and the Town Board can extend it twice more, by three months each time. There is also a relief valve: an applicant can petition the Town Board for a hardship exemption, on a clear and convincing showing, for a filing fee of $150. ## The town's own words The scope was discussed on the record. At the June 2 Planning Board meeting, the conversation about Dinks and Links noted the timing directly: the board was, in the words of that discussion, having a conversation about high intensity commercial development two days before a moratorium is put into place, and the project was, as it was put, going to get kicked down the line six months. Two days later, at the June 4 Town Board meeting, a council member asked the town attorney whether a project that had been before the Planning Board multiple times, but never received preliminary approval, could still move forward. Town attorney Kyle Taylor answered that it could not: *"The bright line that is drawn is projects \[that\] have been granted preliminary approval. So any projects that haven't, regardless of whether they've appeared before a planning board or a zoning board today, they haven't received preliminary approval, then they will be subject to \[the\] moratorium."* From the dais, Supervisor Scialdone summarized what the law reaches: large-scale solar projects, data centers, larger subdivisions, and anything in the commercial zones. For Dinks and Links, that is the whole story. The Planning Board's motion to table cited the need for further review between town administration, town engineering, and the developers, not the moratorium itself. But because the project had no preliminary approval when the law took effect, the moratorium now bars its approval until the freeze lifts or the developer wins a hardship exemption. One project, caught by two days and a single threshold. --- *A note on sourcing: the June 2 and June 4 meetings do not yet have posted minutes. The statuses described from those dates, including the tabling of Dinks and Links, the approval of 7-Brew, and the moratorium vote, are drawn from the meeting video record and the posted agenda result fields. Where minutes are posted, they were used.* ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What's actually on your June 23 primary ballot in Webster, by party URL: https://websterledger.com/june-23-primary-ballot-webster-by-party/ Last updated: 2026-06-16T12:00:09.000Z New York's statewide primary is Tuesday, June 23, and what you will find on your ballot in Webster depends entirely on one thing: the party you are registered with. New York runs a closed primary, which means you can only vote in the primary of the party you are enrolled in. Voters who are not enrolled in a party do not get a primary ballot at all. That single rule splits Webster voters into three groups this June. Unaffiliated voters have nothing to vote on. Registered Republicans have one contested race. Registered Democrats have three. Those counts reflect how many candidates filed to run in each party's primaries this year, not the size or strength of either party. Here is exactly what each group will see. ## First, the deadlines have already passed Two dates that would have let you change this have already gone by. The deadline to change your party enrollment for this primary was February 14, 2026\. The deadline to register to vote was June 13, 2026\. Both are in the past, so for June 23 your party status is locked in as it stands now. If you are not sure which party you are enrolled in, you can check your registration and party online through the New York State Board of Elections voter lookup tool at [voterlookup.elections.ny.gov](https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/?ref=websterledger.com). It will show your enrollment status after you enter your name, date of birth, and county. ## If you are not enrolled in a party: nothing Because this is a closed primary, voters registered without a party affiliation (often called unaffiliated or "blank") will not receive a primary ballot in Webster on June 23\. There is no nonpartisan or independent primary ballot to request. The next time these voters cast a ballot is the November general election. ## If you are a registered Republican: one race Webster Republicans have one contested primary on June 23. **State Assembly, District 130.** Three Republicans are running for their party's nomination in the Assembly district that includes Webster: Summer L. Johnson, George Dobbins, and Mark C. Johns. The winner advances to the November general election. Mark C. Johns lists a Webster address on the certified candidate list. That is the only contested Republican primary on a Webster ballot. The statewide Republican races for Governor, Comptroller, and Attorney General each have a single candidate, so there is no Republican primary contest in those. ## If you are a registered Democrat: three races Webster Democrats have three contested primaries on June 23. **State Comptroller (statewide).** Every enrolled Democrat in the state, including in Webster, votes in this one. Three candidates are running: incumbent Thomas P. DiNapoli, Drew Warshaw, and Raj Goyle. **U.S. House, New York's 25th Congressional District.** Webster sits in NY-25\. Three Democrats are running: Robin Wilt, incumbent Joseph D. Morelle, and Sherita S. Traywick. **State Assembly, District 130.** Two Democrats are running for the same Webster-area Assembly seat that Republicans are also contesting: Carl Fitzsimmons, who lists a Webster address, and Joseph Lamanna. ## What is not on the June 23 ballot Two races Webster voters may be expecting are not part of this primary, and they are worth flagging to avoid confusion. **State Senate, District 55.** There is no primary here. The matchup between Samra G. Brouk and Chris Brown of Webster is set for the November general election, not June. **Webster Town Supervisor.** There is no June primary. The race between Alex Scialdone and Sean Hanna is a November general election contest. ## How and when to vote Election Day is Tuesday, June 23, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Early voting is already underway and runs through Sunday, June 21\. The early voting site listed for the Webster area is the Webster Justice Court Building at 1002 Ridge Road. Early voting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. If you cannot vote in person, you can still vote by mail or absentee ballot. Applications can be submitted online through the New York State absentee ballot portal at [ballotapplication.elections.ny.gov](https://ballotapplication.elections.ny.gov/home/absentee?ref=websterledger.com), or in person at the Monroe County Board of Elections at 435 Smith Street in Rochester. A completed ballot can be dropped at any poll site during early voting or on Election Day. Applications to vote absentee in person are accepted through June 22, 2026\. A completed ballot must be returned in person by 9 p.m. on June 23, or if mailed, postmarked by June 23 and received by June 30. Not sure where you vote on June 23? You can look up your assigned Election Day poll site through the Monroe County Board of Elections at [monroecounty.gov/elections](https://www.monroecounty.gov/elections?ref=websterledger.com). Candidate names and contests above are drawn from the Monroe County Board of Elections certified candidate list dated April 30, 2026; the BOE notes the list is subject to change pending any court cases. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What Village of Webster voters are deciding Tuesday, June 16 URL: https://websterledger.com/village-of-webster-special-election-2026-06-16/ Last updated: 2026-06-15T18:51:54.000Z The Village of Webster holds a special election on Tuesday, June 16\. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. at a single location: the Community Meeting Room in Village Hall, 29 South Avenue. Voters will decide a contested seat on the Village Board of Trustees and a ballot proposition that would shift two portions of a vacant industrial parcel out of the Village and into the Town of Webster. One point matters before anything else: only people registered to vote at an address inside the Village of Webster may cast a ballot in this election. The Town of Webster is much larger than the Village, and most residents with a "Webster, NY" mailing address live in the Town, outside the Village line. If you live in the Town but not the incorporated Village, you are not eligible to vote on Tuesday. This is the single most common source of confusion in a Village election, so it is worth checking your registration before you go. Here is what is on the ballot and how to vote. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Who can vote, and where - **Date:** Tuesday, June 16, 2026 - **Hours:** Noon to 9 p.m. - **Location:** Community Meeting Room, Village Hall, 29 South Avenue, Webster, NY 14580 - **Eligibility:** Registered voters who live inside the incorporated boundaries of the Village of Webster only The Monroe County Board of Elections administers the vote. Its office is at 435 Smith Street in Rochester, and its general line is (585) 753-1550\. The Village information line is (585) 265-3770. If you are unsure whether your home falls inside the Village boundary, the Board of Elections can confirm your registration and polling eligibility. ## The contested trustee seat The ballot includes a contested race for a seat on the Village Board of Trustees. The term is one year, and voters are instructed to vote for one. Two candidates are on the ballot: - **Michael J. Morency**, listed on the Republican and Conservative lines, of 118 Judson Street, Webster. - **Brian McGraw**, listed on the Webster Neighbors line, of 71 Corning Park, Webster. A write-in option is also available. Both candidates' names and ballot lines are drawn from the Monroe County Board of Elections sample ballot and the Board's certified candidate list for the June 16 election. ## The boundary proposition The second item is a proposition asking whether the Village's boundaries should be reduced by removing certain territory and placing it in the Town of Webster. Voters choose Yes or No. The ballot opens: > Shall the boundaries of the Village of Webster be diminished by exclusion of the following territory... The full text then describes the territory in detail by its boundary lines. What the proposition covers is narrower than it may sound. The territory is two portions of a single industrial parcel, identified by Tax ID number 065.19-1-1.1, which Xerox Corporation owns. Several other Tax ID numbers appear in the ballot language (parcels 080.02-1-54, -55, and -62), but those are neighboring parcels already located in the Town. They are named only to describe the boundary lines, and they are not being moved. The Village describes the larger of the two portions as roughly 32 acres off Phillips Road, Mitcheldean Drive and Resende Road, and the smaller as about 1.3 acres along Ridge Road near Route 104\. Both are zoned for general industrial use. Xerox filed the petition that put the question on the ballot. In the petition, the company ties the request to the Reimagine Webster Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan, a redevelopment framework that the Town and Village jointly asked New York's Department of State to designate in April 2025 and that the state certified in June 2025\. A Brownfield Opportunity Area is a New York State program for redeveloping vacant, abandoned or underused (often formerly contaminated) industrial land, and this parcel is part of the former Xerox industrial campus. The petition states that the boundary change "is a key step to implementing the vision established in the BOA Plan" and that Xerox "is supportive of the BOA Plan and its objectives and wishes to assist the village and town in reaching such objectives." Xerox is also the petitioner, and its sworn filing states the company owns 100 percent of the assessed value of the territory and that no residents live there. The petition was filed under Village Law section 18-1804, which allows a village boundary to be reduced by petition and referendum. ### What changes if it passes The central effect is jurisdictional. If the proposition passes, the territory leaves the Village and sits entirely within the Town of Webster, which would become the sole authority for zoning, land use and permitting there. The Village's special-election materials describe the purpose as consolidating that authority in the Town so that future redevelopment moves through Town approvals alone rather than requiring both Town and Village sign-off. In mechanical terms, the change removes the Village as a second approval body for that land, leaving the Town as the only municipal sign-off on future land-use decisions there. A No vote keeps the territory inside the Village, so it would remain subject to both Town and Village approval for future land-use decisions. The tax effect is small. According to the sworn assessment table in Xerox's petition, the territory has an assessed value of about $909,800 and paid $1,928.77 in Village taxes in 2025\. That figure, roughly $1,929 a year, is the Village's annual revenue from the territory and what it would forgo if the measure passes. The parcel would remain on the Town, county and school tax rolls; it is only leaving the Village. The petition also swears that the number of residents in the territory is zero and that Xerox owns 100 percent of its assessed value. No organized opposition to the proposition surfaced in the public record reviewed for this article, including Village materials, Board of Elections filings, the petition itself and local news coverage. The petition states that a majority of the Town Board has already consented in writing to the change, an item referenced as an exhibit to the filing. ## The bigger picture The proposition is one procedural step inside a larger effort to reuse vacant industrial land in Webster's north end. As Xerox has consolidated its operations, it has left significant empty industrial space, and the Town and Village have pursued the state Brownfield Opportunity Area process to make redevelopment of those properties possible. Moving this slice of the former Xerox footprint fully under Town control is intended to put a redevelopment-targeted site on a single approval track. For voters on Tuesday, the practical questions are simpler: whether to approve the boundary change, who should fill the one-year trustee seat, and, first of all, whether you live inside the Village and are eligible to weigh in. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Yes, you can keep chickens in your Webster backyard. Here's what you need to know. URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-backyard-chickens-special-use-permit/ Last updated: 2026-06-12T13:00:03.000Z Backyard chickens are legal in Webster. On June 9, a Halesworth Lane homeowner asked the Zoning Board of Appeals for permission to keep up to eight hens and an 8-by-8-foot coop on a four-tenths-of-an-acre lot, and the board said yes. That is the part that surprises most people: the town has a process for this, and your neighbors use it. The board granted a one-year trial permit, with conditions: evergreen screening plantings along two of the property lines, so the coop is not a surprise to the neighbors next door. It was one of five routine variance and permit applications the ZBA approved that night. A board member noted at the June 9 meeting that the ZBA hears three or four applications like this one a year. This is not a rare or eccentric thing to pursue. ## So what does the code actually say? The Webster Zoning Code allows hens in residential districts by special use permit under Sections 350-40 and 350-103\. The code specifies requirements for coop placement and flock size. If you want the exact numbers, the Building Department at 1000 Ridge Road is the right call. What is confirmed: you need a permit, the ZBA grants it, and the permit comes up for renewal periodically. The board sets the term case by case (the June 9 grant was a one-year trial), so do not assume a single fixed timeline. One note worth knowing: the code governs hens specifically. If you had roosters in mind, check with the Building Department before getting attached to the idea. ## The process You do not just call the Building Department and get a stamp. A special use permit application goes to the ZBA, which holds a public hearing. Neighbors can comment. The board looks at the specifics of your lot, your proposed coop location, and the size of the flock. An application fee applies. The bar is not prohibitive if you are on a reasonable lot with a modest flock. The ZBA is weighing whether your setup fits your particular property and neighborhood, not whether chickens are inherently bad. The June 9 approval is a good example of how that works in practice: the board granted the permit but attached screening conditions tailored to that specific lot. The process exists to give neighbors a voice and to make sure the coop at the property line is not a surprise. ## Why people do this Eggs, mostly. Fresh eggs from hens you know by name taste different, or at least it feels that way. For some families it is a pandemic-era hobby that never left. For others it is a piece of a broader effort to know where their food comes from. Parents find it useful for teaching kids something about where breakfast begins. This is not a farm. It is a backyard project, on lots not much bigger than a standard Webster subdivision parcel. ## What is the ZBA, anyway? The Zoning Board of Appeals is a five-member board that hears variance requests and special use permit applications when town code requires it. Here's a deeper look at [how the ZBA works](https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/). ## The bottom line If you have been looking at your backyard and thinking it could handle a few hens, Webster's zoning code agrees it might be worth asking. File the application, go to the hearing, and let the board weigh in. Worst case, you come home with a clearer understanding of your setback requirements. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What is the Zoning Board of Appeals? A Webster resident's guide. URL: https://websterledger.com/what-is-the-zoning-board-of-appeals/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T18:30:10.000Z If you have ever wanted to build a garage closer to your property line than the code allows, keep backyard chickens, or run a business out of your home, you may eventually end up in front of the Webster Zoning Board of Appeals. The ZBA is not the Town Board. It does not write laws. What it does is hear appeals and grant limited relief from the rules already on the books, case by case, with a public hearing and a written decision. ## What the ZBA is The Zoning Board of Appeals is a five-member board appointed by the Town Board. Members are not elected. The board operates as a quasi-judicial body, meaning it acts more like a judge than a legislator: it takes testimony, weighs evidence, and issues decisions that carry legal weight. The ZBA hears three kinds of cases: appeals from decisions made by the Building Inspector or Zoning Enforcement Officer, requests for variances from the zoning code, and applications for certain special permits. On an appeal, the board can uphold or reverse the official's decision. On a variance or special permit, it decides whether to grant relief from the code's requirements. If someone disagrees with a ZBA decision, the next step is an Article 78 proceeding, a special legal action filed in New York State Supreme Court challenging the board's ruling. ## The kinds of variances and permits the ZBA decides **Area variances** are the most common type of case. An area variance allows a property owner to build or use land in a way that does not meet the zoning code's dimensional rules: setbacks, lot size, building height, and similar requirements. When evaluating an area variance application, the board weighs the benefit to the applicant against the potential harm to the neighborhood, working through five statutory factors: whether granting the variance would produce an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood or create a detriment to nearby properties; whether the benefit sought can be achieved by some other method that is feasible for the applicant to pursue; whether the variance is substantial relative to what the code requires; whether it would produce adverse physical or environmental effects on the neighborhood; and whether the hardship is self-created. The board does not have to rule in the applicant's favor even if most factors cut that way. It weighs them as a whole. **Use variances** are harder to get. A use variance allows a property owner to operate a use the zoning code does not permit in that district at all. Under New York Town Law, the applicant must show "unnecessary hardship," which requires proving that the property cannot yield a reasonable return under any permitted use, that the hardship is unique to the property rather than general to the neighborhood, that granting the variance would not change the essential character of the district, and that the hardship is not self-created. The standard is intentionally high because use variances change what a zone is for, not just how a building sits within it. **Special use permits** cover a middle category: uses that Webster's zoning code allows in a given district, but only with board review and approval. A backyard chicken coop in a residential zone is one common example. A home-based business that generates client traffic is another. The applicant typically must show that the proposed use meets specific criteria in the code and would not harm adjoining properties. The board also has authority to issue **zoning interpretations**, ruling on how the code applies when the language is ambiguous or a particular situation is not clearly addressed. These are separate from the three main case types above. ## How residents can participate Every application before the ZBA requires a public hearing. That hearing is your opportunity to weigh in. You can attend in person and speak during public comment. There is no formal requirement for advance sign-up; arrive before the hearing opens and let the board chair know you wish to address the board. You can also submit a written comment to the Building Department before the hearing date. Written comments become part of the official record. If you support or oppose an application, a brief, clear letter, signed and addressed to the ZBA, carries real weight. Neighbors who receive a mailed notice of a ZBA hearing have standing to comment. If you did not receive notice but believe you are an affected party, contact the Building Department. ## When and where the ZBA meets The Webster ZBA meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Town Board Room at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. Agendas are typically posted in advance on the town's website. ## What the ZBA cannot do Two limits worth knowing. First, the ZBA cannot amend the zoning code. Changing what is permitted in a zone, or altering the dimensional standards, requires action by the Town Board. If a variance request is really asking for a code change, the ZBA will not be the right venue. Second, the ZBA cannot approve anything that would violate state law. A variance that runs contrary to a state environmental regulation, for example, is not within the board's power to grant. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster ZBA tables Xerox solar challenge and Waterview Phase 3 until July URL: https://websterledger.com/zba-june-9-2026-results/ Last updated: 2026-06-10T20:11:52.000Z The Webster Zoning Board of Appeals met June 9 and left two of its three agenda items unresolved. The board tabled a citizen challenge to the town's permit for the Xerox campus solar farm until July 14, and separately announced before the meeting began that the Waterview Apartments Phase 3 application would also wait until July. Five routine variance and permit applications were approved unanimously. ## Xerox solar challenge tabled until July 14 A group of residents from Grand Meadows Way and Pine Lakes Trail is challenging the town's classification of the Webster Solar Garden project as an Industrial Use Permit matter, arguing that the project should have been reviewed under the town's Solar Energy Law and required a Special Use Permit instead. The Webster Solar Garden is a proposed ground-mounted solar installation on the Xerox campus at 139 Caracas Drive, developed by Montante Solar on land owned by Xerox Corporation. The appellants are Elaine Johnson, Debbie Rice, Jane and Ben Bashaw, and Jerri Breschard. They are represented by an attorney. Their attorney argued the town committed what he called a "parade of errors" in approving the project: an incomplete application, no special use permit required, the Planning Board reviewing a different project layout than the one the Town Board ultimately approved (the attorney said Montante Solar removed panels from the hazardous waste site and relocated them to the forested section after Planning Board review without returning to that board), and a SEQRA type classification the attorney argued may no longer be valid. Community Development Director Josh Artuso made the original determination that the project qualified as an Industrial Use, rather than triggering the Special Use Permit pathway under the Solar Energy Law. Before reaching the merits, the board's counsel, John DeMarco of DeMarco Taylor Law Group, raised a threshold question: was the appeal filed on time? New York Town Law requires appeals to be filed within 60 days of the administrative determination. Two possible starting points for that clock were discussed: a July 2025 Town Board resolution that referenced the industrial-use-only determination, and an April 1, 2026 email from Artuso to board members and the public. The appellants' attorney argued the April 1 email was the first public notice of the determination. DeMarco countered that the July 2025 resolution was posted on the town website and is arguably a public record. Board members said they had not had adequate time to review materials handed to them shortly before the meeting began. The board voted unanimously to table the appeal until the July 14 ZBA meeting and asked that any additional documentation be submitted at least one week in advance. A parallel Article 78 proceeding challenging the Town Board's approval of the solar project has already been filed in court. DeMarco confirmed the board's July determination would not affect the Article 78 case, and vice versa. The Webster Solar Garden, developed by Montante Solar in partnership with Xerox, received an Industrial Use Permit from the Webster Town Board in a 3-2 vote on April 2\. The Planning Board approved the final site plan in January 2026. ## Waterview Phase 3 also pushed to July Before any public business was taken up, the board chair announced that the Waterview Apartments Phase 3 application would be tabled until July. No reason was given on the record. Legacy Development Co. is seeking area variances for Phase 3 at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive: a front setback of 18.7 feet where 75 feet is required, and a single-family district buffer of 38.5 feet where 100 feet is required. The proposal calls for six buildings and a community center totaling 56 units in the Medium High Residential district. ## Five routine items approved unanimously **101 Midnight Trail.** The board approved an area variance for a front setback of 44 feet, where 75 feet is required, for a 480-square-foot pole barn. The property is a flag lot set more than 1,000 feet back from the road. The owner is active military. A neighboring property owner submitted a letter of support. **514 Klem Road.** The board approved an area variance for a side setback of 13.3 feet, where 15 feet is required, for a new 720-square-foot attached two-car garage. The applicant had obtained signatures from all neighboring properties. **Bay-Ridge Resubdivision (423-429 Ridge Road and 1036-1036A Bay Road).** The board approved multiple area variances to allow a resubdivision of five existing lots into four, so that each building sits on its own legal lot. Existing lot lines ran through the buildings. The application proceeds to the Planning Board for final approval. **1640 Lake Road.** The board approved area variances for lot widths of 162.45 feet and 177.45 feet, where 250 feet is required, to allow a two-lot subdivision of an 8.3-acre parcel. The applicant, Triple Family Asset Group LLC, represented by Michael Seversky, stated an intent to purchase one of the resulting lots and combine it with an adjacent property already in the applicant's ownership. **1813 Halesworth Lane.** The board granted a one-year trial Special Use Permit for a chicken coop (8 by 8 feet) and up to eight hens on a 0.42-acre R-2 parcel. Conditions include evergreen screening plantings along the north property line, near 1817 Halesworth, and the east property line. The board noted it hears three or four backyard chicken applications each year. The board also approved the minutes from the May 12, 2026 ZBA meeting. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster enacted a commercial development moratorium. Here's what it does. URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-zoning-moratorium-explainer/ Last updated: 2026-06-09T19:38:35.000Z The Webster Town Board enacted a six-month moratorium on commercial development approvals on June 4, 2026, covering every one of the town's commercial districts. The law takes effect upon filing with the New York State Department of State. Here is what the law covers, what it exempts, and which projects are already affected. ## What is it? The moratorium is Local Law No. 2 of 2026, formally titled "A moratorium on certain permits and approvals for certain development projects." The Town Board held a public hearing on April 2\. On April 16, it voted unanimously (5-0) to refer the proposed law to Monroe County for a mandatory inter-governmental review, a procedural step required under state law before any local zoning measure can be enacted. The board voted unanimously, 5-0, on June 4 to enact the law. It takes effect upon filing with the New York State Department of State. The stated reason: Webster's Comprehensive Plan has not been updated since 2008\. As the law's own legislative intent section puts it, "The current comprehensive plan and zoning and planning laws are inadequate to protect and preserve the Town of Webster's unique character and attributes while accommodating appropriate growth." The Town Board wants to update the plan before approving additional development, and expects a draft within six to seven months (roughly October to November 2026). No organized opposition was recorded at the April 2 hearing. ## Which zones are covered? All six of Webster's commercial districts are covered: High Intensity Commercial (HC), Medium Intensity Commercial (MC), Low Intensity Commercial (LC-1 and LC-2), Commercial Outdoor Storage (CO), and Office Park North (O-P). ## What kinds of approvals are paused? The moratorium targets siting processes the Town says its 2008 plan no longer adequately governs, including solar farms and data centers, as well as large subdivisions in commercial zones. Specifically, within those zones, the law puts a hold on: - Subdivisions of land into more than four parcels - Large-scale solar projects (the town's moratorium covers solar siting approvals in commercial zones; the law's legislative intent section cites Webster's 2008 Comprehensive Plan as inadequate 'to accommodate appropriate growth') - Data centers - Site plan approvals, special permits, and rezoning applications generally ## What is NOT affected? The moratorium exempts a significant range of everyday activity: - Routine home improvements, renovations, and repairs - Single-family building permits on existing lots - Interior improvements - Redevelopment or rehabilitation of existing structures - **Any application that had already received Preliminary Site Plan or Special Permit approval before the effective date** That last exemption is the most consequential for pending projects. ## What does this mean for projects already in the pipeline? Two applications before the June 2 Planning Board meeting illustrate the split. The Dinks and Links recreational complex proposed for Five Mile Line Road was tabled at the June 2 Planning Board meeting without receiving preliminary site plan approval. During the June 4 Town Board meeting, as the board considered the moratorium vote, a board member raised the application as an example of a project that had appeared before the Planning Board multiple times without receiving preliminary approval, and asked whether it could proceed. Town attorney Kyle Taylor confirmed that the project is subject to the moratorium because no preliminary approval was granted before the effective date. Taylor also confirmed that the hardship relief process is available, but cautioned the board that granting an exception would set a precedent worth careful consideration. For more on the June 2 hearing, see the full [Planning Board recap](https://websterledger.com/planning-board-june-2-2026-2/). By contrast, 7 Brew Coffee's drive-through on Hard Road received preliminary site plan approval at the June 2 Planning Board meeting, before the moratorium took effect. That application appears protected under the exemption for projects with pre-effective-date preliminary approval. ## How can someone seek relief? The law includes a hardship process. An applicant may apply to the Town Board for limited relief. The requirements: a written application, a $150 filing fee, and clear and convincing evidence, including what the law describes as "dollars and cents proof," that the moratorium causes irreparable injury and that it would be unjust not to grant relief. ## How long does this last? The law runs six months from its effective date, expiring around December 4, 2026\. The Town Board may extend it for up to two additional three-month periods, for a maximum total duration of twelve months. A Comprehensive Plan draft is expected in October or November 2026\. If the plan is adopted and new zoning is in place before the moratorium expires, the pause could end earlier. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster ZBA meets Tuesday with solar challenge, 56-unit apartment variance on the docket URL: https://websterledger.com/zba-june-9-2026-solar-farm-challenge/ Last updated: 2026-06-08T19:54:22.000Z Webster's Zoning Board of Appeals meets Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. at 1002 Ridge Road with two contested items anchoring the agenda: a formal challenge to the permit process used to approve the Xerox campus solar farm, and a request by Legacy Development Co. for the variances it needs to build 56 apartments in the town's Medium High Residential district. ## The solar farm challenge The project is called the Webster Solar Garden. Developed by Montante Solar in partnership with Xerox, it sits on about 19 acres at the former Xerox campus, in and around a capped industrial landfill north of Caracus Drive. The Planning Board granted final site plan approval in January 2026\. After panels were removed from the capped landfill portion, the project's capacity was reduced by about 20 percent. On April 2, the Webster Town Board voted 3-2 to issue an Industrial Use Permit authorizing the project. The vote was contested. At the March 19 Town Board meeting, during public comment, residents testified in opposition; some cited prior campaign statements in which approving board members had opposed similar projects. A resident identified in town records as Debby Rice is now asking the ZBA to determine whether the Town Board used the correct permit type. Rice contends the project should have been reviewed under a Special Use Permit rather than an Industrial Use Permit. The distinction matters because the two permit types run through different approval bodies and carry different procedural requirements. Rice's application cites three sections of the Webster Town Code governing large-scale solar energy systems, industrial district uses and supplementary use regulations. Before reaching Rice's question on the merits, the ZBA may first have to address a threshold question: whether the ZBA has authority to second-guess a Town Board permit decision at all. That procedural question could shape the entire June 9 hearing. Rice's application was scheduled for the May 12 ZBA meeting and tabled at her request; June 9 is the rescheduled hearing. ## Waterview Phase 3: 56 units, significant variances The other significant item is a proposal by Legacy Development Co. to build Phase 3 of the Waterview Apartments complex at the northwest corner of Willow Point Way and Nautical Mile Drive. The proposal calls for six buildings and a community center totaling 56 units on 13.15 acres zoned Medium High Residential. Legacy is seeking two area variances. The first is a front setback variance: the proposed buildings would sit 18.7 feet from the front property line where the code requires 75 feet. The second is a buffer variance: the development would maintain 38.5 feet of separation from the adjacent single-family residential district where 100 feet is required. Both shortfalls are substantial, and the buffer reduction from single-family neighbors is likely to draw public comment. ## Other items on the agenda The Bay-Ridge Corner Resubdivision at 423, 425 and 429 Ridge Road and 1036-1036A Bay Road is a resubdivision of five lots into four, applied for by Scott Measday, that is running on two boards simultaneously: the ZBA must grant area variances for nonconforming setback and lot conditions before the Planning Board can finalize subdivision approval. The Planning Board took up its portion of the application on June 2. Three other residential items round out the agenda: a front setback variance for a 480-square-foot pole barn at 101 Midnight Trail, a 1.7-foot side setback variance for an attached garage at 514 Klem Road, and a lot-width variance for a proposed two-lot subdivision at 1640 Lake Road. Christian Lyke is asking the board for a special use permit to keep up to eight hens in an 8-by-8-foot chicken coop on his 0.42-acre parcel at 1813 Halesworth Lane, zoned R-2\. The town's supplementary use regulations require board approval for backyard poultry in residential districts. ## How to attend The ZBA meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in the Town Board Meeting Room at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. Members of the public may speak during the public hearing portion of the meeting. The full agenda is posted at websterny.gov. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Pride flag confrontation and a 20-speaker comment session roil Webster Town Board meeting URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-june-4-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-05T15:45:46.000Z More than 20 residents addressed the Webster Town Board on Thursday evening after a Pride flag, raised at the start of Pride Month by Supervisor Alex Scialdone, became the subject of a physical confrontation, a flood of public comment, and an unresolved board policy fight. One resident described what she witnessed at the June 1 flag-raising: one individual attempted to grab the flag ropes to prevent the flag from going up, shoved a veteran who tried to reason with him, stepped in front of cameras, and shouted sexual remarks at a woman and her young son. The flag remained up. The confrontation set the stage for Thursday's meeting, where the public comment session grew large enough that Scialdone reduced each speaker's time to three minutes (from the typical five). Near the end of the meeting, a board member introduced a flag policy resolution, which the board approved 3-2. ## The flag and the record When a resident thanked the board for raising the flag, Scialdone interrupted to clarify ownership of the decision. "This was a decision made by me," Scialdone said. This resident said the controversy was being driven by politics and vote-seeking. His wife put it more directly: "Life is worth living in Webster. It's 2026\. Why are we still fighting about this?" Another resident told the board he is a member of the Support Alliance for Fairness and Equality for Transgender Youth in Webster. He described losing his brother to suicide about 39 years ago after his brother came out as gay at 17 and was, in Stuber's words, "bullied unmercifully throughout his life." A Webster resident who said she is married to a woman and has a transgender brother told the board she is afraid to display a Pride flag at her home because of potential damage. "We're not going anywhere. We're not changing for anybody," she said. An 11-year resident who identifies as queer, challenged board members directly: "Some of you will be celebrated for being on the right side of history. And some of you may find yourselves embarrassed by the legacy you are creating right now." Speakers in opposition of the Pride flag argued that government property should display only the U.S. flag, the New York State flag, and the town flag, and that the decision had not been put to a board vote. One resident who operates a Webster NY Facebook group with \~16,000 members, said the flag "created unnecessary division and significant hostility." The resident said LGBTQ+ residents "should feel safe and welcome in Webster" but argued that "public property should not be used in ways that pit residents against one another," redirecting instead to quality-of-life concerns. Another resident proposed a compromise: a rotating-flag calendar that would highlight a different community organization each month, including police, military, pride, and health-awareness causes, with each organization linked on the town website. Councilman Cahill introduced a flag policy near the end of the meeting Thursday that would have declared the American and New York State flags the official flags of the Town of Webster on all town-owned properties, effective June 5\. Scialdone sought clarification on which properties would be covered, offering to discuss further and add this as a topic at the Town Board meeting in two weeks. Instead, Cahill revised the policy to state the American and New York State flags to be the only flags that could be flown on Town Hall property (1000 Ridge Rd), and the board voted 3-2 to approve. The policy is effective as of 9am on June 5, 2026. Council members John Cahill, Jennifer Wright, and Garrett Wagner voted aye. Supervisor Scaildone and Councilman Hunter voted nay. ## Six-month development moratorium In the meeting's other major legislative action, the board enacted Local Law No. 2 of 2026, imposing a six-month moratorium on new applications in three categories: subdivisions of more than four parcels, large-scale solar installations, and data centers. The freeze applies to six commercial and office park zoning districts: O-P, MC, HC, CO, LC-1, and LC-2. The moratorium is tied to the town's effort to complete its first Comprehensive Plan update since 2008\. It can be extended in two additional three-month increments. Cahill raised the state's NY Office of Renewable Energy Siting (NORDS) program during discussion, noting that it allows large solar companies developing projects of 1,000 acres or more to bypass local boards entirely. "We have no jurisdiction whatsoever," Cahill said, adding: "but it's a fight I'm willing to have." A board member asked about another project that had been before the Planning Board multiple times without receiving preliminary approval. The Town attorney confirmed, under the moratorium, that project would need to seek a hardship relief exception from the town board to proceed. ## Article 78: Montante Solar litigation The board authorized Supervisor Scialdone to engage DeMarco Taylor Law Group PLLC for representation in Monroe County Supreme Court, Index No. E2026010907, related to the Montante Solar project. The billing rate is $250 per hour. ## Other board actions The board declared intent to serve as SEQR lead agency for the Webster Transportation Infrastructure Project, a Type I action covering roadway improvements and a multimodal trail near the Xerox campus. Community development staff and the Economic Development Administration presented on the project; a follow-up workshop is scheduled in two weeks. The board accepted deed dedications of three park district parcels associated with the Westwood Estates Section 3 subdivision. Developer Michael D'Amico, who described four decades of subdivision work in the area, asked the town to maintain the 40-acre open space he has kept up. Community Development Director Josh Artuso said the town will communicate maintenance plans to residents. At the meeting's close, a board member noted that Scialdone had unilaterally paused the board's standing end-of-meeting round table without discussion, calling it "another unilateral decision." Scialdone said the round table is "on pause" due to staff complaints and that he would consider bringing it back. Routine items approved unanimously: budget transfers and amendments, a NYSLRS standard workday resolution for Councilman Wagner, a "Summer Help" position for the sewer department, and asset recycling and transfer items. ## Workshop summary The 6:30 p.m. workshop covered two topics. Robert Koszarek of KLW Municipal, contracted by the town in December 2024, presented on the 2027 townwide property revaluation. Data verification letters are going to property owners in early June; the next step is property data collection visits. Representatives from Navitas, joined by DPW's Rick Kenealy and Finance Director Paul Adams, presented a plan to convert the Webster Water Pollution Control Facility's digester gas into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas for sale. No vote was taken. --- *Disclosure: Webster Ledger publisher Morgan VanDerLeest spoke during public comment at the June 4 Town Board meeting. His remarks concerned governance philosophy, not the specific policy actions reported in this article.* *References:* [*Meeting recording*](https://www.youtube.com/live/xtZqLajz-ok?si=DbAUz2CmqgKuWFKk&ref=websterledger.com)*,* [*Workshop recording*](https://www.youtube.com/live/l8ecwtewXQ8?si=Gu9rJP6zVnnEsDdh&ref=websterledger.com) ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board set to vote on commercial development moratorium tonight URL: https://websterledger.com/town-board-preview-2026-06-04/ Last updated: 2026-06-04T18:19:24.000Z The Webster Town Board meets Thursday evening to vote on a six-month moratorium on commercial development approvals. A 6:30 p.m. workshop precedes the 7:30 p.m. meeting with presentations on the town's 2027 property revaluation and a proposal to convert wastewater plant digester gas into a revenue-generating renewable fuel. Both sessions are in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road (the building with the blue roof, behind main Town Hall). ## Moratorium Vote Item 12 on Thursday's agenda is the enactment vote for Local Law No. 2 of 2026, which would impose a six-month pause on commercial development approvals in Webster. The moratorium applies to commercial zoning districts HC, MC, LC-1, LC-2, CO, and O-P. If enacted, the Town Board would halt new site plan approvals, special permits, rezoning applications, subdivisions of more than four parcels, large-scale solar installations, and data centers within those zones. Routine repairs, single-family permits, interior work, and redevelopment of existing structures are exempt. Projects that already received preliminary site plan or special permit approval before the law's effective date are also exempt. Property owners facing financial hardship can apply for relief through the Town Clerk for $150; applicants must provide what the law calls "dollars and cents proof" of irreparable injury. The law takes effect upon filing with the New York Department of State and runs six months, with two possible three-month extensions up to a 12-month maximum. The board introduced it at a public hearing on April 2, referred it to Monroe County for mandatory review on April 16, and is voting tonight on enactment. The stated purpose: time to complete a Comprehensive Plan update, the last one dating to 2008, with a draft expected this fall. Tonight's vote has potential implications for at least one project already in the pipeline. Among the questions the vote would raise: pending applications like Dinks and Links, which the Planning Board tabled Tuesday without granting preliminary approval, would fall in a legal gray area under the moratorium's effective-date language, neither clearly exempt nor with any official town determination yet made. 7 Brew Coffee on Hard Road, which received preliminary site plan approval Tuesday, falls in the exempt category. ## Workshop presentations The 6:30 p.m. workshop opens with a presentation from Robert Koszarek of KLW on the town's 2027 property revaluation project. Data verification letters are expected to go out to Webster property owners in early June. At 6:45 p.m., the workshop continues with a presentation from the Webster Department of Public Works and contractor Navitas on converting the Webster Water Pollution Control Facility's anaerobic digester gas to Renewable Natural Gas. The wastewater plant's digesters currently produce gas that is 47 percent used for on-site heat and 53 percent flared off with no financial return. The proposed project would capture that gas, upgrade it to pipeline-quality RNG, and sell the environmental attributes into the market. According to the Navitas and DPW presentation, projected annual output is 29,000 MMBTU, equivalent to roughly 300 homes' worth of natural gas. The projections show environmental attribute sales at $10 to $17 per MMBTU, generating $290,000 to $493,000 annually. Total capital cost is roughly $8.5 million, but the presentation estimates an Inflation Reduction Act tax credit (Section 48) of $6.8 million to $8.0 million via a direct Treasury payment, cutting the net cost to $500,000 to $1.7 million. The best-case payback period is 2.9 years (calculated against total 30-year debt service). Thursday's presentation carries no vote. Before a contract can move forward, the board must finish SEQR review, choose an injection method (RG&E pipeline, tube truck, or third-party manager), and pass a bond resolution amendment. ## Article 78 Defense Item 11 has the board voting to retain DeMarco Taylor Law Group PLLC (attorney Kyle D. Taylor) to defend the town in an Article 78 proceeding filed in Monroe County Supreme Court, Index No. E2026010907\. The retainer, dated June 2 and addressed to Supervisor Scialdone, describes the matter as the "Montante Solar Project." Rate: $250 per hour. The town is the respondent. The available documents do not identify who filed the suit or the specific grounds challenged. ## Verizon Cell Tower Review Item 10 authorizes hiring RF consultant William P. Johnson to review two proposed Verizon Wireless base stations: "Webster North" and a site near Lake Road and County Line Road. Verizon reimburses the town for the review cost. ## SEQR Lead Agency Item 9 formalizes the Town Board as SEQR lead agency for the Webster Transportation Improvement Project: roadway work and a multimodal trail near the Xerox campus in both the Town and Village of Webster. The 7:30 p.m. meeting is open to the public. Speakers have five minutes; no advance sign-up is required. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Pickleball facility on Five Mile Line Road tabled as moratorium deadline looms URL: https://websterledger.com/planning-board-june-2-2026-2/ Last updated: 2026-06-03T19:32:15.000Z The Webster Planning Board tabled a proposed indoor-outdoor recreation complex on Five Mile Line Road Tuesday night, leaving the application in limbo two days before a town-wide zoning moratorium is scheduled to take effect. The project, called Dinks and Links and brought by applicant Joe Cattalani, would put an approximately 39,100-square-foot indoor-outdoor recreation complex on a site on Five Mile Line Road, immediately west of the Lowe's, in the High-Intensity Commercial zone. Cattalani described the planned facility as including pickleball courts, volleyball, mini-golf, and outdoor dining. The public hearing remains open. ## Engineering snags and a shifting design Town engineers flagged unresolved stormwater plan comments, a missing tree-marking requirement for existing vegetation 8 inches or greater in diameter, and an unaddressed fire hydrant spacing discrepancy. The building's location has changed three to four times across design iterations. The Conservation Board, represented by Charlotte Cabili and Dennis Gorlick, requested an updated preliminary plan showing all changes before completing its review. The site plan flags wetlands on the property, with stormwater draining to Shipbuilders Creek; a DEC stormwater permit is required. DEC had jurisdiction over the wetlands under recently updated state regulations, but an April 8 court ruling annulling those regulations removed that oversight before the board acted Tuesday. ## Neighbor opposition The loudest objections came from neighbors at Sunset Valley, a 55-and-older mobile home community adjacent to the proposed site. Sean Whipple and Christine Whipple, who described themselves as the park's owners, said the park is home to 53 residents. They testified that the plans, as they understood them, would place nine pickleball courts within roughly 50 feet of the park, and that LED lighting would affect the sleep of senior residents. Cattalani put the distance between the courts and the park at approximately 100 feet. Neighbor Mike Ritter suggested planting giant arborvitaes along the property line as an alternative to an acoustic fence, and noted that DEC had originally recommended a northern building placement during its earlier involvement with the site. Christine Whipple said pickleball noise has become the top noise-litigation issue in the country, though the Ledger has not independently verified that characterization. At the meeting, Cattalani committed to repositioning the volleyball courts he described from the park-adjacent location, swapping them with mini-golf, and cited what he called 311% annual growth in pickleball nationally and an average player age of 33. Public commenter Mike Baranovich, a pickleball player himself, acknowledged that noise is significant and can be heard from 300 feet away. John La Gambino compared pickleball to past trend-driven businesses and cited 25,000 emergency room visits annually linked to the sport, with 91% of those patients age 50 or older; the Ledger has not independently verified that figure. Diana Davis argued that the application had not met basic preliminary approval standards. ## Moratorium timing Local Law No. 2 of 2026, which the Town Board referred to Monroe County for review in April, is scheduled to take effect June 4 as a town-wide zoning moratorium. During that moratorium, it is possible the zoning for this area will change as a result of an updated Comprehensive Plan. Kevin Lockhart raised the timing concern during public comment. The law includes an administrative relief provision where an applicant may petition the Town Board for an exemption, but the standard is demanding: the applicant must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence, including financial documentation, that the moratorium leaves the property without reasonable use and causes irreparable injury. *(*[*Town's FAQ on the moratorium*](https://websterny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13351/FAQs%5FProposed-DM?ref=websterledger.com)*)* The board did not vote on the application. A developer-town review meeting will be scheduled before the hearing resumes. ## 7 Brew Coffee gets preliminary approval The board unanimously granted preliminary site plan approval to a 510-square-foot prefabricated double drive-through coffee kiosk proposed by Doug Beachle of Brew Team NY LLC, a 7 Brew Coffee franchisee, at Hard Road. Conditions include a snow management plan, landscaping along Hard Road per Conservation Board recommendations, stormwater connections to the adjacent Popeyes facility, and speaker volume controls on canopy speakers. Lighting must be shielded and dimmable. ## Other approvals RG&E received final site plan approval for modernization of electrical substation 73 at 891 Klem Road. The board had requested a hip roof; RG&E kept its gable design, citing cost and maintenance, and the board accepted the rationale. A resubdivision of five single-family lots into four at Ridge Road and Bay Road received preliminary approval. The project consolidates two Bay Road properties to resolve lot lines that ran through existing buildings for the past 50 to 60 years. A ZBA appearance is set for next week; final approval is targeted for July. Michael Julian received unanimous preliminary and final approval, along with an LWRP consistency determination, for a permanent 4-by-50-foot dock at 1060 Sunset Trail on Irondequoit Bay, a Class I state-regulated freshwater wetland, replacing an existing seasonal dock of nearly the same size. The board noted his prior DEC and Army Corps permits as an example to other applicants. Webster Union Cemetery received preliminary and final approval for an expansion adding 1,740 grave sites at 345 Webster Road. Sign approvals were granted to Bloom and Blend (790 Ridge Rd, smoothie and acai bowl shop), Lucky X Strike (2400 Empire Blvd, rebrand from Bolero Bowling), JF Jones Jewelers (1170 Ridge Rd), Tempo (807 Ridge Rd, Italian restaurant replacing Nucci's), and Legacy Games (1028 Ridge Rd, board and video game venue in the former Paychex space). ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Planning Board meets tonight. Here's what's on the agenda. URL: https://websterledger.com/planning-board-june-2-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-03T14:16:33.000Z Correction (June 3, 2026): This article originally stated that Dinks and Links would sit immediately west of the Lowe’s on Five Mile Line Road. The correct location is immediately east of the Lowe’s. The article has been updated. A proposal to build a large indoor/outdoor recreation facility on Five Mile Line Road will face its first public hearing tonight when the Webster Town Planning Board convenes at 7 p.m. at 1002 Ridge Road. The project, called Dinks and Links and submitted by applicant Joe Cattalani, would sit on a roughly 9-acre site on Five Mile Line Road, immediately east of the Lowe’s. The plans call for a single principal building measuring 160 feet by 240 feet, part of what the agenda describes as a 39,100-square-foot facility. The site is in the High-Intensity Commercial (HC) zone, and the board is considering preliminary site plan and subdivision approval. The name points to pickleball ("dinks") and golf ("links"), and the filed renderings show a brick building with an adjacent fenced, open-air recreation area. But the plans on file label the project only an "indoor/outdoor recreation facility" and do not specify what activities it would house. The application also carries real environmental review: it requires a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation stormwater permit, and the filed plans flag wetlands on the site, delineated by Marathon Engineering, with drainage to Shipbuilders Creek. The project is the most significant new application on tonight’s docket. It arrives as the town moves toward a commercial development moratorium (Local Law No. 2 of 2026), which was referred to Monroe County for review in April and would cover the HC zone. That law is not yet in effect, and the board is taking up the Dinks and Links application tonight under its normal site plan review. ## Also on the agenda The 7-Brew application from Brew Team NY LLC has been before the board since at least May 5, when its public hearing was tabled. Tonight the board takes it up again. The proposal calls for a 510-square-foot prefabricated double drive-through coffee stand on a 0.73-acre parcel on Hard Road in the HC zone. A sign application from Bloom and Blend at 790 Ridge Road, also tabled from May 5, returns for action tonight. The applicant, Alyssa Connors, is seeking approval for a 32-square-foot wall sign and a double-sided panel on an existing monument sign. The Bay-Ridge Corner resubdivision, brought by licensed surveyor Scott Measday, proposes combining five single-family lots into four on 2.5 acres at 423-429 Ridge Road and 1036-1036A Bay Road. That item also carries a public hearing. Michael Julian is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval for a 4-foot by 50-foot permanent dock at 1060 Sunset Trail. Because the parcel abuts the waterfront, the board must also make a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program consistency determination before approval can proceed. RG&E is before the board for final site plan approval to modernize electrical substation 73 at 891 Klem Road. The site is zoned R-2. Webster Union Cemetery at 345 Webster Road is seeking approval to add 1,740 graves and an access road on 18.4 acres of residentially zoned land, one of the more unusual items on an otherwise commercial-heavy agenda. The board will also act on sign approvals for Lucky X Strike at 2400 Empire Blvd. (40.75 square feet), JF Jones Jewelers at 1170 Ridge Road (57.5 square feet), Tempo at 807 Ridge Road, and Legacy Games at 1028 Ridge Road. ## What you need to know The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Webster Town Hall, 1002 Ridge Road. The full agenda is posted at [websterny.gov](https://www.websterny.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F06022026-346?ref=websterledger.com). ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's planning rules are 18 years old. Here's what that means as the development keeps coming. URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-planning-rules-18-years-old-development-2026-05-18/ Last updated: 2026-06-01T18:01:55.000Z A 745,000-square-foot dairy plant. Hundreds of acres of former Xerox campus land coming back onto the market. A queue of commercial applications working through the Planning Board. And all of it governed by a comprehensive plan written in 2008, before any of those projects existed. Webster is not growing the way suburb-boom stories usually go. The town's population has barely moved: 45,327 residents at the 2020 census, roughly the same as a decade before, with a slight estimated decrease since then. The growth is structural. It is commercial and industrial investment on a scale the old planning framework was not written for. The town knows it. In April, the Town Board voted to advance a development moratorium, pausing certain types of new applications while the town completes a comprehensive plan update that has been in the works since 2025\. The moratorium has not taken effect yet. It is pending Monroe County review under state General Municipal Law Section 239-m. And even once it does take effect, it will not cover everything people may assume it covers. ## The scale of what has arrived The anchor project is Fairlife, a Coca-Cola subsidiary that broke ground in April 2024 on a greenfield dairy processing facility off Tebor Road. At $650 million in total investment and 745,000 square feet, Monroe County IDA called it "the largest industrial development business project in county history." At full capacity, the plant is expected to handle 200 semi-trailers per day. The state committed substantial public support: up to $21 million in Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits, a $20 million Monroe County IDA capital grant, and a $9.8 million FAST NY infrastructure grant. The Excelsior credits are performance-based: the company earns them as it meets documented employment and investment targets, including the 335-job projection already underway. The Boulter Industrial Parkway is being extended at a cost of roughly $10 million, with completion expected in late 2026 or early 2027\. By fall 2025, 125 of a targeted 335 jobs had already been filled. Fairlife's infrastructure investment is also unlocking the broader Xerox campus for redevelopment. The former Xerox Webster Research Center spans about 800 acres and once employed 15,000 people. Current employment there is approximately 1,500\. As roads, sewer, and power infrastructure come online to serve the Fairlife site, those adjacent acres become viable for new applications. Residential development has continued as well. Bella Terra, a phased subdivision, had its Phase 3 approved on May 5, 2026: 66 single-family lots. That approval landed during the same period the Town Board was debating the moratorium. The commercial pipeline at the Planning Board includes a 7-Brew drive-through at Hard Road (tabled pending a traffic study) and a 125-foot cell tower sketch plan. ## The planning gap: 2008 rules, 2026 projects Webster's comprehensive plan was adopted in 2008\. The town's official zoning map was last comprehensively revised even earlier, with an effective date of February 20, 2003\. The moratorium resolution itself acknowledges that parking regulations in the town code have been "unchanged since the 1960s." The town has been aware of the mismatch. In 2025, it launched Webster 2040, branded as "The Town of Webster Bicentennial Plan: Rooted in History, Growing with Purpose." The project is state-funded through the New York State Department of State Environmental Protection Fund and is being led by consultant Colliers Engineering and Design. A community survey ran through summer 2025, and a steering committee of residents, business owners, and a school district representative synthesized the feedback. Josh Artuso, the town's Director of Community Development, described the purpose this way: "The purpose of this smart growth plan is where is that growth appropriate and how do we grow from here in a smart, thoughtful way that really captures the essence of what the community would like to see?" Depending on the outcome of that process, the new standards could be more or less restrictive than those in place today. The timeline is tight. The town aimed to complete the comprehensive plan update by mid-2026\. Zoning code revisions would require an additional six to twelve months after that. Until both are done, any new application still gets reviewed against an 18-year-old plan. ## The moratorium: what it covers, and what it does not The Town Board voted unanimously on April 16, 2026 to send a proposed development moratorium to Monroe County for the required GML 239-m review. That review is a legal prerequisite before the law can take effect. No county action has been confirmed as of this reporting. Supervisor Alex Scialdone framed the purpose plainly: "We're just looking for a pause. That's all it is." He added: "This gives us a chance to kind of take a pause, get through this comprehensive plan and ensure that what we're doing aligns with what the community wants." The proposed law is Local Law No. 2 of 2026\. The Ledger reviewed the resolution and draft law text posted on the town's website. The moratorium, if and when it takes effect, applies to a specific list of development types and zones. Under Section 5, it covers: subdivisions of more than four parcels, large-scale solar projects, data centers, and all property in the town's commercial and office park zoning districts: Office Park North (O-P), Medium Intensity Commercial (MC), High Intensity Commercial (HC), Commercial Outdoor Storage (CO), and Low Intensity Commercial (LC-1 and LC-2). The Light Industrial (LI) zone does not appear in that list. It is not explicitly excluded; it is simply not within the law's scope. And the moratorium itself has not taken effect. Until Monroe County completes its review and the law is enacted, any application already in the pipeline continues on its normal schedule, regardless of the pause the Town Board intended. ## The pipeline keeps moving The June 2 Planning Board agenda illustrates what that looks like in practice. Dinks and Links, a proposed 39,100-square-foot indoor and outdoor recreation facility on Five Mile Line Road, is scheduled for a public hearing. It is the kind of commercial project that would fall under the moratorium's scope once the law takes effect, but it was filed before the moratorium took effect. It moves forward under the current rules. The 7-Brew drive-through at Hard Road is also on the June 2 agenda, its public hearing still tabled. The application has been working through the board while the moratorium debate ran in parallel at the Town Board level. Both are ordinary applications by the standards of Webster's Planning Board docket. Neither involves the scale of Fairlife or the complexity of the Xerox campus. But together they represent the pattern: commercial development keeps arriving, and the board keeps reviewing it, because the law that governs those reviews is the same one adopted in 2008. The comprehensive plan update, when it is finished, will not land on a blank slate. It will land on a town that has already been substantially reshaped by the projects approved under the rules it is meant to replace. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Library's Book-Challenge Process, Explained URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-05-28-webster-public-library-book-challenge-process-explained/ Last updated: 2026-05-29T15:34:39.000Z A Webster resident's public Facebook disclosure that he challenged a library book has put the Webster Public Library's formal review process in the spotlight. Webster Public Library Director Adam Traub described the process in detail in a phone interview on May 22. Any resident who objects to a book in the library's collection is asked to submit a Library Material Comment Form. From there, the review follows a structured sequence: 1. **Committee convened.** Traub assembles a panel of three librarians — in practice, himself and the library's two assistant directors. Any librarian who originally selected the challenged book is recused from the panel. 2. **Board notified.** The library board is informed that a review is underway. 3. **Reading period.** Each committee member reads the book in full. The library gives itself two weeks to complete the review. 4. **Recommendation issued.** The committee can reach several possible conclusions. If it finds the book should be removed from the collection entirely, any replacement fee already collected could be used to acquire a different title rather than repurchase the same one. 5. **Complainant notified.** The resident receives a written letter with the committee's findings and the library's rationale, and may appeal the outcome to the library board. The library's Collection Development Policy is published on the library's website under About Us, then Policies. A Library Material Comment Form is also available on the [library's Policies page](https://websterlibrary.org/about-us/trustees-and-staff/policy/?ref=websterledger.com) under the [Collection Development Policy link](https://websterlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Collection-Development-Policy.pdf?ref=websterledger.com). ## When a patron acts outside the process The formal process is not the only path a patron might take. When a book leaves the library, the library distinguishes between two outcomes. If a book is removed without being checked out, that is treated as theft and reported to police. If a book is properly checked out and not returned by its due date, the library issues a replacement fee and acquires another copy. State law prohibits the library from discussing the details of any individual patron's account activity. ## About the book The book that drew public attention in this case is "Flamer," by Mike Curato, a graphic novel about a teenage boy at a Boy Scout summer camp who is bullied as he comes to terms with being gay. It is shelved in the teen section and written for teen and young-adult readers. Webster Public Library owns one copy, and the Monroe County library system holds 21 copies in total. The book won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award in the LGBTQ Young Adult category and has appeared on the American Library Association's most-challenged books list in two of the past three years, ranking fourth in 2022 and fifth in 2023. Webster's copy was on display for AAPI Heritage Month because the author is of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage and the book is well-reviewed, Traub said. ## How often does this happen? Traub said Webster Public Library has fielded six formal book challenges since he became director, compared with none under his predecessor. He described the pattern as part of a national trend. His standard advice to patrons who encounter a book they find offensive is straightforward. > "If there's a book you don't like or find offensive in the library, just put it back on the shelf because there's plenty in here to offend everybody," Traub said. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### The lake has peaked. Here is where Ontario stands, and what Webster built since the last time it got bad. URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-05-28-lake-ontario-water-levels/ Last updated: 2026-05-28T20:47:47.000Z Lake Ontario has reached its seasonal peak at approximately 247.4 feet (75.40 m IGLD 1985), as of the week ending May 27\. The lake is leveling off and is expected to begin a slow seasonal decline. For most of Webster's shoreline, that is worth knowing: the lake is still elevated, running about 13 inches above the long-term May average, but the peak has arrived without triggering emergency conditions. The level of approximately 247.4 feet (75.40 m) IGLD 1985, as of the week of May 27, is about 13 inches higher than the long-term May average, according to the Army Corps of Engineers' May 22 bulletin, and 16 inches above this time last year. The IJC had forecast average conditions would put the seasonal peak between 247.4 and 247.7 feet. The lower bound of that range has now been reached. The lake is not expected to reach 247.7 feet under current forecasts. "We're not going to see levels like 2017 and 2019 for sure," said Bernie Gigas, a member of the IJC's Public Advisory Group, in early May. That assessment has held: the lake leveled below those historic records. Tony David, the U.S. board member on the IJC's International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board, described conditions as approaching their seasonal peak as of mid-May. "I think we're very close to observing peak," he said. The message from both officials: elevated, but not extraordinary. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ## Who controls the lake, and how This is the question readers ask every spring, and it deserves a straight answer: nobody controls Lake Ontario's level in any simple sense. Weather does most of the work. The IJC, a U.S.-Canada treaty body created under the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, manages outflows from Ontario into the St. Lawrence River. It does this through a single control structure: the Moses-Saunders Power Dam at Massena, N.Y. and Cornwall, Ontario. Each Thursday, the IJC's board calculates the week's prescribed outflow based on Ontario's current level, inflows from Lake Erie, local precipitation and Ottawa River forecasts. The dam operators adjust releases accordingly. But the lever has limits. As the Army Corps of Engineers put it earlier this spring: weather systems can raise lake levels by feet, while human-controlled outflows generally influence levels by only inches. The current regulatory framework is called Plan 2014, which took effect in January 2017, replacing the prior operating plan, Plan 1958-D. The new plan incorporated environmental goals absent from the old one, including allowing more natural water-level fluctuations to restore roughly 64,000 acres of coastal wetlands. Plan 2014 operates within three guardrails: the F-limit prevents downstream flooding on Lake St. Louis; the J-limit caps how sharply outflows can change week-to-week to protect river navigation; the M-limit preserves minimum levels for water intakes and hydropower during dry periods. This spring, the board activated the F-limit on April 16, restricting outflows to protect downstream St. Lawrence River communities from flooding even as Ontario's level rose. Between March 1 and April 30, the lake climbed about 2.5 feet, double the long-term average April rise of 8 inches. The F-limit was lifted May 7, after which outflow was set to the Plan 2014 standard of 8,010 cubic meters per second. That transition is the primary reason the lake stabilized at its current level rather than continuing to climb. Plan 2014 attracted significant political controversy after the 2017 and 2019 flooding years, including a 2019 lawsuit by New York State against the IJC. The IJC and independent analysis have consistently attributed the flooding to precipitation rather than to the regulatory plan itself. --- ## What happened in 2017 and 2019 Both years set benchmarks that now frame every spring conversation about Ontario. In 2017, the lake peaked near 248.9 feet in late May, exceeding regulatory thresholds at the end of April. In 2019, it went higher still, reaching a new record of approximately 249 feet in mid-June. Both events caused widespread shoreline erosion, flooded roads and structures, and inflicted damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars across the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence shoreline. The IJC's own analysis cites basin-wide precipitation over multiple years as the primary driver, along with record Lake Erie inflows. In 2019, a concurrent record Ottawa River freshet compounded conditions on the St. Lawrence end. The 2026 peak of approximately 247.4 feet sits roughly 1.5 feet below the 2019 record. --- ## What Webster built in response When the water finally receded in 2019, New York State launched the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative, known as REDI, directing state money toward communities that had absorbed the most damage. Webster's projects were part of a roughly $10.4 million Monroe County investment through the state's REDI program and Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. Construction started in April 2022 and finished in October 2023\. Four specific projects were completed: **Lake Road (West End):** $1.5 million to raise and realign 2,000 linear feet of roadway along the shoreline and install 2,700 feet of closed drainage with outlets to Irondequoit Bay. The road serves more than 70 homes and businesses that previously faced emergency closures during high-water events. **Sandbar Park shoreline:** $748,000 for a living shoreline stabilization embankment and a masonry flood wall on the Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay waterfront. The park's sandbar had previously been buffered with dolomite boulders against wave energy from Ontario; the REDI work formalized and extended that protection. **Sandbar Wastewater Pump Station:** $250,000 for a masonry flood wall around the control building at the pump station on Irondequoit Bay, protecting its electrical and mechanical equipment from inundation. **Sandbar Park amenities:** $2.28 million for parking, restrooms, a kayak launch, floating docks, a children's play area and a lakefront promenade, funded through the state's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. At the October 2023 completion event, Governor Hochul said: "Many shoreline communities along Lake Ontario bore the brunt of climate change's effects through severe storms and historic flooding events of 2019, but through New York's REDI program, we are making strategic investments to make the region safer for its residents and visitors." This is the infrastructure that meets this spring's rising water. It did not exist in 2019. --- ## What to watch through June The [IJC outflow page](https://ijc.org/en/loslrb/watershed/outflow-changes?ref=websterledger.com) updates weekly and reflects the board's most recent release decisions. That is the most direct gauge of how the commission is managing conditions in real time. The lake is at or near its seasonal peak and is expected to stabilize or slowly decline through June. Monroe County shoreline communities including Greece, Webster and Irondequoit took preparation posture this spring, with sandbags staged, but no flooding events or emergency declarations have been documented in Webster or Monroe County in 2026. For context: all five Great Lakes remain 26 to 50 inches above their record-low May levels, a reminder of how wide the range of outcomes can be from year to year. ## Get Webster news in your inbox Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Town or village? A plain-English guide to how Webster is actually governed URL: https://websterledger.com/town-or-village-webster-ny/ Last updated: 2026-05-28T00:53:04.000Z If you live in Webster, you may have noticed something odd on your tax bill: you're paying two separate municipal governments, not one. If you've ever tried to figure out whether to call the Town or the Village about a zoning question, you've run into the same puzzle. And if you've voted in a school board election in May, a town race in November, and a village trustee race in June all in the same year, you've already met all three layers of local government in one place. Here is what is actually going on. --- ## Two governments, same name, one ZIP code Webster, New York is not one government. It is two, stacked on top of each other, sharing the ZIP code 14580. The **Town of Webster** is the outer layer. It covers 35.2 square miles in northeastern Monroe County, borders Lake Ontario to the north and the Town of Penfield to the south, and has roughly 45,000 residents. Under New York State law, every resident of the state lives in a town (unless they live in a city or on a reservation). The town exists by default. You did not petition for it. The **Village of Webster** is a smaller, separately incorporated entity that sits entirely inside the town. It covers 2.2 square miles around the historic four-corners area where Route 404 (Main Street) meets Route 250\. About 5,651 people live there. The village was incorporated in 1905, by resident petition, to add services on top of what the town already provided. Incorporating a village does not replace the town. Village residents remain town residents. They receive services from both governments and pay taxes to both. To be precise: the village is an island of incorporation inside the larger town. The town surrounds it on all sides. --- ## What each government actually does **The Town of Webster** handles most of what residents think of as local government: - **Police:** The Webster Police Department, a state-accredited department based at 1000 Ridge Road, covers both the town and the village. There is no separate village police force. - **Highway:** Road maintenance and snow removal for roads outside the village boundary (outside of county roads which are a separate entity). - **Parks and recreation:** Town-run programs and facilities. - **Assessment:** The Town Assessor runs the single property assessment roll used by both governments. If you own property in the village, the town values it. - **Planning and zoning:** The Town Planning Board and Town Zoning Board of Appeals handle land use for the roughly 33 square miles outside the village. - **Courts, library, finance, animal control, engineering, receiver of taxes.** Town Hall is at 1000 Ridge Road. Phone: (585) 872-1000. **The Village of Webster** layers additional services onto the 2.2-square-mile footprint: - **Water:** Supplied by Monroe County Water Authority; the village manages local distribution infrastructure. - **Sewer:** The village operates its own Wastewater Treatment Plant. - **Building department:** Permits and code enforcement within village limits. - **Public works:** Street maintenance and snow removal inside the village boundary. The same street can change jurisdictions at the village line. - **Zoning (independent):** The Village Zoning Board of Appeals operates entirely separately from the town's ZBA, under NYS Village Law. A property inside the village goes to the Village Building Department and the Village ZBA. A property one block outside the village boundary goes to the Town's Community Planning and Development office. Same ZIP code, different rules, different offices, different addresses. Village Hall is at 28 West Main Street. Phone: (585) 265-3770. --- ## The tax math Village residents pay property taxes to both governments. The village does not replace the town tax; it adds to it. The village levies its own tax rate on top of the town's, using the same assessment roll the Town Assessor produces. In the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the village tax rate is approximately $2.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, layered on top of the town rate. There is a wrinkle coming. The Town has not conducted a full reassessment since 2004\. Assessed values across Webster are at roughly 48 percent of market value, making Webster the most underassessed suburb in Monroe County. A full reassessment is underway, with preliminary numbers expected in February or March 2027\. When those numbers arrive, they will affect both the town tax bill and the village tax bill for village residents, since both bills draw from the same assessment roll. --- ## Who you elect, and when Webster residents vote in up to three separate election events per year, depending on where they live. **If you live in the village**, your electoral calendar looks like this: - **May** (annually): Webster Central School District Board of Education. Seven members, three-year rotating terms. - **June** (village offices): Village Mayor and four Village Trustees. Next village election: June 16, 2026\. NYS Village Law defaults are two years for both mayor and trustees, though a village may adopt longer terms by local law. (Webster Village has not been confirmed to have varied this default; verify with Village Hall at (585) 265-3770 if terms appear longer on the ballot.) - **November** (even years): Town Supervisor, Town Councilmembers, Town Clerk, Town Justices. **If you live in the town but outside the village**, you skip the June village election and participate in May and November only. The governing bodies and their correct terminology: - The town is governed by the **Town Board**, not a town council. The board consists of a **Supervisor** (the executive role) and four Councilmembers. The current Town Board, seated January 2026: Supervisor Alex Scialdone, Deputy Supervisor Nick Hunter, and Councilmembers John Cahill, Jennifer Wright, and Garrett Wagner. - The village is governed by a **Board of Trustees**, not a village council. The board consists of a **Mayor** and four Trustees. The current Village Board: Mayor Darrell Byerts, Deputy Mayor Jerry Ippolito Jr., and Trustees Al Balcaen, Karl Laurer, and Michael Morency. Note on town election timing: A 2023 New York State law shifted Monroe County town elections to even-numbered years. The officials elected in November 2025 serve shortened terms to complete this transition. Going forward, town offices will be contested in November alongside state and federal races. The village election schedule is not affected by this change; the June timing remains. --- ## The third layer: Webster Central School District The school district is neither part of the town government nor part of the village government. Webster Central School District (WCSD) is an independent governmental entity with its own elected Board of Education, its own annual budget vote (held in May), and its own geographic boundary, which does not match either the town or the village. The district extends into parts of Penfield, Ontario, and Walworth. This means the same property tax bill can reflect four separate taxing entities: the town, the village (if you are in the village), the school district, and a fire district. Two volunteer fire districts serve the town: West Webster Fire District on the west side, and North East Joint Fire District on the east side, which includes the village. Fire districts are independent special districts, not departments of either the town or village government. --- ## The practical upshot The distinction between town and village matters in concrete, day-to-day ways. **Zoning questions:** If your property is inside the village, contact the Village Building Department at Village Hall. If it is outside the village, contact the Town's Community Planning and Development office at Town Hall. Same ZIP code, but two different offices, two different sets of regulations, and two different decision-making bodies. **Confused about a tax bill?** Both your town and village bills are based on the same Town Assessor valuation. If you think your assessment is wrong, your point of contact is the Town Assessor's office, regardless of whether you live in the village. **Missing a vote?** If you live in the village, you have three separate election events: May for schools, June for village offices, and November (even years) for town offices. All three are distinct, held at different times under different rules. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Monroe County will cut Bay Road from four lanes to three, starting June 15 URL: https://websterledger.com/bay-road-diet-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T19:20:30.000Z Monroe County is converting Bay Road between Route 104 and Lake Road from four lanes to three, with wider shoulders and a center turning lane. Construction begins June 15 and is expected to run five to six weeks. Monroe County DOT engineers presented the final design at the Webster Town Board's May 21 workshop, about three weeks before work is scheduled to start. Neighbors in subdivisions near the corridor, including Sunningdale Rise and Brookwood, have raised concerns about driveway access and traffic flow. ## What the road will look like The existing four-lane configuration, two lanes in each direction, will be replaced with three: an 11-foot northbound travel lane, an 11-foot two-way left turn lane in the center, and an 11-foot southbound travel lane. The existing road has four travel lanes with shoulders of 2 to 3 feet. Under the new design, the shoulders widen substantially. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0a/d7/0ad798a9-031b-4af0-9b94-a1e17a03aa5a/content/images/2026/05/Bay-Road-project-design.png) The project begins near Brookwood Drive, north of the Route 104 intersection, which retains its four-lane configuration because of signal timing. The road diet runs from that point to Lake Road. The wider shoulders are designed to accommodate bicycles, pedestrians, deliveries, and other uses outside the travel lanes. There are no dedicated bike lanes in the design. Monroe County DOT says two-way traffic will be maintained throughout construction. The project also includes storm sewer rehabilitation and curb replacement along the corridor. Construction is contracted to Keeler Construction under a Monroe County contract. The project is scheduled to begin June 15 and take five to six weeks. ## Why the county says it works Bay Road carries approximately 15,000 vehicles per day, according to Monroe County DOT, a volume in the same range as other Monroe County corridors where road diets have already been completed, including Elmwood Avenue in Brighton, St. Paul Boulevard in Irondequoit, and Brighton-Henrietta Townline Road. The county presented those comparisons at the May 21 workshop to establish that Bay Road's traffic volume is within the range where this type of conversion has been proven to work. On the safety side, county engineers cited a 3-year crash record of 45 total accidents on the affected stretch. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that four-to-three lane conversions reduce overall accidents by 19 to 47 percent. Monroe County said a similar road diet on St. Paul Boulevard reduced accidents 28 percent in the three years after it was completed and 81 percent over time. The 28 percent figure falls within the FHWA bracket. The 81 percent figure reflects long-term results on that specific project, not a general benchmark. The county's May 21 presentation cited two fatal accidents on the corridor over the past 25 years. One of those fatalities, in 2004, was a rear-end collision at a left-turn movement, the type of conflict that a center turn lane is designed to eliminate. The mechanism: fewer travel lanes mean fewer conflict points between vehicles moving in different directions. The center turn lane removes turning vehicles from the through lanes, which reduces rear-end collisions from vehicles stopping unexpectedly in traffic. ## What to expect starting June 15 Construction is scheduled to begin June 15\. The project is expected to run five to six weeks, putting completion in late July or early August 2026. Residents who use Bay Road between Route 104 and Lake Road should expect lane reductions and construction delays during that period. Two-way traffic will be maintained throughout. After construction, the road will operate under the new three-lane configuration permanently. The Monroe County DOT presentation from the May 21 workshop is publicly available at [websterny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13587](https://websterny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13587?ref=websterledger.com). Bay Road is a county road, so Monroe County DOT, not the Webster Town Board, controls it and makes decisions about its configuration. How the design evolved, why a compromise plan was set aside, and why the Webster Town Board said it was the last to know is the subject of a separate Ledger report. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster swim lesson registration opens June 4. Spots fill in minutes. URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-swim-lesson-registration-june-4/ Last updated: 2026-05-26T01:37:17.000Z Summer swim lesson registration at the Webster Aquatic Center opens at 8 a.m. June 4\. Some levels fill within five minutes, according to WAC. Registration is online only, through the Webster Central School District's portal at [registration.xendirect.com/webstercsd](https://registration.xendirect.com/webstercsd?ref=websterledger.com). Parents who have not already set up an account should do so before June 4\. The catalog of lesson levels and times has been viewable since May 18 at websterschools.org. For the full summer events calendar, including concerts, festivals, and the farmers' market, see [our summer guide](https://websterledger.com/websters-summer-2026/). Below is what families need to know about the rest of Webster's summer recreation lineup: camp options, adult leagues, and the deadlines that matter. ## Swim lessons at the Webster Aquatic Center WAC, run by the school district at 875 Ridge Road, is Webster's hub for public swim instruction. The summer schedule runs on weekday mornings. Levels offered include: - Red Cross Levels I through VII - Water Babies (6 months to 3 years, with a parent or guardian in the water) - Tiny Tots (age 3, one-on-one) - Tad Poles (ages 4 to 6, three-to-one ratio) - Private lessons (four 30-minute sessions per week) - Adult lessons, including a "Feeling Safe" track for nervous beginners - Introduction to Diving (ages 9 and up, Level IV swim minimum) Lesson pricing was not posted on the registration page as of this writing. For current rates, call WAC at (585) 670-1087 or check the registration portal at [registration.xendirect.com/webstercsd](https://registration.xendirect.com/webstercsd?ref=websterledger.com). The town does not appear to operate a stand-alone outdoor municipal pool; aquatics in Webster are consolidated at WAC. ## Town of Webster summer camps Parks & Rec opened camp registration on February 2\. Availability varies week by week. Families should check the WebTrac portal ([nywebsterweb.myvscloud.com](https://nywebsterweb.myvscloud.com/?ref=websterledger.com)) or call (585) 872-7103 before assuming a spot is open. **Preschool Camp** (ages 3 to 5, must be fully potty-trained). Liberty Lodge, 850 Maple Drive. Mornings 8:30 to 11 AM, $175 a week for either a Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday afternoons 12 to 3 PM run $315 a week. Contact: [krieger@websterny.gov](mailto:krieger@websterny.gov). **Playground Camp** (ages 5 to 9). Half-day, 9 AM to 2 PM, at Miracle Field, 1000 Ridge Road. $175 a week. Five sessions between July 6 and August 7\. Programming includes the Miracle Field playground, the turf field, hikes on the Hickory Bark Trail, water games, and crafts. Contact: [jschillaci@websterny.gov](mailto:jschillaci@websterny.gov). **K-5 Full Day Camp**. 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM with flexible drop-off and pickup. $135 to $225 a week depending on session length. Eight sessions between June 24 and August 14, at either the Webster Recreation Center or Klem South (1025 Klem Road). Contact: [mpetersen@websterny.gov](mailto:mpetersen@websterny.gov). **Trip Camps** (grades 5 through 8 completed). $320 a week, with admission fees and transportation included. Six weeks between July 6 and August 13, Monday through Thursday. Fifth-grade completers travel with assigned counselors; older campers move independently within staff-set boundaries. Contact: [truffell@websterny.gov](mailto:truffell@websterny.gov). ## Sports leagues **Adult softball** is already underway. The 2026 season started the week of May 1, with three divisions: Tuesday Men's, Thursday Women's, and Thursday Co-Ed. Slow pitch, 10-game regular season plus single-elimination playoffs. $585 a team. A $25 non-refundable deposit holds a spot; the full fee is due by the first game. Contact: Traci Ruffell, [truffell@websterny.gov](mailto:truffell@websterny.gov). The town's listings do not show a dedicated summer outdoor soccer league. The men's indoor league runs year-round on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, and the outdoor league is a fall program (August through October) at Kent Park. For youth baseball and softball, Webster Athletic Association (WAA), a separate organization from town Parks & Rec, is in season now at Empire Park, D'Amico Park, and Ridge Park. Details at waabaseball.org and websteryouthsports.org. ## Deadlines at a glance - **June 4, 8:00 AM:** WAC summer swim lesson registration opens online. Some levels fill in minutes. - **Rolling:** Town camp spots (Preschool, Playground, K-5, Trip) available week by week. Call (585) 872-7103 to check. - **First game:** Full adult softball team fee due if your team has not paid in full. Parks & Recreation can be reached at (585) 872-7103 or 1350 Chiyoda Drive. The Webster Aquatic Center is at (585) 670-1087. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster resident says he defaced library copy of "Flamer" with a Sharpie, posts photos URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-05-22-vandalism-admission-sharpie-webster-public-library/ Last updated: 2026-05-23T04:42:15.000Z A Webster resident published photographs Friday evening of a Webster Public Library copy of the graphic novel "Flamer" that he says he marked up with a Sharpie before returning it to the library. Kevin Lockhart posted the photographs and a written statement to the public Facebook group "Webster NY Neighborhood Community" at about 8:30 p.m. on May 22\. The post was a follow-up to an earlier post the same day, in which Lockhart said he had filed a challenge against "Flamer" at the library, removed the book from the shelf, and taken it home. The book was on a curated display at the library this month as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. "Flamer," by Mike Curato, is a 2020 graphic novel about a teenage boy at a Boy Scout summer camp who is bullied as he comes to terms with being gay. Curato is Filipino American, and the book won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature. > "Tonight I went through with my Sharpie and covered all of the X-rated graphics and dialogue contained within this disgusting book prior to returning the book to the library." > *Kevin Lockhart, in a public Facebook post May 22* Lockhart framed his action as a response to the book's potential impact on children: "The trauma that the content can cause to children far outweighs any potential hypothetical upside." In the same post, Lockhart called for an ethics investigation of the librarian who acquired the book: "Whichever librarian purchased this book and allowed minors to access it should be subject to an ethics investigation." Book selections at the Webster Public Library are made by professional library staff under a written Collection Development Policy, and the published challenge process, not an individual ethics complaint, is the route the library provides for community objections to specific titles. The two photographs attached to the post show pages from the book with comic panels and speech bubbles blacked out in marker. In a comment under his own post, Lockhart wrote: "I did not post the worst photos as they may still violate Facebook's guidelines even with the censorship added." The Ledger is not republishing the photographs; readers can view Lockhart's post directly in the Webster NY Neighborhood Community public Facebook group. *If the post is removed, you may request our archives of the post via* [*news@websterledger.com*](mailto:news@websterledger.com)*.* ## The morning post The evening post followed Lockhart's earlier announcement in the same Facebook group that he had "filed a challenge at the library against the book 'Flamer' today for X-rated content, spoke with the library director, removed it from the shelf, and took it home with me." The earlier post did not mention any plan to mark up the book. The Webster Public Library publishes a formal book-challenge process on its website under About Us, then Policies. The Collection Development Policy and the Library Material Comment Form describe a review by a committee of librarians, a two-week reading window, and a written decision that can be appealed to the library board. The published process does not include removing books from the shelf or taking them home. ## About the book The American Library Association ranked "Flamer" among its 10 most-challenged books in U.S. libraries in two of the past three years, fourth in 2022 and fifth in 2023. ## What state law says about damage to library property New York has a library-specific statute. Section 264 of the state Education Law covers anyone who "intentionally injures, defaces or destroys any property belonging to or deposited in any incorporated library, reading-room, museum or other educational institution." The statute sets the maximum penalty at up to three years in state prison, up to one year in a county jail, a fine of up to $500, or a combination of fine and imprisonment. The Webster Public Library, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, is an incorporated library within the meaning of the statute. Whether any particular conduct meets the statute's elements is a determination for prosecutors, not the Ledger. The Ledger is reporting what Lockhart said he did, in his own words and photographs. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board approves $526K in MRB contracts, gets wastewater update and Bay Road briefing URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-2026-05-21/ Last updated: 2026-05-22T20:14:50.000Z The Webster Town Board closed out May 21 with a full agenda: two engineering contracts totaling $526,000, a wastewater plant update, a county road project the board said it was not properly informed about, and a handful of routine but notable votes on everything from a 200-year-old cemetery to the police chief's pay. ## Wastewater plant: behind schedule but meeting its Fairlife commitment The plant's chief operator and assistant chief operator briefed the board on the town's wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which is running behind its original schedule but is on track for substantial completion in August. The project prioritized readiness to accept high-strength waste from Fairlife, a commitment the operators said was met on time in August 2025\. Key systems have come online in the months since: ammonia levels that were consistently failing the DEC permit limit of 13 milligrams per liter are now averaging around 1 milligram per liter following upgrades to the aeration blowers. Delays were tied largely to overseas-manufactured equipment, including aeration blowers that arrived as the wrong model and required retrofitting on-site. Councilmember John Cahill encouraged every board member to tour the facility, citing the dryer system in particular as a major cost savings over landfill disposal of biosolids. *A detailed look at the project timeline, costs, and Fairlife revenue projections will follow in a separate story.* ## $526K in MRB contracts approved The board approved two contracts with MRB Group for infrastructure work. The first, valued at $311,250, authorizes MRB Group to prepare a bid packet and provide construction administration and oversight services for the Vosburg Pump Station. The master schedule will be included in the RFP. The second, valued at $214,800, covers construction administration services for the Salt Barn and Truck Washout building. Town Highway Superintendent Pat Stevens walked the board through why the contract was not competitively bid: because MRB Group is the engineer of record for the project, it carries legal responsibility to verify that construction follows its own design, an obligation that cannot be easily transferred to another firm. Councilman Cahill used the discussion to underscore a standing board principle that RFPs for engineering services should go out early in any significant project, before a single firm becomes effectively locked in. Both contracts were approved unanimously. ## 2025 audit: clean bill of financial health The board accepted the 2025 Basic Financial Statement Audit Report, prepared by Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP, dated May 5, 2026\. The firm issued an unqualified opinion with no material weaknesses identified. Councilmember Garrett Wagner, a CPA, noted the town holds a substantial surplus and is in excellent financial position. ## Other board actions Monroe County Department of Transportation engineers presented the final design for a Bay Road road diet between Route 104 and Lake Road at the workshop that preceded the regular meeting. The project, contracted to Keeler Construction, is scheduled to begin June 15 and take five to six weeks, converting a four-lane stretch to three lanes with a center two-way left turn lane. Several board members said they were hearing about a key design change for the first time. A county representative acknowledged that directly involved town officials and the Town Supervisor were notified, but the board as a whole was not consistently in the outreach loop. *A fuller look at the Bay Road project is forthcoming.* The board approved a resolution waiving the 30-day New York State Liquor Authority notification period for TEMPO Italian Kitchen & Bar, Inc. at 807-A Ridge Road, Webster, New York. Town Clerk Danene Marr explained the waiver allows the applicant to submit its license application to the state sooner, rather than waiting out the full notice window. No zoning issues were identified; the space was previously occupied by a restaurant. The board voted to waive the $120 site plan application fee for a proposed expansion of Webster Union Cemetery at 345 Webster Road. Supervisor Scialdone noted the town carries a standing municipal responsibility for the cemetery if its operators were ever to cease operations, and said the waiver is consistent with past precedent. The cemetery holds the graves of Revolutionary War veterans, and fall tours led by cemeterian George Baker are planned. The board authorized the town clerk to advertise for bids on polymer chemicals used to dewater sludge at the wastewater treatment plant. Bids are due no later than June 8. The board approved a $5,943 budget transfer from the vehicle gasoline account to the chief of police salary line as a partial fix for a pay compression issue affecting the police chief. The compression stems from differing cost-of-living adjustment rates between the chief's white-collar classification and the "1,000 Club" structure that governs the rank and file. The full resolution is expected to be addressed through the 2027 budget process. Finally, the board approved surplus sewer department equipment and a wooden desk from the supervisor's office for recycling. ## Public comment One resident addressed the board during the public comment period, describing conversations with other residents across several neighborhoods near Bay Road. He said the primary concern he heard was traffic safety and that many residents remained anxious about the change. He asked the board to prioritize clear communication and active listening as construction approaches. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Webster voters approve $227M school budget, pass both propositions, seat Richardson and Barker on BOE URL: https://websterledger.com/wcsd-budget-vote-results-may-2026/ Last updated: 2026-05-22T20:14:12.000Z Webster Central School District voters approved the district's $227.09 million budget for 2026-27 on Tuesday, 2,506 to 1,196 -- a 67.7% YES margin that takes the district's contingency scenario, with its threat of layoffs and an equipment freeze, off the table. Voters also passed both ballot propositions and elected the only two candidates on the Board of Education ballot. The polls at Webster Schroeder High School closed at 9 p.m., and the district posted unofficial results overnight. ## The numbers | Ballot question | YES | NO | YES % | | -------------------------------------- | ----- | ----- | ----- | | 2026-27 Budget ($227.09M) | 2,506 | 1,196 | 67.7% | | Proposition #1 -- 10 buses ($1.8M) | 2,399 | 1,305 | 64.8% | | Proposition #2 -- $45M Capital Reserve | 2,534 | 1,165 | 68.5% | Roughly 3,700 ballots were cast across the three questions, with the totals falling within five votes of one another – voters who turned out worked the full ballot. An official turnout percentage was not yet available from the district at filing. ## Contingency averted The district had warned in its Spring 2026 Budget Newsletter that a defeated budget would trigger a contingency plan: the property-tax levy frozen at the prior year's $127.55 million, $2.1 million in cuts, "likely staff layoffs," an equipment-purchase freeze except for health-and-safety items, and an end to free community use of school facilities. Tuesday's first-vote passage means none of that triggers. The June 16 statewide revote date is not needed. The approved levy of $131.88 million is up 3.39% from the current year and remains within New York's tax-cap formula -- the 15th consecutive year the district has filed a tax-cap-compliant budget. Per-pupil spending of $27,495 still trails the Monroe County average of $30,402. For a typical Webster home assessed at $200,000, the projected tax-rate increase of $0.66 per $1,000 works out to roughly $133 more per year before STAR exemptions. Final rates are set in August pending equalization. ## What the propositions do **Proposition #1** authorizes up to $1.8 million to buy ten 66-passenger diesel school buses. State transportation aid is expected to reimburse roughly 68% of the cost, with first principal and interest payments hitting the 2027-28 budget. **Proposition #2** reauthorizes the district's Capital Reserve at a new $45 million ceiling over a 10-year term, replacing the expiring reserve. The ceiling is a savings cap, not an immediate expenditure -- the district funds the reserve through future budgets, and cash-funded capital projects still draw roughly 70% state building aid as if borrowed, avoiding interest costs. ## Board of Education Both candidates on the ballot were elected to three-year terms beginning July 1, 2026: - **Janice Richardson** (incumbent, board president) -- 2,956 votes - **John Barker** (newcomer) -- 2,729 votes Richardson outpolled Barker by 227 votes. Both were guaranteed seats in an uncontested two-for-two race, and both candidates received more votes than the budget's YES total – a sign that some voters who opposed the spending plan still backed the candidates on the board ballot. --- The Ledger's pre-vote [voter guide](https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-budget-vote-may-19-2026/) covered the spending plan, propositions, and candidate backgrounds in detail. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### The Fairlife deal: what Webster traded, what was promised, and what's actually in writing URL: https://websterledger.com/the-fairlife-deal-what-webster-traded-what-was-promised-and-whats-actually-in-writing/ Last updated: 2026-05-22T20:14:22.000Z Stand at the east end of Tebor Road and the scale of what Webster agreed to is hard to miss. Seven hundred and forty-five thousand square feet of production, warehouse, and office space on 110 acres of what used to be Burrows family farmland. Stainless-steel silos catching the morning light. Trucks queuing at the gate. Inside, production lines have been running test batches since late November. First shipments of fairlife ultra-filtered milk, Core Power, and Nutrition Plan shakes started mid-January. The plant is the largest single industrial development in Monroe County history and the largest dairy production facility in the northeastern United States. It is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, which acquired Fairlife in 2020, and it will process five to six million pounds of raw milk a day at full operation, drawing from regional dairy farms across western New York. Webster's role in making it happen is more complicated than the press releases suggest. To understand the full picture, you need four numbers, a stack of public dollars that has never been consolidated in one document, and a 14-month gap nobody has explained. ## What the facility is The site was assembled in October 2023 from three parcels: $4.27 million for the main Burrows Bros. tract on Tebor and Basket Roads, $3.0 million for 1807 Tebor Road from ERK Properties, and $157,000 for a smaller Burrows parcel on Basket Road. Total land cost: $7.43 million. Total project cost on Fairlife's RP-412-a application to COMIDA: $660 million. Governor Hochul, County Executive Adam Bello, Town Supervisor Tom Flaherty, and Fairlife CEO Tim Doelman broke ground on April 18, 2024\. General contractor Haskell built the shell in roughly six months using 400 concrete wall sections cast on-site and a 660-ton crane. Peak construction workforce hit about 700 tradespeople. Production-line testing began in late November 2025\. As of WHEC's December 17, 2025 report, Fairlife had nearly 300 people hired with about 40 jobs left to fill. Full 24/7 operation is targeted for the second half of 2026. At full operation the plant will generate about 200 semi-trailer and tanker truck movements a day. Fairlife told WHEC it does not plan to ship by rail, even though active Ontario Midland Railroad tracks run alongside the property. ## The jobs story: four numbers This is where the framing of the deal and the legal mechanics of the deal diverge. The headline number is two and a half times the legally enforceable floor. **250.** This is the number you have heard. It is the figure in the May 2023 announcement from Empire State Development, repeated by Governor Hochul, by Bello, by Flaherty, by COMIDA, and by every regional outlet since. It is the threshold attached to Fairlife's $21 million Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit, a performance-based state credit Fairlife only earns in full if it hits 250. **335.** This is Fairlife's internal operational target at full build-out, told to WXXI in September 2025 by Ed Burger, the company's vice president of engineering for large capital projects. It is not contractually binding and does not appear in any public agreement. **Nearly 300.** This is where actual hiring stood in mid-December, per WHEC. **100.** This is the contractual minimum in the signed COMIDA PILOT Agreement. Section 9.1 of the document reads, verbatim: > "The Company shall create, at the Facility, one hundred (100) new full-time/full-time equivalent jobs in three (3) years of completion of the Facility and maintain those new full-time/full-time equivalent jobs, at the Facility, for the balance of the twenty (20) year term hereof." In plain English: if Fairlife employed exactly 100 people in Year 3 and never grew, it would be in technical compliance with the document that authorizes the largest local incentive in the deal. The state-level Excelsior credit has teeth at 250 because the dollars are conditional on the headcount. The local COMIDA package, where the dollars are larger and the burden falls on Webster taxpayers, is keyed to 100. ## The money: the full public stack The figure that has dominated coverage is $63.4 million, the COMIDA package: $43.84 million in sales tax exemptions on construction materials and equipment, plus $19.6 million in property tax abatement over 20 years. (For how PILOT abatements shift the property-tax burden onto everyone who is not getting one, see [Thursday's explainer](https://websterledger.com/what-a-pilot-is-comida-explainer/).) That figure is real, and it is the largest local incentive on the deal. It is also only a portion of the public investment. The state, utility, and town pieces stack on top: | Amount | Source | Notes | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | $43.84 million | COMIDA | Sales tax exemption on construction materials and equipment | | $19.6 million | COMIDA | PILOT property tax abatement over 20 years | | $21 million | Empire State Development | Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit, performance-based | | $20 million | NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation | Wastewater grant | | $5 million | RG&E development grant | Approved by the Public Service Commission, September 19, 2024 | | $9.8 million | NY FAST grant | Webster industrial sites, awarded August 20, 2025 | | 8.5 MW | NYPA ReCharge NY | Low-cost power allocation | The Town of Webster's own commitment sits on top of that. Town Board minutes from February 1, 2024 reference upsizing sewer mains from Tebor Road to handle "the fully built and operational Coke fairlife facility." On July 27, 2023 and September 5, 2024, the Board passed bond resolutions totaling **$81.5 million**, substantially driven by the Fairlife wastewater tie-in. Fairlife has committed to reimburse the town for **96 percent** of the debt service and is paying a separate **$21.9 million** tie-in fee over 10 years. The state's $20 million EFC grant covered another piece. The residual 4 percent on $81.5 million falls to Webster taxpayers. Fairlife is also funding approximately $30 million in RG&E grid upgrades required to serve the plant, on top of state-funded road work that includes a $10 million extension of Boulter Industrial Parkway scheduled to open in late 2026 or early 2027. No single public document consolidates these numbers. The figures above were assembled from primary sources: COMIDA filings, ESD press releases, the Public Service Commission order, Town Board minutes and bond resolutions, NYPA allocations, and the signed PILOT Agreement. ## The local-hire fight The COMIDA package came with a local-construction-labor expectation. Through 2024, Fairlife filed 10 waivers with COMIDA asking permission to use out-of-region contractors on specific scopes of work. **Nine were approved**, allowing more than 200 workers from outside the Rochester area on the site. Most approvals cited equipment-specific expertise tied to proprietary processing equipment sourced from European manufacturers under warranty terms requiring the manufacturer's preferred installers. The 10th waiver became public. It covered a **$45 million stainless-steel specialty piping installation contract** with roughly 60 associated jobs. Fairlife argued the piping ran proprietary Swiss-manufactured systems under warranty terms requiring the manufacturer's preferred installer. UNICON, which has done specialty stainless-steel piping in the Rochester region for more than 40 years, pushed back. "We built Kodak. We built Xerox. We built Bausch & Lomb. We know how to do specialized stainless-steel piping," Joe Morelle Jr. told WXXI in December 2024\. "There's proprietary information that they don't want to get out, which is fair ... but there's a lot of work that isn't proprietary." County Executive Adam Bello brokered a split arrangement: Fairlife could use some of its preferred non-local specialty workers for the proprietary scope while keeping a portion of the contract local. The exact split was not disclosed publicly. Bello called the arrangement a first for Monroe County. "It's an issue of fairness," Bello told WXXI. "If you're going to offer tax incentives and property tax abatements ... in return, they should be looking to invest dollars that they have into the local workforce ..." This is the closest the county has come to invoking the accountability provisions in the Fairlife deal. There was no formal sanction and no clawback action. The result was a compromise, not enforcement. ## What to keep an eye on The Fairlife factory will be one of the biggest economic-development stories in Monroe County for a generation. By all available evidence, Fairlife is building what it said it would build and hiring on or near pace. The accountability question is not about the company. It is about whether the framework around the deal was honest with the public about what was traded, what was promised, and what is enforceable in writing. The press conferences are over. The plant is built. The contract on file says 100 full-time jobs. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Webster's Summer 2026: Mark Your Calendar URL: https://websterledger.com/websters-summer-2026/ Last updated: 2026-05-19T11:00:00.000Z Less than a month from now, fireworks light up the sky over the Webster Recreation Center. That's the start of Webster's summer — Saturday, June 13, when the Town's Summer Celebration runs from 4 PM until after dusk, with live music, food trucks, bounce houses, and a fireworks finale after sunset. The same morning, the Joe Obbie Farmers' Market reopens at 8:30 AM in front of Old Navy at Towne Center. One Saturday, two anchors for the season. Here's what else to put on the fridge between Memorial Day and Labor Day. ## The big dates | When | What | Where | | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | Sat, June 13, 8:30 AM – 1 PM | Joe Obbie Farmers' Market opens | Towne Center, 1034 Ridge Road | | Sat, June 13, 4 PM – dusk | Summer Celebration + fireworks | Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive | | Wed, July 15 – Wed, Aug 26 | Evenings in the Park (weekly) | Sexton Memorial Park, 750 Holt Road | | Fri, July 10 – Fri, Aug 28 | Friday Night Concerts (six dates) | Gazebo Memorial Park, 28 North Ave | | Sat, July 25, 8:30 AM – 1 PM | "Christmas in July" market | Towne Center | | Fri, Aug 14 – Sat, Aug 15 | Webster Jazz Festival | West Main Street, Webster Village | ## The weekly rhythms **Saturdays — Farmers' Market.** The Joe Obbie Farmers' Market runs Saturdays from June 13 through the fall at Towne Center, 8:30 AM to 1 PM. The mid-season "Christmas in July" market lands Saturday, July 25, same hours, same Towne Center location. **Wednesdays — Evenings in the Park.** Now in its fifth year, the free Wednesday-night series at Sexton Memorial Park runs from July 15 through August 26 — seven Wednesdays. Expect a small farm market, a food truck, a mobile bar, and live music each week. Bring a chair. **Fridays — Concerts in the Park.** The Webster Village BID's free Friday Night Concert series runs 7 to 9 PM at the Gazebo in Memorial Park, 28 North Ave: - July 10 — Red Hot & Blue Band - July 24 — A Girl Named Genny - July 31 — Carlton Wilcox with Walter Chapman & Friends - August 7 — The Ayers Brothers - August 21 — Red 7 - August 28 — The Earthtones No concert July 17\. The August 14 Friday is dark because the Jazz Festival takes that weekend. ## The August weekend The Webster Jazz Festival turns Webster Village into a street party Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15\. Friday is "Jazz in the Pubs" from 6 to 10 PM. Saturday is "Jazz in the Street" along West Main from 4 to 10 PM. Both nights are free. The 2026 lineup hasn't been posted yet; watch websterbid.com. ## Kids, camp, and the library **Summer Camp.** Webster Parks & Rec runs camp for K–5 and grades 5–8 through the summer. Registration moved up to February 2 this year, so most weeks are already spoken for. If you missed it, call Parks & Rec at 585-872-7103 about the waitlist. **Library.** The Webster Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge returns this June, alongside weekly storytimes for kids 5 and under (Stories on a Saturday Morning, no registration) and Tuesday-afternoon teen drop-ins with games, crafts, and free YA books. The specific kickoff and program dates aren't yet posted; the library's LibCal calendar at websterlibrary.libcal.com/calendar is the place to check week by week. **Spray Park.** Summer Splash, the free afternoon at the First Responders Spray Park next to the Rec Center, typically returns in July. A 2026 date hasn't been posted yet — keep an eye on the Town's Parks & Rec calendar. ## Watch this space The Town's events page lists two named summer events without firm dates yet: a "Sunset Social" and a "So Long Summer." Flyers are up; details aren't. Parks & Rec at 585-872-7103 is the place to ask. We'll update as dates land. That's the season. Six Friday concerts, seven Wednesday evenings at Sexton, a market every Saturday, and one fireworks night three weeks out. Print this. Stick it on the fridge. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster schools budget vote May 19: what's on the ballot, what it costs URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-budget-vote-may-19-2026/ Last updated: 2026-05-18T20:09:56.000Z On Tuesday, May 19, Webster Central School District residents will vote on a $227.1 million budget for the 2026-27 school year, a 3.10% increase over the current year. We've been covering this vote since May 4 — if you want the full breakdown of per-town tax rates and what a failed budget would mean for staffing, start with [last week's piece on homeowner costs and the contingency](https://websterledger.com/six-days-schools-vote-wcsd-budget-2026/) or the [May 4 overview of the full ballot](https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-may-19-2026-budget-vote/). This post pulls everything together in one place with voting logistics before the polls open. The district has put the choice in unusually direct terms. If the budget passes, staffing reductions happen "through attrition only (no layoffs)," in the district's own words. If it fails twice, the fallback contingency budget would mean "likely staff layoffs." That contrast, in the district's own language, is the single sharpest thing to know before May 19. ## What you're voting on Four items will appear on the ballot. - **The 2026-27 operating budget.** $227.1 million in spending, supported by a local tax levy of about $131.9 million. The levy is up $4.3 million (3.39%) from the current year. Because the levy stays within the state's tax cap, only a simple majority is required to pass. The district reports this is the 15th consecutive year it has filed a tax-cap-compliant budget. - **Proposition 1.** Authorization to spend $1.8 million on ten new 66-passenger diesel school buses. State transportation aid is expected to reimburse about 68% of the cost. First local payments would fall in the 2027-28 budget year. - **Proposition 2.** Reauthorization of the district's capital reserve, with a new $45 million ceiling over 10 years. More on this below. - **Two Board of Education seats.** Three-year terms, with two candidates on the ballot for the two seats. ## What it would cost a homeowner Final tax rates are not set until August, and they vary by town because each town has a different equalization rate. Based on the rates the district published in its spring newsletter, the projected rate in the Town of Webster is $29.36 per $1,000 of assessed value, up 66 cents (2.31%) from $28.70\. (For a deeper look at what these rates mean in dollars and how the contingency scenario changes that picture, see [our May 13 breakdown](https://websterledger.com/six-days-schools-vote-wcsd-budget-2026/).) Applied to typical homes in Webster town, before any STAR exemption: - $200,000 assessed home: roughly $5,873 in school taxes, about $132 more than this year. - $250,000 assessed home: roughly $7,341, about $166 more. - $300,000 assessed home: roughly $8,809, about $199 more. Residents in the other towns the district covers see different rates: $18.57 in Penfield (up 20 cents), $17.66 in Ontario (down $1.72), and $18.16 in Walworth (down $1.77). The declines in Ontario and Walworth reflect equalization-rate adjustments, not a tax cut on an unchanged home. Equalization is the state's adjustment for the fact that towns assess property at different fractions of market value. When one town's assessments rise faster than another's, the state lowers that town's rate per $1,000 so the school tax burden stays proportional to actual home value across the district. A homeowner whose own assessment rose could still owe more in dollars, even if the rate per $1,000 fell. One number cuts the other way for everyone. The district's "true value" tax rate, which strips out equalization differences, is projected at $12.63 per $1,000, down from $13.78\. That means the taxable property base grew faster than the levy did. ## What happens if the budget fails A "no" majority on May 19 does not automatically trigger cuts. The Board of Education can put the same or a revised budget back to voters on June 16, the statewide revote date. If a second vote also fails, state law requires the district to adopt a contingency budget. The district has already calculated that contingency: $225.0 million in spending, about $2.1 million less than the proposed plan, with the local tax levy frozen at this year's $127.5 million. According to the spring budget newsletter, a contingency budget would mean: - a loss of free facility use for community groups, - a freeze on equipment purchases except for health and safety items, - "likely staff layoffs," - and program reviews. That last line is the cleanest version of the trade-off. The proposed budget hits its staffing target "through attrition only (no layoffs)." The contingency budget, the district says, would not. ## Proposition 2: a ceiling, not a check Proposition 2 is the line item most likely to be misread. The headline number is $45 million, but voters are not being asked to spend $45 million. They are being asked to authorize a savings ceiling: the maximum amount the district could set aside over the next 10 years for future capital projects (a new roof, a boiler, classroom upgrades, that sort of thing). Two things follow from that. First, money put into the reserve would come from future annual budgets, not from a one-time $45 million bill on May 19\. Second, any actual spending out of the reserve would require a separate voter approval down the road. Approving Proposition 2 fills the savings jar, it does not break it open. The district says it needs the reauthorization because the existing capital reserve has hit both its dollar ceiling and its 10-year term. Building projects funded from reserves still qualify for state building aid (roughly 70% per project), which avoids borrowing costs. According to a slide in the district's May 5 budget hearing presentation, Webster currently ranks 15th of 17 Monroe County districts in total fund balance as a share of operating expenses. The new ceiling would move the district closer to the county average of about 16%. ## The Board of Education race Two seats are open, both for three-year terms, and both are uncontested. On the ballot: - **John Barker,** a professor in the University of Rochester's Frederick Douglass Department of Black Studies, a former dean at Tufts, and a former Assistant Vice Provost at the University of Miami. He has two children in WCSD. - **Janice Richardson,** the incumbent board president, on the board since 2020\. She is a reading specialist in the Greece Central School District and was named that district's Golden Apple Teacher of the Year in 2014\. She has three children currently in WCSD. Write-in votes are permitted. ## How to vote - **When.** Tuesday, May 19, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. - **Where.** Webster Schroeder High School gymnasium, 875 Ridge Road. This is the only polling place for the district. - **Who can vote.** District residents who are US citizens, at least 18 years old, and have lived in the district for at least 30 days. Voter registration is not required, but the district requires proof of residency at the polls. Accepted forms include a valid driver's license, a non-driver ID card, a utility bill, or a voter registration card. - **Absentee and early ballots.** Applications go to District Clerk Heather Murphy, 119 South Avenue, Webster. Mailed applications must be received at least seven business days before the vote. In-person pickup is accepted through the day before the vote. Contact: [(585) 216-0001](tel:+15852160001) or [heather\_murphy@webstercsd.org](mailto:heather%5Fmurphy@webstercsd.org). The district has posted its full budget materials, including the May 5 public hearing presentation, at [websterschools.org/budget](https://www.websterschools.org/budget?ref=websterledger.com). --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Five things every new Webster resident should know URL: https://websterledger.com/five-things-every-new-webster-resident-should-know/ Last updated: 2026-05-15T11:52:51.000Z Moving to Webster means joining a community with its own civic rhythms. None are complicated, but a few will surprise you if you don't know to look. --- ## 1\. There are two governments, and they overlap Webster has a Town government and a Village government. The Village of Webster sits inside the Town of Webster. If you live within the Village limits, you pay taxes to both and are governed by both. If you live outside the Village but inside the Town, the Town is your only local government. Many residents don't realize the split until a zoning question or a permit sends them to the wrong office. Check your address against both the Town and Village websites to know which category you're in. ## 2\. Your property tax bill is not one bill New York property owners typically receive separate tax bills: one from the school district (usually due in the fall) and one from the Town and County (usually due in winter). The amounts and due dates are different, and missing either one is a problem. Set reminders for both. Monroe County also maintains a property lookup tool online where you can see assessed value, tax history, and owner of record. ## 3\. School district lines don't match town lines Webster Central School District is the primary district serving Webster, but its boundaries extend beyond the Town's borders into parts of Penfield, Ontario, and Walworth. If you live near any of those edges, or are buying a home partly for district access, verify your address directly with Webster Central School District at websterschools.org. The town line doesn't tell the whole story. ## 4\. Find the primary sources, not just the news The Town of Webster and the Village of Webster each publish meeting agendas, minutes, and public notices on their respective websites. The Monroe County website covers county-level services: the DMV, property records, courts, and more. Sign up for any official notification lists offered by the Town or Village, and follow the Webster Ledger for ongoing coverage of local decisions. The local news cycle is slower than national news, and public meetings are where the real record is. ## 5\. Know where to take your question Most local questions have a clear owner, but finding the right door takes practice. Code enforcement, building permits, and zoning are typically Town functions. Water and sewer service, local roads within the Village, and some licensing questions fall to the Village if you're within Village limits. School registration and boundary questions go to the district. When in doubt, call the Town Clerk's office first. They field misdirected calls regularly and can point you in the right direction. --- Webster is a community where local government is accessible: meetings are public, officials are generally reachable, and most questions have a straightforward answer. The main thing is knowing which door to knock on. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What a PILOT is, how COMIDA approves one, and what the signed Fairlife agreement actually contains URL: https://websterledger.com/what-a-pilot-is-comida-explainer/ Last updated: 2026-05-14T12:10:36.000Z If you own property in Webster, your tax bill is split across three or four jurisdictions: the Webster Central School District, the Town of Webster, Monroe County, and sometimes a fire or library district. The school district is usually the biggest line. Most of the time, when a property in town gets a tax break, those jurisdictions are the ones absorbing it, not the state and not the federal government. The mechanism that produces most of those breaks is called a PILOT, short for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes. PILOTs are negotiated and approved by an agency called COMIDA, the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. The Fairlife milk plant going up on Tebor Road is the largest PILOT in COMIDA's history, and the recently posted signed agreement gives Webster residents their first detailed look at what a 20-year, $63.4 million tax package actually looks like on paper. Here is how the system works, what the Fairlife deal contains, and what is worth watching as the plant comes online. ## What an IDA is COMIDA is a public benefit corporation created under New York General Municipal Law Article 18-A. It is not Monroe County government, not the Town of Webster, and not the school district. It is a separate entity with its own seven-member board, appointed by the Monroe County Legislature and serving at its pleasure. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at the CityPlace Building downtown. COMIDA's job, under state law, is to attract and retain businesses by offering tax exemptions: sales tax on construction materials, mortgage recording tax, and reduced property taxes. It does not write checks. It grants exemptions from taxes other governments would otherwise collect. ## How a PILOT works The mechanic is straightforward once you see it. A company that wants property tax relief on a new facility applies to COMIDA. If the deal is approved, the property's title (or a leasehold interest in it) is transferred on paper to COMIDA. COMIDA is a public entity, and public entities do not pay property taxes. The property goes tax-exempt on the assessment roll. The company then leases the property back from COMIDA. Instead of a normal tax bill, it pays a negotiated annual PILOT. The PILOT is almost always less than the full tax bill would have been, often dramatically less in the early years, with a ramp toward full assessment by the end of the term. COMIDA markets five named programs (JobsPlus, Enhanced JobsPlus, Green JobsPlus, LeasePlus, Shelter Rent) with terms of 10 or 14 years. It can also negotiate custom PILOTs outside those programs, as it did with Fairlife. ## Who absorbs the shortfall Under New York General Municipal Law §858(15), the PILOT payment that does come in is distributed pro rata to each "affected tax jurisdiction" by its share of the full tax bill. The school district is the largest line item on most Webster property tax bills. The school district therefore receives the largest share of the PILOT payment and, by the same arithmetic, gives up the largest dollar share of the discount. What happens to that shortfall depends on the district's annual budget. If the district holds its levy steady to meet its budget, the missing revenue is recovered through the tax rate charged to every other property owner in the district. If it accepts the lower revenue under the tax cap, the district has less to spend. Either way, COMIDA does not pay the difference. Other taxpayers do, or the school does. School districts have legal standing under state law to object to a proposed PILOT. They do not have a vote on whether it is approved. ## The Fairlife deal in specifics Fairlife, LLC, a Coca-Cola subsidiary, received a $63.4 million local tax package on a project the company values at $660 million: $43.84 million in sales tax exemptions on construction, plus a custom 20-year PILOT valued at $19.6 million in abated property taxes. The COMIDA board approved it unanimously on October 17, 2023\. Monroe County describes it as the tax package for the largest industrial development project in county history. A public hearing was held the day before at the Van Ingen Court Building. The signed PILOT agreement, dated December 1, 2024 and posted on COMIDA's project page, lays out the year-by-year math. The agreement caps what it calls the "Added Value" of the new plant at $50 million for tax-calculation purposes. That is the figure the abatement is applied against, regardless of what the building is actually assessed at. Each year, Fairlife pays property tax on the land and any pre-existing improvements at full value (the "Base Valuation"), plus a percentage of that $50 million Added Value that ramps up over 20 years. In Year 1, only 5% of the $50 million is included in the taxable base. The other 95% is abated. The percentage rises slowly: 10% in Year 2, 20% by Year 4, 35% by Year 11, 50% by Year 14, 80% by Year 19, and 90% in Year 20\. The taxable share never reaches 100%. Ten percent of the improvement value remains abated through the final year of the agreement. The exemption begins with the 2026 Town and County tax year and the 2025-2026 School District tax year. The lease runs through December 31, 2045. Webster Town Supervisor Tom Flaherty submitted a formal letter of support to COMIDA before the October 2023 vote. The Town also committed to roughly $10 million in roadwork around the site (state funded) and a sewer upgrade. Fairlife agreed to pay a $21.9 million sewer tie-in fee to the Town over 10 years. The distribution list on the signed agreement shows Webster Central School District Superintendent Brian Neenan and Board of Education President Janice Richardson both received certified mail copies on December 19, 2024\. The district was formally on notice at signing. Whether the school board took any public position on the deal during the COMIDA approval process in fall 2023 is not addressed in the agreement itself. ## How accountability works in this system The seven COMIDA board members are appointed by the Monroe County Legislature. None are elected by Webster voters specifically. The body that approves Webster's largest tax abatements is not directly answerable at any Webster ballot box. The Webster Central School District, which absorbs the largest share of the foregone property tax, has legal standing to object but no vote. That structure is not unique to Fairlife or to COMIDA. It is how every IDA in New York State is built, under the same Article 18-A statute. There are roughly 100 IDAs across the state, and they have been operating on this model since 1969. What is unique to each deal is how the post-approval terms get enforced. The Fairlife package carried local-hire requirements for construction work. Fairlife has since requested waivers from those requirements, and COMIDA has granted nine of ten, allowing more than 200 out-of-region construction workers on site. County Executive Adam Bello brokered a public compromise on a $45 million specialty piping contract. The local-hire terms, in other words, are negotiable after the fact. ## What to watch Three things are worth following as the Fairlife plant moves from construction into operation. The jobs commitment. COMIDA's October 2023 press release and most local coverage cited 250 permanent jobs at the new facility. Section 9.1 of the signed PILOT agreement requires 100 full-time jobs within three years of facility completion, and requires that level be maintained through the 20-year term. That is a meaningful gap between the public number and the contractual number, and 100 is the figure that will govern any clawback if Fairlife falls short. The payment schedule, now on the record. With Schedule A of the signed agreement publicly posted, residents and the school district can for the first time model what the PILOT will actually deliver year by year, against what a fully taxable $660 million facility would have produced. That comparison was not possible before December 2024. The local-hire waivers as precedent. Nine waivers granted out of ten requested is the first real test of how the clawback and enforcement provisions in a COMIDA package function in practice. How those waivers were evaluated, and whether any conditions were attached, will shape what "accountability" means on the next deal of this size. The Fairlife deal is the concrete example. The system that produced it is the larger story, and it predates Fairlife by more than 50 years. ### Six days to the schools vote: what it costs your house, and what happens if it fails URL: https://websterledger.com/six-days-schools-vote-wcsd-budget-2026/ Last updated: 2026-05-13T12:14:57.000Z Webster Central School District residents vote Tuesday, May 19, on a $227.1 million budget for 2026-27\. Our [May 4 overview](https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-may-19-2026-budget-vote/) walked through what’s on the ballot. This piece answers the two questions that overview left at the rate level: what the budget actually costs a homeowner in dollars, and what “contingency” means if it fails twice. ## What it costs your house Final tax rates aren’t set until August, but the district has published projected rates for each town it covers. In the Town of Webster, the projected school tax rate is $29.36 per $1,000 of assessed value, up 66 cents (2.31%) from $28.70. Applied to typical homes in Webster town, before any STAR exemption: - A $200,000 assessed home: roughly $5,873 in school taxes, about $132 more than this year. - A $250,000 assessed home: roughly $7,341, about $166 more. - A $300,000 assessed home: roughly $8,809, about $199 more. Homeowners in Ontario and Walworth will see published rates that actually went down ($17.66 in Ontario, $18.16 in Walworth, both off roughly $1.72 to $1.77). That is not a tax cut. It’s equalization math. Equalization is the state’s adjustment for the fact that towns assess property at different fractions of market value. When one town’s assessments rise faster than another’s, the state lowers that town’s rate per $1,000 so the school tax burden stays proportional to actual home value across the district. A homeowner whose own assessment rose could still owe more in dollars, even if the rate per $1,000 fell. ## What happens if it fails A “no” majority on May 19 doesn’t automatically trigger cuts. The board can put the same or a revised budget back to voters on June 16, the statewide revote date. Only if a second vote also fails does the district have to adopt a contingency budget. The district has already calculated that contingency: $225.0 million in spending, about $2.1 million less than the proposed plan, with the local tax levy frozen at this year’s $127.5 million. The dollar gap is small. The staffing language isn’t. The district describes the proposed budget as hitting its staffing target “through attrition only (no layoffs).” The contingency budget, in the district’s own words, would mean “likely staff layoffs.” It would also end free facility use for community groups and freeze equipment purchases except for health and safety items. For when, where, and how to vote, see [our May 4 overview](https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-may-19-2026-budget-vote/). --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster's development pause isn't law yet: here's where it actually stands URL: https://websterledger.com/websters-development-pause-isnt-law-yet-heres-where-it-actually-stands/ Last updated: 2026-05-12T11:45:32.000Z Despite headlines suggesting otherwise, Webster has not paused new development. The Town Board's April 16 vote sent the proposed moratorium, Local Law No. 2 of 2026, to the Monroe County Planning Board for a required advisory review, a step the law calls a §239-m referral. The Town's own FAQ states that "the specific date that the Town Board will vote on the moratorium has not yet been determined." In plain English: before the Town Board can adopt the moratorium, it has to ask the county planning board to weigh in. That referral is the next visible step, and the pause does not take effect until the Town Board votes to adopt it at a future meeting. The proposal did not appear on the county board's April 30 agenda. The next opportunity is its May 21 meeting. ## What the law would do If adopted as written, Local Law No. 2 of 2026 would temporarily halt the processing, review, approval, and public hearings of new applications in specific zoning districts and for specific activities. **Zones covered:** Office Park North (O-P), Medium Intensity Commercial (MC), High Intensity Commercial (HC), Commercial Outdoor Storage (CO), and Low Intensity Commercial (LC-1 and LC-2). **Activities covered:** subdivisions of more than four parcels; large-scale solar projects; and data centers. **What it does not stop:** applications that have already received Preliminary Site Plan or Special Permit approval are grandfathered in. Redevelopment and rehabilitation of existing structures are exempt, as are ordinary repairs, maintenance, and interior renovations. Property owners who believe the pause causes them undue burden can apply for hardship relief. The application fee is $150, and applicants must meet a "clear and convincing evidence" standard. The pause would run six months, with the possibility of two three-month extensions, for a hard cap of one year. ## The village is not included The Village of Webster is outside the proposed law. That is not an oversight: the Village governs its own land use and sits outside the Town's jurisdiction on these matters. Village residents and Village property owners would not see their applications affected by a Town moratorium. ## Why the town says it's needed Town officials have offered three overlapping reasons. **Age.** Webster's comprehensive plan was last updated in 2008\. The proposed law states that the Town's "current comprehensive plan and zoning and planning laws are inadequate to protect and preserve the Town of Webster's unique character and attributes while accommodating appropriate growth." Chapter 350 of the Town zoning code was adopted on June 26, 1969, and parts of it have not been substantially rewritten since: Artuso told the *Democrat and Chronicle* in April 2026 that "parking regulations have not been updated since the 1960s" and called the existing off-street parking requirements "excessive." **Infrastructure, especially electricity.** Community Development Director Joshua Artuso told 13WHAM that "with the amount of building that's been going on in recent years, there's been a shortage of actual power for some of the projects." Development pressures cited in the broader public discussion include the Coca-Cola Fairlife dairy facility (billed as the largest of its kind in the world), the Montante Solar project on the Xerox campus, ongoing cell tower applications, and the rising power demand associated with AI-era data centers. Fairlife's scale is one measure of that pressure: the project's Empire State Development incentive package was tied to roughly 250 new jobs, but Fairlife's Vice President of Engineering for Large Capital Projects, Ed Burger, told WXXI in September 2025 that the company's own operational target for the Webster plant is 335 employees, and WHEC reported on December 17, 2025 that the facility had "nearly 300 hired" with "about 40 jobs left to fill." **Timing.** The Town is in the middle of Webster 2040, a comprehensive plan update with a 15-year horizon, funded by a New York State Department of State Smart Growth grant. According to a February 2026 supervisor's column, Colliers Engineering & Design is the consultant and 847 residents had completed the community preference survey at that time. Adoption is expected in summer 2026\. In an April 8 column, Town Supervisor Alex Scialdone wrote that the proposal "would give the Town a six-month pause … on some new development applications to update our comprehensive plan, change the necessary zoning codes, and plan for the future." ## What happened at the public hearing The Town Board opened a public hearing on the proposal at 7:46 p.m. on April 2 and closed it at 8:01 p.m. Six residents spoke. None opposed the moratorium. - **John Lagambino** supported the proposal and asked the Board to extend it to 12 months. - **Dorothy Fait**, in a letter read by Gail Binder, said the moratorium should remain in place until zoning is updated to reflect the comprehensive plan, citing New York State law requiring that "zoning regulations must be in accordance with a well-considered Comprehensive Plan." - **Janice Jackman** raised concerns tied to a specific solar project. Board members clarified on the record that the moratorium would not apply to that project. The Montante Solar application on the Xerox campus at 750 Phillips Road, separately heard later in the same meeting, is the on-record example of a project the Town has said would be grandfathered if the law is adopted. - **Kevin Lockart** supported the proposal and was critical of how the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee was formed. - **Chris Nacca** asked the Board to ensure that any Town-purchased conservation land is not later rezoned for development. - **Sally Baumann**, a 25-year resident, cited the loss of natural habitat. In separate 13WHAM interviews after the hearing, resident Roger Blum said longtime Webster residents "would like to see the growth slow," while resident Dave Blaine said he favored continued development for the employment opportunities it brings. ## What to watch The next procedural gate is the Monroe County Planning Board's May 21 meeting, where the §239-m referral could be taken up. After the county board issues its advisory recommendation, the Town Board can schedule a vote on adoption. Until that vote happens, the moratorium is a proposal, not a law. A full list of grandfathered projects has not been released. Residents tracking a specific application should contact the Town's Community Development office. The public comment window is still open while the proposal is pending. Residents can submit input through the [Development Moratorium Comment Form](https://www.websterny.gov/FormCenter/Boards-10/Development-Moratorium-Comment-Form-120?ref=websterledger.com), by phone to the Communications Department at [585-910-4087](tel:5859104087), or by email to [communications@websterny.gov](mailto:communications@websterny.gov). Webster 2040 materials are available at [webster2040.com](https://webster2040.com/?ref=websterledger.com). --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Town Board rejects Climate Smart bid and police chief pay fix in split votes URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-town-board-rejects-climate-smart-bid-police-chief-pay-fix-split-votes/ Last updated: 2026-05-11T12:55:23.000Z Two items on the Webster Town Board's May 7 agenda failed on split votes, and a third, an outside engagement to handle two union negotiations, never reached a vote at all. The board, meeting Thursday, rejected a resolution to register Webster as a Climate Smart Community with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It also turned down Supervisor Alexander B. Scialdone's substitute proposal to bridge a widening pay gap between the Police Chief and Police Captain with a one-year budget transfer. Both motions failed 2-3. ## Climate Smart resolution fails after public push The Climate Smart vote followed extended public comment in which five residents urged the board to register and none spoke against. Town staff also recommended approval. Community Development Director Joshua Artuso called registration "a no-brainer," and Town Grant Liaison Maria Duer told the board that "not pursuing this designation is a wasted opportunity." Conservation Board Chair Dennis Gorlick had previously briefed the board at an April 16 workshop. He said Webster already performs enough qualifying actions to reach bronze certification at registration. Speakers framed the program as a low-cost path to more competitive grant scoring. Rebecca Collins, a member of the group Color Webster Green, cited Penfield as a Clean Energy Community that has drawn nearly $150,000 in clean-energy and sustainability grants over the past five years. Spencer Berner, a retired sustainability director, warned the board that "past performance is not a guarantee for future results" as pandemic-era grant programs wind down. The roll call: Councilman Nicholas E. Hunter and Supervisor Scialdone voted aye. Councilmen John J. Cahill and Garrett J. Wagner and Councilwoman Jennifer S. Wright voted nay. None of the three no-voters explained the vote on the record before the board moved to the next item. ## Police chief salary fix fails, original plan to return Item 10, a base-salary adjustment for the Chief of Police, was rewritten on the floor. The original resolution, drawn from an April 23 memorandum by HR Director Kelsey Feeney, would have set the Chief's base salary at 10% above the Police Captain's and tied future increases to Article 3 of the 1000 Club collective bargaining agreement. The memo notes the gap between the two roles has compressed from 9.61% in 2023 to 5.96% in 2026, and is projected to fall to roughly 2% by 2030 if untouched. Scialdone instead moved a substitute resolution: a one-year transfer of $5,900 from the Town Supervisor's salary line into the Chief's base-salary line for fiscal 2026, framed as a bridge while broader compression talks continue. Addressing the chief, Councilman Cahill said, "The chief was treated badly with respect to this when you were first hired again as chief, and I want to do this by having discussions and do it properly." Cahill voted no, as did Wagner and Wright. Cahill said "we will make the chief whole." All three no-voters said on the record that they intend to bring the original 10%-above-Captain framework back at the next regular meeting after further conversations with the Chief and Captain. ## Xerox boundary-line hearing set for June 2 The board scheduled a joint public hearing with the Village of Webster for Tuesday, June 2, at 7:00 p.m. on a proposed municipal boundary-line move at the Xerox campus. The current Town/Village line runs through buildings on the campus. Under the proposal, the entire west campus would sit inside the Village and the entire east campus inside the Town. Notice will run in the Webster Herald before May 13\. The Village holds a referendum June 16; the Town vote follows two days later. ## Connard HR engagement dies for lack of a second A proposal to engage Connard HR for negotiations with both the 1000 Club and Blue-Collar units, not to exceed $35,000, drew no motion from the floor. Scialdone offered a motion to strike the item from the agenda; it failed for lack of a second. The engagement was not authorized. ## Money matters Councilman Wagner caught a math error in the Securitas Technologies renewal hours before the meeting; the not-to-exceed figure was amended on the floor from $13,000 to $13,500 annually and approved. The board also approved a $6,300 settlement with MRB Group, reduced from a disputed roughly $40,000 highway-project invoice after Town Engineer Pat Stevens scrubbed the line items. ## Routine business The board approved minutes from April 16, bills, the prepaid warrant and purchase orders. It accepted clean 2025 audits of the Justice Court and the Town Clerk/Receiver of Taxes office, both performed by Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP and both with zero findings. Other approvals: a fill permit at 1628 Lake Road for lakefront erosion work, with a Negative Declaration under SEQR; a stormwater easement license at 1194 Scandia Drive; a service-fee credit-card processing agreement with CSG Forte Payments; a temporary part-time Office Clerk position to cover school-tax season; participation in the Empire Public Investment Cooperative Fund and a corresponding revision to the Town's Investment Policy; and routine asset surplus, transfer and destruction items. The board entered executive session under Public Officers Law section 105(d). The subject was not stated on the record. ## What comes back The Police Chief compensation question is on the calendar for the next regular board meeting. The Climate Smart Community resolution has no announced return date. The June 2 Xerox boundary-line hearing is open to the public. *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What those property review signs actually mean URL: https://websterledger.com/property-review-signs-webster/ Last updated: 2026-05-09T11:27:53.000Z You have probably seen one staked into a front lawn on Ridge Road, or planted at the edge of a wooded lot off Phillips. A "Property Under Review" sign, a date, and not much else. It looks official, and it is. It is not a foreclosure notice, a code violation or a tax dispute, which is what most neighbors assume. Here is what the sign actually means: somebody filed a formal application about that property, and one of the town's land-use boards is about to hold a public hearing on it. Town code requires the applicant to post the town-provided sign on the front of the property at least 10 days before that hearing. A legal notice also runs in the town's official newspaper at least five days before. Both requirements exist so neighbors get a fair chance to weigh in. Most signs in Webster come from one of two boards: the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals. A single project can land in front of both. ## Planning Board The Planning Board handles site design and development. If a project is changing what gets built on a piece of land, or how it is laid out, this is usually the board reviewing it. ### Sketch plan review An early, informal look. The applicant brings a rough concept to a regular Planning Board meeting and gets feedback before spending money on engineering. This stage is not a public hearing. ### Preliminary site plan approval The first formal vote. The board reviews a detailed site plan, holds a public hearing and decides whether the layout works. Approval at this stage is what unlocks the next step. ### Final site plan approval The closing vote. The applicant submits a final plan that has to substantially match what was approved at the preliminary stage. If it does, the project clears Planning Board review. ### Combined preliminary and final For straightforward projects, the board sometimes handles both stages at the same hearing. It is a practical shortcut, not a separate process. ### Site plan amendment When an owner wants to change something about an already-approved plan, they come back to the Planning Board for a fresh review under the same site-plan rules that governed the original. ### Subdivision approval Splitting one parcel into two or more. The board reviews things like lot lines, road frontage and drainage. ### Sign approval Larger commercial signs need Planning Board sign-off. (Note: the "Property Under Review" sign you are looking at is not regulated under Webster's sign code. The town's own notice signs are explicitly carved out.) ## Zoning Board of Appeals The ZBA handles exceptions. If a project does not fit Webster's zoning code as written, this is the board that decides whether to grant relief. ### Use variance The owner wants to use the property in a way the zoning code does not allow at all. To win one, an applicant has to clear a strict four-part "unnecessary hardship" test: no reasonable return under any of the permitted uses, hardship unique to the property, a use that will not alter the neighborhood's character, and hardship not self-created. The test is codified locally at §350-101 and statewide at New York Town Law §267-b. ### Area variance The use is allowed; the dimensions are off. A setback too tight, a lot too small, a fence too tall. The ZBA balances the benefit to the applicant against the detriment to neighbors and the community. No hardship test required. ### Special permit A use the code allows in that zone, but only with extra scrutiny. Under Webster Town Code §350-103, two clocks run: the ZBA has to hold a public hearing within 62 days of receiving a complete application, and it has to decide within 62 days after the hearing closes. Only the second window, the decision window, can be extended by mutual agreement between the board and the applicant. Note: certain special permit categories, including telecommunications towers, are governed by separate code provisions and go through the Town Board, not the ZBA. ## Where to look it up Webster keeps a running list of every active application at [websterny.gov/550/Property-Under-Review](https://www.websterny.gov/550/Property-Under-Review?ref=websterledger.com). Each project links to the site plans, the meeting history and a comment form residents can submit before the hearing. The Planning and Zoning Department also takes questions directly, at [planning-zoning@websterny.gov](mailto:planning-zoning@websterny.gov) or (585) 872-7037. The sign on your neighbor's lawn is not a problem notice. It is a public hearing notice. Showing up, or sending a comment, is the whole point of posting it. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### How to speak at a Webster Town Board meeting (and be heard) URL: https://websterledger.com/how-to-participate-webster-town-hall/ Last updated: 2026-05-07T14:26:29.000Z Any Webster resident can speak for five minutes at any regular Town Board meeting on almost any town topic, with no permission needed in advance. Most residents do not know that. Here is how the rule works, and how to use the other channels when you cannot make the meeting. ## Where things happen Town Hall sits at 1000 Ridge Road. Most public meetings take place just behind it at the VanIngen Court Building & Town Board Meeting Room, 1002 Ridge Road, on the same municipal campus. The Town Clerk's main number is (585) 872-1000\. Town Hall and the Town Clerk's office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Three boards do most of the work that affects daily life in Webster: - **Town Board.** First and third Thursday of each month. Workshop at 6:30 p.m., regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. This is where laws, budgets and town policy are voted on. - **Planning Board.** First Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Reviews site plans, subdivisions and development applications. - **Zoning Board of Appeals.** Second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Hears variance requests and zoning interpretation appeals. All three are town bodies. The Village of Webster, which sits inside the town, runs its own separate boards at a different location. ## How to speak at a Town Board meeting The Town Board adopted formal Rules of Conduct on Jan. 2, 2026 (Resolution #19 of 2026). The key provisions are simple: - Public comment happens during the “Open to the Floor” segment near the top of the agenda, after the Pledge and any proclamations and before resolutions are voted on. Be in the room by 7:30 p.m. if you want to speak. - Each speaker gets five minutes. Time cannot be transferred, shared or reserved for later. - Sign-up before the meeting is encouraged but not required. The presiding officer will recognize speakers who stand at the podium. - When you are recognized, state your name, your Webster residency status, any group you are representing and the topic you will address. Non-residents may speak; just identify yourself as such. - Comments must relate to legitimate town business. Demonstrations, signs, applause, booing and shouting are not permitted. - The board will not engage in back-and-forth during your time. Questions can be logged by the Town Clerk for follow-up. ## Public hearings vs. regular business A public hearing is a legally noticed comment period on a specific item, such as a zoning amendment, the budget or a proposed local law. Anyone may speak on the noticed topic, with the same five-minute rule. State law sets minimum notice: - 10 days for Town Board zoning amendments under Town Law §264. - 5 days for ZBA hearings under Town Law §267-a. - 72 hours for general meetings under the Open Meetings Law. Outside of a noticed public hearing, public input at a Town Board meeting is restricted to the “Open to the Floor” segment. At Planning Board meetings, residents speak when the chair opens the hearing on a specific application; the Planning Board’s public-comment limit is three minutes per speaker. The ZBA opens its hearings the same way, and the chair sets the pace on the night. ## If you cannot make it: write in The Town Board accepts written comment through the [Town Board Comment Form](https://websterny.gov/FormCenter/Boards-10/Town-Board-Comment-Form-110?ref=websterledger.com). Submissions must arrive by **3:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting** to be shared with board members and entered into the record. You can also email the Town Clerk at [townclerk@websterny.gov](mailto:townclerk@websterny.gov) for inclusion in the official record, or mail a letter to Town of Webster, 1000 Ridge Road, Webster, NY 14580. ## Find the agenda before you go Agendas, minutes and meeting results live at the [town Agenda Center](https://websterny.gov/AgendaCenter?ref=websterledger.com). The [town calendar](https://websterny.gov/calendar.aspx?ref=websterledger.com) has a “Notify Me” service that will email or text you when new agendas post. Agendas typically appear a few days before the meeting; the legal floor is 72 hours. ## Watch from home The [Town of Webster YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@townofwebster7836?ref=websterledger.com) carries live streams of meetings and an archive of past recordings. There is no posted Zoom call-in option for live public comment. If you cannot attend in person, use the comment form before the 3:30 p.m. cutoff. ## How to reach your elected officials The Town Board: - Alexander Scialdone, Supervisor. [ascialdone@websterny.gov](mailto:ascialdone@websterny.gov), (585) 872-7068. - Nick Hunter, Deputy Supervisor and Councilman. [nhunter@websterny.gov](mailto:nhunter@websterny.gov). - John Cahill, Councilman. [jcahill@websterny.gov](mailto:jcahill@websterny.gov). - Garrett Wagner, Councilman. [gwagner@websterny.gov](mailto:gwagner@websterny.gov). - Jennifer Wright, Councilwoman. [jwright@websterny.gov](mailto:jwright@websterny.gov). The Town Board Comment Form remains the channel that puts written input directly into the meeting record. Direct email to a member is the channel for one-to-one correspondence. ## Records requests The Town Clerk, Danene M. Marr, is also Webster’s Records Management Officer. FOIL requests go to [townclerk@websterny.gov](mailto:townclerk@websterny.gov), or by mail to Records Management Officer, 1000 Ridge Road, Webster, NY 14580\. The copy fee is $0.25 per page. Under state law, the Clerk must acknowledge a FOIL request within five business days. ## Tell us what you’re seeing The Webster Ledger relies on the community and residents to catch stories earlier and get details that could otherwise be missed. If you see something worth investigating, whether it is a development proposal you heard about, a decision that does not add up, or a road project that has been stalled for years, we want to know. Send tips and story ideas to [news@websterledger.com](mailto:news@websterledger.com). We read everything. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Planning Board orders outside review of 135-foot Verizon tower URL: https://websterledger.com/planning-board-orders-outside-review-verizon-tower/ Last updated: 2026-05-06T18:49:38.000Z *This is a follow-up to* [*yesterday's backgrounder on the Webster North application*](https://websterledger.com/verizon-wildflower-drive-cell-tower/)*.* --- The Webster Planning Board directed Tuesday night that an independent engineering review be conducted of Verizon's proposed cell tower at 1222 Wildflower Drive. In ordering the review, the board also confirmed on the public record that the tower stands 135 feet (the 125 feet listed in the board's meeting agenda was a mistake). No vote on the application itself was taken. Results of the independent review are targeted before the July 2026 Planning Board meeting. ## Height confirmed at 135 feet The agenda listed the project as a 125-foot tower. Laura Smith of Nixon Peabody, presenting for the applicant, clarified the discrepancy during Tuesday's sketch plan review. "The 135 is the minimum that's necessary to fill the coverage gap," Smith said. Smith attributed the difference to elevation. The parcel at 1222 Wildflower Drive sits roughly 10 feet lower than the town-owned site Verizon had originally proposed on Creekside Trail, requiring extra height to reach the same antenna center line. The town's code caps cell towers at 100 feet, meaning the application requires a 35-foot variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. ## Board orders independent review Board Chair Anthony Casciani said the town should not solely rely on Verizon's own engineering analysis. Casciani proposed that the town's engineering department select the consulting firm and made clear that taxpayer money would not be at stake. "By getting an outside consultant, our code allows us to hire someone, and the bill goes back to the applicant," Casciani told the board and audience. "Your tax dollars are not involved in this." Verizon's attorney indicated the company would cooperate with a third-party review, provided the reviewer was qualified and costs were reasonable. Not all board members were equally convinced the review was necessary. Board member Derek Anderson said he found Verizon's engineering case persuasive and questioned whether hiring an outside consultant was money well spent. ## Neighbor: only Verizon customers are complaining The meeting was a sketch plan review, not a formal public hearing, but Chair Casciani allowed neighbors to speak. Barb Robbins, who lives at 1205 Wildflower Drive, told the board she had spent five days canvassing the neighborhood with a petition. "The only ones who have said that they have any type of cell phone coverage issues are Verizon customers," Robbins said. "...Once they get outside of their homes and they get onto the main roadways, they go up to three bars. Why is that?" A Verizon project manager addressed the question directly. She said Verizon holds roughly 70 percent of the market share in the area, with AT&T and T-Mobile splitting the remaining 30 percent. "Part of the reason is coverage and part of the reason is capacity," she said. Robbins said she plans to submit a formal petition and written questions to the town. ## What happens next The town's engineering department will identify and engage an independent consultant. The board set a target of having results before the July 2026 Planning Board meeting. Beyond Planning Board site plan approval, the application also requires a height variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and a telecommunications special use permit from the Town Board. Verizon's application was filed March 10\. Under FCC rules, the town has 150 days to act, placing the deadline at approximately Aug. 7, 2026. ## Also at Tuesday's meeting The Planning Board approved two sign applications: Public Storage at 665 Phillips Road (one monument sign, one wall sign) and Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union at 1055 Hatch Road (one monument sign, two wall signs), the latter with a condition requiring building numbers be added to the directional sign to clarify the Hatch Road address against Ridge Road-facing signage. A third sign application — Bloom & Blend at 790 Ridge Road — was tabled to the June 2 meeting after no applicant representative appeared. The board also granted final site plan and subdivision approval to Bella Terra Phase 3, the last section of a 66-lot single-family residential subdivision off Bellora Way that received preliminary approval in 2018. In administrative items, the board voted to declare itself lead agency for SEQR coordinated review of Dink N' Links, a proposed 41,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor recreation facility near 900 Five Mile Line Road, and approved the minutes from the April 7 meeting. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Verizon cell tower at 1222 Wildflower Drive goes before the Planning Board tonight URL: https://websterledger.com/verizon-wildflower-tower-planning-board-preview/ Last updated: 2026-05-06T14:23:12.000Z *The application's first appearance before the Planning Board is a sketch plan review only. Here is where the proposal stands going in.* Correction (May 6, 2026): This article originally stated the shot clock started January 31 and would end around June 30\. The shot clock started March 10 (the date of Verizon's application) and ends around August 10\. The article has been updated. A proposed Verizon Wireless monopole at 1222 Wildflower Drive comes before the Town of Webster Planning Board tonight, May 5, 2026, as item 6 on the agenda. The Board has it down for a sketch plan review, the earliest formal stage of site plan review. No final decision on the tower will be made tonight. ## What is being proposed The applicant of record is Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems LLC, doing business as Verizon Wireless, represented by attorney Robert Burgdorf of Nixon Peabody. Verizon has filed to build a wireless telecommunications monopole, with antennas and ground equipment, on a leased portion of a 14.2-acre residential parcel owned by Robby and Dina Villa. The parcel is in the R-3 Single-Family Residential District. The application calls for a 135-foot monopole, with a 4-foot lightning rod on top, for a total above-grade height of 139 feet. The Verizon antenna centerline would sit at 130 feet; the top of the antennas at 134 feet. Those figures are stated consistently across the packet on file with the Town. The Planning Board's agenda for tonight describes the project as a 125-foot tower. That figure does not appear anywhere in the application Verizon filed with the Town. The "125" matches the dimension of the 80-by-125-foot leased compound area within the parcel, which suggests the figure was pulled from the lease footprint rather than the structure height when the agenda was generated. The packet also calls for an antenna array near the top of the pole and exterior equipment cabinets at the base, set on an 11-by-12.5-foot concrete slab. The compound is enclosed by an eight-foot perimeter fence (seven feet of chain link with a one-foot barbed-wire top) wrapping a 34-by-77-foot equipment area, which sits inside the 80-by-125-foot leased footprint. The pole is engineered with reserved positions for two additional carriers below Verizon's array, at antenna centerlines of 115 feet and 100 feet. Verizon's RF justification states the 134-foot antenna-tip height is "the minimum height necessary to provide the coverage and capacity improvements needed." ## How it got here This is Verizon's second application targeting the same Webster North coverage area. The first, a tower on town-owned land at 1209 Creekside Trail, was killed by the prior Town Board on August 7, 2025, when authorization of the underlying lease (Resolution No. 242) failed 2-3\. With the town-property option closed, Verizon refiled on March 10, 2026 at the Wildflower Drive site, which is privately owned. On April 2, 2026, the current Town Board voted 5-0 (Resolution No. 139) to refer the new application to the Planning Board for site plan review. Supervisor Alexander B. Scialdone moved the resolution and Councilman Nicholas E. Hunter seconded; all five members (Scialdone, Cahill, Wright, Hunter, Wagner) voted Aye. The Board also consented to the Planning Board acting as lead agency for State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) coordinated review. Tonight is the first time the application is in front of the Planning Board. (A separate Verizon application on Lake Road, at the corner of County Line Road, is also pending; that proposal is on a different parcel and is not the subject of tonight's hearing.) ## Three permits, three boards A communications tower in an R-3 district in Webster requires three approvals, under Chapter 130 of the Town Code: - A **Special Use Permit** from the Town Board, under §130-8 and §130-11. - **Site Plan Approval** from the Planning Board, under Chapter 269. - An **Area Variance** from the Zoning Board of Appeals, under §130-10, because Webster's code caps tower height at 100 feet, including any antenna or extension above the structure. A 135-foot monopole needs a height variance. The Wildflower height variance has not yet been scheduled at the ZBA. It is not on the May 12 ZBA agenda. ## What "sketch plan review" means, and what it doesn't A sketch plan review is informational. The Planning Board uses it to ask the applicant for additional materials, to flag concerns, and to indicate the direction of its eventual review. It is not the public hearing on site plan approval, and it is not a recommendation to the Town Board. Under §130-11(B), once the Planning Board does make a recommendation, the Town Board has 62 days to hold a public hearing and act on the Special Use Permit. The Federal Communications Commission's "shot clock" rule gives municipalities 150 days to act on a new tower application. Verizon filed March 10, 2026, which puts the presumptive shot-clock expiration on or around August 10, 2026, unless the Town and Verizon agree to extend it. ## The legal frame Verizon's posture, on the record, is that federal law sharply limits what the Town can consider. At the April 2 Town Board meeting, Burgdorf told the Board, per the meeting minutes, that > "courts have repeatedly found that widespread public opposition is not a valid legal reason for denial." Burgdorf cited Section 332(c)(7) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the FCC's preemption of local regulation of radiofrequency emissions, where emissions comply with FCC standards. He stated that property values and health effects "are legally irrelevant and will not be included" in Verizon's submission. That framing is not the whole story. The Telecommunications Act bars localities from "unreasonably discriminating" among providers, from regulations that effectively prohibit personal wireless service, and from regulating RF emissions that comply with FCC rules. It also requires a written record and decisions supported by "substantial evidence." Local concerns that are tied to the substantial-evidence record, including aesthetics, alternatives analysis, and setbacks, can support a denial. The federal floor is real, but it is not absolute. Webster's code itself recognizes this balance. Chapter 130's stated purpose is to weigh "increased demand for wireless communications" against "the maximum protection of the health, safety and aesthetic sensibilities of the residents," consistent with the Telecommunications Act. The code's §130-12(B) preference hierarchy favors co-location first, then commercial districts, then municipal property, then residential. With the Creekside Trail municipal-property route closed, Wildflower sits at the residential tier. ## Verizon's stated rationale Alongside the legal posture, Verizon has put a technical case on the record. Verizon represents that it has a coverage and capacity gap in its "Webster North cell," affecting residents, motorists, and emergency services. The application includes a search-ring justification with propagation studies, and asserts an inventory of existing towers within a two-mile radius found no co-location candidate that would resolve the gap. Verizon's narrative says the search area is "technically difficult due to wetlands and small residential parcels, leaving very few viable options." Verizon also cites the FCC's 2018 "Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment" order (FCC 18-133) for the position that a federal "effective prohibition" claim does not require proof of a specific coverage gap and can also rest on network densification needs. ## Public response Public opposition is on the record and named. The April 2 statements below are drawn from the Town's official meeting minutes. The April 16 statements are drawn from the public meeting recording; the Town's official minutes for that meeting have not yet been posted and are scheduled for approval on May 7. At the April 2 Town Board meeting, Marcy Veno of 1204 Wildflower Drive, whose property borders the proposed site, read into the record a letter authored by neighbors Edwin and Roberta Przybylowicz on behalf of one of the 16 households surrounding 1222 Wildflower Drive. The Przybylowicz letter asked the Town to defer further action pending a full alternatives analysis, plain-language RF engineering materials showing the coverage gap and why this site uniquely addresses it, photo simulations from neighboring homes and key viewpoints, an analysis of property-value impacts, a neighborhood-compatibility review with mitigation options including increased setbacks or buffering, and a full SEQRA environmental review. The letter also requested public access to the prior Creekside Trail proceedings. Marcus Veno, of the same address, read a second letter, authored by Karen Heller, a Webster resident and Editorial Director at WebMD, on behalf of one of the 17 surrounding property owners. Heller's letter raised health and environmental concerns, including questions about the FCC's thermal-only RF safety model and possible effects on the salmon-spawning habitat at the adjacent Mill Creek. Brian Bixler, who identified his home as 1223 Scenic Circle, spoke for himself. He told the Board the proposed location is "really directly in my backyard," cited concerns about property values and neighborhood character, and suggested existing commercial or already-developed areas would be more suitable. Christina McEwen of 1217 Wildflower Drive opposed the application, citing uncertain long-term health impacts of radio-frequency exposure, particularly for children and pregnant women, and noting that current FCC RF guidelines date from 1996\. She also said the proposal conflicts with the purpose of the adjacent Mill Creek Preserve land and that nearby residents were not adequately informed. The opposition continued at the Town Board's April 16 meeting. A 20-year Webster resident, named in the April 2 minutes as Rick Storace, told the Board, > "If you can see this 135-foot cell tower from your house, your potential customers to buy your house are going to probably walk away," Storace also asked the Board to consider a moratorium on new cell towers. ## A possible cell-tower moratorium The April 16 Town Board meeting also produced a development worth noting going into tonight. The exchange below is drawn from the public meeting recording; the Town's official minutes have not yet been posted and are scheduled for approval on May 7. During discussion of a separate development moratorium the Board was preparing to adopt, a councilmember asked, on the public record, whether cell towers could be added to the moratorium under consideration. The Town Supervisor replied that adding cell towers "would run into a legal issue as it's a public utility" and that the Town attorney would need to research the federal laws and regulations further before any such language could be drafted. The Board ultimately adopted the development moratorium without including cell towers, but kept open the option of pursuing a separate moratorium on cell towers process pending the legal research the Town attorney owes back. Whether such a process is initiated, and on what timeline, is not yet on a Town Board agenda. The May 7 Town Board meeting agenda does not include a Verizon item or a cell-tower-moratorium item. The "public utility" question is more than rhetorical. New York courts have long treated cellular providers as public utilities for zoning purposes, an interpretation Verizon's counsel relies on in the application. Whether that interpretation still controls in 2026, and how it interacts with any local moratorium, is the kind of legal question the Town attorney's research will have to address. ## What tonight is, and is not Tonight is a sketch plan review. The Planning Board can ask Verizon for more material, can register concerns, can suggest changes. It is not voting on the application, not granting any permit, and not deciding the height-variance question, which belongs to a different board. The application is not at the Town Board for the Special Use Permit hearing, and it is not at the ZBA for the height variance. Both of those will come, if Verizon's process advances, in later meetings. What is in front of the Planning Board tonight is a 135-foot monopole, plus a 4-foot lightning rod, on a privately leased compound inside a 14.2-acre residential parcel. The Town's own agenda describes the same project as a 125-foot tower, a figure that does not appear in the application Verizon filed; the 125-foot dimension matches the leased compound's footprint, not the structure's height. Tonight is the first chance for the Board to start asking the questions that decide whether the project, as filed, has answered them. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *This article is a backgrounder. It describes the proposal as it stands at the start of the May 5, 2026 Planning Board meeting. It does not attempt to predict the outcome of tonight's discussion or of any later vote.* *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### What's on Webster's May 19 School Ballot: A $227M Budget, Two Propositions, and an Uncontested Board Race URL: https://websterledger.com/webster-schools-may-19-2026-budget-vote/ Last updated: 2026-06-01T16:04:23.000Z Webster Central School District residents will decide on a **$227,089,425** spending plan for 2026-27 on **Tuesday, May 19, 2026**. Polls are open **6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Webster Schroeder High School Gym, 875 Ridge Road**. Voters will also weigh two propositions — diesel buses and a renewed capital reserve — and fill two three-year Board of Education seats. The proposed budget is **3.10% larger** than this year's. The district says that is below the **4.37%** average for Monroe County school districts, and that the plan stays within New York's tax cap for the **15th straight year**. ## What it costs taxpayers, and what the tax cap means The proposed **property tax levy** — the total the district collects from property taxes — rises from $127,549,054 to **$131,877,689**, an increase of **$4,328,635, or 3.39%**. Under New York's tax cap law, each district calculates a maximum allowable levy using a formula tied to the lower of 2% or CPI (this year, 2.00%), local growth, and capital adjustments. Webster's cap for 2026-27 is **$131,877,689** — the same figure as the proposed levy, meaning the district is taxing **right at the cap**, not above it. A levy at or below the cap needs a simple majority; a levy above it would need 60%. The **rate per $1,000 of assessed value** varies by town and won't be finalized until August. Estimated 2026-27 rates: Webster $29.36 (+2.31%), Penfield $18.57 (+1.08%), Ontario $17.66 (-8.86%), Walworth $18.16 (-8.86%); composite "true value" rate $12.63 (-8.35%). State aid covers about **33.2%** of revenue; the property tax levy covers 58.1%. **Foundation Aid** — the state's main per-pupil formula aid — is projected to rise **2.9%** for Webster. Per the district's Feb. 3 presentation, Webster is set to receive the **second-highest dollar increase in Foundation Aid in Monroe County**, behind only Rush-Henrietta, driven by a 245-student enrollment increase and the county's largest jump in poverty measures. ## What's in the budget The total breaks into three parts: **Program** $177,098,534 (78.0%), **Capital** $32,922,361 (14.5%), and **Administrative** $17,068,510 (7.5%). On the expense side, benefits lead at 29.5%, followed by instruction at 25.6% and special education at 11.4%. Per-pupil spending in the proposed budget is **$27,495**, below the Monroe County average of **$30,402**. The district says it is making no further cuts to building-based budgets, reducing staff only through attrition, and keeping athletics, co-curriculars, and BOCES programs intact for its more than 8,000 students. ## The two propositions **Proposition 1 — Bus purchase.** Voters are asked to authorize **$1,800,000** to buy ten 66-passenger diesel buses, financed over five years with first payments in 2027-28\. The purchase is eligible for roughly 68% state transportation aid. There is **no electric bus on the ballot this year**. The district cites regulatory uncertainty from Albany, an EV bus ordered last year that hasn't arrived, and an ongoing assessment of local charging capacity. **Proposition 2 — Capital reserve.** Voters are asked to authorize a new **$45,000,000 capital reserve fund** with a 10-year term, replacing the current reserve, which the district says has reached its funding and time limit. The $45 million is a savings ceiling, not an immediate expenditure — the district has 10 years to fund it as conditions allow, and any spending from it would require separate voter authorization for a specific project. The reserve is a way to pay cash for future construction, avoiding interest and issuance costs, while still drawing state building aid as if the work had been bonded. It is a different mechanism from the **$115 million capital improvement bond** Webster voters defeated in May 2024 by 30 votes (755 yes, 785 no). ## Board of Education: two seats, two candidates Two three-year seats are up. Only two candidates filed by the April 21 petition deadline, so the race is **uncontested** — both will be elected absent a successful write-in. Board members serve without pay. In ballot order: 1. **John Barker** (newcomer) — Professor at the University of Rochester in the Frederick Douglass Department of Black Studies and the Susan B. Anthony Institute. PhD from U. of R., BA from SUNY Oswego. Prior dean roles at U. of R., Tufts, and the University of Miami. Father of two WCSD students. 2. **Janice Richardson** (incumbent) — Board member since 2020 and president for four years. Reading specialist for Greece Central Schools and the 2014 Greece Golden Apple Teacher of the Year. Webster High graduate; degrees from St. John Fisher. Three of her four children attend WCSD. ## How to vote **When:** Tuesday, May 19, 2026, **6 a.m. to 9 p.m.** **Where:** Webster Schroeder High School Gym, 875 Ridge Road, Webster. Voter registration is **not** required, but **proof of residency is** — a driver's license, non-driver ID, utility bill, or voter registration card all work. Voters must be U.S. citizens, at least 18, and WCSD residents for at least 30 days. **Absentee and early-mail ballots:** Applications are at websterschools.org or from District Clerk Heather Murphy — (585) 216-0001, heather\_murphy@webstercsd.org. Mailed applications must be **received** by the clerk at least seven business days before the vote; pickup applications are due the day before. ## What to watch If voters reject the budget, the district can revote on **June 16** or move to a contingent budget. The newsletter pegs the contingent-budget shortfall at **$4,328,644** — essentially the full levy increase — and warns it would likely mean staff layoffs, program reviews, and an equipment-purchase freeze. Last year's budget passed roughly 71%-29%. The margin on **Proposition 2** is the one to watch: Webster voters approved a $525,000 EV bus last year by just 122 votes and rejected the 2024 capital bond. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *The Webster Ledger covers WCSD as a regular beat. Tips, documents, or coverage requests:* [*news@websterledger.com*](mailto:news@websterledger.com)*.* *Sources: WCSD Spring 2026 Budget Newsletter; 2026-27 BOE Tax Cap Overview; Feb. 3 Tax Cap & Governor's Budget Proposal; 2026-27 Budget Development Calendar; District Clerk's Office. Full documents at websterschools.org/budget.* *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### Webster Comprehensive Plan Committee wraps last meeting before public hearings URL: https://websterledger.com/2026-04-30-webster-comprehensive-plan-committee-wraps-last-meeting/ Last updated: 2026-05-05T19:38:04.000Z The Town of Webster's Comprehensive Plan Committee finished its final scheduled meeting Thursday night, setting up a public open house and formal hearing before the plan goes to the Town Board for adoption. Targeting summer 2026 (more info will be posted on [webster2040.com](https://www.webster2040.com/?ref=websterledger.com)). The two-hour session covered draft recommendations for various residential character areas, Ridge Road, building height limits in commercial areas, bike paths, farmland protections, other planning studies, and the Xerox campus. Public comment that followed included a pointed challenge to how the process was run. ## Residential character areas The committee reviewed the plan's four residential character areas: neighborhood, rural/large-lot, waterfront, and mixed residential. The group noted that the future land use map largely reflects what already exists. Webster is mostly built out, and residents have consistently said they want to enhance what they have rather than push development into undeveloped areas. The rural/large-lot discussion produced the meeting's longest exchange on residential policy. A committee member challenged the plan's mention of cluster or conservation subdivisions in large-lot areas, arguing that concentrating homes on smaller portions of a parcel, even at the same overall density, changes the character of areas residents associate with farms and open land. The planning team said the tool is meant to preserve more contiguous open space than conventional lot-by-lot development would. Under a cluster approach, a 30-acre parcel zoned for 10 homes still yields 10 homes, but they are grouped to leave a larger undivided open area. The question of who maintains that open space drew discussion. Options include dedication to the town as public land, a conservation easement, or private ownership through a homeowners association. Committee members noted that without clear maintenance requirements, set-aside parcels have a track record of becoming neglected. The recommendation calls for the zoning code to be updated to define ownership and maintenance obligations for cluster developments going forward. Waterfront residential areas, including the Sandbar and Lake Road properties, are treated as largely built out. The strategy is preservation of existing character, with the plan directing the town to pursue expanded public lake access wherever opportunities arise. ## Building heights and Ridge Road The committee settled on a working direction for building heights in commercial areas: minimum two stories, typical ceiling of three to four. An earlier discussion of five stories as a general allowance was set aside. Step-backs were proposed as a design tool to reduce massing on taller structures. The draft plan recommends rezoning Ridge Road for mixed-use, multi-story development and discouraging additional auto-oriented businesses, including oil change shops and auto dealers. Sidewalks on both sides of the corridor are a key recommendation. Because Ridge Road is a state route, any changes to sidewalks or driveways require state involvement. Committee members noted that having those priorities in the comprehensive plan strengthens the town's position with the state DOT. ## Bike path update Committee members received an update from county meetings: the planned bicycle facility along Route 104 and Lake Road will be built the full length of the corridor, not in segments. The path is expected to run from Route 104 to Lake Road with 7-foot lanes on both sides, improving north-south bicycle travel on a stretch where cars move fast and there is currently no safe alternative. ## Farmland and open space The committee discussed the Monroe County agricultural district program, which protects participating properties from zoning restrictions on agricultural operations. Enrollment renews every eight years. Colliers Engineering offered to add a page to the plan identifying participating parcels in Webster. The West Webster Hamlet Plan will be incorporated into the new document substantially as written, rather than reopened for public debate. ## Incorporated planning studies Two recently completed planning studies will be folded into the comprehensive plan rather than summarized or superseded. The West Westbrook Inlet Plan covers the area around the Gravel Road/Empire Boulevard and Old Rake Road intersection. It envisions small-scale mixed development, including coffee shops, bakeries, and convenience retail, with a focus on traffic safety and ecological improvements. The Reimagine Webster master plan, a joint effort between the village and the town, covers the Rec Center campus and the west campus area near the former Xerox site. The plan examined whether light industrial reinvestment, mixed-use development, or some combination would be the most viable long-term direction. ## Xerox west campus The Xerox west campus area came up during the Reimagine Webster discussion. Committee members noted that the company owns the land and it is zoned industrial, leaving limited direct town control. The planning team described the Reimagine Webster plan as an effort to ask whether industrial-only use remains the highest and best use as markets move away from large single-use development patterns. A committee member noted that surveying activity in the area is connected at least in part to the FAST NY grant project, which involves road work and lot line identification. Another member raised the possibility of adding noise or quality-of-life provisions to the zoning code if industrial activity at the site increases. ## Public comment A handful of residents spoke about what was meaningful. Jim Kunz, a Webster farmer, asked that the plan include tools for aging farmers who want to retire without selling to a developer: purchase-of-development-rights programs, open space grants, a clear path forward. I don't want to "leave to my children nothing but a tax burden," Kunz said. Another resident raised concerns during public comment about how the committee was formed and what the project has cost. ## Sign up for Webster Ledger Independent local journalism for Webster, NY. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- *AI tools were used in drafting and research.* ### A note from the publisher URL: https://websterledger.com/publishers-note/ Last updated: 2026-04-30T21:18:45.000Z Webster's Town Board voted this month on a development moratorium that can affect property values across the town. Bay Road's traffic pattern is changing. Zoning applications are moving through the planning process. Most residents find out afterward, if they find out at all. The regional paper covers a county of nearly 1 million people, and Webster can't be the priority it deserves to be. That's not a complaint. It's just math. So I built this. The Webster Ledger exists to cover the decisions that shape life in this town: not just the headline, but the context behind it, and what happens next. ## What we'll actually cover My goal is to cover every town meeting and the context around them. Every vote, every major decision, and the decisions that might not make headlines. When I'm not in the room, I'll work from recordings, documents, and sources who were. I want it to be easy for you to know what the important topics are, with background on them, what neighbors are saying, and how the board voted. Not just summaries. Deeper background on what's going on and why. The Ledger publishes at least once per week. ## Editorial independence I own my home in Webster. My wife and her family have real estate investments in the region. When I cover zoning votes, development applications, or other decisions that could affect those investments, I'll say so. My family and I are here. We're invested in how this town grows. The reporting comes first. That's the rule. I also use AI tools to help with drafting and research. Every story is reviewed and approved by me before publication. ## Get involved If you're curious about something, or you've reached out to the town and haven't gotten an answer, let me know. Maybe you've noticed something in your neighborhood that deserves a closer look, or heard something the community should know about. A lot is being decided right now about how Webster grows, what gets built, and who has a say in it. This publication exists so that every resident can follow those decisions as they happen. Feel free to reach out anytime. I read everything: [morgan@websterledger.com](mailto:morgan@websterledger.com).