SKANEATELES - A call will go out for interested residents to become committee members to discuss the future of a system the village has used for more than half a century.

The Town and Village of Skaneateles plan to create a joint committee for the dispatch center.

On Monday, the village Board of Trustees agreed to accept a revised contract with the town for another year of service for the dispatch. The board amended the agreement at the town's request to change the contract from five years to one.

The local service costs $300,000, which is split between the two municipalities. The service has a range of functions, such as a dispatch center for all emergency vehicles, the communication hub for all other transportation and an information center for weather updates including the school district's snow days. It's available 24 hours a day, all year long, Trustee Alan Dolmatch said.

Last year, a bus broke down while bring students home from a trip from Florida. Instead of having the entire choir at pay phones calling their families, parents could call into the center to find out why the students were late, Trustee Sue Jones said.

This is the first time in around 15 years anyone has reviewed the service and will weigh the possibilities of going to other services such as 911, village attorney Michael Byrne said.

The committee will consist of two members appointed by the town and two by the village for 90-day terms. The municipalities will select a chairman together.

Potential members should have a combinations of skills including being versed in technology or communications, have business sense, knowledge of the county and no bias in the matter.

“We're looking for someone who doesn't have a vested interest,” Mayor Robert Green said.

In other news:

- The village board awarded an environmental audit contract to O'Brien and Gere Engineers for an amount not to exceed $4,700. The other bid was $700 more.

The Syracuse firm will examine practices at the Department of Public Works garage and the electrical garage. A letter from the federal Environmental Protection Agency sparked the interest in having an audit, Public Works Director John Hunt said.

The agency sent warnings to all utilities of possible unannounced inspections.

Dolmatch was afraid the examination would lead to a “death spiral” of more and expensive testing, but Hunt said he will review the findings to see what his department can correct and will handle everything else ala carte.

“I would think we're high profile with the lake right there,” Trustee Martin Hubbard said to Hunt. “I guess we'll just trust you to keep this thing in check.”

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be contacted at 253-5311, ext 267 or jessica.soule@lee.net