WEEDSPORT - About 30 town of Brutus residents gathered at town hall Wednesday night to participate in a public planning meeting on the Weedsport-Brutus Strategic Plan, organized by the Cayuga County Planning Department. The $28,000 project includes trail system enhancement, downtown development, and agri and farmland protection.

The Governor's Office Fund for Small Cities (HUD) has contributed $16,800 toward formulating the plan, while Brutus and the village of Weedsport have each put in $2,500. Cayuga County Planning and Economic Development has also contributed about $6,200 in time and administrative services in kind toward the grant, said Steve Lynch, director of planning and economic development for Cayuga County.

“The best thing about any plan is that we have public participation,” Lynch told the gathering, encouraging them to express their ideas.

County planner Trish Ottley Ritter said the county hopes to complete the plan by the end of December with an additional component for agri-farmland protection. Further funding may be secured for that portion of the plan, allowing another two years to complete.

Ritter, together with Thoma Development consultants Rich Cunningham and Wes Pettee, provided an overview of the plan, first addressing the numerous trails that criss-cross the town and village. Reasons for developing the trails included recreational and educational opportunities, income for local businesses, spiritual values, and connectivity.

The audience considered the trails' functional purpose for local or visiting users and motorized vehicles, the design, promotion, maintenance, and creation of a budget line item for parks and trails.

An enthusiastic mix of town and village residents as well as business owners made up the audience. It also reflected a diversity of interests in snowmobiling, walking, hiking, ATV use, history, and just plain country living.

Trails discussed included the Cato-Brutus Trail connecting Cato to Fair Haven and the Seaway Trail; the Westshore Trail, and the proposed Aqueduct Park Access Trail on Route 31.

An interactive session invited those gathered to do a SWOT analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the quality of life in the village and town. Suggestions included using the Lehigh Valley Railroad bed owned by NYSEG as a potential trail around the village. Snowmobilers traveling through the village at night from the West Shore Trail at the east edge of the village often annoy sleeping villagers.

Residents also wanted to discourage multi-use trails so that walkers and joggers wouldn't have to deal with motorized vehicles. But snowmobilers maintain many of the trails and cross-country skiers appreciate their efforts. They believe it would be unfair to then bar them from a number of the existing trails, since they mow and clear the brush and trees as well.

“The town needs to step up and allocate resources,” one said of maintaining the trails.

“Somebody at the town level needs to do the organizing,” Ian Kyle of Northbrook Farms, said. “It doesn't have to be monetary.”

The audience then analyzed downtown Weedsport, again offering suggestions for improvement.

The county will give another presentation to the steering committees of the town and village boards and continue to invite public participation. By the end of December they will present the plan in draft form.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext.238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net