Village of Lewiston recognizes Beautification Commission, bids farewell to retiring DPW superintendent

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Congratulations were in order at Monday’s Village of Lewiston Board meeting.

Beautification Commission honored

Prior to the session’s start, trustees issued a certificate of appreciation to the village’s Beautification Commission.

Mayor Anne Welch said, “Obviously, everybody has seen their work on Center Street, and all those beautiful flowers and planters and gardens. So, we would like to give them a certificate of appreciation tonight for all their hard work.”

Village of Lewiston Mayor Anne Welch, center, is shown with members of the Lewiston Beautification Commission.

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DPW superintendent thanked for service

With regret, the Village Board voted to accept the resignation of Department of Public Works Superintendent Larry Wills, effective Sept. 27.

When the agenda item was called, each of the board members declined to make a motion to accept.

“I appreciate that,” Wills said – though he later joked approval wasn’t necessary for his retirement.

“We’re sorry to see this finally come,” Welch said. “I know you were thinking about it. … It’s been great working with you all these years.”

Wills received a round of applause from the board and audience members.

“We’ve worked together a long time,” he said.

“I do want to thank the board, the existing board, and all the other boards, over three decades. A lot of good people that came through this place, and that's why things are the way they are.

“The clerks; I appreciate you guys and all the past clerks; the police department; the firehall; all you guys – I’ve worked with all you guys for many decades; to all the guys at work – the newer guys, the older guys – a lot of them are gone now – but I appreciate all you guys, I really do; the community – you know, taking care of people, that's what my gig was. I tried to make things right all the time.

“And most of all, my family. This line of work, you're not home full time. You spend a lot of hours at work.”

Wills added, “You guys are in good hands in the future.

“And all the volunteers, the volunteers that make not only you guys and the village community look good, but our department looks good. We try to work with them as much as we can, and they've taken on a huge role, especially over the last 10-15, years. Those guys are much appreciated.”

“Well, we appreciate everything you've done, Larry,” Welch said.

Trustee Nick Conde said, “We’re nothing up here without you guys.”

By the end of the meeting, Wills, Welch and Deputy Mayor Vic Eydt were teary-eyed.

Engineer Mike Marino said, “I work with so many communities, and I can't recall another one that has set up for this transition as well as he had, to get the guys ready. And he's got a great staff behind him, such a great team, and that's his leadership.”

Following an executive session, trustees appointed DPW Deputy Superintendent Anthony Mang as Wills’ replacement. Mang’s second in command will be Robert Haskell.

Wills took over as superintendent upon the retirement of Terry Brolinski just about five years ago.

On a related note, the board approved Wills’ request to keep his cell phone and the cell phone number, at his own expense, upon his retirement. The agenda noted, “Any phone calls received for village business will be forwarded to the new superintendent after his retirement.”

Zoning schedule change

The board voted to adopt Local Law 2-2024, amending section 8 of the municipal zoning schedule. A public hearing on this matter yielded no comments.

Welch called this “housekeeping” and “changes that the Zoning Board had asked us to do.”

Conde said ZBA Chairman Mike Swanson sought the code modification, as that board is regularly approving these modifications upon applicant request.

Adjustments are related to minimum lot size; yards, principal building; yards, accessory building; maximum building height; and maximum building coverage, particularly in the R-4 district. A copy of the new zoning schedule can be downloaded HERE (PDF).

Other news

Board members granted the Lewiston Council on the Arts permission to hold the annual Lewiston Art Festival the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, 2025.

Trustees also approved the following facility use requests:

•From Boy Scout Troop 855 for use of Academy Park (at the corner of Cayuga and South Ninth streets) for the annual Christmas tree sale. Scouts will be in business from approximately Nov. 23 to Dec. 16.

•From Barry Entertainment for use of Academy Park and the Alphonso I. DiMino Memorial Band Shell from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, July 9, through Aug. 27, 2025, in order to host weekly concerts.