Historic Moment: Village lighting part II

by JOrGE bATllE SkaneaTeleS village

hiSTorian

In the following year, 1902, a larger coal fueled boiler and larger steam engine were added to the system. The Skinner steam engines not only generated electric current for the village, but were also used to pump water. At that same year, a steam whistle was installed at the plant to alert the firemen of a fire. By 1904 the electric plant was operating all but one hour in a day.

By 1910, the number of electric customers had grown to 231. Larger generators of 75 and 100 kilowatt, single phase of 1100 volts were up and running. One was used for daylight hours and the other for nighttime hours. Power lines were extended through-out the Village, and 61 street lights now illuminated the village.

By 1913, the electric plant employed three people. Two daytime employees, one stayed at the plant while the other one worked on the lines. The third took the night duty at the plant. Some of these employees attended a concentrated course at the Bliss Electric School, in Silver Springs, Maryland in order to receive their qualification for this specialized work. These men received a 1913 salary of $50 a month with one weekday of rest and l no vacation. Things changed in 1914 when electric power became available from the Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Company. This power could be bought cheaper than that the village electric plant could produce, so the village contracted to purchase power from this agency.

Motor generator sets were installed to replace the existing steam powered generators. Their purpose was to convert the 25 cycle power purchased from Niagara, Lockport and Ontario to 62.5 cycle which the village used. (This was changed to 60 cycle in January1941 to be more in line with standard service and for the use of electric clocks.) Statewide (for example, the Town of Skaneateles) the conversion from 25 cycle to 60 cycle was completed in 1963.

October of 1940, the village board of trustees purchased a backup sixcylinder diesel generator system for $30,779 from Auburn’s MacIntosh & Seymour Co. (became ALCO - American Locomotive Works). This system, set up in the water and light plant building, will be used “to supplement the Niagara service and replace it during power interruptions.” It was said that this generator set could carry the full load of the village, at that time.

The electric system continued to expand life. As a policeman, he became a dog handler in the SPD’s K9 units, studied a variety of martial arts and worked briefly for the Performance HarleyDavidson motorcycle dealership in Syracuse, and he also performed serious dog-training for friends and clients.

But his primary second career was in real estate. Fred became a licensed realtor in 2007. Two years later, he completed the New York State brokers course and later earned the right to sell commercial real estate as well. Fred was recognized several times as a top agent for Realty USA, and he also worked for more than a year alongside his sister Joyce, and bother-in-law Mark Cardone, owners of Liverpool’s Rooftop Realty.

Fred also had a creative side. At the time of his death he was working as an extra and doubling as a firearms consultant for serving 700 customers, three times more than in 1910, a new 1000 kva (kilovolt/ampere) substation was erected. A story tells of the Tallcot Mill (Old Stone Mill) requested and was refused a special electric rate from the village. So, they ran their own diesel generator for about two years. They ultimately found this was more expensive than buying from the village. They removed the generator.

The building boom after World War II (locally, for example, the addition of the Lakeview Circle subdivision) increased the load, so the substation was increased

“The Sentinel,” a movie written and directed by local filmmaker Joe Cunningham.

Paro prevails in primary Town of Salina Supervisor l ast word “As supervisor, I am laser focused on economic development that will help lower taxes for residents while leading to growth and modernization of our town.”

Nick Paro cruised to victory in the Republican primary election on June 27. Paro drew 416 votes to comfortably defeat challenger Stella Penizotto who got 342 votes. In terms of percentages, Paro took 54.81 percent of the vote while Penizotto took 45.06 percent.

The two candidates will go head-to-head again in the November general election because Penizotto will be listed on the ballot as a Conservative Party candidate.

– Salina Town Supervisor

Paro.

Nick to 1500 kva. Downtown street lighting now used 400 watt mercury vapor fixtures with a light output 5 times brighter than the pole ornamental lamps. A current example are the gateway lights on Genesee Street.

In 1959, the village negotiated with the New York State Power Authority to purchase power from the St. Lawrence Hydro Project. This gave a substantial reduction in power costs. Available in 1961, the village reduced their rates to its customers. The reduction to the average customer was approximately 10%, figuring about one month’s light bill free each year.

The substation’s capacity was increased to 3000kva, to keep pace with the increasing demand.

When the village exceeded its allotment of cheap hydro-power the village had to contract for more expensive nuclear power from the nuclear Fitzpatrick Plant in Oswego. This was called “the Nuclear Sur-charge.”

Over the years the plant and system has received many upgrades. In 1980, the substation capacity was increased to 8,000kva. Transformer capacities were increased. Village circuits increased from 4 to 5. Voltage regulators were added to each circuit.

There are 45 municipal electric systems in New York State, one being Solvay Electric. These departments work together in large projects and rendering assistance after storms. These utilities (munies) account for about 9% of all the power used in the state, about 1 billion kilowatt hours annually.

Historian Jorge Battle, extends special thanks to Town Historians Batlle and Ionta for providing very detailed information for this moment.