From left, Town Board member Dan Marcellus, former Supervisor Pete Yendell, Town Board member Cathy Gardner, Town Clerk Jennifer Heim and Town Board member Bruce Mayer posed for this photo at Yendell’s retirement ceremony. The portrait of Pete Yendell that is being held was taken by Kevin Carlson and will hang in the Lima Town Board room. Photo by Elizabeth Desmann
The community of Lima turned out to give a well-deserved send-off to Pete Yendell, who retired as the town supervisor as of January 1.
A celebration was held December 28 at the Lima town hall to recognize Yendell, who had been the town’s supervisor since 2002. In an incredible outpouring of affection and respect, the room where the celebration was held was jam-packed within minutes of the celebration’s start and there was a line out the door. It was truly an overflow crowd who attended the party and that lasted well into the event. Those attending were not only community residents, but also former and current town and village officials from Lima and as well as Rick Milne, the Mayor of Honeoye Falls. Yendell also received a number of cards thanking him for his years of service to Lima, which included terms as a Village of Lima trustee and Deputy Mayor and finally Mayor of the village from 1984-2002.
“I have the highest respect for Pete and his dedication to his responsibilities to the town’s residents,” town board member Cathy Gardner said. “He has served the citizens of this town well.”
In remarks of thanks to Yendell at the ceremony, Gardner said “Those of us who have had the pleasure of serving and working alongside of Pete in recent years are most grateful to him for his leadership, guidance, and absolute dedication to the Town of Lima.”
“In our time working with him, to recount just a few achievements, Pete saw through to completion Lima’s first adopted comprehensive plan – a working document developed with input from the entire community. Working with this guidance, Pete has led efforts to bring grant money to Lima for many projects.
With the help of New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, we took inventory of Lima’s farmland and took action to sustain this valuable resource, which represents the largest sector of Lima’s economy.
Working with a team of community members interested in a “greener Lima,” Pete helped obtain grant funding to install solar panels at the Town Highway Department.
Together with very committed members of the Lima Park Commission, Pete worked to achieve a NYS grant that helped quadruple the size of Mark Tubbs Park. This was done at a time when adjoining land was available for purchase. Had we not acted then, chances are, the park would never have grown to include the walking trails that many are enjoying today, nor would we have the space for future recreation improvements that we have now.
Perhaps, most visible to the community are the many improvements that have been made to the exteriors of the historic buildings in our four corners business district. Many local people were involved in working to secure funding for these projects which have happened over a number of years, including members of several of Lima’s review and advisory boards, the Village Board, the Town Board, Crossroads Council, and building owners. Pete worked diligently to support these efforts and initiated a unique town-village partnership to maintain participation in the Livingston County Downtown Partnership. This partnership has yielded funding over several years and has helped Lima businesses improve signs and repair buildings.”
At the end of her remarks, Gardner said “With Pete’s leadership, we have embraced common ground of mutual respect, careful listening and polite deliberation to reach consensus even when our opinions differ. Pete has led this productive collaboration with sound information, guidance and good questions, and always with hard work and high standards. We are better leaders for having worked with and learned from Pete, and we are proud to be here today to wish him every happiness as he leaves our community a better place.”
Yendell was presented with a plaque for his years of service. It reads:
“For your most generous gift to Lima of 38 years of dedicated leadership and hard work.
Throughout these many years, you have been exceptionally accessible to the public, always ready to listen and offer help when possible. You have provided guidance and hands on assistance for many projects that have improved Lima and its public facilities. You have taken most seriously the responsibility of managing Lima’s finances. Long before mandates, you worked diligently to contain expenses and invest in priority projects while minimizing Lima’s tax levy, and you are passing on a budget and fund balance in stellar condition.
As a member of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors for the past 16 years, you embraced every opportunity to serve and represented Lima to the highest standard. In return, we have been well served by the County in every instance when help was sought for local initiatives.
Your kindness and care for our community, its organizations and individuals, has been immense and we are sincerely grateful. We wish you and Carol much happiness as you find more time to enjoy good times together.
Presented by the Lima Town Board
December 28, 2017”
