By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – The Town of Potsdam took another step toward running the former joint town-village recreation department last night with a hearing and a resolution to ask for a vote on establishment of a recreation tax district.

All town councilors present voted in favor of the measure.

A referendum on the question is scheduled for April 10.

Those eligible to vote in the referendum will be owners of real property in the township, excluding those in the Village of Norwood.

While interpretation of the appropriate law is still being researched with the state comptroller’s office, it appears that in order to vote in the tax district referendum, in order to vote property owners in the township need not live in the town nor do they need to be registered with the county Board of Elections, according to Town Clerk Cindy Goliber.

The Village of Norwood is excluded because while it is part of the Town of Potsdam, they have their own village recreation program.

The town is taking this step as part of its assumption of the administration of what had been a joint town-village recreation program, until the village decided, unilaterally, to pass the program onto the town government.

The resolution the Town Council approved at a special meeting Tuesday night adopted a delineation of the district and authorized the filing of paperwork with the comptroller’s office.

The legal notice announcing the hearing noted a limit of $380,000 for the taxing district and “that the cost of the district to the typical property within the proposed district shall be $.80 per One Thousand Dollars of assessed valuation.”

Creation of the district was seen as the only way to handle the revenue and management requirements of the recreation program, which had previously been evenly split between the village and the town.

A final resolution must be approved by the board at least 20 days before any referendum. Goliber said she believes that will be done at the town’s regular February or March board meeting.