The village’s wayfinding package drew two sealed bids, and the RFP’s own milestones put finished signs on village corridors by next summer.
Phoenix has two bids sitting on the table for the $74,500 contract that is supposed to put new welcome signs at every entrance to the village, and the decision is now running weeks behind the schedule the village wrote for itself. Village Administrator James Lynch told Mayor Brian Borchik and the four village trustees on June 16 at the Sweet Memorial Building, 455 Main Street, that two firms had answered the Gateway and Wayfinding Program request for proposals. Rather than pick a winner, the board sent the question sideways: Borchik agreed to consult with grant writer K. LaManche and report back.
This story came from public records we pulled ourselves
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The signage job is small money next to the $4.5 million NY Forward award Phoenix won in February 2023. It matters anyway, because it is the project that stitches the other ten together. The gateway and wayfinding contract is what tells a driver on Route 264, a boater stepping off the wall at Henley Park, or a family hunting for parking that a new music pavilion, a renovated canal-front restaurant row, and an expanded farmers footprint are all within a ten minute walk. The village’s own request for proposals says the goal is to increase pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the downtown corridor by adding gateway signage at village entry points and improving informational signage at key locations inside the village.
A $74,500 contract with a July 2027 finish line
The village issued the request for proposals on May 19, 2026 under New York Forward project number C1003043. Proposals were due June 15 at 4 p.m., with questions routed to Deputy Clerk Laura Gonzalez by June 1. The published budget is $74,500, and it has to cover everything: design, fabrication and installation.
The paperwork sets a demanding pace for whichever firm wins. Draft design concepts are due January 31, 2027. Final deliverables are due April 15, 2027. Installation must be complete by July 31, 2027. The winning consultant must inventory every existing sign in the village, run at least two public workshops or pop-up events, and deliver at least three distinct design concepts covering vehicular, pedestrian, boating, digital and gateway signage families. Designs have to meet ADA accessibility standards, the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and crime prevention through environmental design guidelines.
There is a state strings component too. Because the money flows through the Department of State, 30 percent of consultant costs, a $24,900 target on this contract, must go to certified minority and women owned business enterprises. Proposals were capped at 20 pages and get scored on a published rubric: 30 percent for experience, 25 percent for approach and creativity, 15 percent each for public engagement, work plan and fee.
One number needs untangling. The state’s project list assigns $83,000 to the line item that covers both the marketing campaign and the signage. The request for proposals carves $74,500 of that out for the physical signs. The remainder supports expanding the village’s “by the River” marketing brand to reach more of the region.
The village’s own selection date has come and gone
The request for proposals told bidders a selection would be announced June 17, 2026. As of the board’s June 16 meeting, the night before that deadline, no award had been made and the two proposals were still under discussion. The board’s next regular meeting after that was set for July 21, and its following session is Tuesday, August 18 at 7 p.m. at the Sweet Memorial Building. Minutes from the July 21 session had not been posted to the village website as of August 4, so whether the contract was awarded that night is not yet public record. CNY Signal will report the award when the minutes post or the board acts on August 18.
The June 16 session, attended by five members of the public, packed in plenty besides signage. The board authorized the Department of Public Works to purchase a 2026 Case CX60D excavator and a 2026 Case 321G wheel loader, subject to review by Village Clerk Roxanne Demo. Trustees scheduled two public hearings for July 21: one at 6:50 p.m. on Local Law #2 of 2026, which would repeal Chapter 90 of the village code along with Local Law No. 6 of 2007, and one at 6:55 p.m. on Local Law #3 of 2026, a scofflaw enforcement measure aimed at drivers who fail to appear or fail to pay traffic and parking tickets. The board also appointed Stephen Dates to the Planning Board, filling the seat vacated by Ronald Johst Sr. through a term that runs to February 20, 2029.
Enterprise Fire Department representative Ryan Thorn reported 89 calls in May, 29 of them inside the village, plus 12 mutual aid runs. Police Chief Dan Ferazzoli reported 118 calls for service over the prior two weeks and told the board he is researching New York State tech grant opportunities to fund body camera upgrades.
Where the $4.5 million goes
Phoenix, a village of 2,226 residents at the 2020 census occupying 1.145 square miles inside the town of Schroeppel, was one of three Central New York winners in the first round of NY Forward, the state’s $100 million downtown program for smaller communities. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the awards on February 14, 2023: $4.5 million for Phoenix and $2.25 million each for Moravia and Hamilton, a $9 million regional total.
“New York’s downtowns are the heart and soul of our communities and regions, and NY Forward will ensure that Phoenix, Moravia, and Hamilton have the resources they need to thrive and flourish,” Hochul said in the announcement.
Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton tied the award directly to the waterfront: “I applaud Governor Hochul for strategically investing in the Village of Phoenix, a community that has a strong sense of place and deep connection to the Oswego Canal.” Lock 1 of the Oswego Canal sits beside Culvert Street in the middle of the village, a lock built around 1911 with a 10.2 foot lift.
The specific project slate arrived 15 months later. On May 23, 2024, the state announced 11 funded projects for Phoenix. The big ticket is $1.4 million to turn North Island into a canalside entertainment venue with a new music pavilion, boat launch, fishing and boating dock, walking trail and dog park. A new 10,000 square foot primary care and behavioral health facility gets $963,000. The wastewater treatment plant expansion gets $784,000. A new 8,000 square foot daycare at 102 Volney gets $600,000.
Seven smaller grants target the Canal Waterfront District’s building stock: $170,000 for the facade, rooftop and patio at 8 Bridge Street, $136,000 for mixed use redevelopment at 73 State Street, $106,000 for an event pavilion next to Lock 1 Distillery, $92,000 to convert the Phoenix Commons building at 15 Culvert Street toward restaurant and housing use, $91,000 to expand the pizzeria at 20 Bridge Street with outdoor seating, $83,000 for the marketing and signage line, and $75,000 to expand uses at 74 State Street.
“This is a blend of private and municipal projects that will benefit the entire Village of Phoenix and surrounding communities,” Borchik said in the May 2024 state announcement. Borchik succeeded Caleb Sweet, the mayor who signed the original application and greeted the 2023 award.
Grant properties are already in front of the Planning Board
Two of the 11 funded addresses came before the village Planning Board on July 1, and the paper trail shows the projects evolving as they move toward construction. Nick Duskee, owner of Duskee’s Bar and Grill at 8 Bridge Street, tax map parcel 303.20-10-20, presented updated visuals for the renovation that NY Forward is backing with $170,000. The rooftop element has been dropped from the previously approved design, a change that reduced the project’s scope, and the board voted to approve the grey siding, darker shingle roof and lighting fixtures while holding approval of a secondary exterior egress until Duskee supplies more information. Chairman Doug Deeb also asked for a copy of the 99 year lease between Duskee and the village, an agreement dated June 6, 2017, to complete the project record.
The second item came from CanLife Creations at 15 Culvert Street, the Phoenix Commons address. Kevin Dates presented drawings for a metal roof overhang above the drive through, up to 16 feet wide and running the length of the roof line, with heating coils to prevent ice buildup. The board approved it, with new member Stephen Dates recusing himself. Signage for the property, fittingly, was deferred to a future meeting.
What to watch between now and Locktoberfest
The wayfinding consultant’s first public facing work, the two required workshops, would land during the village’s busiest civic stretch in years if the contract is awarded this month. The village wide garage sale runs August 8 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Concerts continue through August 31, and the village’s Locktoberfest is set for October 3 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Each of those events pushes visitors through the same five corners and canal crossings the new signs are meant to explain.
The entry points themselves are easy to name. Route 264 ends in the village after crossing under Route 481, and County Route 57, the former State Route 57, carries traffic up the west side of the Oswego River from Baldwinsville and Liverpool. Those approaches today greet drivers with standard green guide signs and little else marking that a canal harbor village, incorporated in 1848, sits a quarter mile off the highway.
The board that will make the call meets next on August 18 at 7 p.m. at 455 Main Street. Whoever wins the contract will have draft concepts due January 31, 2027 and every sign in the ground by July 31, 2027.
Sources & Verification
Village of Phoenix, Regular Board Meeting minutes, June 16, 2026, villageofphoenix-ny.gov. Village of Phoenix, Request for Proposals, Gateway and Wayfinding Program, Design, Fabrication and Installation Services, NY Forward project C1003043, issued May 19, 2026, villageofphoenix-ny.gov. Village of Phoenix Planning Board minutes, July 1, 2026, villageofphoenix-ny.gov. Governor Kathy Hochul, press release, February 14, 2023, governor.ny.gov. NYS Homes and Community Renewal, press release announcing 35 Central New York projects, May 23, 2024, hcr.ny.gov. Village of Phoenix NY Forward project page and 2026 events calendar, villageofphoenix-ny.gov. U.S. Census Bureau 2020 decennial count for Phoenix village. Edited by: the CNY Signal news team. Published: August 5, 2026.
