Mendon, New York

History

The Town of Mendon was organized in 1813 in Ontario County, New York and was annexed by Monroe County when the county was created in 1821. Mendon got its name from Caleb Taft, an early settler, who came from Mendon, Massachusetts.

The Adsit Cobblestone Farmhouse, Cole Cobblestone Farmhouse, Gates-Livermore Cobblestone Farmhouse, Mendon Cobblestone Academy, Mendon Presbyterian Church, Miller–Horton–Barben Farm, Sheldon Cobblestone House, Stewart Cobblestone Farmhouse, and Whitcomb Cobblestone Farmhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

The town is bordered on the north by the town of Pittsford, on the west by the towns of Henrietta and Rush, and on the south and east by Ontario County. Honeoye Creek enters across the south town line. The town is made up mostly of horse farms and family homes. The highest elevations in Monroe County are in Mendon, at 1028 feet above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.0 square miles (104 km²), of which, 39.8 square miles (103 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.

In the southern part of the town, hills and a meandering creek were used to create the Mendon Golf Club. The first nine holes were designed by Peter Craig in 1961 and the back nine, which were added in 1967, were designed by Joe DeMino. The 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships were played at the club and was hosted by St. John Fisher College.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,370 people, 3,070 households, and 2,348 families residing in the town. The population density was 210.3 people per square mile (81.2/km²). There were 3,138 housing units at an average density of 78.8 per square mile (30.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.47% White, 0.42% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

There were 3,070 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the town, the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $116,369, and the median income for a family was $129,827. Males had a median income of men is $99,750 versus $77,309 for females. The per capita income for the town was $81,949. About 1.1% of families and 1.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Mendon

Government

In New York State, towns are organized with an elective legislative body known as the Town Board. Town government is run by the Town Board which acts as the executive, administrative and legislative body of the town. A Town Board, as a group, is the executive head of the town, there being no true executive in town government comparable with a mayor of a city or village, or with the governor of the state. While the Supervisor presides at Town Board meetings and may be assigned certain powers of administration and supervision, the additional duties and responsibilities of the Supervisor are only those which result from that position's statutory role as town treasurer.

Prior to 1964, authority for Town Board action had to be in specific state legislation or in the Constitution. Since that date, however, towns have had constitutional home rule powers. Towns are able to enact local laws regarding subjects within the realm of "property, affairs and government" of the town, provided the laws are not inconsistent with the Constitution or a law of general statewide applicability enacted by the State Legislature. In addition, towns may adopt local laws concerning a number of other subjects specified in the Constitution and the Municipal Home Rule Law, so long as they are not inconsistent with general law applicable to all towns, and provided there is no statutory restriction against such local law. Since 1974, with certain exceptions, towns may even supersede some provisions of Town Law regardless of their general applicability. Besides the above described legislative powers, Town Law and other state statutes contain authority for Town Boards to act in a variety of specific areas. These have been amended over the years where Town Boards now have the authority to supply almost every public function or service that any other municipality may provide, subject to the functions specific rules and procedures.

In Mendon, the Town Board consists of a Supervisor and four Town Board Members (often referred to in statutes as councilpersons). Town Board members, as elected officials of the Town, must be "electors" of the town at the time of election and throughout their terms of office. An elector is someone who could register as a voter in the Town, whether they actually have or not. Registration has three components - residency, age and citizenship. Residency equates to the legal term "domicile" and is defined in law. The age qualification is 18 and United States citizenship is also required. Mendon Town Board members have a term of four years. The Mendon Town Supervisor has a term of two years. Town elections are held in odd numbered years, with new terms starting the following January 1.

The Town Board, as the executive body of the Town, acts as a unit and must function as a body. An individual Board member may not unilaterally act on behalf of the Town Board. No Town Board Member has more or less authority than any other Board member. Therefore, no Board member can legally act independently for the others or outside the Board. No single member of the Town Board can act for or commit the Board as a body to any particular program or policy.

The Town Board may, by resolution, delegate to the Supervisor the powers and duties of administration and supervision of Town special improvement district functions to be performed on behalf of the Town Board. The purpose of this provision is to allow the Town to function between Town Board Meetings. This delegation does not allow the Town Board to abdicate to the Supervisor or surrender to him or her the Board's basic statutory responsibilities.

The paper of record for the Town of Mendon is the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.

Education

Mendon is served primarily by the Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District, while the northernmost portion of the town is part of the Pittsford Central School District.