Highway Superintendent James C. Cheyne and the Town of Marcy

By Lori Lovely — Profile Correspondent - June 2025

James C. Cheyne took the helm as the town of Marcy's highway superintendent in 2020, bringing with him some fresh ideas for the small town in Oneida County.

Vowing to "put Marcy back on the map" and "make the town cool and hip," he has relied on connections, 26 years of experience working for the town and some out-of-the-box thinking to achieve those goals through "trails, nice parks and community involvement."

Prelude

Before James was elected to the highway superintendent role, he had worked for the town for 26 years. He applied for work right out of high school and landed a "part-time" job working approximately 50 hours a week in the sheriff's department. Unfortunately, he was unable to secure a permanent position.

He moved to the highway department, where he started at the bottom.

"I worked my way up," he said.

James began as a garbage collector in 1995, eventually getting promoted to recycling before becoming a "floater." He then spent nine years as the "night guy," working Sunday to Thursday watching the roads, plowing, sanding, and in the summer, running a road tractor to mow and sweep the roads.

Corrections Connections

"The day I started for the town, I got the paperwork for the state corrections department," James said. "I worked two years at the Oneida County Correctional Facility, which is a maximum-security state prison."

Later, after he'd become the highway superintendent, James followed a suggestion from the Parks Department in turning to the New York State Community Service crews from the prison for help in painting the town barn and outbuildings.

"I bought a new paint gun and a lift," he said.

The project was a success.

"Two weeks later, every building was painted. Some of the guards even grabbed a paint brush," he said, adding that the inmates wanted to come back to do more work. "They were excited to be here. I made them coffee and had a barbecue."

One inmate, who happened to be a professional painter, left a ‘thank-you' message on the town's Facebook page.

"I'll use them again," the James says. "It's all free labor."

He estimated that it cost him approximately $6,000 to paint all those building using the inmates, as opposed to an estimated $40,000-$50,000 if he'd had to hire a painting crew.

Right Out of High School

Another innovative idea for filling the highway department ranks echoes James's own experience of applying for employment with the town.

"My last four hires have been right out of high school," he said, adding that in 1995, 80 percent of the department's workforce were farmers who could weld, work on motors, etc. But the workforce pool shrank. It got to the point where "they hired anyone, due to shortages."

Now, with a lot of older workers who are looking at retirement, he knew he had to get creative in finding new employees. Once he met a local man certified as a state trainer, a plan came together. The highway department would provide on-the-job training to young graduates to obtain their CDL license. Then, because a CDL license requires schooling, this state-approved trainer would provide the practical training. Once this was done, they were ready for their test.

James proudly said that "every single one of them passed on the first try. It's an impressive achievement, especially considering that two of them had never driven a big truck before."

Building on this initial success, James attends career days at the high school, where he carefully evaluates potential candidates.

"I look at whether they play sports — did they stick with it? I drive past their houses — do they keep their truck clean? That shows they take pride in their work."

If they pass muster, he hires them as laborers. After they pass the CDL test, they get new seniority and "a big raise."

His crew roster includes:

• Kevin Monaghan, deputy superintendent, MEO

• Steve Thorn, HMEO

• Tom Scharbach, HMEO

• Steve Kaelin, HMEO

• Dave Hayes, HMEO

• Josh Sciortino, HMEO

• Steve Shulsky, HMEO

• Marliusz Pawlowski, HMEO

• Mason Simone, HMEO

• Dean Chrzan, MEO

• Anthony Beach, sanitation supervisor

• Jim Coleman, recycling

• Josh Rood, floater, highway/sanitation

• Tanner Monaghan, recycling

• Jordan Blum, garage

• Tom Davis Jr., garage

Carmine Perrotta works part-time in the shop in the winter and full-time mowing during the summer.

"Amanda Zeiter is my No. 1 employee," James said. "She runs my office."

The crew works two shifts through the winter: 3 a.m.-3 p.m. and 3 p.m.-3 a.m., plus a weekend shift of Friday-Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Summer hours are Monday-Thursday.

People Person

It's clear that Marcy's highway superintendent is a people person. He thinks of himself as Adam Sandler in the movie "Billy Madison." But, for a hands-on superintendent who loves doing roadwork and thinks he's too soft on discipline, James appears to be equally comfortable leading his team and speaking up for the community where he's grown up since 1984 through his role as president of the Oneida County Highway Association (after serving as vice president for three years) and as part of the Town Republican Committee.

He enjoys an "excellent working relationship" with the town supervisor.

"Brian is a 34-year veteran as town supervisor," James said. "Under his lead, our town has not seen a tax increase. He [works hard] to keep a precise budget, while still keeping our equipment updated. He is an asset to our town.

"I'm constantly looking to try new things," he added. "I want to improve myself. Becoming president opened up opportunities for new ideas, new connections."

To enhance communication, he does more than merely call them on their two-way radios. He invites their ideas — which also encourages them to take ownership of projects — and asks for their input.

"I've always come up with an idea and presented it to my guys for feedback."

To manage expectations, he holds Monday morning group meetings. To boost morale, he hosts cookouts and takes his employees to county golf tournaments and clam bakes. To celebrate the achievements of his employees, he publishes an employee spotlight in the Marcy Matters quarterly publication. And to assist them and prove that he's a team player, he built a truck with a plow so he could "hit the hills so they can drive to work safely" during snowstorms.

"I do more than a superintendent has to," he said, but he points out that he also set the bar high for his shop and its crew.

The friendly superintendent also welcomes the community. He brought equipment to a truck rally, where the public could touch the trucks. In addition to showcasing the equipment, the event — which drew 3,000 people — featured bands playing live music and T-shirts commemorating the day.

Teaming up with a good friend, Parks Director Nick Schmidt, James helped reopen and improve hiking and mountain bike trails.

"The park trails were abandoned until the new director cleaned them."

He's currently working on a grant for an ATV with tracks to use in the winter to groom the trails for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing.

As avid mountain bikers, James and his wife, Dawn, run a club: the ADK Bike and Ski Crew.

"We host weekly rides," he said.

Working "four 10s" in the summer, and given how much later the light lingers, they do group rides at 6 p.m. They also travel to East Coast resorts, downhill and cross-country mountain bike parks. "One of our favorites is Killington Resort."

BMX, mountain bike, road cycling, snowmobile racing, Ironman … He's done it all.

"I never stop," he said.

James used to race bikes but stopped two years ago after getting hurt. While leading the points in the last race, he had a hard crash that injured his knee. But he continues to cycle to keep physically fit.

Also passionate about alpine skiing, prior to becoming highway superintendent, James was on the ski patrol at Woods Valley, noting that ski season can last until June in his part of the state.

"Prior to becoming highway superintendent, I would get in 50 days of skiing a season," he said.

When not on a bike or skis, James enjoys live jam bands and the Grateful Dead.

Winter Weary

With a budget of $1,827,800, the highway and sanitation departments take care of the roads and more. CHIPS allocation of $205,000 assists the roads budget.

Their biggest project, at $890,000, was on Toby Gulf, a huge valley road that was sliding in various areas.

"We hired GSI Stabilization to do a six-week soil nailing and concrete stabilization project," James said.

In the winter — ironically, this skier-superintendent's least favorite season — the biggest problem they usually have is snow. The annual average snowfall for the region is just more than 95 in., but this past season saw approximately 200 in., due in part to lake-effect snowfall.

"Our first snow wasn't until after New Year's Day this year, but we got 50 inches in four days," James said. "It snowed every day, every night and every weekend until March."

The department covers seven plow routes, each of which take approximately three hours. That's 81 lane mi., all paved, on 44 municipality roads and 37 roads maintained for the county.

In addition to plowing, the crew used to use a lot of sand: 12,000-15,000 tons. But James said they converted to salt because of complaints from residents in the center of town. They still use a salt-sand mix on their "mammoth hills," but he estimated sand usage is down to approximately 4,500 tons a season. Salt usage averages approximately 1,200 tons per season. For 40 years, it was stored in a small 30 x 30 woodshed built in 1972 and commonly referred to as the "chicken coop."

The superintendent who preceded James had asked for storage for sand and salt but didn't get it. James set a goal of getting that storage building. With the help of an assemblywoman who lives near the salt barn and a "big presentation," he obtained a grant in 2024 to build a 108 x 82 salt storage building with capacity for 6,000 tons.

"My team — Amanda Zeiter and Deputy Kevin Monaghan — came up with a game plan to build the best salt storage building we could to benefit not only our highway department, but our town as a whole," James said. "I visited many locations and talked to owners about their likes and dislikes. My best day on the job was when we got approval of the new salt building."

While work on the new salt building continues, James has focused on snow clearing.

"Since I've taken over as superintendent, I've worked with NYSDOT to get all our plow trucks calibrated to properly put down winter material."

Training the crew on precise use of the computer-controlled system for salt cuts down on costs and waste by controlling material usage. It also has reduced spring cleanup to almost half the time, enabling them to get a jump on summer road work.

Facilities, Future Projects

When it's not snow season, the crew is responsible for mowing all the parks and the five cemeteries, as well as 44 lane miles of road.

"We maintain the grass at the Marcy town hall and the Link Park baseball fields," he said.

They also maintain two bridges, the town building and its grounds, baseball fields, trails and pickleball and basketball courts.

Once the salt shed is finished, James hopes to build a new cold storage building.

"I want to put up a bigger building for all the sanitation vehicles and B-line (backup) trucks."

He intends to rally his team to chase after a grant to help fund the work.

Equipment

"We have a huge variety of equipment, from garbage trucks to sweepers," James said.

That variety includes a couple of sweeper/vacs, a skid steer loader, front-end loaders, several dump trucks, a handful of mowers, a chipper truck, some garbage packers, an equipment trailer and multiple plows. The oldest piece of equipment is a 1977 International flush truck.

Vehicles are serviced in-house on a monthly basis, and James said he updates equipment every year. For example, they just took delivery of a 2024 Mack Granite and have another on order, as well as a 2025 John Deere 624 loader and a 2025 Tymco Model 600 sweeper.

Timing the Term

James' four-year term expires in 2025. Already endorsed by local Republicans and conservatives, he plans to run again, unopposed. Despite being eligible for retirement in a year and a half, he indicates that he would finish the full term if re-elected.

Town service is not only his life, but his family's, as well. His wife, Dawn, is a 10-year employee of the town of Marcy, working in the codes department, and their daughter, Kyleigh, who just graduated from college, works in the Parks Department during the summer and for the local school district during the school year.

"My wife and I have not only been friends for almost 40 years, we've been married for almost 28 years," he said. "She's beside me with everything I do. We ski, mountain bike and hike as much as possible. She even helps create new mountain bike trails and helps build them. Our daughter, Kyleigh, is our inspiration. She was injured at a babysitter's at nine months old, suffering a traumatic brain injury. From this, she developed cerebral palsy. The doctors thought she would never walk or talk. Twenty-two years later, she graduated from college with top honors. We always included her on every adventure. I custom built an E road bike for her, and she also has custom downhill skis that I made so she can ski with me. I never let anything get in my way and always look at the glass as half-full."

But his dedication to his job, his family and his town doesn't mean he doesn't sometimes think about doing other things.

"I'm a free spirit," he said. "I have the spirit of a 20-year-old. There are other things I want to do. I want to get a van and travel."

For now, he's staying put and running for another term.

"I've been offered other jobs for more money, but I like what I'm doing."

But if the itch to travel overcomes his desire for more terms, he has a vision of what he'd like to see for the department's future.

"I want my successor to make the department grow, to bring new ideas — to be a game changer."

About the Town of Marcy

Renamed in 1832 for Gov. William L. Marcy after being initially known as Peterboro and Remsen Mills, Marcy is situated between Rome and Utica not far from Syracuse in the scenic Mohawk Valley, where stunning landscapes, rolling hills and breathtaking views are the backdrop for historic landmarks, such as the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site commemorating Baron von Steuben, a Prussian military officer who played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War, and Fort Schuyler Club, a late 19th century clubhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bound on the south by the Mohawk River and first settled circa 1773, the area was abandoned after friendly Oneida Indians warned settlers of an enemy raid during the American Revolution. Resettlement occurred in 1792 and the town was later sectioned off from the town of Deerfield in 1832.

Marcy grew when the Erie Canal was built, crossing the southern part of the town and linking it to other cities as a primary trade route. This changed the largely agricultural region, where farming and milling were the primary industries. Textile mills were still common, but now factories joined the town.

The Industrial Revolution of the late 19th-early 20th centuries brought more manufacturing jobs that produced machinery, paper goods and, still, textiles, as well as health care and technology jobs. When the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) campus opened in 1966, it contributed to town growth. But for all that, Marcy remains a quiet town, with a population of just 8,276.

Known for beautiful parks, such as March Town Park, the town offers plentiful green spaces and facilities for outdoor activities, from hiking trails to fishing and birdwatching in places such as the Utica Marsh Wildlife Management Area. The Adirondack Scenic Railroad offers a picturesque ride through the Adirondack Mountains.

Marcy is home to the Utica Maennerchor German Festival and was the birthplace of American opera singer Helen Traubel.  P

(All photos courtesy of the town of Marcy highway department.)