UTICA - Being mayor of a city might seem like a dignified job, and it often is. Often - but not always.

Some situations can make the mayor of a city feel more like the ringleader of a circus.

The Boilermaker 15K Road Race is one of Utica's biggest events. But the giant race shrunk new Mayor Tim Julian's ego to the size of a grain of rice.

"The first Boilermaker I ran five days after I was in office, the woman wouldn't let me through the line to get to the front of the race because she didn't know who I was and I'm saying 'I'm supposed to be up on the stand there and welcome everyone' and she said 'yeah, right!' and sent me packing," he said.

You can file the steel giant of a watering can under strangest projects Julian inherited. Former Mayor Ed Hanna decided he wanted a local company to make a watering can that was 14 times the size of a normal watering can.

What's about the only place you can think of to put such a creation?

The open minded management at the Utica Zoo welcomed the steel giant and it's been delighting children and puzzling adults there ever since.

And just when Julian thought he'd seen it all, the phone rang.

"I remember getting a call that there were animals running loose at the parkway," he said. "And unbeknownst to me, someone had planned a circus at the parkway itself. I mean, I'm up there looking around and I'm like, 'I don't see any animals here.' and I look down at my feet and there's a goat - a little baby goat chewing grass at my feet."

Suffice it to say, there are some unforgettable moments that Julian will remember more fondly than others.

"At the mayor's conference, I met Tony Bennett and Henry Winkler," he said. "Tony Bennett's a lot shorter than you'd think he is but he sings a lot better than me."