Archive: News

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was in the Village of Lansing yesterday to announce a $22 million project to transform the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport into an international airport.  Cuomo said that $14.2 million of that money will be provided by New York State as part of the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition.  He also announced to a huge crowd of local legislators and officials that the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) will relocate its maintenance facility from its current location on Cayuga Inlet to the Airport, which will make 7.6 acres of prime waterfront property available for development in Ithaca.

"Ithaca provides a regional economic growth center, and it spins off economic activity for the region," Cuomo.said "The Ithaca economy is playing more of a role on the global stage.  People are coming from all over the world to come to Ithaca.  Well, make it easy to get there, and make it a pleasant experience.  Airports are the new front door to the economy."

The Town of Lansing started this process in in August of 2012 when the Town Board appointed a committee of community citizens, planning board members and elected officials to begin the process of updating the 2006 Town of Lansing Comprehensive Plan. Over the next several years, the committee continued to work on several topics and completed their recommended in August of 2016. The Town Board then asked the Planning Board to review and edit the plan which was completed in December of 2017. The Town Board then reviewed the Planning Board recommended Comprehensive Plan and asked for additional public comment.

With the arrival of warmer weather imminent, the Tompkins County Department of Recycling and Materials Management is reminding residents that uncovered loads are against the law, and subject to a surcharge at the Recycling and Solid Waste Center.

Transporting garbage, yard waste or recyclable materials without a tarp is also a violation of New York State law, contributing to instances of debris and litter along the roadside and on private property. Fines can be as high as $1,000 or more.

The Lansing Central School District has accepted bids for capital improvements at all three schools.  Last week the Board of Education got a rundown of planned improvements  and how the construction will impact summer programs and building use into next school year.  Vice President of Operations for Construction Associates Peter Marsenison, the construction manager for the project, said that most of the work will be completed over the summer, but some elements like new choral and special education rooms, and a Large Group Instructional (LGI) room at the high school may not be completed until half way through next school year.

"One of the things that we tried to tackle was to see if we could get that addition completely done in eight weeks," Marsenison said. "It's not going to happen.  We had to be realistic about how many people you could put into a five or six thousand square foot space.  However, the prime contractors have agreed that the addition had to be dried in.  All the footings will be done, all the structural steel will be done.  There will be a roof on it.  We probably will not have windows in it.  With that being dried in we'll be able to work on the interior.  We'll be able to start putting in duct work, electrical work... that will start as soon as we get it dried in.  We're giving them eight weeks to get it dried in, and I think that's obtainable, but it's going to take at least two or three months after school starts to get the finishes done.  Once we get the foundations and steel done on the addition we'll start finishing the LGI so you should have that by the first of the school year, in September."

The Lansing Central School District was named 'Best Community for Music Education' by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for the third year in a row.  The NAMM Foundation recognizes districts and individual schools for outstanding commitment to music education.  Schools qualify after filling out an extensive survey with details about their programs, requirements, participation in music classes, amount of instruction time devoted to music, community support, and facilities.  Lansing was one of 583 school districts nation-wide to receive this honor.

"Kudos to our music department and our community," said Lansing Superintendent of Schools Chris Pettograsso. "It's a pretty extensive survey of our community and music program.  We have more offerings than many schools our size."

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets is generally doing well to ensure animal shelters across New York are providing safe conditions and proper care for seized dogs, but officials could do more to make certain dogs are not inappropriately euthanized, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"The state is doing a commendable job making sure local animal shelters are providing dogs with safe conditions and the care they deserve," said DiNapoli. "However, state officials and local shelters can improve how they track and document each dog that comes into their care to ensure dogs are not wrongly euthanized."

New York State Senator Pam Helming announced Monday that she is asking the public to sign a petition to help keep convicted killer Chad Campbell behind bars. Campbell is serving a maximum sentence of life in prison for the murders of a classmate and the toddler boy she was babysitting. He is eligible for parole in May.

Earlier this year, Helming sent a letter to the New York State Parole Board opposing Campbell's early release and demanding that he be kept in prison for the entire length of his life sentence. Copies of the petition will be delivered to the parole board at the end of this month.

The Legislature's special Housing Committee today delved into the matter of condominium development, receiving a briefing from Director of Assessment Jay Franklin on how condominiums are assessed in New York State, how they differ from some other types of clustered housing developments, and what the dynamics of valuation requirements mean for property owners. The committee is looking into the issue as it continues its work examining the critical issue of housing in our community.

Director Franklin advised that, under requirements of New York State Property Tax Law, the value of a condo project must be determined as a whole, typically using the income approach to value (similar to an apartment complex), with the individual units then allocated a fraction of the overall value. Condominiums, he noted, are a form of ownership and not a building style—not all clustered developments with a Homeowner Association are condos; Tompkins County, he said, currently has only 143 condominium units.

Washington, DC - Congressman Tom Reed (NY-23) was joined by Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) and twenty-four of their colleagues to introduce a bipartisan Congressional Resolution recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month as part of his continued efforts to bring awareness to the nationwide epidemic of sexual assault. In keeping with his continued efforts to bring awareness to the nationwide epidemic of sexual assault, Congressman Tom Reed is sponsoring a bipartisan Congressional Resolution recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14).

"Sexual assault must end. This issue has personally impacted my family and I care deeply about improving support systems for survivors," Reed stated. "Over the past year, we all have heard survivors of sexual assault come forward and bravely tell their stories bringing necessary sunshine to what was historically an issue people left in the shadows. We stand with them as we work to bring this epidemic to an end and firmly proclaim 'no more'. This resolution continues the effort to educate everyone about this issue and is yet another example of our success in moving forward with ending sexual assault once and for all."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced last Friday that his office stopped $24.2 million in questionable or fraudulent personal income tax refunds payments so far in 2018.

"Tax cheats are continuously looking for new ways to beat the system, but my auditors are staying one step ahead of them," DiNapoli said. "My office continues to stop fraudulent refunds from reaching the hands of dishonest individuals and identifying taxpayers who claim deductions that are not rightfully theirs."

Legislature Urges Congress to Enact Assault Weapons Ban
The Legislature, by a vote of 12-1 (Legislator Mike Sigler voted no; Legislator Glenn Morey was excused) urged the U.S. Congress to immediately enact a law that mirrors provisions of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017, as introduced in the United States Senate, which prohibits the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The prior federal assault weapons ban, enacted in 1994 expired ten years later and was not renewed by Congress. The resolution notes that assault weapons may now be legally sold and purchased in many states, and that the incidence of mass shootings in schools, churches, and other public places has increased, involving once-banned assault-style weapons and high-volume magazine, including February's mass-shooting at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School, which killed 17 innocent people, the deadliest school shooting since 2012. The measure maintains that "assault-style weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines are not suitable for civilian use of any type and constitute a demonstrated threat to the general public and law enforcement personnel."

Last week the Lansing Board of Education voted to approve a $30,067,200 budget for the 2018-19 school year.  That brings the district budget above $30 million for the first time, a 3.14% rise from last year's budget.  But School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso said that growth in the tax assessment, including new growth from new building developments, is offsetting losses from decreasing PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) agreements.

"Despite the decrease in the power plant, our growth is keeping up with our budget rollover," she said. "We knew that decrease was coming this year, but based on our growth, even though the levy is going up this year the levy is covering it."