Archive: News

Lansing Town Board members struggled Wednesday to incorporate public concerns into a final draft of the Comprehensive Plan revision that would not spark further review, and, thus, a delay that would remove the Town from consideration for a half million dollar grant that would pay for significant improvements to Myers Park.  The Board was presented with a number of proposed changes by Councilman Joe Wetmore, who said that he wanted to find ways to incorporate a number of public concerns in a way that would not trigger another County review of the plan.

Wetmore's changes were challenged by Planning Board Chairman Tom Ellis.  Ellis said Wetmore lied in last November's campaign when he accused the Planning Board of crafting their draft of the plan behind closed doors, when, in fact, the work was done in more than 23 public meetings.  He accused Wetmore sneaking in his own edits in 'the back door' without public input.

Bath, NY - Congressman Tom Reed visited Keuka Family Practice Associates and spoke with doctors, social workers, and practice team about the behavioral health integration in their practice.

"I care about getting mental health services to those in rural communities." Reed further stated, "Mental health and physical health go hand in hand and we, as a society, need to move past the stigma that surrounds mental health so people can get the proper care they deserve."

Senator Pam Helming, Senator Tom O'Mara, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano have introduced legislation that would block a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator project from moving forward at the former Seneca Army Depot in the Town of Romulus. Circular EnerG has begun the permitting process to build a waste-to-energy facility that would require the daily delivery of more than 1,000 tons of trash to operate. Circular EnerG is expected to submit an Article X application to the State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment sometime in the next five months.

The legislation would prevent proposed power projects that burn garbage from receiving expedited permitting through the Article X process. Instead, these projects would be required to conform with local regulations, all applicable state air and water rules, and the New York State solid waste management permitting process. Under the current Article X process, Circular EnerG is able to bypass these rigorous reviews. In addition, they are able to bypass a full State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR). The Senate bill number is S.8109, and the Assembly is expected to release a bill number shortly.

The Village of Lansing Planning Board voted unanimously Monday to grant a special permit to Arrowhead Ventures to build the Lansing Meadows senior rental housing project.  The senior housing project on Oakcrest Road was a condition of a Planned Development Area (PDA) that allowed construction of BJ's Wholesale Club.  But more than eight years later the senior housing element has yet to break ground.  Before approving the permit, the Planning Board added conditions they said would insure that the project is completed within a reasonable period of time.

"This project doesn't have a good history," said Planning Board Chair Mario Tomei. "It started eight to ten years ago.  For various reasons it got put off and changed.  Now we're back to where it could be started.  We don't want to fall in the same trap that we were in before where nothing was happening and we couldn't say anything about this.  We want to be assured that the project is going to start and its going to be completed."

The Lansing Town Board held a special working meeting Wednesday to iron out issues in the Town's Comprehensive Plan Update.  Councilman Joe Wetmore brought a number of concerns, especially regarding future zoning, he said should be carefully reviewed before voting on the plan.  But Supervisor Ed LaVigne said that many of them could be concerned in other deliberations after the Comp Plan has been accepted, adding he felt like the Board was being rushed into considering new issues when they already have a Comprehensive Plan in front of them that had already been reviewed and revised by multiple stakeholders and committees.

"We got these between 12 o'clock and 1:30 today," LaVigne said. "You're asking us to absorb a lot of information and make drastic changes that could impact a lot of things.  We've been going at this (revision) for six or seven years, and the Planning Board has been going at it for nine months.  I'm wondering if these are things that if we had more time to discuss them we could do that as we move along.  Does this have to be done before we approve this?, or can these be discussed later?"

Village of Lansing Trustees voted Monday to override the state-imposed tax cap, and approved a $2.7 million budget that will be 2.4% less than last year's budget.  This will be the third year the Village has exceeded the tax cap, which, in a way, is itself the reason for the increased tax rate that will be 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value more than last year's tax bill.  Mayor Donald Hartill said that the Village assessment went up this year, which may also impact the final tax rate.

"We're raising it by ten cents per $1,000," Hartill said. "The proposed tax rate will be $1.40 as opposed it's current $1.30.  Our assessment went up a little bit, so the levy is actually more than that.  It's a crazy rule - if your assessment goes up it's the total levy that's controlled.  You could be faced with having to lower the tax rate to satisfy that levy."

On March 27th, NYS Assemblyman Michael Cusick and NYS Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton introduced a bill in the NYS Assembly which would exclude major electric generating facilities, which generate electricity from the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste or fuel derived from solid waste, from an expedited power plant siting process. It has been found that trash incinerators produce toxic ash from burning a range of solid wastes which can vary widely in chemical output, making compliance with emissions and toxic waste limits difficult.

"I'm grateful to our Assembly Energy Chair, Assemblymember Cusick, for his strong response to my deep concern and that of my constituents by sponsoring this important legislation, which I'm pleased to co-prime sponsor," Lifton said. "This bill very properly removes incinerators, as they are not really power plants, from the expedited Article 10 siting process and restores local control and full environmental review."

An electrical issue, though specifics are yet to be determined, is the cause of a March 23rd bus fire on NYS Route 96, near Krums Corner, TCAT General Manager Scot Vanderpool said. There were no injuries thanks to the quick reaction of TCAT Bus Operator Antoinette Briggs, Vanderpool said.

TCAT has been working closely with the New York State Department of Transportation and the Albany-based Public Transportation Safety Board to investigate the fire's cause. In addition, Vanderpool said, TCAT's maintenance crew is ensuring all TCAT buses are safe. The bus, built in 2011, was severely damaged and will be scrapped. (TCAT recently put 11 new buses into service.)

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Special Town Board Meeting is being called, convened, and held upon April 11, 2018, at 6:00 pm at the Lansing Town Hall, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, New York 14882, for the purpose of the Town Board to discuss the Comprehensive Plan, and such other business as may lawfully thereat come before the Town Board. All residents of the Town and the general public are invited to attend this special Town Board meeting.


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Candor, NY - Congressman Tom Reed visited with students and staff at Candor Central School District and Renovus Solar to speak about their recent solar project. The 8-acre project includes 3300 solar modules and is projected to save 100% of the school district's annual energy consumption, an over $3 million savings for tax payers over the life of the panels.

"I care about securing America's energy independence for future generations and remain committed to an 'all-of-the-above' energy policy." Reed further stated, "With the passage of our alternative and renewable tax credit legislation, this project and others like it will continue to develop in our back yard and across the country bringing relief to local property taxpayers and creating good paying jobs."

Senator Pam Helming announced Tuesday that the State Senate unanimously passed legislation that she co-sponsors to require New York State to study the link between Lyme and tick-borne diseases and mental illnesses. As Senate Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and a member of the Senate's Task Force on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases, Helming has made supporting additional research of these diseases a top priority.

"Lyme and tick-borne diseases is a growing public health issue throughout the Wayne-Finger Lakes region and across New York State. As Senate Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, I have worked to highlight the impact that these infectious diseases have on our farmers and local communities. After hearing directly from patients, advocates, doctors, and scientists, it is clear to me that there are still too many unanswered questions about the toll Lyme and tick-borne diseases take on individuals. Further research will provide the public with the most accurate, up-to-date information. I am proud to be a member of the Senate Task Force on Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases. I am hopeful the Governor will join us in giving farmers and families the tools and information they need to protect themselves," Helming said.

The Town Board working meeting agenda was truncated Wednesday after a presentation and discussion of the Comprehensive Plan revision stretched close to two hours.  While some speakers, including Councilman Joe Wetmore, said major changes to the language should be made, the remaining four board members seemed satisfied that judicious edits would be enough to address public concerns so that the Board can vote on whether to approve the plan at its May 2nd meeting.

After a flap about rushing the plan's adoption in December, the Town Board scheduled extra monthly meetings like the one Wednesday, and specifically added Comprehensive Plan public comment sections to those and the regular monthly meetings.  But at least four out of the five board members were feeling pressure to get the plan approved by May 2nd, because not having an approved plan would take Lansing out of the running for a half million dollar grant for improvements to Myers Park.  Lansing Planner Michael Long said he wouldn't recommend approving it later than May 2 if the Town is to qualify for the grant.