Archive: News

Senator Pamela A. Helming (R,C,I-Canandaigua) announced Thursday that funding is available for prospective homeowners in rural areas seeking to purchase a home and current homeowners – including seniors – looking to make repairs and improvements. The loans and grants come through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Development, which helps Americans from rural communities achieve the dream of homeownership.

As the Senate Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, Helming works with various agencies on issues concerning rural communities around New York State. In a recent meeting with Rural Development representatives, she learned about this funding from the USDA's Rural Housing Service for homeownership and home improvements. Eligibility for these loans, loan guarantees, and grants is based on income and varies according to the average median income for each area.

The Village of Lansing Trustees unanimously approved a new water billing structure Monday that may reduce water bills for residential customers.  The new Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission (Bolton Point Water System) billing structure halves the quarterly water use minimum that many customers and municipal leaders said was causing households and businesses that do not use a lot of water to subsidize bigger businesses that do.

"It defines the minimum as, instead of 10,000 gallons per quarter, 5,000 per quarter," said Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill.  "In the past, with the 10,000 minimum, when we determined the water rate for the coming year, that water rate was lowered by about 10% because of the subsidy provided by the 10,000 gallon minimum.  In round numbers, the 5,000 gallon minimum reduces the subsidy to 5%.  From my point of view this is a much fairer way to do it, rather than subsidizing big users it gives everybody an equal opportunity."

Hearing Scheduled on New Wireless Surcharge Law
The Legislature, without dissent, scheduled for its next meeting a public hearing on a proposed change in the County's wireless communications surcharge law. The hearing will be held on August 15th, 5:30 p.m., at Legislature Chambers, located at the Governor Daniel D. Tompkins Building (second floor), 121 E. Court Street, Ithaca.

The proposed new Local Law would repeal the County's existing Local Law, passed in 2002, that established a 30-cent public safety surcharge on postpaid wireless communications devices, and authorizes continuation of that surcharge and its extension to pre-paid devices, which had not previously been subject to the surcharge, but now are under State law, as authorized by the 2017-18 State Budget. The State legislation requires the County to repeal the previous law and adopt a new law, to collect both pre-paid and post-paid wireless surcharges.

Consideration of Tompkins County's recommended Shared Services Plan moved another step forward today, as the Legislature's Government Operations Committee, without dissent, endorsed the Plan and sent it on for consideration by the full Legislature.

The Legislature may recommend changes, and a third public hearing will be held, before the Shared Services Panel takes final action on the Plan. Under New York State's County-wide Shared Services Property Tax Savings Plan Law, a Final Plan, as formally approved by the County's Shared Services Panel, must be submitted to the State by September 15.

Property tax levy growth for local governments with fiscal years that close on Dec. 31 will be capped at 1.84 percent for the 2018 fiscal year, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. This figure affects the tax cap calculations for all counties, towns, fire districts, 44 cities and 10 villages.

"After two years of tax growth being limited to less than one percent, inflation has crept up resulting in the highest allowable levy growth since 2013," DiNapoli said. "This increase is offset by rising fixed costs and limited budget options. I continue to urge local officials to exercise caution when crafting their spending plans."

Senator Pamela Helming (R,C,I – Canandaigua) today visited Vance Metal Fabricators Inc., a Geneva-based, large-capacity metal fabricator and weld shop, to toast three new 2,500-gallon stainless steel tanks that the company manufactured for Lakewood Vineyards in Watkins Glen. With several Vance Metal officials joining Senator Helming for the toast, the tanks traveled by truck later Thursday about 30 miles from Geneva to Watkins Glen for an event to commemorate the installation of the American-made, locally-made tanks at the winery.

"What an exciting celebration this was for these products that were made right here in Geneva, New York – American-made and locally-made. It is also great that these tanks were produced for a company that is also based in the Finger Lakes region. I encourage other local businesses to support one another by buying local and buying American whenever possible. I enjoyed visiting Vance Metal and seeing the outstanding work that they do," Senator Helming said.

More than 40 representatives from local mental health organizations gathered on Monday, July 31, 2017 to launch the Tompkins Suicide Prevention Coalition. The coalition began as a collaboration between the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), Tompkins County Mental Health Services (TCMHS), Suicide Prevention & Crisis Services (SPCS), Care Compass Network (CCN), and The Sophie's Fund.

"It's inspiring to see the breadth of the organizations and individuals represented," said Frank Kruppa, Mental Health Commissioner. "It's one of the things that makes Tompkins County special: when we have these types of issues, we are able to get folks in the room and talk about how we are going to tackle them."

A nebulous public hearing on a proposal to build 140 rental townhouses on Bomax Road remained open-ended last week, stuck in municipal limbo until a court appeal challenging the parcel's zoning is resolved.  Developers from Park Grove Realty, LLC were present as opponents of the development challenged the Village of Lansing's handling of the project.  Planning Board Chair Mario Tomei said the public hearing had only been opened to consider administrative steps and project details, but that no decisions on permitting the project could go forward until the case is resolved.

"There is still a court appeal pending, so I want everyone to understand that nothing about this special permit will be decided on tonight," Tomei said.  "We cannot make a decision on this.  We're doing this at the request of the developer to fulfill all the administrative steps and the details associated with any special permit.  We will leave the public hearing open.  It's going to stay open, even at the end of the meeting."

Lansing Town Engineer David Herrick and Supervisor Ed LaVigne held informational meetings Wednesday for landowners within two proposed Consolidated Water District (CWD) extensions.  Residents within the proposed districts were invited to the Lansing town hall for a brief presentation and to have questions answered.

"The reason we have this public information meeting tonight is so everyone has enough time to look at this and see what your choices are," LaVigne said.  "You decide, and if the answer is no, it's fine by me.  There's no wrong answer, but you decide."

Village of Lansing Planning Board members said in no uncertain terms Tuesday that they would not approve the most recent incarnation of the Lansing Meadows project that would bring rental senior housing to the Shops at Ithaca Mall.  The project, originally 12 units in cottage-style buildings intended for rental to seniors, a wetlands area and bird sanctuary, was part of a plan to make the construction of a big box store to the north of the mall palatable to the Village, and to provide a buffer from the commercial area and a gradual transition from the high density commercial area to residential neighborhoods north of Oakcrest Road.  Planning Board members said they had been tolerant of delays, changes to the plan, and even a small commercial area they did not want, but the latest design was unacceptable.

"What I see now is, you got BJ's, which you cashed out of; you now want and have obtained permission to put in a coffee shop; now you want us to say, 'nah, we don't want those cottages to look like residences.  We'll take a big building'," Planning Board member Deborah Dawson told developer Eric Goetzmann Tuesday.  "No habitat.  No wetlands.  No good looking green space.  Just another big blocky building.  No transition.  As far as I'm concerned, what this thing looks like now is not at all what the PDA envisioned.  Not at all what the IDA thought they were getting.  Not a transition.  Not a neighborhood.  And not anything that really meets the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan.  So, as far as I'm concerned, my answer to all of this is no.  I want what we bargained for in the first place."

The Town of Lansing is negotiating with developers to finally sell parts of the 153 acre parcel of land across State Route 34B from the Town Hall campus and ball fields.  Two are further along in negotiations than others, and last week developers of one of them presented a preliminary view of their project to Town officials.  The Lansing Cottage Community project will likely begin with 10 single family homes, then, if the market will bear future phases, expand to a 60 home community.

The builder is called Tiny Timber, LLC, but these are not tiny houses.  'Tiny houses' tend to be only around 200 square feet, and built to travel on wheels.  Designs start at about 600 square feet for a cottage style home.  The Lansing project will be more in the 1,000 to 1200 square foot range, and possibly up to 1900 square feet if a home includes a finished basement.  The developer's aim is to provide smaller, good quality affordable homes targeted at young people looking for a first home or older homeowners who want to downsize.

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. (TCAT) and Cornell University signed a second Memorandum of Understanding in late June formalizing Cornell's annual fare payments to the transit agency through June 30, 2021.

The most recent agreement increases Cornell's approximately $3.1 million annual fare payment by 1.5 percent each fiscal year from 2019 through 2021 for a total increase of $141,334. In addition, the university provides $837,432 in annual contractual payment as Cornell's equal share of the investment in TCAT made by the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County and Cornell and $152,090 for Cornell's equal annual share of capital expenses.