Archive: News

The Lansing Town Board unanimously authorized the sale Wednesday of 13.5 acres of the 153 acre 'Town Center' land on Route 34 across the street from the Town ball fields.  The land will be purchased by Cornerstone Development Properties, LLC for a residential project yet to be developed.  No purchase price was disclosed.

"They submitted a proposal that would have a base contract for 13 1/2 acres, and then 8.9 acres as an alternate," said Lansing Planning Consultant Michael Long.  "There would be two pieces of adjacent property that we would be looking for approval to go to the next step, which is submitting applications to get their funding together."

The Legislature's Facilities and Infrastructure Committee today recommended that the County acquire and improve the current Tompkins Trust building on the Ithaca Commons as a new home for the History Center, as well as for other complementary non-profits co-located as a Heritage Education Center.

The recommended action comes as a result of nearly a half-year of careful examination and study, and stems from the County's longstanding role of providing space for a museum that preserves the records and artifacts that document the county's history. The History's Center's current 25-year lease in the Gateway Building expires at the end of 2018, with its rent, underwritten by the County, expected to double if it remains in its current space.

Watkins Glen, NY- Crestwood Subsidiary, Arlington Storage Company, is abandoning its effort to expand fracked gas storage in unlined salt caverns along Seneca Lake. In its Bi-Weekly Environmental Compliance Report, filed today with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC"), Arlington states:

Despite its best efforts, Arlington has not been successful in securing long-term contractual commitments from customers that would support completion of the Gallery 2 Expansion Project… Accordingly, Arlington has discontinued efforts to complete the Gallery 2 Expansion Project.

Next Tuesday, May 16, Lansing School District voters will go to the polls to decide whether the 2017-18 budget should be approved and to elect three Board of Education members.  Voters are being asked to approve a $29,152,000 budget and the purchase of three school buses.  The new budget is 3.94% higher than last year's budget with a projected combined (property tax and PILOT revenue) tax levy increase of 3.94% - the actual levy will be set later this summer.  The bad news for property tax payers is that they will be picking up the slack from a $25 million reduction in the assessed value of the Cayuga Power Plant.  That means a projected property tax levy increase of 6.68%.

Three open positions are are currently held by Christine Iacobucci and Tony Lombardo, and Glenn Swanson.  Iacobucci and Lombardo hope to be elected for another term.  Linda Pasto, Lynne Lacko-Sheldon and Brenda Zavaski are also vying for board seats.  Swanson is retiring from the board after many years of service.  The five candidates participated in a 'Meet The Candidates' question and answer session Monday.  Below is a summary of their background and positions that they submitted in order to run.

About 25 community members and school employees came to 'Meet The Candidates' Monday. Five people are running for three seats on the Board Of Education. Incumbent candidates Christine Iacobucci and Tony Lombardoare running for another term along with newcomers Linda Pasto, Lynne Lacko-Sheldon and Brenda Zavaski.

Lansing High School Student Council members Zoltan Csaki, Nick Parkes, and Krista Taylor moderated the first portion of the two hour event, asking five questions generated by students. PTSO President Kristin Hopkins moderated the second half, asking questions sent by community members and then allowing questions from the floor.

After voting on the school budget and school board candidates next Tuesday you will be asked to fill out an exit poll with a focus on whether you would favor the Lansing School District's adoption of a veteran's exemption on school taxes.  This 'straw poll' is in response to retired career military medevac pilot and Lansing resident Bill Howard's request last January that the Board Of Education adopt district give veterans a break on their taxes, arguing that service men and women and their families make huge sacrifices to protect and defend our country.  School Business Administrator Mary June King researched the issue, and the result is an attempt to sound out the district public on whether they are willing to pay more so veterans can pay less.

"In the last straw poll we did in 2014, when it first came out that school districts could opt into this exemption, the vast majority of people who took the straw poll didn't know anything about it," King explained to the Board Of Education.  "So this is an opportunity to educate our community on this topic.  This doesn't impact the property tax cap, nor does it impact the property tax levy.  If you say we need an $18 million levy we're still going to collect $18 million, and if that falls under the property tax cap you're still good.  What this impacts is who you're collecting that levy from."

Property taxes are an undulating beast with many parts.  If one part pays less, the other parts pay more.  If there are more people to pay, each pays less, or so the theory goes.  This Fall Lansing homeowners are going to find themselves facing a more than 6% rise in school taxes because the largest taxpayer has lost $25 million in value due to a negotiated PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) agreement between the Cayuga Operating Plant and the Tompkins County IDA (Industrial Development Agency).  That translates to about a half million dollars in school revenue loss.  Somebody has to pay it, and that someone is you.

"The $25 million dollar decrease is about a $500,000 decrease in tax revenue that we're going to see for next year's budget," said Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso at a public budget hearing Monday.  "It was just finalized two weeks ago.  So we have been planning for these things and hoped they wouldn't come to fruition.  This year it's actually coming to fruition, so we have to look at how we're going to fund our program."

Webster, NY - Senator Pamela A. Helming and Assembly Majority Leader Joseph D. Morelle announced legislation (S. 5902/A.7712) Thursday that accelerates the availability of new emergency funding for water infrastructure in an effort to help many communities currently facing significant flooding damage. This legislation, sponsored by Senator Helming and Majority Leader Morelle, amends the 120-day waiting period in the newly-adopted Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017 and makes funding available to municipalities immediately.

In some towns and villages, flooding has already breached the sewer systems. There is a major concern among local and state officials that potential backflow of sewage into lake and residents' homes could create serious environmental and public health hazards. Flooding has continued to get worse over the past several weeks, and local municipalities are beginning to exhaust all available local resources need to deal with this emergency.

Washington, D.C.- Last week, Congressman Tom Reed reintroduced the HAND UP (Helping Americans in Need Develop their Ultimate Potential) Act and the Standard DATA Act. Both pieces of legislation are designed to make social safety nets more efficient and effective.

The HAND UP Act aims to accomplish three goals to help individuals out of poverty: encouraging new ways to promote self-sufficiency, increasing work and earnings, and reducing welfare dependency.

About 15 supporters joined Mike Koplinka-Loehr (D) outside the Lansing Community Library Monday when he announced he will be running for Tompkins County Legislature.  Koplinka-Loehr will be challenging incumbent Mike Sigler (R) to represent most of the Town of Lansing (outside of the Village of Lansing).  He told his supporters that he is running for the Legislature because he can deliver results, and has a record of delivering results for Lansing residents in a variety of roles.

"I am running to represent all the people of District 6 on the Tompkins County Legislature starting in 2018," Koplinka-Loehr said.  "If I had to summarize why I am running in one three letter word, it's 'you' -- Lansing residents.  There are approximately 7,000 residents in the District, and I'm going to work diligently over the next six months to connect with as many as possible, to listen, to learn, to share my experience, my legacy of integrity, and the results that I have already brought to Lansing residents to face the challenging times ahead."

Legislature Raises the Age for Tobacco Sale and Purchase in Tompkins County
The Tompkins County Legislature has adopted a new Local Law that raises to 21 the legal age for tobacco sale and purchase in Tompkins County. The vote was 9-5, with Legislators Dan Klein, Mike Sigler, Peter Stein, Will Burbank, and Carol Chock voting no.

The new "T-21" law mirrors existing public health law, but raises the legal age for sale and purchase from 18 to 21. The law notes that the County has substantial interest in reducing the number of all individuals of all ages who use cigarettes and other tobacco products, and a particular interest in protecting adolescents from tobacco dependence and the illnesses and premature death associated with tobacco use.

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WF-125) announced today that she was introducing legislation in the New York State Assembly that would require copper telephone systems to be maintained in a state of good repair. The legislation is necessary, Lifton said, because copper telephone systems throughout the state have deteriorated due to aging equipment, workforce shortages, and underinvestment by telephone companies, leading to substandard service for communities that are still dependent on those systems.

"This is a major issue for millions of New Yorkers, particularly in cities and rural areas upstate," said Lifton, "who have no choice but to rely on copper telephone systems, and as a result, have had to deal with this substandard service. There are over 2.5 million customers still primarily dependent on the legacy system for telecommunications and that system is deteriorating badly. They live in areas where people don't have access to affordable alternatives to copper telephone systems, such as fiber optic services, and so they've been stuck with faulty service."