Archive: News

The special legislative committee charged with reviewing expressions of interest to redevelop the site of the Old Tompkins County Library is continuing to listen to the interests of those concerned about the future of the site at the corner of Cayuga and Court Streets, within the DeWitt Park Historic District.  The committee will recommend to the Legislature which of the six submissions received should advance to the next stage and be invited to respond to a formal Request for Proposals.

At Wednesday’s meeting Chair Mike Lane shared with the committee a letter received from the Board of Directors of Historic Ithaca, suggesting elements that should be incorporated to make a project compatible with the historic district.  Mr. Lane said he has also heard from the Albany Street Homeowners Association, members of the Fall Creek Neighborhood Association, and also from those concerned about the need for housing for individuals with mental health disabilities.

Theoretically all power has been restored in Tompkins County after a violent storm knocked out power to 17,600 NYSEG customers in NYSEG’s Ithaca Division Tuesday.  NYSEG announced yesterday that all Ithaca-area service was expected to be restored by midnight.  By Thursday morning local crews working with dozens of NYSEG crews from other locations, as well as contract line and tree crews, had reduced the number of storm-related outages to 1,375.   An estimated 57,000 NYSEG customers suffered outages across the company’s statewide service area.

“As a result of the detailed information from yesterday’s damage assessment and the determination of our crews to restore power safely and efficiently, we have been able to significantly revise our estimated restoration time,” said Mark S. Lynch, president and CEO of NYSEG and RG&E. “We appreciate all of the assistance we have received and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we continue our work.”

The Town of Lansing is moving forward with a $2,006,500 water tank and pump station project that will improve water pressure in the central part of the Town including the Whispering Pines and Warren Road neighborhoods.  Town Engineer David Herrick says the Bone Plain Pressure Zone project is the largest engineering project on the Town's docket at the moment.  The two-phased project includes a new water tank to be constructed in Dryden, just over the town line on Bone Plain Road, plus a pump station near the existing tank on Village Circle.  Herrick says the new facilities should be online by the Fall of 2015.

"I would hope this project will be complete by early Fall or the end of Fall of next year," he told the Town Board last week .  "All portions should go out for bid -- the tank and the water main from Farrell Road to the tank.  It is my understand that the Highway Department will be interested and available to do some of those little interconnections between existing systems in the Village Circle area and along Warren Road.  But the larger part of the project including the major extension on Farrell, Schofield, Bone Plain and the tank would be a public works project."

The Tompkins County Office for the Aging has released the results of its Senior Housing Preferences Survey, conducted during April and May.  Considering the increasing older adult population and its effects on the demand for housing in Tompkins County, the Office conducted the survey through its website, targeting older adults who may be considering moving within Tompkins County in the near future.

331 people responded, with the following major findings:

Michael Hall Appointed Interim Airport Manager
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, confirmed County Administrator Joe Mareane’s appointment of Michael Hall as Interim Manager of Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. (Legislators Mike Sigler and Nathan Shinagawa were excused.) Mr. Hall will serve as Interim Airport Manager following the retirement of Airport Manager Bob Nicholas July 31, after 25 years of distinguished service.

Mr. Hall, an Ithaca native and longstanding member of the Tompkins County Air Service Board, will serve in the interim position until a permanent Manager is appointed.  A nationwide search for a permanent Airport Manager concluded without a consensus and the County has decided to undertake a new search.

It looks like Queen Anne's Lace on steroids.  It can hurt you or even kill you if you come into contact with it.  This week Giant Hogweed (heracleum mantegazzianum) was spotted along Salmon Creek at both Myers Park and Salt Point, and in Ludlowville.

Highway Superintendent Jack French says that the state has assigned a special unit of the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) to identify and remove hogweed.  But while the DEC had not yet been called for the Lansing sightings, he and Parks Superintendent Steve Colt were confident that the plants are, in fact, Giant Hogweed.

The New York Court of Appeals ruled 5-2 Monday that New York municipalities can ban hydraulic fracturing within their borders.  In a historic win for Dryden and Middlefield the Court of Appeals upheld the rights of local towns over big oil and gas companies with its decision in Matter of Wallach, Trustee for Norse Energy v. Town of Dryden.  Because the Court of Appeals is the highest court with jurisdiction over the case, the way is now clear for any New York Municipality to ban fracking.  Lansing Town Supervisor Kathy Miller says she would like to enact a ban now that the court has ruled.

"I am thrilled with it," she says.  "It's a risk we shouldn't take.  And then find out ten or fifteen years down the road that we took this risk and this is what we have... another Love Canal.  I feel concern about the communities where they have fracking.  What's going to happen to them five, ten years down the road?"

When the Dryden Town Board jumped into the legal fray, unanimously passing a local law to ban fracking in Dryden, Lansing took a much more conservative approach.  The Town Council decided to take a 'wait and see' approach that would be less likely to subject the Town to costly litigation.  Lansing Town Supervisor Kathy Miller says Monday's NYS Court Of Appeals decision upholding the Towns of Dryden and Middlefield's right to enact fracking bans changes all that.  Miller asked fellow board members Wednesday to consider enacting a ban in Lansing.

"Personally I would like to see a ban," she says.  "A very high percentage of Lansing residents said they want a ban in a poll conducted after an election and in the survey (a telephone survey of Lansing residents conducted to help drive the direction of a comprehensive plan update).  A very high percentage said they would like to see a ban, so I would like to follow through and have a ban in Lansing."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a joint letter today on behalf of the state and city pension funds to 20 major U.S. corporations urging them to uphold LGBT rights around the globe.

“The momentum of the LGBT civil rights movement here in the U.S. is inspiring, but LGBT men and women face a rising tide of discrimination and violence in some parts of the world,” DiNapoli said. “These companies have a strong track record upholding LGBT equality domestically and we want to ensure their employees are protected from discrimination no matter where in the world they’re located. As reports of hate crimes and discrimination rise, robust enforcement of the anti-discrimination policies that protect workers and safeguard our companies from reputational and financial harm is more important than ever.”

With high temperatures and humidity forecast for the next few days, local officials are advising residents to take the steps necessary to protect themselves from the danger of heat-related illness.  The National Weather Service currently predicts the hot, humid weather—with temperatures near or about 90 degrees—to persist through mid-week, with a break in the conditions expected Thursday.

The Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response suggests all residents—and especially those who are at high risk for health problems—to stay indoors as much as possible and limit their activity and sun exposure.  Officials provide the following advice:

The Legislature’s Government Operations Committee has delayed consideration of proposed action that would ask the Legislature to authorize the prospective developer to apply to the Town of Ithaca to develop the last remaining County-owned portion of the Biggs property, adjacent to the former Health Department building on Harris B. Dates Drive.

In October 2012 NRP Properties, LLC responded to a County Request for Proposals (RFP) for sale of the parcel, to develop nearly 26 acres of vacant County-owned land in partnership with Better Housing for Tompkins County.

New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio announced Tuesday that he has successfully secured $3.4 million in State funding to begin a major expansion at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. This expansion will create local jobs and continue to put our region at the cutting edge of agricultural research and development.

The funding will be used to modernize the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Pilot Plant, the cornerstone facility in which the New York State Food Venture Center carries out product and business development operations. The Food Venture Center serves 2500 companies per year, many of whom are startup food processing businesses.