Archive: News

Tom Reed is responding to constituent concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule that would increase costs for New Yorkers who heat their homes and businesses with wood stoves. Reed recently sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy concerned about the new regulation and asking that the agency find an approach that doesn’t place an additional hardship on home and business owners. Fellow New York Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY21) joined Reed on the letter.

“It’s unfair to target families and businesses in rural areas that rely on wood stoves to heat their homes,” Reed said. “For many in our community, this affordable, renewable energy source is a cost-effective alternative to some of the other more costly, volatile options. It’s common sense to continue making this affordable option available.”

Myers Park is not just a beautiful spot on Cayuga Lake.  It is used for countless activities including concerts, festivals, weddings, religious services, parties, barbecues, hiking and running, the annual fireworks, swimming, camping, boating... and that only begins to describe the popularity of the park that includes two playgrounds, a half dozen pavilions, a beach, a marina, a band stand and a historical log cabin, among other features.  Park Superintendent Steve Colt warned the Lansing Town Board Wednesday that the level of activity that grosses around mixed with weather and normal wear and tear has damaged park roads to the point where they need major repair.

"The park is going to be awesome this Spring," Colt told the Town Board.  "But I do want to say that the infrastructure of the park, the roads, themselves, are really getting rough.  That part of the infrastructure is the last big thing.  It's more than just looks.  It's functional.  We can either deal with it when it needs to be done, or face a bigger problem as it disintegrates farther."

Lansing Supervisor Kathy Miller told the Town Board Wednesday that the level of trihalomethane in a water tank in northwest Lansing is still a problem.  Last June she informed the board that trihalomethane levels in the Emmons Road water tank were above acceptable state levels.  This week she said that Lansing's water district may face a cost of up to $100,000 to fix the problem once and for all.

"You've heard of the trihalomethane problem in Ulysses and we have one on the Emmons Road tank," she said.  "The reason we have a problem with the buildup of trihalomethanes is the water usage is not high enough, so it sits in the tank for a while.  Articles in the paper are quite sensational.  But we've been working with TG Miller and Bolton Point on how to remedy this."

TCAT will enlist the services of an independent forensic auditing firm to further examine the circumstances surrounding alleged larceny charges filed against a former TCAT employee.

Local authorities on April 2 arrested TCAT accounts assistant Pamela Johnson charging her with 2nd degree grand larceny in connections with roughly $247,000 in misdirected funds. Irregularities were discovered during TCAT’s annual financial audit performed by an external accounting firm.  TCAT subsequently conducted an internal investigation, brought in a local forensic auditing team for an additional review and contacted Ithaca City Police.  Ms. Johnson was immediately suspended from her duties on March 18, pending the investigation. Upon charges being filed on April 2, TCAT officially terminated Ms. Johnson’s employment.

Congressional Candidate Martha Robertson made her candidacy official for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s 23rd District Tuesday, by filing more than 5,500 Democratic nominating petitions from all 11 counties represented in 23rd Congressional District.

Robertson’s campaign filed Democratic petitions from all 11 counties in the district, with over 125 of the individual towns and cities represented. To qualify for the ballot for the Democratic nomination, candidates must collect 1,250 signatures total. Robertson collected almost five times the required amount, highlighting the grassroots and expansive strength of her campaign. The petition process is one of the first opportunities to showcase the organizational strength of a particular campaign early in the election season.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance ran up more than $6 million in overtime costs last year because of systemic problems with a contractor’s processing of paper returns and the department’s failure to fully assess the risks of using a new vendor and stringently monitor its work, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The total cost to taxpayers is expected to jump when interest payments for late refunds and pay for staffers who had to put off other duties to remedy the problems are tallied.

“The contractor hired by the state Department of Tax and Finance failed to meet many of its contract requirements and things quickly spun out of control,” DiNapoli said. “The significant quality issues and delays in tax returns processing in 2013 could have been avoided had the Tax Department done its homework and closely monitored the contractor. On a positive note, the department has taken steps to address last year’s problems and appears to be much better prepared for 2014.”

With over 40 women in attendance, Allegany County became the first host to kickoff the Women for Reed Coalition Saturday afternoon. Recognizing Reed for his dedication to the families of Western New York, the Allegany County Women’s Republican Committee joined to celebrate the inaugural event.

The Legislature’s special committee on the future of the Old County Library has started its work, meeting for the first time a week ago to discuss the process for its deliberations.  The Committee’s first task will be to review responses to the County’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to acquire and redevelop the County-owned Old Library site, located at the corner of Ithaca’s Cayuga and Court Streets, once the building is vacated next year.  As a carryover from last year’s Capital Plan Review Committee, the Old Library Committee, chaired by Legislature Chair Michael Lane, is charged with conducting review and recommending action related to the RFEI process and the site’s future.

The RFEI, released late last year, requested expressions of interest for the purchase or lease, and redevelopment of the Old Library property.  Submission of any proposals in response to the RFEI was required by last month.  The County’s Planning Advisory Board is currently conducting a preliminary review of the submissions, with a recommendation to the committee expected by month’s end.  The Old Library Committee will then review all expressions of interest and make a recommendation to the full Legislature, which will also see all of the submissions.

About 50 Lansingites showed up Wednesday for a public information meeting hosted by the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee (CPUC).  The committee has been working since early September of 2012 on gathering data and analyzing a 2006 version of the plan.  Wednesday's meeting was the first in a series of anticipated meetings to give information to the public and solicit ideas and opinions from current residents.  Town Planner Jonathan Kanter said that the plan is an outline for future growth that ultimately comes from the public.

"The comprehensive plan is a collection of documents that sets forth goals and recommended actions in order to insure that a community grows in an orderly, well thought out manner," said Town Planner Jonathan Kanter.  "It's pretty simple, but pretty important."

The Tompkins County Department of Social Services, on behalf of the Family Treatment Court, has been awarded a $225,000 grant by the California-based non-profit Children and Family Futures to support an intensive two-year initiative to provide more comprehensive family-centered care to children, parents, and families affected by substance use disorders and child abuse and neglect.

The competitive two-year grant, one of four such grants awarded nationwide through The Prevention and Family Recovery Project (PFR), were made possible with the support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Duke Endowment.  The goals of PFR are to demonstrate how a comprehensive family-centered approach—grounded in effective cross-systems collaboration—improves child, parent and family outcomes, particularly in preventing child abuse or neglect, promoting reunification and strengthening parent-child relationships.

The Lansing Board Of Education (BOE) unanimously approved a $27,820,000 budget Monday for the 2014-15 school year.  The budget represents a 4.83% increase over the current budget, driven by a combination of spiraling employee and retirement benefit costs, plus a loss of revenue from the Cayuga Power Plant and state aid.  For owners of a $200,000 house it will mean a $143 increase in school taxes, but BOE President Glenn Swanson says that property taxpayers in districts who keep the tax levy increase below the state tax cap will receive a rebate, meaning that that homeowner will receive a check from the State for $143 later in the year.

"The good news for Lansing is we're planning to be under the tax cap," he said.  "Around election day you get a check back."

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) issued an order last Friday granting an eight month extension to New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) and Cayuga Operating Company, L.L.C. (COC) in their effort to come up with a mutually agreeable repowering proposal for repowering the Cayuga plant with natural gas.  The new deadline gives the companies until December 1 to craft a plan that will include repowering the plant in order to provide reliable power to the region.  The order came in response to a request last week from NYSEG, with a supporting letter from COC.

"There are many aspects to this project. We’re closer on some than others, but we’re proceeding to work through the issues with our colleagues at NYSEG," says Upstate New York Power Producers CEO Jerry Goodenough.  "The current focus is on repowering the facility, but we are mindful of NYSEG’s identified transmission needs and are working with them and the PSC to ensure that the repowering discussion does not preclude any important transmission upgrades."