Archive: News

Minor adjustments to the special permit for the Lansing Meadows project were approved by the Village of Lansing Planning Board Tuesday.  The changes involve a sidewalk that will be continued from the YMCA to BJ's Wholesale Club, and adjustments to a plan for planting trees.

Lansing Meadows is a mixed use project that added BJ's to the Ithaca Mall complex in January and will include 12 units of senior housing along Oakcrest Road.  The project also includes wetlands and a bird sanctuary, with tree plantings to act as buffers between the retain and residential areas.

Lansing officials are exploring the cost to invest in infrastructure for a town center to attract developers to build here.  The investment for roads and infrastructure may be high at first, but Lansing Supervisor Kathy Miller says that investing in infrastructure is the only way to be competitive when vying for developers.  She says that the sale of the land to developers will pay for the Town's investment and possibly yield a profit.

At this stage the Town has been sent two letters of intent from NRP Group, which plans an 80 unit affordable senior cottage apartment building, and Calamar, which wants to build a three story market-rate senior housing building.  These two projects would jump-start the Town Center, but they depend on the successful adoption of a sewer district and a main road and infrastructure.

Nate ShinagawaIn a well-attended meeting on May 17, the County Democratic Party gave a strong endorsement to County Legislator Nate Shinagawa for Congress in the race in the newly-formed 23rd Congressional District.  Members said they felt that they had excellent candidates in Shinagawa, Leslie Danks Burke, and Melissa Dobson, but gave the majority of their votes to Shinagawa on the basis of his public record on issues such as regional economic development and support of Medicare and health care access as well as his anti-fracking stance.

The 2012 Lansing Tennis Team closed out their conference season to perfection as they swept Union Springs and Trumansburg in the final week of the season. Winning both matches 7-0, the Tennis Bobcats not only completed a perfect in conference seasonal record of 9-0 but also completed an unbelievable run in the 2012 season where no player from the team lost a match or even a single set in the 9 conference matches.

This marks the second consecutive undefeated season for the Tennis Bobcats extending their IAC winning streak to 25 matches over three years and marks their third consecutive IAC regular season championship.

Senator Mike Nozzolio announced this week that he and his colleagues in the New York State Senate will continue their strong focus on job creation and economic growth by adopting legislation next week to implement the 2012 NEW JOBS-NY Job Creation Plan.  The Senate’s comprehensive plan will help create thousands of new private sector jobs by delivering tax relief to small businesses and manufacturers, reducing energy costs, and enacting major fiscal reforms to make New York State more economically competitive.

“Working with Governor Cuomo, my Senate colleagues and I have reduced State spending for two years in a  row, prevented any new or increased taxes, and provided tax cuts to families and small businesses.  Now, we are taking another major step forward in addressing the most pressing challenge in New York’s economic recovery- the creation of new jobs,” said Nozzolio. “The New Jobs-NY plan will build on the historic progress we achieved during the last two years by creating thousands of new jobs through cutting taxes, controlling spending and making New York more economically competitive.”

The Lansing Sewer Committee continued to prepare Wednesday for upcoming public meetings while also pursuing funding options.  An informal survey of Ladoga Park residents found most generally positive about the prospect of bringing sewer to their neighborhood.  But neighbors were concerned about the cost.

There was good news and bad news on the cost front.  The bad news is that early indicators from the Environmental Facilities Corporation's (EFC) are that the project won't qualify for a reduced interest rate, though it will probably qualify for a market rate loan.  Committee members said this was expected, and alternate funding options like renewable BANs (Bond Anticipation Notes) are expected to fund the project in the initial years with more favorable rates.

Aziza BensonLansing voters approved a $26 million budget for the 2012- 2013 school year Tuesday 808 to 370.  The budget represents a growth of 2.69% over this year's budget, and 2% growth in the tax levy.  The projected tax rate rise is 4.5%, 3% of which school officials say is attributable to the reduction in revenue from the AES Cayuga Power Plant PILOT agreement.

Julie Boles and Aziza Benson won two open seats on the Lansing Board of Education.  Boles received 631 votes.  Benson had 549. Anne Drake received 522, Michelle Uhl-Stark 429, and Max Rogan 118.

The New York State Senate has enacted legislation co-sponsored by State Senator Mike Nozzolio (S.7407)  that would ensure any person who knowingly accesses or views child pornography is guilty of a felony crime under State Law.

“Sexual crimes against children are among the most heinous in our society. As Chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee,  I have fought hard for measures to protect our communities from dangerous sexual predators who prey on children and for increased support to the victims of this terrible abuse," Nozollio said.

Dr. Susan Romanczuk-Smelcer Appointed Mental Health Commissioner
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, confirmed the appointment of Susan D. Romanczuk-Smelcer, PhD., as County Commissioner of Mental Health Services. (Legislator Nathan Shinagawa was excused.)  Dr. Romanczuk-Smelcer has served as Director of Community Health Services (mental health commissioner) for Tioga County since August 2009.  Prior experience includes service as clinical social worker for United Health Services Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in Binghamton, program director for the Tioga County Mental Health Clinic, senior psychiatric social worker at the Broome County Mental Health Clinic, and hospice social worker at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton.

Voters enrolled in the Democratic and Republican parties will have a Primary for Federal offices on Tuesday, June 26. Democrats will be choosing a candidate for Representative in Congress for the 23rd district. (All of Tompkins County is now in the 23rd.) Republicans will be choosing a candidate for United States Senator. Sample ballots can be viewed online.

The Legislature’s Government Operations Committee today moved ahead the process toward reapportioning County legislative districts, as it recommended the Legislature accept the Independent Redistricting Commission’s report advocating a 14-member Legislature.

The Commission’s recommended configuration is revised slightly from the version first submitted to the Legislature.  On April 20, the Commission revised its recommended district boundaries within the City of Ithaca to permit County district lines to coincide with the City ward boundaries now recommended by the City’s Redistricting Committee, changes that primarily affect treatment of the City’s South Hill, East Hill, and Downtown neighborhoods.

Following several months of discussion, deliberation and research, the Board of Directors of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network has voted to approve a Position Statement on Hydraulic Fracturing (see full text below).

The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (CLWN) is a 14-year-old grassroots membership organization dedicated to protecting the waters of Cayuga Lake and of the 37 creeks that drain to this 38-mile long, 435-feet deep lake at the center of New York State’s majestic Finger Lakes, which drain to Lake Ontario. As pointed out in the position statement, “These local water bodies define our region, providing clean water that supports the life, economy, and lifestyles of our region. All of our residents depend on the lake, its creeks, and groundwater resources for clean drinking water, as do our vibrant agrarian livelihoods.”