Archive: News

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to an increase in confirmed cases of the H1N1 Virus across Upstate New York, especially in colleges and universities, U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri (NY-24) has offered state and federal resources to concerned constituents across the district to fight the spread of H1N1.

“The spread of the H1N1 Virus is a growing concern across the country,” Arcuri said, “The number of confirmed cases in Upstate New York, especially in our colleges and universities, has risen over the past month and I am advocating that every member of our community use caution when they become sick and take advantage of state and federal resources to prevent the spread of this virus.”

The Lansing Town Board considered a hefty package of recommendations the Planning Board for the final development plan for Lansing Commons Wednesday.  The development is planned south of Cayuga Vista Drive in three phases with single family homes dominating phase one, townhouses in phase two, and apartments and possibly some businesses in the final phase.  In order to facilitate higher density (smaller lots) called for by the plan, the development will have its own package plant, essentially a small sewage treatment plant.

The Planning Board forwarded 30 recommendations having to do with the treatment of waste water and storm water, procedures for dealing with the Planning Board and the Town, specifications for a pedestrian walkway, a stop sign at the intersection of Cayuga Vista and Woodsedge Drives, underground utility lines, roads, height and sign restrictions, and aesthetics.  Architectural guidelines and four pages of deed restrictions were also included.

Tuesday night Lansing voters decided 99 to 69 to build a $2.3 million addition to Lansing Central Fire Station.  The addition will add safety features, bunk rooms, and an additional equipment bay to the station that has not had any major work done to it since it was built 30 years ago.  The addition will be completed with no additional cost to taxpayers, largely due to long term planning and saving to a building reserve fund over the course of years.

"I'm very happy with the outcome," said Department President and Fire Commissioners Chairman Robert Wagner when the count was announced Tuesday night.  "I'm happy that we have the support of the Town and the Village."

After a summer of fund raising Lansing's North Log Cabin will be assembled starting next week.  A meeting of key people including contractor Al Roy of Lindal Cedar Homes, Building Inspector Lyn Day, Highway Superintendent Jack French, Park Superintendent Steve Colt, and McCarthy Builders' Pete Peters Wednesday laid out the exact position of the cabin and a rough schedule for reassembling it.

The cabin was originally built in 1791 on the corner of Searles and Conlon Roads in Lansing.  It was reassembled about a mile north on Conlon Road, then in 1958 reassembled again behind the Cayuga Museum in Auburn.  Two years ago it was disassembled for the third time, and brought home to Lansing, where the logs have been stored on the Highway Department grounds.  Town Councilman Bud Shattuck moved the project forward, getting community members involved, and eventually handed the project over to Ed laVigne for the fund raising/construction phase.  The Lansing Community Council headed by LaVigne raised more than $13,000 over the summer to pay for a concrete slab, reassembling the logs, and a new roof.

Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee tonight received an in-depth presentation of County Administrator Joe Mareane’s recommended 2010 County Budget and heard their first four budget presentations, in the first of as many as thirteen review sessions which will take place over the next two months.

The administrator’s Tentative Budget recommends $73.1 million in local spending (a million-dollar reduction from 2009), would increase the tax levy (the total amount of tax revenue collected) by 3%  (meeting the Legislature’s 2010 levy increase goal), and the tax rate (the amount of tax paid per thousand dollars assessed property value) by one cent, to $5.94.

Next Tuesday Lansing voters will be asked to decide whether to spend 2.3 million on improvements to Central Fire Station.  The 7300 square foot, one story plan will add an additional equipment bay for an emergency vehicle, bunk rooms and facilities, storage, a kitchen, lounge, fitness room, and a decontamination room.  Fire district officials say the project will require no additional taxes.

"I don't see any additional taxes," says district Treasurer George Gesslein.  "We've been planning for this for years.  The loan amount is going to be pretty low, and we've got an extra $180,000 from selling the land.  We've got a lot of cushions."

A small coalition of opponents of the New Roots Charter School got a lot of local press attention last week when they accused the school of over-reporting enrollment figures and thus violating the school's charter.  Principal Nina Nilsen-Hodges refuted the charges when she welcomed visitors to an open house Tuesday evening.

"Amid the excitement, we are experiencing regret at the pain inflicted on our students and their families by a recent editorials unsubstantiated suggestion that our enrollment is too low for the school to open," she said.  "New Roots will open on September 9th with over 100 students strong, a vibrant community of learners with a home in the heart of downtown Ithaca."

Administrator Presents 2010 Tentative Budget

County Administrator Joe Mareane delivered to the County Legislature a 2010 Tentative County Budget that calls for reductions in both spending and workforce, while meeting the Legislature’s goal of increasing the tax levy by no more than 3 percent.

The recommended budget totals $73.1 million in local spending.  The budget reduces spending by $1 million (1.3%) and the County’s workforce by 26 full-time equivalent positions (3.4%), while striving to maintain a scope of services responsive to community needs.  It calls for the 3% increase in the tax levy (the total amount of property tax revenue that must be collected to balance the budget) and increases the tax rate (the amount property owners pay per thousand dollars assessed value) by one cent, to $5.94.

Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane has delivered to the County Legislature a 2010 Tentative County Budget that calls for reductions in both spending and workforce, while meeting the Legislature’s goal of increasing the tax levy by no more than 3 percent.

The recommended budget totals $73.1 million in local spending.  The budget reduces spending by $1 million (1.3%) and the County’s workforce by 26 full-time equivalent positions (3.4%), while striving to maintain a scope of services responsive to community needs.  It calls for the 3% increase in the tax levy (the total amount of property tax revenue that must be collected to balance the budget) and increases the tax rate (the amount property owners pay per thousand dollars assessed value) by one cent, to $5.94.

The more than two-year-long effort to create a cost-saving shared health benefits program for employees of Tompkins County municipalities moved another step forward tonight, as the Board of Directors for the Greater Tompkins County Health Insurance Consortium convened for the first time.

The Board of Directors is made up of municipal officials from throughout Tompkins County.  To date, 14 of the county’s 17 municipalities have committed to participate.  The Board of Directors is charged with overseeing operations and conducting business of the Consortium—including such matters as approving rates, contracts and the consortium’s budget.

State Senator Mike Nozzolio recently introduced legislation that would repeal the unnecessary new tax on utilities included in Governor Paterson’s 2009-10 State Budget. If enacted, this legislation would save homeowners and businesses over $500 million on their gas and electric bills.

“The utility tax is a giant step backward for jobs and the economic recovery of Upstate New York. At a time when families, senior citizens and businesses can least afford it, this tax has already raised our utility bills another two percent,” said Nozzolio. “If we care about homeowners, jobs and small businesses, we’ve got to enact this legislation and provide some relief for energy consumers.”

A more than $2 million federal stimulus grant just awarded by New York State will support a collaborative approach to target the problem of homelessness in Tompkins County.

The New York State Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance (NYS-OTDA) Bureau of Housing and Shelter Services has awarded a 22-month grant in the amount of $2,430,000 to a community coalition made up of the Tompkins County Department of Social Services, Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, Tompkins Community Action, and Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga, working together as part of the county's Continuum of Care. The award comes from federal stimulus funds allocated to the State by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.