Archive: News

Tompkins County's solid bond rating produced benefit, as the County received an excellent result today in its sale of $11.1 million in one-year bond anticipation notes.

The successful bidder was the firm of Roosevelt and Cross, at an effective interest cost of 1.14%, which is believed to be among the lowest for such municipal notes in New York State during 2008.

 

WASHINGTON, DC - On Tuesday, January 6, 2009, U.S. Rep. Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) was sworn in to the 111th Congress and officially began his 2nd term in Congress representing New York's 24th Congressional District.

"Our country faces many challenges, but in adversity there is also opportunity - opportunity for innovation and new ideas to create jobs, fix our health care system and build a new energy future," Arcuri said. "It is a great honor to represent the 24th Congressional District in Congress, and I will continue fighting for our region."

 

Koplinka-Loehr Reelected Legislature Chair. Robertson Assumes Vice Chair Role In Disputed Election
Members of the Tompkins County Legislature reelected Democrat Michael Koplinka-Loehr as Chair of the Legislature for 2009, beginning his second year in the chairmanship role.  The position of chair, filled each year by a majority vote of the Legislature’s 15 members, is responsible for overseeing all legislative functions.  While the election of Chair was completed quickly—with Koplinka-Loehr winning support of the Legislature’s 11 Democrats to Republican Frank Proto’s support by its four Republicans, the determination that Democrat Martha Robertson will serve as vice-chair came only after multiple split votes and nearly two hours of debate, with the ultimate result declared through a Chair’s ruling.

Village of Lansing Trustees want the speed limit reduced on Route 34 (East Shore Drive) from the bottom of Esty Hill to a mile north of Burdick Hill Road.  Trustee Lynn Leopold, whose driveway comes out at the bottom of the hill, has long requested the change because of noise from diesel truck compression brakes and safety issues.

"It's safety and noise," she says.  "People are coming down the hill way too fast for the kind of traffic that is pulling out on that road all the time.  All the other approaches to the city, whether from the east, west, north, or south are all coming in at 45 or lower now.  89 is 45.  96 is down to 30 as it comes into the city."

The Lansing Fire District and the Lansing Volunteer Fire Department elected officers this week, but in what was expected to be a quick organizational meeting the five commissioners found themselves at odds in their first meeting of the year.  Robert Wagner was voted Chairman of the Fire Commissioners, and Larry Creighton Vice Chairman, but when it came to electing a secretary the commissioners were split.

Creighton and the newest commissioner, Michael Day, wanted Jeff Walters to replace Alvin Parker as District Secretary.  Wagner supported Parker.  "We have a stalemate," Wagner said.  "I guess at this point we don't have a secretary."

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced Thursday that real-time images from 15 Syracuse-area traffic cameras are now available on TrafficLand.com . 

The cameras focus on highways in the Syracuse metropolitan area and show a new or “refreshed” image every two seconds. It is suggested that commuters and other travelers access the cameras before driving to avoid congestion and plan travel routes.

"The thing that you might want to notice, folks, is that we are $366,000 under budget," District treasurer George Gesslein pointed out at Tuesday's Lansing Fire Commissioners Meeting.  "We all did a great job this year."

Fire officials say that long term planning and fiscal conservatism accounts for their coming in under budget for 2008.  "It all has to do with the capital plan," says District Secretary Alvin Parker, referring to a fiscal plan that looks ahead 20 years into the future.  "We're keeping it up to date and on track with the help of the chiefs.  You look forward, see when you need to replace that ladder, that engines, additions, buildings, roofs -- everything.  It's on there."

Lansing Post Office box holders may only have one more week to wait before they can pick up their mail at the East Shore Drive Lansing Plaza post office.  Ithaca Postmaster William Hrynko now estimates the Lansing branch will be ready to reopen around next Friday (January 9th).

----
v5i1

hotornotintro.jpg Lansing certainly went through many changes in 2008.  New Town Supervisor Scott Pinney immediately set out to keep promises he made during his campaign.  New School Superintendent Stephen Grimm also made his mark, getting a difficult budget passed even though it meant painful cuts, plus crafting two capital projects that will not cost taxpayers even an additional dollar.  And the library got its charter.

Click here to vote on the stories you thought were most important, interesting, or just plain fun.  As each picture is displayed click on a star (1) to rate it and go to the next picture.  Or (2) add a comment about the picture and then star-rate it.  At the end and as you go along you will see the total ratings.

	Key 2008 School Stories Budget Passes, District Looks to the Future Lansing Schools Will Get More Dollars From AES Cayuga PILOT School District Office Moves to Elementary School Business Office Features Student Art Lansing Voters Approve School Projects

After years of tumult, it finally looked as if the Lansing Central School District might get its act together.  With budget problems worse than anyone imagined, buildings falling apart, and a constituency that had lost its trust in the district's fiscal handling, Stephen Grimm had a lot on his plate from his first day as Lansing School Superintendent in his dingy little district office last January.

A year later, Grimm has some impressive achievements under his belt.  His efforts to get the community involved in the tough decisions that had to be made bore fruit as he got his first budget passed, despite more than a million dollars of cuts that could well turn out to be only the first round.  He found money to build a new district office on a shoestring budget, moving from a dingy, unhealthy, ramshackle old restaurant building to professional looking, spacious offices in the elementary school.

Read more ...

	Key 2008 Town Stories Pinney Wastes No Time on Campaign Agenda Honing Zoning and Scanning Planning in Lansing Town Says Planning Board Jumped the Gun Engineer/Planner Joins Town Staff Lansing Switches Dog Control to Homer-Based Shelter Town Asks Village Double For Snow Removal Millions Down the Sewer Lansing Tax Rate Set at Minus 2%

January 2, 2008 was Scott Pinney's second day in office as Lansing Town Supervisor.  In what is typically an organizational meeting that day he brought an agenda of items he hoped would shake up the Town.  Like James Bond and his martinis, Pinney likes his town shaken, not stirred.  But Lansing has been both this year, and Pinney says his conservative fiscal approach and drive to make Lansing more business friendly will make town government better.

As Lansing residents get their property tax bills one thing will be obviously better.  In response to an inexplicable explosion in county assessments, the Town tightened it's already snug belt this year.  Instead of the typical 3% or so rise in the tax rate, Pinney and the Town Board brought the 2009 tax rate in at minus 2%.

Read more ...

	Key 2008 Fire District Stories Fire Commissioner Resigns Fire District to Sell Land in Village New Village Firehouse On Hold Lansing Voters Elect Fire Commissioners

News in the Lansing Fire District was as much about what didn't happen as what did.  A new fire station in the Village of Lansing was put on hold, Fire Commissioner Kimberly Spencer resigned less than two years into her term, and while an addition to Central Station continues in the planning stage, no ground was broken.

Yet the things that matter and go largely unsung, were taken care of as the volunteers responded to a record number of emergency calls.  In the middle of all that the department converted to Tompkins County's new emergency response system.  And of course they took some time off to host the annual Fire Department Carnival.

Read more ...