Archive: News

Seven Lansing officials were at the New York Hilton early this week for The New York Association of Towns Annual Meeting and Training School.  All five town board members attended along with Town Attorney Guy Krogh and Engineer David Herrick.  The conference included a large menu of classes and panels for town supervisors and boards, attorneys, judges, planning staff, town clerks, highway staff, and court clerks.  There were over a hundred exhibitors, and a lot of informal networking.  "It's an opportunity to sit down and talk about common issues," says Lansing Supervisor Steve Farkas.  "It's a great networking pool of ideas and resources as to how you deal with certain issues.  The informal get-togethers are probably a lot more meaningful than the formal sessions."

With special education mandates requiring more resources and impacting school budgets, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations are of more than passing interest to school officials.  With that in mind, Director of Special Services and Grants Pam DiPaola presented the first of two presentations to the Board of Education on how special education impacts Lansing schools.  "I thought it was important to see what the intent of the law is according to Congress," she told the Board.

"The budget that I am currently building and that I am relatively comfortable with is 90% complete," said Lansing School Business Administrator Larry Lawrence in a report on the current state of the 2007-2008 budget.  "I am pretty confident that the numbers on the expenditure side are close to where they will be.  What I am not confident about is that in the current climate of our school district we can get to a 5.5% or 6% budget to budget increase and stay comfortable with that."

An unusually high number of Lansing students were out sick this week, with over a hundred absent from the Middle School Monday and Tuesday.  That represents about 25% of the student population of that school.  53 were home from Elementary School.  The High School had 27 out by noon Tuesday.  "I'm monitoring the situation on a daily basis," says Superintendent Mark Lewis.  The Middle School has been hit far harder than the other two schools. At this point I do not intend to close the schools." 

But by Thursday 188 kids were out from the Middle School and Lewis decided to close all three schools Friday.  "I'm sensative to the fact that sometimes oder siblings have to care for their younger siblings," he said. " We have 4 snow days.  This is the first one we've used."

Disney Studios may have made it harder for the Village of Lansing to cope with an overpopulation of deer.  Known to hunters as 'The Bambi Effect,' the phenomenonnamed for the Disney movie describes an emotional public outcry when animals that are considered to be cute are targeted, regardless of environmental or scientific concerns.  "In all the states you have populations of deer that have exceeded the carrying capacity of a lot of places," said Trustee Lynn Leopold.  "We're seeing the disappearance of entire flora in New York State.  It goes way beyond the borders of our village.  But there's a huge lobby against it."

But killing excess deer is currently the only viable solution according to Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) representatives who attended Monday's Village Trustee meeting.  Dave Richlman and Curt Armstrong of the Cortland DEC office presented information that the Board hoped would help them decide how to control the village deer problem.  Mayor Don Hartill said that 30 to 35 deer per year are killed in the village in collisions with cars.  He said Village officials would like to thin the herd by twice that number.

Albany – The New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) today awarded New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio with their Public Policy Leadership Award in recognition of the Senator’s efforts on behalf of people with psychiatric disabilities in New York State.

Lansing school officials were disappointed Tuesday when the proposed capital project was voted down by a narrow margin.  The main proposition that included repairs and renovations to all schools with renovations and new classrooms in the high school was defeated by only 16 votes with 635 voting for it and 651 against.  A second proposition that would have included a new band room, a technology classroom, and renovations to the existing band and chorus rooms was also defeated with 607 yes votes and 669 against.  "I am disappointed," said Superintendent Mark Lewis.

The two propositions would have cost $20.8 million with state aid picking up 60% of the tab and Lansing taxpayers paying 40%.  That would have amounted to $98 per year over a 16 year period for a house valued at $100,000.  That was only half the cost of a project developed a year ago that was withdrawn by the Board of Education before putting it up for a vote.  But apparently it was not enough of a cut to satisfy voters.

Lansing Fire Commissioners discussed how fire investigations should be handled in their February meeting Tuesday.  Commissioner Kimberly Spencer asked whether fellow commissioners think Lansing should train its own inspector.  Currently the department pays the Ithaca Fire Department $400 for an inspection.  But the commissioners and Chief Scott Purcell noted that Lansing doesn't get enough calls to provide the hours needed to certify a fire investigator, and the few calls in Lansing that require an investigation don't justify the amount of training.

There were almost as many people there to explain the proposed $20.8 million Lansing school capital project as there were to learn about it.  Only around 16 people attended the second of two public hearings designed to answer questions and garner support for the project.  But school officials presented the project and clarified concerns raised in the meeting.  "When I came in tonight I didn't know how I was going to vote," said Susan Brock.  "Now I am quite certain how I am going to vote."

Last week the New York State Legislature voted to add $6 million to the amount they grant to Teacher Centers this year.  $121,250 was set aside to fund a new Lansing/Groton Teacher Center.  The money was approved only a few days after State Senator Michael Nozzolio presented $50,000 to the facility to help pay for start-up costs.  That was good news for Lansing Director of Curriculum Deb Pichette, who worked tirelessly to create the center for more than a year.  "The funds made available by both the New York State legislature and Senator Michael Nozzolio will ensure the existence of the Lansing-Groton Teacher Center," says Lansing School Superintendent Mark Lewis. The Center, in turn, will contribute to the continuation and enhancement of the quality educational program available to our children."

The Lansing Sewer Committee considered adding about 100 homes to the initial service area in their Wednesday meeting.  Responding to neighborhoods that have told Town officials they want sewer, the committee considered neighborhoods including East Lake, Lakewatch, Cayuga Highland subdivisions, Bean Hill, Whispering Pines, Autumn Ridge, and the Hicks developments on Waterwagon.  "There are areas within the Town that on paper and in reality have a certain amount of density that are not being served," said engineer David Herrick.  "So Andy Sciarabba suggested taking a look at bringing more lands into the service area."

Herrick and engineer Jim Blum presented the committee with a map showing the areas that may be added as well as sections to be removed including quarry land that is not likely to need sewer anyway and the Sullivan property.  Blum said the would be developing the idea over the next three weeks to consider the changes and the impact they would have on the project.

Auburn – New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio last Friday announced that data compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Village of Groton confirm that phosphorous levels in Owasco Lake have drastically decreased since additional protection efforts began in August.

Last summer, Senator Nozzolio contacted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and worked to secure a signed consent order from the Village of Groton to reduce phosphorous discharge into Owasco Lake. As a result of meetings held by the Senator, the Village of Groton also agreed to implement additional chemical treatments to water being discharged into Owasco Lake and made plans for an upgrade of their sewage treatment plant.