Archive: News

Washington, DC - The Problem Solvers Caucus, Co-Chaired by Congressmen Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) and Tom Reed (NY-23), voted Monday to formally endorse H. Res. 246, a bipartisan resolution opposing the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement targeting Israel.

The Caucus' action, spearheaded by Congressmen Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Steve Watkins (KS-02), unites Democratic and Republican Caucus members behind the effort to denounce the boycott of Israel, and support a two-state solution.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced last week that a historic $15 million investment and groundbreaking policy changes are included in the FY 2020 Enacted Budget to address local unmet needs for community-based services for older New Yorkers. The funding will enable older New Yorkers to remain living independently in their homes and communities of choice and support the nation's first policies to increase access to aging network services for middle income families.

"Every New Yorker - no matter their age - deserves the best shot at a healthy and happy life, and we doubled down on that commitment in this year's budget," Cuomo said. "This funding will support critical services like home delivered meals and case management that will have a tremendous impact on both older adults and caregivers, and continue to position New York as a leader supporting older adults live independent and engaged lives in their communities."

The Village of Lansing is set for some big changes in its government, yet the changes will almost certainly be small.  Mayor Donald Hartill, Trustees Mayor Ronny Hardaway and Patricia O'Rourke are all running for new terms on the Board of Trustees.  And with the resignation of Trustee Gerry Monaghan four of the five board seats are up for grabs.  Except Hartill, Hardaway, and O'Rourke are all running unopposed in next Tuesday's (April 23rd) election.  And Hartill says he will appoint a new trustee to fill out the rest of Monaghan's term to maintain stability in the election schedule.  Hartill said that Monaghan has continued his role on the board until this point in order to allow time to find a suitable replacement, and assure a smooth transition.

"I'm going to appoint a person to fill Gerry's seat," Hartill said Monday. "One of the reasons for the timing was so we wouldn't have four candidates on the ballot, as opposed to three.  Gerry's been very cooperative in agreeing to continue."

Almost two years ago Cayuga Operating Company announced it would build a 75 acre, 18 megawatt solar farm, which would be one of the largest in New York State.  Last June the company announced a proposal to repower its 155 megawatt coal-fired power plant with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will be conveyed to the plant by 25 to 60 trucks per day, eliminating the need for a natural gas pipeline that had proved to be an unpopular option in Tompkins County.

Neither proposal has come to fruition.  The solar farm has reportedly been stalled because of a dearth of potential customers and lack of grants, while the repowering proposal has been put on hold for six to ten months.  While the solar farm has been popular with area residents, the new repowering plan has received almost as much push-back in the community as an earlier proposal that would have required a pipeline.  The Tompkins County Legislature passed a resolution opposing the plan on November 21, 2018.  And local residents have expressed concern about the safety of trucks full of CNG passing the Lansing school campus on a daily basis, as well as the additional truck traffic close to the schools.

It was just a year ago that Salt Point Brewing Company opened its doors in the building owned by and next to the Rogues Harbor Inn.  On Wednesday the Lansing Town Board approved the sale of a 5.4 acre parcel of town land across the street from the Lansing ball fields that will be the first commercial business in the anticipated town center.  Lansing Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne said the company plans to build a brewery and taproom that will take advantage of traffic along State Route 34B, and attract more people to the Lansing Center Trail.

"Imagine you go there, you have dinner and an adult beverage, and you go for a walk on a beautiful trail," said LaVigne. "Talk about win-win. The wetland will be preserved.  So now you have a wetland, you have a path, and you have a nice little business there that wants to relocate from down the road.  It is the anchor of our business district.  It'll be huge."

The Lansing Board Of Education unanimously passed a $30,794,650 budget Monday for the 2019-20 school year.  School Business Administrator Kate Heath told school board members that the estimated tax rate increase is less than 1%, with an anticipated tax increase of $9 for owners of a $50,000 home, $18 for a $100,000 home, and $36 for a $200,000 home.  The increase in the tax levy falls below the state mandated tax cap, which has been the case for the district levy since the tax cap was established in 2011.

"The state aid number is higher than last year's state aid number," she said. "That small amount of state aid lowered our property taxes and PILOT amount just enough to be under the tax cap by $1,790.  So a little more of a cushion than the $99 I talked about at our last meeting.  Our levy will be a change (increase) of 2.84%."

Over neighbors' objections the Town of Lansing Planning Board Monday approved resolutions that affirm that the Town has no jurisdiction over the New York State Department Of Transportation (NYSDOT) 30,000 square foot 'sub-residency' maintenance building and supporting buildings on Warren Road, immediately south of Hillcrest Road, and approving the subdivision of about 15 acres on the north side of more than 50 acres owned by Tompkins County.  While two Planning Board members abstained from the vote, and others said they were not affirming that they approve of the site plan, the board had little choice but to accept the State's sovereignty over the Town and authority over the project.

"This is what the DOT has proposed," said NYSDOT attorney Kathleen Joy. This is what has been submitted.  And this is what we're going with."

Senator Pam Helming announced Wednesday that she and Senator Rob Ortt were joined by 10 of their fellow New York State legislators to raise concerns over the schedule of hearings regarding the proposed Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act. In a letter to the respective Chairs of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Labor Committee, they questioned the limited scope of only holding three hearings, which are set to take place in Nassau, Sullivan, and Madison Counties. The Capital Region, Hudson Valley, North Country, Southern Tier, and Western New York – along with farm industries specific to those regions – will be without input into the sweeping legislation.

"Agriculture is the leading industry in our region and upstate New York State. Our local and state economy relies on our farmers and farm families. The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act would have a devastating impact on the industry as a whole, especially our small family operations, and their hardworking employees. This is the busiest time of the year for the agricultural industry. Farmers and farmworkers are working tirelessly to get their fields ready for the upcoming season, and to expect them to travel great distances to weigh in on the burdensome regulations that this legislation would enact is both disappointing and disrespectful. As State Senators, we should be more accommodating to our constituents' schedules and not to our own, especially when something this significant would negatively impact them. These regulations – unrealistic for our small farms and difficult even for our large farms – make no sense to any farmers I have spoken with and would only drive up production costs and food prices in New York State and drive more of our farms out of business. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I urge Senator Metzger and Senator Ramos to reconsider the plan for these hearings and schedule more hearings in other parts of the state, especially upstate New York," Helming said.

Senator Pam Helming today joined local golfers and small business owners to oppose the Senate Democrats' new "Golf Tax." The so-called Golf Tax (S.4420) would allow municipalities to assess courses based upon the properties' highest and best use rather than their current use. For example, many courses in the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario area have beautiful vistas. Under the plan put forward by the Senate Democrats, these courses could be assessed at a higher rate, as premium home lots for development. Taxes would skyrocket, putting a greater burden on small businesses, which will then be forced to pass these costs on to customers or close their doors.

"Across the Finger Lakes and Central New York, we have many golf courses that are used by locals and tourists alike. They play an important role our tourism economy and help to preserve open space. According to We Are Golf, the sport has a direct, indirect, and induced economic output of $5.3 billion a year in New York. Courses across the state provide employment for 56,594 people. There's no question that everyone should pay their fair share of property taxes, but state government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. To arbitrarily change the way properties in one particular industry are assessed is poor public policy and sets a dangerous precedent. It makes me wonder, what's next? People of many different income levels enjoy golf at a variety of courses. If this legislation becomes reality, then these costs will be passed down to them. We should be encouraging businesses that create jobs, drive our local economy, promote fitness, and preserve green space, not finding ways to nickel and dime them and the people they serve," Helming said.

Congressman Tom Reed criticized House Democrats efforts Tuesday to vote on a bill which would be catastrophic for people living in rural areas seeking internet access and allow government control of the internet.

"Democrats are leading America down a slippery slope toward complete and total government takeover of the internet," Reed said. "Their bill decreases internet access for people in our community by forcing our rural providers, who can least afford it, to comply with overly burdensome regulations. The bill would also block future innovation, such as 5g, by requiring Washington bureaucrats to approve each new technology."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday up to $30 million is available to support projects to improve the resiliency, flexibility, and integration of renewable energy resources onto New York's electric grid. Project proposals will be evaluated based on how they improve overall grid performance, reduce energy costs and support the state's nation-leading clean energy goals to combat climate change. Modernizing the grid supports the Governor's proposed mandate for 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and goal to transition the state to a carbon-free power grid by 2040 as part of the Green New Deal.

"A critical component of the fight against climate change is making smart and efficient investments onto our electric grid," Cuomo said. "Modernizing New York's grid will create long-lasting benefits for all New Yorkers through a more reliable and affordable system, while increasing resilience for extreme weather events and adding more renewable energy sources into our system."

After reviewing the matter in special joint session, two Tompkins County committees today recommended that the County exercise its purchase option and acquire properties located in the 400 Block of North Tioga Street, for a purchase price of $1.8 million.

For the past few months, the adjoining parcels, located at 408 and 412-414 N. Tioga, 111, 113, 117 and 119 Sears Street, a block away from the County's Courthouse Complex, have been examined through a feasibility study analysis, assisted by HOLT Architects, as a potential site for a new County office building and associated parking. There is also the potential to subdivide to return residential development to the Sears Street side of the property.