Archive: News

Developers Steven and David Beer faced Village of Lansing Planning Board members and Village Trustees Monday in their uphill battle to get a 105 cottage community development accepted.  The Beers have requested a Planned Development Area (PDA), a way to supersede zoning for projects a municipality thinks would be beneficial when conditions outside the existing zoning are necessary to complete a project.  Planning Board Chair Lisa Schleelein was not convinced that the project as it stands, or the granting of a PDA would necessarily best serve the Village.

"Our normal zoning is pretty flexible as it stands," she said. "In the history of the Village we have approved three PDAs.  It's kind of a big deal.  It's a different approach.  We have to take into consideration with a total look all around our village, is this the kind of thing we want to have in our village.  Some of the things that you've mentioned certainly tie into the Comprehensive Plan, but the density issue seems to be something we're all struggling with."

Governor Andrew Cuomo joined local dignitaries for the groundbreaking of a $24.7 million project that will transform the Ithaca-Tompkins Airport, in the Village of Lansing, from a  regional to an international airport.  The project expands existing terminal space by about 50%, and adds a US Customs facility that will enable flights from foreign countries to fly directly to Ithaca.  Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson said it will be the most energy-efficient airport possible, reducing current energy costs by $50,000 per year despite the larger terminal area.  Cuomo said the completion of the project by the end of 2019 will transport the airport into a vital transportation hub that will encourage global investment and business in Tompkins County.

"What's exciting about today is it all starts with a vision. And it all starts with daring and with courage. And taking on a project like this, this is a $24 million project," Cuomo said. "This is a big deal. It takes vision, it takes guts, and it takes a lot of hard work. The vision is what Martha said, centrally isolated, you want to survive and thrive economically, people have to be able to get to you. That's step one. And the new economy is not going to drive here. The new economy is global, it's international, and they fly. You need an international airport so you can bring your resources to bear internationally and be internationally accessible. That's the vision. And that's true."

Legislators Adopt Amendments to 2019 Recommended Budget
The Tompkins County Legislature, by unanimous vote, formally adopted amendments to the County Administrator's 2019 Recommended Budget and the Capital Program for the next five years, as recommended by the Expanded Budget Committee.

Before the vote, Legislators made one additional amendment to the budget, advanced by Chair Martha Robertson, which moved into Contingency a one-time-funded $62,000 allocation to Cooperative Extension to support a space expansion project, using shipping containers, to increase storage and classroom space. The amendment, which had failed by a tie 7-7 vote at the last Expanded Budget Committee, this time was approved 8-6—with Robertson changing her vote from no to yes (Legislators Anna Kelles, Michael Lane, Anne Koreman, Glenn Morey, and Dan Klein voted no.) Robertson said that, as a measure of transparency and accountability, she would like to see a detailed plan and more financial details and have the Legislature give final authorization at that point.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday a series of actions by state law enforcement aimed at combatting the recent violence that the City of Syracuse has experienced over the past several weeks. Initially, New York will expand State Police patrols and operations, as well as increase intelligence sharing and coordination with local law enforcement and other state agencies. Following the implementation of this plan, the state will engage with the region's community leaders, clergy, law enforcement and elected officials to identify additional long term solutions to not only reduce violence, but address many of the systemic socio-economic problems that violence-plagued communities face.

"Protecting the public is the top responsibility of government and I am proud to work with our community partners to address both the immediate and underlying causes of violence in our neighborhoods," Governor Cuomo said. "Together, we will build a stronger and safer New York for all."

The Lansing Rod & Gun Club was issued a building permit Wednesday that will allow them to move forward with a plan to swap shooting range locations, remove a shooting pavilion, and replace two trap houses on its 113 acre Ludlowville site.  The changes to the layout are in response to a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent order to stop shooting lead shot into Salmon Creek and nearby wetlands and prevent lead from entering those areas.  Lansing Code/Fire Enforcement Officer & Building Inspector said Wednesday that a new plan meets zoning conditions for the RA (Rural/Agriculture) zone and that uses that do not comply are lawful pre-existing uses.

"I issued a permit today with the condition that they can put storm water control measures in place and remove the pavilion now, but there is to be no more land clearing and no construction until he gets the DEC approval back," Day said.  "The plans do not call for use of any portion of their 113 acre parcel that had not already been in use, including for shooting.  Their club will be using the same land areas after these plans were implemented as were being used for decades.  So based on the building permit application and plan review the Town of Lansing Land Use Ordinance, specifically Article 10, Non-conforming Uses - it is my opinion that this is an existing non-conforming use with no site plan, special permit or dBA review required."

The Village of Lansing Planning Board voted unanimously Monday to grant New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) a special permit to erect a lithium-ion Battery Electric Storage System (BESS) on Brentwood Road.  The 477 kilowatt Brentwood project is one of two storage battery projects NYSEG has proposed.  Company representative Mark Kirschbaum says battery installations, provided by Tesla, will help reduce peak loads, save NYSEG money by reducing the need for new capital projects, and save customers money by reducing the amount of power they need from the grid during peak usage hours.

"The installation on Brentwood Drive is what we call our Circuit Deployed system," Kirschbaum says. "It will be connected directly to our poles and wires on our distribution system.  We'll utilize it to simulate peak reduction.  Hypothetically during the high load periods a circuit can get overloaded because everybody comes in and turns on their air conditioning.  During those peak periods this would keep the load down on the system and it would defer some capital investments that would have been needed to meet that peak load."

Officials gathered October 4th at Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport to ceremonially cut the ribbon and celebrate the start of direct, non-stop air service between Ithaca and Washington/Dulles Airport via United Airlines.

The first United flight from Dulles arrived at 1:45 p.m. – the first flight of two roundtrips per day that will travel between Ithaca and United's D.C. hub.

Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee have begun to recommend changes to County Administrator Jason Molino's Recommended Budget delivered to them last month, marking the start of a new phase of the County's 2019 budget process.  At their initial voting meeting, Legislators recommended the following changes to the budget. Those recommendations may be reconsidered at later expanded committee meetings and will require approval by the full Legislature to become final.

The committee first approved a series of budget adjustments, advanced by County Administration, to reflect fiscal changes that have occurred since the Recommended Budget was delivered to the Legislature—all approved by unanimous vote:

The Lansing Town Board adopted a preliminary sexual harassment prevention policy early this month at a working meeting at the Lansingville Fire Station.  The move was to bring the Town in compliance with a state mandate for all employers to put a policy in place by October 9th.  While Governor Andrew Cuomo said on October 1 that finalized guidelines and training materials were released that day, Lansing Town Attorney said that municipalities in particular were struggling to meet the deadline because there was so little lead time to comply with the materials.

"There are a lot of municipalities scrambling," Krogh said. "The law that did this was actually in the 2019 state budget.  The guidance documentation was behind.  I assume the vast number of municipalities will not come into compliance by the 9th."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that New York stands prepared to assist the states currently forecasted to be impacted by Hurricane Michael in any way possible, in terms of both preparation and recovery. While it is still uncertain whether the impacts of Hurricane Michael will reach the northeast, Governor Cuomo is urging New Yorkers to prepare for heavy rains, as well as the potential for flash flooding, in the event that the storm tracks in the state's direction.

"New York is no stranger to the devastation that can come at the hands of Mother Nature and we stand ready to assist our neighbors to the south in any way we can as Hurricane Michael approaches," Governor Cuomo said. "We will continue to monitor the development of this storm, and even as its impact on the northeast remains unclear at this time, I urge New Yorkers to take the necessary precautions should the storm's remnants reach our region."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that $40 million will be made available to support solar projects that integrate energy storage, accelerating progress toward New York's energy storage target of 1,500-megawatts by 2025. These projects will build toward Cuomo's mandate that 50 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2030 to combat climate change and build a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system.

"As we continue our aggressive pursuit of clean, renewable technologies, funding for projects like this will ensure New York remains at the forefront of the global fight against climate change," Cuomo said. "The strategic pairing of energy storage and solar technologies moves us closer to building a clean energy economy that protects critical natural resources and benefits all New Yorkers."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced yesterday that $45 million in state grant funding has been awarded to 57 counties and New York City for emergency communications. Tompkins County is slated to receive $680,422 of the grant money.  This funding enables local governments to expand their emergency response capabilities to enhance public safety operations. The 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant program supports nine Regional Communications Consortiums that focus on improving critical emergency communications across the state, as well as coordination between counties, state and federal agencies.

"In an emergency, every second counts and it's critically important that first responders have the tools and resources they need to receive information fast to help New Yorkers in their time of need," Cuomo said. "This funding will help us create a stronger, safer New York for all."