The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2023-09 NewsletterSeptember 2023 Town of Danby, New York Danby Town News Summer Market September 15 4:00-7:00pm Sue Beeners Pavilion outside theDanby fire station on 96B Local crafts and art items for sale Live music and food Drawings of Danby’s old barns that is. As Town Historian and as an artist I am working on a project of capturing images of Danby’s old barns in pencil. They are an important slice of the Town’s history and capturing them in pencil “portraits” is a way to show one aspect of Danby’s agricultural heritage. . 1 Town Board Vacancy Filled We interviewed two interested and qualified candidates. Paul Hansen has been appointed to the remaining 4 months of the vacant town board position. Paul had previously served as the Danby code enforcement officer for 4 years. He comes to the town board with a lot of experience in town operations and effective interactions with town residents. Welcome Paul and thank you for your willingness to serve the town. Welcome Paul!! Bonanza Of Barns . . . . Town Historian - Mary Ann Barr Drawings of Danby’s old barns that is. As Town Historian and as an artist, I am working on a project of capturing images of Danby’s old barns in pencil. They are an important slice of the Town’s history, and capturing them in pencil “portraits” is a way to show one aspect of Danby’s agricultural heritage. The drawings will be on display in the meeting room of Town Hall through September. September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Notes from the Town Board Study of Wastewater Options Nears Completion A preliminary engineering report (PER) has been conveyed to the Town Board by Hunt Engineers and an overview of it was given by Tim Steed at the August 16 Board meeting. Hunt was instrumental in helping the town get the grant from the Environmental Facilities Corporation (a state agency) to study the options for enabling hamlet development and redevelopment at traditional densities and on small lots. Figuring out how to do that is critical to implementing the Comprehensive Plan goal of focusing development in the town’s hamlets. The report is broad in scope, looking at options ranging from conventional sewering of both Central Danby and West Danby hamlets (either broadly of just including the core areas of each) to less conventional engineered systems that could service one or a few lots. We now need to talk about what we are willing as a town to select as a preferred course of action. The engineers have recommended sewering the hamlet core areas of both hamlets – a multi-million dollar undertaking that would indeed open up a lot of possibilities for the town centers in the future. Grant funding could be sought to make the cost more attainable. There is more infrastructure funding available now than there has been in a very long time, but even in this environment the funds tend to go to areas where the need is greatest. There is much to consider here, and an important public conversation to be conducted about it. Expect to hear much more about this in the coming months. Event on South Danby Road Early in August, the town board learned of an advertised multi-day public, commercial event (the BBQ VII with multiple bands, food vendors and on-site camping) scheduled for the end of August on South Danby Rd. The event was advertised online with details including ticket prices. Initial attempts to explain to the operator why this event was not allowed under the town zoning laws were unsuccessful. Then the town board authorized our lawyer to draft a letter to the event operator explicitly citing the violations. The letter was sent and it was received by the operator. To mitigate unsafe road conditions in case the event were held, the town board and the highway department agreed that No Parking signs be posted on adjacent roads. The event was held. With legal assistance, the town will now look into how to handle this violation and how to prevent such violations in the future. Note: Other towns require a special events permit that allows events to be held when the safety, security and concerns of the town (including the neighbors) are addressed. Progress on housing rehabs The first two houses to be rehabilitated with Community Development Block Grant money were approved by the Town Board in August. Three more are set to be reviewed and approved at the first meeting in September. This grant benefits the residents who qualify for rehabilitation funds and the town as a whole. The town board wants to thank David West for his efforts to find and to apply for this grant successfully and his efforts to begin its implementation. 2 September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Planner Reception We had a nice gathering to thank departing Town Planner, David West, and welcome our new planner, Greg Hutnik, before the August 16 Town Board meeting. We presented David with a framed certificate of appreciation for his outstanding service to the town, which prompted words from David expressing gratitude for his time in Danby and saying that Danby would always have a special place in his heart. He will be missed, for sure! Greg has big shoes to fill. While he will be occupying the same position, he brings some of the same and some different strengths to it. I expect great things from him. We have been blessed with a succession of first-rate planners. Notes from the NEW Planner's Desk Greg Hutnik Greetings! My name is Greg Hutnik and I am excited to be the new Danby Town Planner. I look forward to working with residents and business owners of Danby to achieve the vision and goals it has set for itself in its Comprehensive Plan. A bit about me… I grew up in the Town of Ithaca, having gone to school at Caroline Elementary, DeWitt Middle School, and graduated from Ithaca High School shortly after the new millennium. I hold a bachelor of arts degree in environmental planning and management and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. After spending nearly a decade living away from the area, I moved back to Ithaca four years ago. My wife and I, along with our nearly one year-old daughter currently live in Enfield. If you have any questions about planning or zoning related issues in Danby, please contact me at planner@danby.ny.gov or 607-592-0417. My office hours are by appointment Monday through Friday at the Town Hall. 3 Toast to David West David and his certificate of appreciation September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Tompkins County Legislature News Dan Klein I have written before about how one of my least favorite things that the County Legislature does is to bring up resolutions that tell other governments what they should do. They often take up a lot of our time without accomplishing anything, and I think they are probably mostly ignored. Last month, we took up one of these resolutions again, this one calling for the landfill in Seneca County to be closed next year. The idea behind the resolution was that if we start closing landfills, this will cause us to finally come to grips with the problem of too much garbage. Some of you reading this are thinking, “That sounds great.” Others are thinking… other thoughts. I am one of those thinking other thoughts. Closing one landfill will only cause us to ship garbage farther away and at a greater cost. To me, that creates more problems, and solves none. The resolution passed 8 to 6. I voted against it. I don’t think this resolution will result in even one ounce less of garbage being produced. Besides my usual arguments against these kinds of symbolic resolutions, I would add that on such a split vote as this, we are sending the wrong message. The message being sent is that we are divided about this subject. What we could have done instead was to craft a resolution that urges NY State to implement programs to reduce waste while also making landfills use the best technology available, in order to do the least harm. I believe that resolution would have passed unanimously. That would have been a strong resolution because Tompkins County is a leader in implementing programs to reduce waste. We would be asking the state to do what we are already doing here in Tompkins County. At the very same meeting where some voted to symbolically close a landfill, we also heard a report about the new Tompkins County 10-year plan for reducing waste. It sets out a goal to reduce waste generated from the current 2.7 pounds per person per day average in Tompkins County, down to 1.3 pounds per day in 10 years. I believe that this is possible, and you should look at the plan if you want to learn more. It’s called “Rethinking Solid Waste in Tompkins County: Fostering a Local Circular Economy”, and is available on the County’s website. Even under this optimistic scenario, this small county alone will still be producing over 50 million pounds of garbage a year. This is why I could not vote in favor of closing a landfill. In another waste-related piece of news, the County is recalculating what we charge the colleges for their annual solid waste fee. It will be based on student enrollment, and will result in more revenue for our recycling program, at no cost to taxpayers. 4 Did You Know? For those who like to hunt and those who like to walk in the woods free of hunters, details about all the different hunting seasons (including maps) are available at any time on the DEC website (dec.ny.gov). Note: For those who hunt, hunting permits can be purchased at the Danby Town Hall. September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) Margaret Corbit The Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) met at Town Hall on the Tuesdays of July 7 and August 8 over the summer. Here are the highlights: CAC member, Renee Owens has crafted her first natural history article on bears. Look for it on our web site at https://danby.ny.gov/docs/black-bears-in-danby/. Ann Klingensmith and Ronda Roaring joined for the Privilege of the Floor. Ronda made the interesting suggestion that the Town consider naming the highest peaks in the town and also the minor creeks that abound. What do you think? Ann talked about her efforts to control a noxious weed, Trapa nutans, in Jennings Pond. She has alerted the park. So far, so good. Betsy Keokosky asked for members to recruit financial sponsors for the New York State Association of Conservation Commissions in Ithaca this September. Look for details to be posted at https://nysacc.org/. CAC has committed to developing guidelines for tax abatement as our next priority. Our next meeting is on September 12 at 7 pm in the Town Hall. Community members are welcome to attend in hybrid fashion or in person and a link for Zoom will be posted on the Calendar. West Danby Water District Ben Coakley The County highway, grant-funded project to replace two culverts on Station Road on either side of its intersection with Brown Road should have been completed by the time you are reading this. For those who didn’t know, the county relocated sections of water mains from on top the culverts to under the creek. This will in turn make it easier to replace the culverts. We recognize there were several communication problems with water service shutoff timing that caused quite a bit of inconvenience. Hopefully any issues are now resolved and the potential for flooding in the West Danby Creek will be greatly lessened in the future as a result of the work. Thank you for being patient with the process. 5 Sad News from the Danby highway department Brian Barry was a valued crew member of the Danby highway department for eight years. He had been out on disability for the past few months and lost his battle with cancer Friday, August 18th. He will be missed. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends. September 2023 Town of Danby, New York 6 Danby Seniors Margie VanDeMark The next meeting of the Danby Seniors will be on September 7th, 12 noon, at the Danby Community Church for a dish-to- share luncheon. All Danby seniors are welcomed! Then in October it's the 5th, and in November its the 2nd. On December 7 we will be at LaTourelle for our Holiday Luncheon complete with John Simon Music. A full bus of happy seniors enjoyed the August 9th trip to Alex Bay, complete with lunch, boat tour, and ice cream on the way back. A Mystery Trip is planned for September 26th that includes lunch, tour guide, and goes from 8:30 am- 7 pm, leaving from the church. Contact Pat Sawyer 607-227-2378 or Pat Phelps 607-539-6477 for more info. They say “it'll be fun and you'll be well-fed.” White Hawk Ecovillage - Equinox Celebration White Hawk Ecovillage is happy to once again be hosting our annual Equinox celebration on September 23rd, from 5pm-9pm. All are invited to come by, see how much we have grown, and enjoy a nice fall evening filled with food, friends, neighbors, and music! Music by local artist Travis Knapp and possibly others TBA! BYOB and bring a dish to share if you can. Please indicate with a label on any food you bring to share if it is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or if it contains nuts. Please also bring your own plates, cups, and utensils. Danby Youth Commission Jamie Sorrentino Next Danby Youth Grant application deadline is September 15th As parents begin to consider Fall activities for their children, consider getting some extra financial support for those activities. The Danby Youth Commission offers $100 grants for youth to participate in recreational activities of their choosing. There are still grants remaining for the rest of the year. The deadline for the next round of grants is September 15th, 2023. A link to the application and eligibility criteria can be found on the Town of Danby website. It only takes a few minutes to complete the online application. Cooking onigiri filling - Cook Stuff! program Hi there sweetie !! Twilight Alpacas Farm, Spencer September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Youth Programs Heidi Doggett (hd289@cornell.edu) Now that summer programs have wrapped up, we’ll be switching back to after school programs this September. Danby youth programs are open to youth grades 4-8. You can register for programs at bit.ly/41jUwDO. Feel free to email program educator with questions at hd289@cornell.edu or call at (925)240-3572. Haunted Snacks and Costume Workshop (grades 6-8) Boynton Middle School 3:30-5:30 Mondays 9/18, *NO PROGRAM 9/25*, 10/2, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30 (grades 4-5) South Hill Elementary School 2:00-5:30 (location tentative) Thursdays 9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26 For both grade level s, there is an option for an extended program 10/9 from 9:00am-2:00pm, location TBA Do you have amazing plans for your Halloween costume this year? Are you looking for inspiration? Would you like some help, or just a group to hang out with and have fun while you work? This is the right program for you! We can’t count on making every single piece of the costume at the program, but we’ll be providing some materials and workshopping elements such as cloaks, light-up resin gems, and more as youth interest dictates. We’ll also be making some Halloween-themed snacks. Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, and board games (grades 6-8) Boynton Middle School 3:30-5:30 Wednesdays 9/20, 9/27, 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, *NO PROGRAM 11/22*, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20 Do you dream of epic quests? Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, you can join this program to hone your D&D/Magic: the Gathering skills, as well as having time to play Gaga ball outside and try out other games (maybe try out a new table top role playing game?) This program runs all the way through December, but it will be broken up into multiple short D&D campaigns where we rotate to give all youth the change to get maximum quality playing time in a small group. Once a campaign begins, new players will need to form their own campaign or wait until the next one begins. We will provide kits to help youth run their own mini one-shots (short campaigns) and experiment with games to level up core playing skills like creativity, teamwork, improvisation, and others as dictated by program participants. Snack Scavengers (grades 4-5) Danby Town Hall/Dotson Park 2:30-5:30 Tuesdays 9/19, 9/26, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17, 10/24 Snack time, but you have to find it first! Search for ingredients to make simple snacks using written clues, a treasure map, and who knows what else. We’ll try something different every week, and if youth would like to, they can take turns making the snack hunts themselves. 7 September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Danby Community Groups Danby Community Library Contact: Cindy Parlett library@danby.ny.gov Open Tue 1-3pm, Thur & Sat 10am-12pm Danby Food Pantry Danby Community Church Contact: Joan Barber Open: 3rd Thur 4-6 pm Danby Food Scraps Pickup every Sat 9am – noon behind Town Hall Danby Community Parks Association (DCPA) Website: dotsonpark.org dotsonpark@gmail.com Danby Rural Cemetery Contact: Sharon Boda Sharonboda@gmail.com Danby Seniors Contact: Pat Phelps patriciaphelps2.0@ gmail,com Luncheons: 1st Thur at noon Danby Community Council President: Pamela Goddard Website: danbycc.org Meeting: 1st Thur 7pm Danby Tosspots (Open Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting) Wed 7pm virtual West Danby Community Association (WDCA) Contact: Pat Curran pc21@cornell.edu Danby Library News Cindy Parlett Fall is here and what better way to spend a crisp fall day than sitting curled up with a book? Adult Books- Forgotten Stories of the Finger Lakes- A.Glenn Rogers Jack-M. Robinson Vertigo-W.G.Sebald Candy House-J. Egan The Lying Life of Adults-E. Ferrante Crying in H Mart-M. Zauner Ocean State-S. O'Nan Heat & Light-J. Haigh Children's Books- Claudia and the New Girl-A. Martin Crack! (Slide-and-See)-B. Gimnez de Ory The Gruffalo-J. Donaldson The Dinosaur-A. Milbourne 20 Picture Books have also arrived from TCPL Anyone a fan of Colleen Hoover? We have the "It Ends With Us" series along with a few other of her stand alone novels. 9 September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Monthly Meeting Schedule At-A-Glance Group Day Date Time Call-in by Phone Meeting ID Town Board* Tues 9/5 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 980 8515 9868 754633 WDWD Wed 9/6 5:00pm In person - West Danby fire station CAC* Tue 9/12 7:00pm 1-929-205-6099 972 1566 0090 423584 FD Tue 9/12 7:00pm I n person at the Danby Fire Station DYC Thurs 9/14 7:00pm Online - contact jsorrentino@danby.ny.gov PB*Tue 9/19 7:00pm 1-646-876-9923 958 0817 5336 245871 Town Board* Wed 9/20 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 971 0723 2988 535713 BZA* Thurs 9/28 7:00pm TBD FD Tue 9/26 7:00pm In person at the Danby Fire Station See the Danby calendar for the final, most up-to-date details. (Acronyms in the above schedule are identified below.) *These meetings are hybrid (i.e. both online and in-person at the Town Hall) Boards & Committees Planning Board (PB) Chair: Jody Scriber planningboard@danby.ny.gov Meets: 3rd Tuesday at 7pm Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Chair: Earl Hicks bza@danby.ny.gov Meets: 4th Thursday, as needed Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Chair: Margaret Corbit cac@danby.ny.gov Meets: 2nd Tuesday at 7pm Danby Youth Commission (DYC) Chair: Jamie Sorrentino jsorrentino@danby.ny.gov Meets: 2nd Thursday at 7pm Fire District (FD) Secretary: Sharon Gaden, secretary@danbyfiredistrict.org danby.ny.gov/depts/danby-fire-district Danby Volunteer Fire Company (DVFC) Chief: John Gaden, jgaden@danbyfiredistrict.org danbyfiredept.org West Danby Fire Department (WDFD) Chief: Robert McCray rmccray@danbyfiredistrict.org westdanbyfire.com West Danby Water DIstrict (WDWD) Contact: Scott Wendt, swendt@danby.ny.gov Meets: 1st Wednesday at 5pm 9 September 2023 Town of Danby, New York Town Officials Main Phone: +1-607-277-4788 Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon, x1010 supervisor@danby.ny.gov Town Board Meets 1st Tue and 3rd Wed Leslie Connors Paul Hansen H Katharine Hunter Pat Woodworth townboard@danby.ny.gov Town Clerk Deputy Town Clerk Hours: Mon–Fri 11am–6pm Janice Adelman Cindy Katz clerkoffice@danby.ny.gov x8001 Highway Superintendent Deputy Highway Superintendent Hours: Mon–Thu 6am–4:30pm Keith Shipman, x8009 highway@danby.ny.gov Jack Shawley, x1012 jshawley@danby.ny.gov Town Justices Court Clerk Hours: Mon-Wed 8am-11am Garry Huddle Theresa Klinger Diane Gair dgair@nycourts.gov Town Planner Hours: Mon–Fri by appointment Greg Hutnik, x1007 planner@danby.ny.gov Code Enforcement Hours: Mon-Fri by appointment Steve Cortright, x1006 code@danby.ny.gov Documents / Historian Mary Ann Barr, x1008 mbarr@danby.ny.gov Bookkeeper Laura Shawley, x1011 lshawley@danby.ny.gov 10 Danby, New York From: 1830 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850 PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No.428 Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: +1-607-277-4788 https://danby.ny.gov Welcome to the Danby Town News! Questions? Email us at townnews@danby.ny.gov