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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-12 Town NewsletterDecember 2024 Town of Danby, New York 1 Danby Town News Danby Volunteer Fire Company The cold weather is upon us and Danby Volunteer Fire Company will be selling warm Pancake breakfast! Drive-thru or stop in for a plate of Pancakes, French Toast, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, and Homefries, all for $12. Breakfasts will be the third Sunday of the month through March 2025, 8-11 AM at the Danby Fire Station, 1780 Danby Road. Please join us for our next breakfast Sunday, December 15! Cash, Card, Check, Venmo, and Apple Pay are accepted. Proceeds will be used to upgrade our EMS equipment. Public Hearing Monday, December 2, 2024 at 6pm Change “real property owned by husband and wife” to “real property owned by married couple” in the Senior and Disability Tax Exemption Law. Application Reminder Applications for expiring terms for the following are due before the town board meeting on December 2nd: West Danby Water District Advisory Board, Planning Board, Board of Zoning Appeals Conservation Advisory Council, Town Historian, Danby Youth Commission, Recreation Partnership December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 2 Notes from the Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon Thanksgiving Day gatherings will be over by the time you read this, but the value and even need to give thanks is worthy of greater consideration. Particularly in this season of short days and long dark nights, reflection comes naturally. Holiday gatherings enable strengthening community and family ties and help us realize their importance to our well- being. Let us use this time to seek and appreciate what we have in common. Let us look past our differences and focus on the good to be found in each and every one of us. Dare I suggest that our goal should be to be one in love? Budget Adopted The Board passed the budget on November 4. The adopted budget was unchanged from the preliminary budget presented at the public hearing and reported to you last month. The increase in the amount of money to be raised through taxes is 3.2% for the general and highway funds, which are the bulk of the taxes. That is just under the tax cap. Regulatory Review Committee Created This committee was approved and the membership appointed at the November 4 Town Board meeting. Three Planning Board members (Kelly Maher, Scott Davis, and Colleen Cowan) and three Town Board members (Leslie Connors, Katharine Hunter, and me – Joel Gagnon) were appointed, along with the Town Planner Greg Hutnik, who will serve as Chair. The first meeting will be in early December via videoconference. There will be a link on the website calendar if you would like to attend to observe what the group does. This meeting will be largely organizational. I will report on substance as it develops. Codification of Our Laws It might not sound like an exciting project, but putting all our laws into a code, a project now under way, will make access simpler and assure that when someone searches for a law, they will be directed to the most up to date version. This benefits both the public and staff and will make our website even more useful. Town Board member Leslie Connors is playing a big role in helping the hired hands of General Code get this all right. Leslie has kept records of Board actions for years and is a large part of our institutional memory. This project will go much more smoothly thanks to her. West Danby Fire Department The West Danby Fire Department is having a scrap metal drive running from November 11,2024 thru December 11, 2024. There is a dumpster located in the West Danby Fire Department parking lot, located at 47 Sylvan Ln, West Danby. You can drop off old appliances (no refrigerators with freon), metal patio furniture, old BBQ grills, all types of metal, old lawnmowers, old snowblowers, engines and transmissions, extension cords and cables, old motorcycles/parts, go carts/ parts and minibikes/parts, car parts and pieces, old pots and pans, bicycle frames. You can’t leave old propane tanks or refrigerators with freon in them, no car rims with tires. If you have any questions, please message us on Facebook December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 3 Notes from the Town Clerk Mariah Dillon Greeting Danby Residents The Clerk’s office is gearing up to start collecting property taxes in January – I’ll have the coffee on! (Nobody likes paying taxes – I’m trying to make it a little nicer!) Tax bills will be mailed out at the end of December. Full payments without late fees are due January 31st. Those of you with a mortgage/escrow will have the tax bill sent directly to your bank. Look for more updates online at Danby.ny.gov! There are hunters in the woods! They have rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and crossbows! Please wear bright colors near any forests (or avoid the woods altogether) and put bright colors on any pets that go outside. Deer hunting concludes for the southern region on January 1, 2025. There is such joy with every new face that comes to the clerk’s office for assistance. What a beautiful, friendly community we have here in Danby. With the election finally over, I hope that we can be united in our acceptance of those who have been elected to office. It’s not easy when elected officials are not “our” candidates, but we live in a democracy (thank goodness) and must let the process in which we participated play out. With the winter season quickly approaching I wish you all a joyful and peaceful holiday. Stay safe out there! Danby Seniors Theresa Klinger Hard to believe that 2024 is almost over. Our final trip of the year will be on December 4 to NYC to see the Radio City Rockettes. If you are interested in helping plan trips for next year, please join the travel committee by letting Pat Phelps know at patriciaphelps2.0@gmail.com. Our annual Christmas party and last luncheon of the year, will take place on Monday, December 16 at the Eagles Club banquet room (161 Cecil Malone Drive, behind Wegmans) beginning at 12 noon. The cost is $27 for members. We have a few surprises in store, so come join us! All the monthly lunches couldn't be possible without the help of those who come early to set up and those who stay to clean. Special thanks to the Danby Community Church for allowing us to meet in their Fellowship Hall. We are always in need of help so please consider coming early or staying a little later. The annual election of officers will be held at the January meeting. If you are interested in becoming an officer please let Pat Phelps know. We would love new ideas for the group! Best wishes from all of us for a wonderful Holiday season! December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 4 Notes from the Planner's Desk Greg Hutnik “Design Connect In very exciting news, Danby was just awarded a contract with Design Connect, an interdisciplinary, student-run design organization at Cornell University that provides practical experience for Cornell students by delivering impactful planning and design services for local communities (https://www.designconnectcornell.org/). Specifically, a team of about a dozen students from the planning, architecture, and landscape architecture programs at Cornell will work with the Town of Danby in the spring of 2025 to design a conceptual neighborhood plan on the 54-acre parcel at 1675 Danby Road, colloquially referred to by some as the “Dobson property.” The key word here is “conceptual” – there are no required commitments from the Town or landowner to move forward with anything that will be designed. That being said, the final deliverables of the project could be used to “shop around” to developers, design professionals, and funding agencies to explore making the plan a reality, should the landowner choose to do so. The purpose of this exercise is to explore what could be possible on this property, given the vision of the Central Hamlet and the zoning that encourages denser housing and mixed-use development in this area of town. As for public participation, there will be multiple ways residents can provide input on how this neighborhood should be designed. Many more details to follow on how the spring semester will be scheduled for this project. Stay tuned… Planning Board At the November 19 Planning Board meeting, four development proposals were reviewed, three of which received final approval. The owner of the property at 202 Jersey Hill Road received approval to subdivide the 87-acre property into two lots, one being a 10-acre lot with an existing home and the other being 77 acres to continue to be used for agriculture. The owner of 104 Peter Road, a property in the Rural 1 zone district, received Site Plan approval to have 464 square feet of accessory structure coverage. (This is a good time to remind those who live in the Rural 1 zone district that Site Plan Review by the Planning Board is required for non- agricultural accessory buildings totaling more than 400 square feet but less than or equal to 1200 square feet per lot.) The third approval by the Planning Board was to grant Site Plan approval to 1429 Danby Road, a property in the Commercial B zone district, to operate Danby’s first cannabis retail dispensary, Altitude Ithaca. As the business will re-use the existing building, there were few development impacts to review. The Planning Board felt that the available on-site parking, which will be restriped, is sufficient, but that the building needs to be equipped with Dark Sky compliant (downcast) lighting. The hours of operation are planned to be 12-8pm. The fourth review was for a proposed three-lot subdivision of the Ithaca Waldorf School property located at 20 Nelson Road. IWS proposes to carve out two roughly 12-acre lots while retaining the balance of the property (~58 acres) for the school. This process is called a Standard Subdivision and there will be a Preliminary Plat review and a Final Plat review (with a public hearing) before it can be approved. The main discussion item was on a “conservation area” that was conditioned for a 2006 subdivision of the IWS property that created a cluster of lots on Nelson Road. This conservation area is where one of the new parcels is proposed, and it is unclear how that condition from 2006 will impact this latest proposal. The Town will seek legal counsel on this before the next meeting. December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 5 Tompkins County Legislature News Dan Klein Potential Future Projects and Programs Because I’ve been in elected office for 15 years, I’ve been able to see a number of projects evolve from an initial idea consisting of nothing but words, and eventually ripening into completion. This often takes years. Here are the bare bones of 3 ideas that may become reality someday. You can say you heard it here first. Housing Grants The Town of Danby was successful in 2022 in obtaining a federal grant of half a million dollars to rehabilitate housing of lower-income residents. Danby is applying again. In both cases, Tompkins County gave Danby a small amount of money to hire someone to help write the grant. Hopefully the grant will be successful again, and in the next few years another dozen or more Danby houses will become more livable. Transportation The County recently adopted a Mobility Vision Plan for 2024 to 2027. Rural residents is one of the target groups this plan intends to improve transportation services for. This plan aims to reshuffle some of the transportation alternatives that already exist, while adding a few more elements. A few possible additions include a “One-Call, One-Click Transportation Information Center”, a “First Mile/Last Mile service to get you from your home to the bus route, and improved Medicaid client transportation services for medical appointments. At the top of my wish list is for public transportation to be restored to West Danby, which lost the Tioga County Transit bus in 2014. West Danby is a low-population- density, large-geographic area, which makes it particularly expensive to serve with public transportation. Code Enforcement Another idea that may someday bear fruit is the County Building Code Administration and Operations Study adopted by the County earlier this year. What this idea is NOT is that it does NOT propose eliminating the local code enforcement powers of the Town of Danby. Here are the 6 items it does contain, each of which will be explored further: (1) County assignment of new 911 addresses, (2) Countywide or shared services building permit and code enforcement software management system, (3) Create a pipeline of code enforcement and building safety inspectors, (4) Shared court presentment/prosecution services, (5) Establish specialized services and technical assistance programs, and (6) Municipal to municipal shared staffing. More information about these items can be found on the Tompkins County website, or by contacting me. And remember, you heard it here first. NEW CROSSWALK Katharine Hunter I am very happy to share this news from the Regional Safety Engineer, Valerie Kaiser, Dept of Transportation, NY. After many years of different approaches and requests for various studies, we finally hit on the right timing! We have conditional approval for our crosswalk (which means we have to submit, and have approved, plans for ped ramps and landings on the Town Hall side and modification on TCAT bus stop side). This will be accomplished! And,we will have our crosswalk for safer crossings for youth programs at the Park and Town Hall and TCAT commuters. December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 6 Conservation Avisory Council Margaret Corbit The Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) met on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 pm. Here are the highlights of the meeting. Much of the meeting was given over to discussion about the Town’s file management system and how CAC members can and will work within it when generating and monitoring conservation easements. This is a work in progress as the Town transitions its system and we learn to work with Mariah Dillon, Town Clerk, and Kristin McCarthy, our newly appointed secretary. We then moved on to catching up on the Council’s progress in monitoring existing easements. Several properties have been visited and the responsible Council members are preparing their reports. Each easement is a unique contract between the owners and the Town. Thus monitoring of an easement requires referencing the original agreement and prior reports. Again, we talked about how to keep this information organized. Anne Klingensmith is taking the lead on this. We talked about the breadth of kinds of properties that can be put under easement. Margaret Corbit shared her report on the Hanson easement, which is unique in its agricultural focus. Just that day, several CAC members had walked a prospective easement property on Comfort Road. This easement, when finalized, will include assurances that members of the *D\RJRKyQ۠ will be able to access the property to perform traditional activities such as maple sugaring. We are in the final stages of developing a new easement for a property adjacent to land protected by the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Assuring continuity of habitat is a strong reason for putting a property under easement. Finally, Jonathan Zisk shared his progress on providing Town officials with guidelines to use when thinking about calling upon the CAC for advice. In the past, CAC members have conducted background research and/or shared their knowledge about issues relating to development reviews Youth Activities Playing outside at Danby Town Hall Puppets playing Dungeons & Dragons December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 7 Youth Programs Heidi Doggett hd289@cornell.edu One more month of programs left for this year! As always, youth don’t have to be in public school to register for our programs. Homeschoolers are welcome. Register at bit.ly/41jUwDO or contact Heidi Doggett for paper forms at (925)240-3572 or hd289@cornell.edu. Outdoor Exploration (grades 4-5) Tuesdays 12/3, 12/10, 12/17 at Danby Town Hall/Dotson Park, 2:30-5:30 pm We’ll use every bit of daylight and good weather to run around outside and jump in leaf piles. Indoor weather means games or other projects in the Town Hall. Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, and Games (grades 6-8) Wednesdays 12/4, 12/11, 12/18, Boynton Middle School, 3:30-6:00 pm The adventure continues with several youth- run D&D campaigns (with adult support provided), Magic: the Gathering, outdoor Gaga Ball and Basketball, and a wide selection of unique board games. Boynton Gift Making and Crafts (grades 6-8) Thursdays 12/5, 12/12, 12/19 Create gifts or just craft! We’ll have jewelry making, resin, hot cocoa mix kits, puppets, and more Danby Youth Commission Jamie Sorrentino Danby Youth Need YOU! The Danby Youth Commission (DYC) is a warm group of Danby locals who support the well-being of our youth. We support afterschool and summer programs through the County's Rural Youth Service for grades 4 - 8, summer youth employment (YES), scholarships for youth activities, and we participate in various community events throughout the year. We REALLY need to recruit even more caring adults to serve on the DYC. We also need youth representation (at least age 16). I will be stepping down as Chairperson after two terms. It has been such a fulfilling and practical way to serve some of the most important members of our community - our youth - and I want to encourage YOU to join us. We are a kind group of Danbyites who are passionate about supporting young people and who work together well. It is a wonderful way to get involved at the Town level and see your efforts bear fruit. I know we are all tired and busy but this commitment is minimal and fun. It will FILL YOUR BUCKET! We meet once a month via Zoom for about 1.5 hours. Not much extra work between meetings. To serve as a member of the DYC, you need to apply and be appointed by the Town Board. Please see the Town of Danby website to complete an online application. If you have any questions about the role, please feel free to reach out to me (jsorrentino@danby.ny.gov) or, better yet, let me know if you want to sit in on our next Commission meeting (Dec 12th at 7 pm) to get a feel for it. Check us out! December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 8 Danby Community Groups Danby Community Library Contact: Cindy Parlett library@danby.ny.gov Open Tue 1-3pm, Thu & 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 And Park (DCAP) Website: dotsonpark.org dotsonpark@gmail.com Thu 12/7 at 7pm Danby Rural Cemetery Contact: Sharon Boda Sharonboda@gmail.com West Danby Community Association (WDCA) Contact: Pat Curran pc21@cornell.edu Danby Seniors Contact: Pat Phelps patriciaphelps2.0@ gmail,com Luncheons: 1st Thur at noon Danby Tosspot (Open Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting) Wed 7pm - virtual Danby library News Cindy Parlett Some end of the year purchases include 2 new series: Tess Thompson's Emerson Pass series 1-The School Mistress 2-The Spinster 3-The Scholar 4-The Problem Child 5-The Seven Days of Christmas 6-The Musician 7-The Wordsmith 8-The Rebel Catherine Hokin 1-The Commandant's Daughter 2-The Pilot's Girl 3-The Girl in the Photo 4-Her Last Promise Louise Penney's latest book, The Grey Wolf Kristin Hannah-Magic Hour DVD's-CATS (the Broadway musical), Ballykissangel, series 1&2, Set of Charles Dickens novels on DVD. December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 9 Monthly Meeting Schedule At-A-Glance Group Day Date Time Call-in by Phone Meeting ID Town Board* Mon 12/2 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 882 2697 6101 905098 WDWD Wed 12/4 5:00pm In person West Danby fire station CAC* Tue 12/10 7:00pm 1-929-205-6099 835 4940 5296 879507 FD Tue 12/10 7:00pm In person Danby Fire Station DYC Thur 12/12 7:00pm Online- contact jsorrentino@danby.ny.gov Town Board* Mon 12/16 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 847 9505 5187 308958 PB* Tue 12/17 7:00pm 1-646-876-9923 893 3897 1114 956288 BZA* Tue 12/24 7:00pm TBD 817 1432 4705 398041 FD Tue 12/24 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: Kelly Maher planningboard@danby.ny.gov Meets: 3rd Tuesday at 7pm Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Chair: Earl Hicks bza@danby.ny.gov Meets: 4th Tuesday, 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 Meets: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 7pm 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 December 2024 Town of Danby, New York 10 Town Officials Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon supervisor@danby.ny.gov Town Board Meets 1st Mon and 3rd Mon Leslie Connors Paul Hansen H Katharine Hunter Pat Woodworth townboard@danby.ny.gov Town Clerk Deputy Town Clerk Hours: Mon–Fri 11am–4pm Mariah Dillon Cindy Katz clerkoffice@danby.ny.gov x8001 Highway Superintendent Deputy Highway Superintendent Hours: Mon–Thu 6am–4:30pm Keith Shipman highway@danby.ny.gov Jack Shawley 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 planner@danby.ny.gov Code Enforcement Hours: Mon-Fri by appointment Steve Cortright code@danby.ny.gov Documents/ Historian Mary Ann Barr mbarr@danby.ny.gov Bookkeeper Laura Shawley lshawley@danby.ny.gov Danby, New York From: 1830 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850 PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No.428 Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: 607-277-4788 https://danby.ny.gov Welcome to the Danby Town News! Questions? Email us at townnews@danby.ny.gov