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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 01 January Newsletter January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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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,
January 19! Cash, Card, Check, Venmo, and
Apple Pay are accepted. Proceeds will be
used to upgrade our EMS equipment.
Town Board Opening
Because of health problems, Paul
Hansen will resign from the Town Board
as of February 28, 2025. We thank him
for his excellent service to the town and
its residents. The town board will
appoint a new member to serve the
remainder of Paul’s term (March 1, 2025
to December 31, 2027). Application
forms are available on the town website
(danby.ny.gov) or from the town clerk at
the Town Hall.
Please submit completed applications
by February 16, 2025.
Reminder
Property taxes are due by
January 31, 2025. More
information from Mariah,
Town Clerk, on p.3.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Notes from the Town Supervisor Joel Gagno n
Behold, a new year is at hand! I hope
2025 will prove to be rewarding for all of
us, and that our spirits will be nourished
by the beauty that surrounds us and the
warmth of each other’s company.
ARPA Closeout
Continuing last month’s theme of
thanksgiving, I would like to express my
gratitude for the American Rescue Plan
Act. This piece of Federal legislation,
passed originally to help us recover from
the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic,
has had a far-reaching impact, greatly
exceeding its modest objective. Consider
what we have and will accomplish with
the $343,520 Danby was allotted:
• We used $4000 to study wired
internet access in Danby, the results of
which added to the County’s efforts and
commitment to extend broadband to all
county residents currently lacking
access. That county commitment was
also fueled by ARPA money and the
investment will unfold in the coming
years.
• Over $51,000 is or will be spent on
improving the internal workings of our
offices to make them more efficient and
improve their usefulness and ease of use
for our residents. This includes
computers, IT services, software, a new
phone system, and codification of our
laws.
• More than $65,000 for facility
upgrades. This includes a new office
building for the West Danby Water
District, push bars and an automatic door
opener for the main entrance to the town
hall to improve handicapped access, a
new security system for the highway
facility to replace one that is failing, as
well as drainage improvements at
highway to correct a condition that is
causing deterioration of the main
building.
• $150,600 for a new roller for the
highway department to improve safety
and reliability, replacing the more than
30-year-old roller.
• $73,100 to purchase the solar
array at the highway facility. We will be
exercising our option to purchase the
array 9 months early in order to use the
ARPA money to do so. Sunvestment,
which owns the array and has been
selling us the electricity generated by it
since its installation, is willing to let us
exercise our option early to enable this,
which we would otherwise have had to
raise taxes to fund.
Most, if not all, of these expenditures
would have been made without the
infusion of this grant money, but over a
much longer time. To make good use of
the ARPA funds has taken a lot of effort
on the part of the Town Board and town
staff. That is sort of a “local match” for
this infusion of cash. I’d like to highlight
the big investment of time by the Town
Clerk and her support staff. It has been a
heavy lift for both the current Clerk and
her predecessor in office. We owe them a
debt of gratitude for their dedicated
service.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Notes from the Town Clerk Mariah Dillon
Greetings Danby!
The Town Clerks office is in full Tax
Collection Mode!
You should have received your property tax
bill by now (it’s green) – unless you have a
mortgage escrow that pays your property taxes
for you. (If you’re not sure, give us a call.)
Property taxes are due Friday, January 31
with no penalty. Mailed payments must be
postmarked January 31, 2025, or you pay a
1% penalty. No exceptions!
You can stop by the clerk’s office at Town
Hall (1830 Danby Road) to pay your property
tax bill or drop off a check (along with the top
portion of your bill!) in our secure drop box next
to the front door at Town Hall. If you drop off
your entire bill we will mail you your receipt. At
$.69 per receipt this can get a little expensive.
If you must have a receipt, please stop in –
we’ll try not to keep you more than 5 or 10
minutes and get you on your way.
Our hours are Mondays in January 11AM –
6PM and Tuesdays – Friday 11AM – 4PM
You can pay online at bit.ly/danby-taxes –
however a 2.75% fee applies.
For more information, check out:
Danby.ny.gov/ova_sev/prop-tax/
Or give us a call at 607-277-4788
We’re here when you need us!
Danby Seniors Theresa Klinger
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Seniors ended the year with their annual
Christmas party at the Eagles Club (downtown
Ithaca), with great food, friendship and door
prizes.
PLEASE NOTE: The January 2nd luncheon is
cancelled.
The first luncheon of the new year will be
held on Thursday, February 6th at the Danby
Community Church beginning at noon. Bring a
dish-to-share, a utensil to serve and your own
table service. As a reminder, if the Ithaca City
School District has cancelled school due to
weather, we will not hold our luncheon.
Those over the age of 55 are welcome to join
the group. Yearly membership is $5 and can
be sent to: Cindy Ceracche, 338 Gunderman
Rd, Spencer, NY 14883. Those 80 and over
are considered lifetime members and no longer
need to pay dues, but may donate if they wish.
The entertainment and travel committees are
already working on monthly entertainment and
trips for the coming year. If you have
suggestions, please let Pat Phelps know at
patriciaphelps2.0@gmail.com
Reminder:
If you would like to receive the Danby Town News only on-line or if you know
someone who is not getting the Danby Town News (particularly new residents)
but would like to, please send an email with that information to:
townnews@danby,ny.gov.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Notes from the Planner's Desk Greg Hutnik
CDBG Award!
The Town has just been awarded $695,000
for homeowner housing rehabilitations through
the NYS Office of Homes and Community
Renewal! This is a similar grant that was
awarded in 2022 that helped fund critical
improvements to the homes of 12 low-
moderate income homeowners in Danby. If
you are a low-moderate income homeowner
who needs home repairs or energy-saving
upgrades, please contact me at 607-592-0417
/ planner@danby.ny.gov. Related, the second
public hearing on the 2022 CDBG project was
held at the Town Board meeting on December
16. Five homeowners who benefited from the
program provided positive feedback about the
work done on their home. It is great to know
the grant was helpful to those residents and we
are excited for the new round of funding!
Tompkins County Joint Safety Action Plan
As part of this County planning effort to
create safer streets, priority locations identified
in Danby for road safety improvements include
the intersection of Station Road/Maple Avenue
and Route 34/96 in West Danby, and the
segment of Route 96B between Miller Road
and Michigan Hollow Road. Learn more about
the Safety Action Plan here:
https://safestreetstompkins.com/
Drainage District #1 (Beardsley Lane)
Stormwater Facilities Restoration Project
The Town is still seeking a contractor to
perform maintenance and restoration on the
stormwater facilities (ponds, swales, drainage
areas). The main thrust of the project is
vegetation management, including removal of
trees in the drainage areas and cutting back
invasive shrubs and plants. Some earth work
and installation of rip-rap stone is needed and
possible reestablishment of drainage
pathways. Please visit the Town’s website for
more information.
Planning Board
The Planning Board on December 17 issued
a negative determination of environmental
significance for the Minor Subdivision proposed
at 100 Van de Bogart Road. The owner intends
to subdivide the 62.77 acre property into two
lots, one being 10 acres to include the existing
home and the remainder to be kept in
agricultural operation. A public hearing is
scheduled for January 21, 2025 to take action
on the proposal. The Planning Board also
reviewed a proposal to subdivide the 60 -acre
property at 60 W Jersey Hill Road into two lots,
one being 5 acres and the other being 55
acres. The Rural 1 Zone District requires that
new lots be a minimum of 10 acres. The
owner requested that the proposal be reviewed
as a Cluster Subdivision, which could allow a
smaller lot area than what the zoning requires.
The Planning Board requested that more
information be provided before making a
determination whether to review it as a Cluster
Subdivision or recommend it for an Area
Variance.
Tompkins Weekly article about Rhize Up
Community Farm project on Hornbrook Rd
An article was published in the Tompkins
Weekly on December 11 titled “Plans for Rhize
Up Community Farm Progressing in Danby.”
This is in regards to a proposed farming
community on Hornbrook Road, just west of
Nelson Road. The article misleadingly states:
“In recent months, Khuba International’s focus
has been on securing the necessary town
approvals to build the five structures, an
ongoing process with the Town of Danby
Planning Board.” No town approvals have
been secured to date. The only formal review
of the proposal was a Sketch Plan Review at
the February Planning Board meeting.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Tompkins County Legislature News Dan Klein
Here is a roundup of recent activity by the
Tompkins County Legislature.
2025 Budget Items
The 2025 Tompkins County budget was
completed in November. The final tax levy
increase is 2.7%. This is below the NYS tax
cap, below the rate of inflation, and below that
of most of the other municipalities in Tompkins
County. An attempt was made to lower the tax
levy to a 2% increase, but it failed by one vote.
I voted in favor of lowering the tax levy
increase.
Besides property tax, sales tax is the next
biggest source of revenue for the County. In
most years, we have seen the sales tax
collection in Tompkins County rise significantly.
This year, it looks to be flat. That was certainly
an added pressure in developing the 2025
budget.
Last month the County Legislature voted to
re-calculate the way it charges our 4-year
colleges for their solid waste and recycling fee.
The new calculation will result in approximately
$100,000 more a year from Cornell University,
and $20,000 more a year from Ithaca College.
The costs of recycling collection and trash
hauling continue to increase, and we are trying
to spread the costs fairly to all County
residents and businesses.
Preserving Land
The County has a fund called the Natural
Infrastructure Capital Program to help secure
key pieces of land for a specific set of
purposes. The land must be protected
permanently, it must come from a willing seller,
it must be an area that provides high scenic,
recreation, or trail value, and it must provide
habitat connectivity or protect water quality or
reduce flooding risk.
Last month the County Legislature voted to
use $200,000 from this fund towards the
purchase of 135 acres in the Town of Ithaca to
establish the Sage Preserve. The Sage
Preserve will become a Town of Ithaca park
and will be open to the public. The land is
located right on the Town of Danby town line,
and has frontage on East King Road,
Ridgecrest Road, Chase Lane, and Compton
Road. The total cost of acquiring the land is
about $600,000. The owners are selling the
land to the Town of Ithaca at 20% below
market value.
Danby Rural Cemetary Sharon Boda
The Cemetery (located at 14 Curtis Road) continues to flourish. Since January 2023, there have
been six burials and seven new plot purchases. Recent expansion of the Cemetery has made many
new and well-located plots available.
Two 2024 developments deserve special mention.
First, our Cemetery records have now been incorporated into the historical records maintained by
the New York State Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B). As of April, those searching
the NYG&B platform can access our database. In addition, NYG&B has highlighted our
Cemetery as a special collection on their website, and conducted a group interview with Board
Members for an online series called Collection Close -Ups. You can learn more and watch the
webinar by visiting the NYG&B search page for the Danby Rural Cemetery .
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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The second development was not so positive.
The strong windstorm that hit Danby in August took
down a spruce tree that had been standing for over
100 years. It landed squarely on the Cemetery’s
equipment shed, demolishing it. Cemetery Trustee
and caretaker Dick Hautala cleared the site,
uncovering an old gravestone for an unknown
woman named “Adaline”, who was the wife of HJ
Benjamin. Plans are underway for building a new
equipment shed in the Spring.
If you have ideas or information about Adeline, or
if you would like to learn more about cemetery
events, rates and opportunities for volunteering and
donation, please contact Sharon Boda by email at
sharonmboda@gmail.com.
Conservation Advisory Council Margaret Corbit
The Danby Conservation Advisory Council
(CAC) met on Tuesday, December 10 at 7 pm.
Here are the highlights of the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, we learned
that Anne Klingensmiith and the Town Clerk
team have been working hard to collect all the
files (some in older file formats) in the new
online resource for CAC. This is an important
project. Council members will now be able to
go in and organize the records for the
easements on which they are the leads and
identify what needs to be done next.
Don Schaufler continues to make progress
on the Timber Harvest Law. Most recently, the
DEC communicated that they hope to give
him additional feedback by the end of the year.
He is also going to reach out across the Town
administration for input on how the law might
impact their workloads.
The Town Planner shared that he is in
discussion with two sets of landowners
interested in entering into easements. We had
a long discussion about confidentiality. Please
know that if you are considering a
Conservation Easement on your property,
we can keep your interest confidential
during negotiations. Unless confidentiality is
important to you, though, updates on progress
in negotiations are a regular part of our
monthly meetings. In all cases, when an
easement is being finalized for sending on to
the Town Board, it becomes part of the public
record.
Our next meeting is on January 14 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.
Addition to West Danby
The Finger Lakes Land Trust gave permission
to install a little free library at their Lindsay
Parsons Biodiversity Preserve.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Youth Programs Heidi Doggett hd289@cornell.edu
This year Danby youth explored so many
different things: learning to build campfires,
making their own atlatls, constructing boats,
fishing, puppet making, cake decorating, resin
casting, metal stamping, hand sewing, hiking,
arrow fletching, and so much more. They
competed in Rural Youth Services' huge
Summer Olympics event, cheering each other
on through kayak races and Ultimate Frisbee.
They made brave attempts, forged courageous
failures, and found glorious success.
I have spent an enriching three years as
Danby's Youth Educator. I've been honored to
get to know your youth and watch them grow.
As of January 2025, I will be moving on from
this role. I will miss everyone, but you'll see me
pop up as a volunteer with more puppets and
of course, Dungeons & Dragons. My
supervisors at Cornell Cooperative Extension
have already begun the process of finding my
replacement. There will be a pause in
programming as they hire and train a new
educator, but soon activities will pick up again.
See you around.
Summer 2022
Singing at Cornell
Cooperative Extension
Fall 2024
Playing at South
Hill Elementary
Winter 2023
Playing at Danby
Town Hall
CROSSWALK Katharine Hunter
As announced last month, we have conditional approval
for our crosswalk between the Town Hall and Dotson
Park. We are meeting with an engineering firm to
develop the require 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
Dotson Park and Town Hall and TCAT commuters.
Crosswalk will make
crossing 96B at this
location safer.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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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
Happy New Year!
Breaking news!! We will be open on Wednesday evenings
from 6-8pm starting January 8.
A selection of Adult Fiction from TCPL will also be arriving
in the middle of the month.
A Winter Reading Challenge is available with prizes for
those who complete it.
.
DANBY FIRE DISTRICT ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Organizational Meeting for the Danby Fire District
of the Town of Danby, County of Tompkins, New York, will be held on Tuesday the 7th day of
January 2025, at 7:00 P.M. at the Danby Fire Station, 1780 Danby Road, Town of Danby,
County of Tompkins, New York.
The regular meeting will follow.
By order of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Danby Fire District.
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Monthly Meeting Schedule At-A-Glance
Group Day Date Time Call-in by Phone Meeting ID
Town Board* Mon 1/6 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 882 2697 6101 905098
WDWD Wed 1/1 5:00pm In person West Danby fire station
CAC* Tue 1/14 7:00pm 1-929-205-6099 835 4940 5296 879507
FD Tue 1/14 7:00pm In person Danby Fire Station
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m.us/j/97107
832596?pwd
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UT09YC
Thur 1/9 7:00pm Online- contact jsorrentino@danby.ny.gov
Town Board* Mon 1/20 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 847 9505 5187 308958
PB* Tue 1/21 7:00pm 1-646-876-9923 893 3897 1114 956288
BZA* Tue 1/28 7:00pm TBD 817 1432 4705 398041
FD Tue 1/28 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,
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
10
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
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
Highway Keith Shipman
Superintendent
Deputy Highway
Superintendent
Hours: Mon–Thu
6am–4:30pm
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 Greg Hutnik
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
January 2025 Town of Danby, New York
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Hours: Mon–Fri
by appointment
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