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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 01 January Newsletter January 2025 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, 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 2 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 3 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 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 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 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 9 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 Dhttps://zoo m.us/j/97107 832596?pwd =M1B2VnRJ a08vL3djUlpJ dFVWRFBM 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 11 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