HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025 04 April Newsletter April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
1
Danby Town News
Public Hearing
Monday, April 7, 2025 at 6pm
Proposed local law enacting the New York
State Real Property Tax Law Section 467 - j for
INHS (Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services)
Housing Trust Houses.
For more information, see next page.
New Town Board Member
The town board appointed James Tyler
Stein to serve on the town board replacing
Paul Hansen for the remainder of this year.
Welcome Tyler and thank you for your
willingness to serve.
Town of Danby Mowing Contract
The Town of Danby is seeking proposals
for lawn mowing for the 2024 season for the
following properties: The West Danby
Water District, Danby Town Hall, Jennings
Pond, and the following Cemeteries: the
Bald Hill Rd. Cemetery, the Peter Rd.
Cemetery, the Nelson Rd. Cemetery, and
the West Danby Methodist Cemetery. If
interested, please contact Joel Gagnon
(jgagnon@danby.ny.gov or 607 227-4440)
for more complete information. Proposals
must be received by April 17, 2025.
Conservation Advisory Committee
And
Community Science Institute (CSI)
Information
session for
residents about
streams and lakes.
Training session
for those interested
in trout stream
monitoring
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
2
Notes from the Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon
Partial Tax Exemption For Housing Trust
Fund Houses Proposed
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services
(INHS) is a non-profit organization that began
in Ithaca in 1972 and now operates in multiple
counties to support affordable housing. To help
with that, they created a housing trust. The way
that works is that when they sell houses they
have bought and fixed up, they retain
ownership of the land. Purchasers agree to
limit the appreciation in value to a fixed low
percentage. That helps keep the housing
affordable into the future. Unless we pass a
local law enacting Section 467-j of Real
Property Tax Law so the property is taxed
based on its restricted value, though, it is
nonetheless taxed at full market value. Over
time, the taxes themselves can make the
house unaffordable. INHS has asked us to
consider passing a local law to enact that
section of Real Property Tax Law. The Town
Board is willing to consider this and we will
hold a public hearing at 6 on April 7 so you can
weigh in on it.
What I described in the above paragraph is
how the housing trust operated at first. Its use
has expanded beyond that since. INHS does
home repairs using grant money in their entire
service area, which now includes much more
than the City of Ithaca. Their ability and
willingness to repair is limited, though, for any
one property. If a house needs a lot of repairs
they can access additional funds if the property
participates in the housing trust program. To
get the help, the property owners have to be
willing to limit the future appreciation of their
residence to the inflation-capped amount.
Participation requires that the land be owned
by the trust to enable the restriction and leased
(for 99 years) at almost no cost by the
homeowner.
Sometimes property owners or developers, in
the interest of promoting and maintaining
affordability, choose to include their property in
the housing trust by enrolling and donating the
land or selling it at a bargain price. INHS also
does developments where they retain
ownership of the land and houses built are
included in the housing trust.
All of the variations just described add
complication, but also flexibility, to a very
powerful mechanism to create and maintain
affordability. The town’s role, should we pass
the local law, is to enhance it by limiting the
taxes to the restricted value of the trust houses
– as several other Tompkins County
municipalities have already done.
Town Hall Garden I always appreciate help
planting and maintaining the town hall
gardens. Recently, I received a welcome offer
of a youth gardening club to help with that.
See request below.
Youth Garden Club
Calling all plant-loving kids! Would you like to make your town hall more beautiful? We’re starting
a youth gardening club and will be planting a pollinator-friendly flowers in the gardens at the town
hall. The club will meet once a week starting in May to get the gardens planted and keep meeting
throughout the summer to weed and water the plants. Come be part of the floral team to design,
plant, and care for the gardens at the town hall. For more information and to sign up for the Danby
Youth Gardening Club, contact Crystal Buck at cbuck@jakethedog.net.
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
3
Notes from the Town Clerk Mariah Dillon
Greetings Danby!
By the time you read this, property tax
season in Danby will have ended, and all
remaining unpaid property tax bills (about 4%
of the total property taxes) will have been sent
to the county for collection. While I do love
being the tax collector, I also understand that
it’s not easy for most of you to pay your taxes. I
want to thank all of you for being kind and
patient during this process.
Do you have a dog? Have you renewed
your dogs’ license in the past year? Check
your records (I’ll wait). Not sure? Call the
Clerk’s office – we’ll get you squared away.
New York State mandates that all dogs over 4
months old are to be licensed!
Licensing requires that dogs have an up-to-
date rabies vaccination. This will keep your dog
safe! Owners who fail to license or renew their
dog license can face fines and penalties.
Unlicensed dogs found at large may be
impounded.
The Town of Danby has a local law on the
books for licensing dogs, which for the most
part, mimics New York State’s Law. As you
may be aware, towns in New York State have
authority to exercise powers of governance.
(Check out NYS Home Rule Law.) Towns all
have unique and interesting problems, and the
State of New York wisely does not want to get
involved in the minutia of running a town. Town
residents and elected officials run towns!
That is why it is so important to get
involved with local governance.
Your issues and concern are much more
likely to be addressed if you bring them to a
town board meeting! (Check out the calendar
at www.danby.ny.gov for dates and times.)
The town has had several public hearings
recently on issues like the sewer system grant.
It was great to see residents show up! Several
residents came to a meeting recently to ask
about the zombie houses. The town is looking
into affordable housing – do you have an
opinion on cluster developments? The people
who show up at board meeting really can have
sway! We hear about concerns in the clerk’s
office – but I can’t bring everything we hear
about to the board! (One neighbor wants to
have the speed limit on 96B reduced to 30
MPH. Another neighbor wants it raised to 55
MPH.)
I do hope someone comes to talk to the
board about the turtle migration near Jennings
Pond on Bald Hill Rd. (Please watch for turtles
and turtle nests when you’re in that area in
May and June.)
What goings on in town do YOU care about?
Bring your voice to the town! We are Danby!
If you have any questions, call the Town
Clerk’s Office. 607-277-4788
We’re here if you need us.
Youth Scholarships – Danby Youth Commission
Thank you to all the families who have applied for the annual scholarship
program. The available scholarships have been awarded for 2025. We
wish the youths success in their various programs.
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
4
Notes from the Planner's Desk Greg Hutnik
Conceptual Neighborhood Plan for the
Dobson Property
About 30 people attended the open house at
the Danby Food and Drink on March 5 to
discuss the conceptual planning project led by
Cornell’s Design Connect program to design a
new neighborhood on the 54-acre “Dobson
property” (1675 Danby Road). The main ideas
that came out of the meeting were that Danby
needs (1) more, diverse types of housing that
cater to different age and income levels, (2) a
community event/flex space, (3) daycare, and
(4) more, diverse recreation opportunities.
The students are now putting together draft
designs of this neighborhood and will be
presenting them on Wednesday, April 9 from
6-8pm at the Dobson property. Access to
the property will be allowed from Danby Road
through the gate at the north end of the
property. Parking and event location will be
restricted to that area of the property. If the
weather is inclement, the event will be held at
the Danby Town Hall. We will post on the
Town’s website the day of the event if it will be
moved to the Town Hall, otherwise plan for
meeting on the property. Please come and
provide input!
Beautification Award
Danby was awarded a $2100 Beautification
Grant from Tompkins County Cooperative
Extension. This money will be used to repaint
the gazebo at the Town Hall, plant new shrubs
and plantings at the Town Hall, and rehabilitate
the community message board on Spencer
Road in West Danby. If you are interested in
helping with these projects, please contact me!
Planning Board
The Planning Board reviewed a sketch plan
for a single dwelling unit proposed for 91
Townline Road. (Single dwelling units in the
Rural 1 zone district require Site Plan Review
by the Planning Board.) There were few
comments on the actual site planning of the
home, and more so on its unique design – a
760 square foot “expandable container home.”
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled
for April 15 at 7:00 pm at the Danby Town Hall.
Regulatory Review Committee
The Regulatory Review Committee – a
committee made up of three Town Board
members, three Planning Board members, and
myself – continue to meet every second
Thursday of the month from 2-4pm to discuss
and prioritize suggested amendments to the
Zoning Law (and eventually the Subdivision
Regulations). These meetings are open to the
public and the link to attend is available on the
Town’s website. I anticipate that the first
“batch” of recommended amendments will go
the Town Board in the middle of this year, with
a second batch towards the year’s end.
Safe Streets For All Joint Safety Action Plan
For the last year and a half, Danby has been
working with Tompkins County and nine other
municipalities to develop an action plan for
road safety measures. There will be a virtual
public meeting on April 30 at 6:30pm to present
the recommended improvements to specific
locations in each municipality. In Danby this
includes the segment of Danby Road (Route
96B) from Miller Road to Michigan Hollow
Road, and the intersection of Spencer Road
(Route 34/96) and Station and Maple Roads.
The link to the virtual meeting is here:
https://tinyurl.com/TCSS4A. The project
website with more information is here:
https://safestreetstompkins.com/
Greg Hutnik, Fair Housing Officer, at 607-592-
0417 or planner@danby.ny.gov.
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
5
Conservation Advisory Council Presentation
Ever wonder if someone is looking out for
our streams and lakes? Or if there is a Harmful
Algal Bloom in your favorite kayaking spot? Do
you have questions about how to care for your
water well? Or where to get your well water
tested?
The Conservation Advisory Council (Danby
CAC) invites you to attend a presentation by
Grascen Shidemantle, PhD, Executive Director
of the Community Science Institute on
Tuesday April 8th at 7 pm at the Danby
Town Hall.
She will talk about CSI’s mission and
services; their certified water testing lab; their
open database with data collected over several
decades on local waters from various CSI
projects; and about a new collaboration with
Trout Unlimited to assess and possibly
remediate and stock several headwater
streams in Danby with native Brook trout. CSI
is looking for volunteers to help with this
project.
There will be time for questions. Please join
us.
Conservation Advisory Council Training Session
Danby will be hosting a training session for volunteer trout stream monitors on Saturday, April 12.
More information here: https://communityscience.org/monitoring-partnerships/owego-creek-
monitoring-project/
Conservation Advisory Council Report Margaret Corbit
The Danby Conservation Advisory Council
(CAC) met on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 pm.
Here are some highlights from the meeting.
The Council voted to send the Draft Timber
Harvest Law to the Board and Town Attorney
Guy Krogh for review before it can be voted
into law. This project began more than five
years ago and has been spearheaded by Don
Schauffler with ongoing support from Jonathan
Zisk and Joel Gagnon. We are grateful for the
input from the Highway Department.
Anne Klingensmith continues her
administrative efforts for Conservation
Easements and asked the members to review
their assigned easements and provide needed
details. Some of this information will go to Greg
Hutnik to be used in creating a map of
protected lands in the Town. We will post this
map on the CAC web page when it’s ready.
Continued on next page
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
6
Continued from previous page
We think you will be pleased to see how our
Town contributes to the Emerald
Necklace: https://www.fllt.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/FLLT_EmeraldBro_2
020_Version2-with-updated-Map.pdf
Margaret Corbit received input to her draft of
a letter template for Council members to use
when reaching out to people who have recently
purchased lands under easement In order to
make plans for the continued monitoring of
these properties. This is just one of the
resources that will be added to the new records
system.
We reviewed progress in two easements
nearly ready for review by the Town Board.
And we discussed the recommendations made
for the landscaping of the Norbut solar farm
installation. The discussion focused on
identifying the best trees and shrubs to install
for visual screening and the most
straightforward solutions for protecting the new
plantings. Hutnik will be passing our
recommendations to the company, along with a
suggestion that they consider installing bird
nesting boxes.
Danby Volunteer Fire Company – Thanks you
The members of Danby Volunteer Fire
Company wish to extend their deepest
gratitude for the awesome and humbling show
of support for our pancake breakfasts this
season. Thanks to the enthusiasm from our
amazing community members, we have raised
enough funds to purchase much needed
replacement for our medical rescue basket
(Stokes Basket). Stay tuned for public
demonstrations of the new rescue equipment
this summer!
More amazing than your generous support for
life-saving equipment is the community spirit
on display inside our little station and out in the
drive thru. The Danby Fire Pancake Breakfast
has brought together both old friends and new
faces for community building during the cold
days of winter. As we move into spring and
summer, we look forward to providing
exceptional service and safety to our
community throughout the year. As always,
please feel free to join us any Monday night at
7pm to see how we train/learn/grow. We
welcome anyone to visit or join regardless of
background or experience
Thank You too!!!
A big thank you to the Danby Volunteer Fire Company from your loyal
pancake (and French toast, scrambled eggs, home fries and sausage)
eaters. Those breakfasts tasted good - especially on cold Sunday
mornings. We are glad for an opportunity for good food and to support
our fire company. Looking forward to more breakfasts next winter.
And another big thank you to the West Danby Fire Department
for their delicious pancake breakfast last month.
April 2025 Town of Danby, New York
7
Danby Library News Cindy Parlett
Danby Community Library turns 35!
In 1989 the Bookmobile services to Danby
had come to an end; Frank Proto, the County
Representative, discussed organizing a
reading center with
Donna Decker.
Donna agreed and
the subsequent
Reading Center
became her son,
Matthew's Eagle
Scout Project. In
November 1989, the
Town Board
approved the
request for a
Reading Center and
decided that it would
be housed in the Town Hall and would be
maintained by community volunteers. $400
was allotted for financing the bookshelves
along with County Funding through the Finger
Lakes Library System (FLLS) for the initial
collection of books.
Matthew met with the Director of the FLLS for
contracts, guidelines and services concerning
the requirements and was tasked with building
shelves for approximately 1500 books. His next
step was to plan for the shelves by measuring
the dimensions in the room, drawing up a floor
plan, listing and ordering all his materials as
well as organizing assistance with cutting,
sanding and assembling the shelves.With the
help of his family and friends from his scout
troop the shelving
units were completed
and installed. The
shelves were stocked
and the grand opening
of the Reading Center
took place on April 7,
1990. Unfortunately,
Matthew was unable
to attend the opening
ceremony. A picture of
Frank Proto and
Donna Decker at the
Grand Opening was
found in our Town Historian's files.
We continue to be supported by the Town of
Danby and the FLLS. The library would not
have been successful without the help of
community volunteers throughout the last 35
years! We can now boast over 2500 items;
and many more shelves have been added to
the space, along with the original shelves
made by Matthew Decker. Come in to see all
that we have to offer.
Danby Seniors Pat Phelps
The next meeting of the Danby seniors will
be Thursday, April 3. It will be a dish to pass
luncheon at the Danby Community Church
beginning at noon. Please bring a generous
dish to pass, your own table service and a
utensil for serving your food.
Sign-ups for the 2025 Danby Seniors bus
trips will be available at that
meeting. Entertainment is still TBA.
The May meeting will be Thursday, May 1.
April 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 - virtua
Danby Summer Swimming
Jennings Pond will open for swimming
this summer! Our beautiful
Jennings Pond Recreational
Area offers fishing, canoeing,
kayaking, hiking trails and
scenic views. Jennings Pond
is at the headwaters of the
Buttermilk Falls watershed and is part of
Buttermilk State Park. The Town of Danby
funds the Jennings Pond Swim program every
summer so town residents can enjoy
free swimming! We have a
lifeguard this summer! But we
also are willing to hire more
lifeguards! The Jennings Pond
Swim Program will reimburse
prospective lifeguards for any
expenses incurred for lifeguard
training. For more information, call or text Mary
Ann Kozak at 607-342-7969.
Danby Youth Commission Update
Our Danby Youth Commission meets
monthly sharing guidance to implement and
evaluate the Danby Youth Program with
partners -Tompkins County Rural Youth
Services, and Cornell Cooperative
Extension 4H Leaders. Interviews for our next
program educator have begun. We have
viable candidates, and once accepted the
educator will begin onboarding and training.
We continue to welcome parents, caregivers,
family members, community members, and
educators to apply to join with us in this
valuable and rewarding endeavor.
Applications are available on our Town
website Danby.NY.gov in the application
section. or contact Katharine Hunter or Kate
Shanks-Booth kshanks@tompkins-co.org
Danby Pond Mary Ann Kozak
April 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 4/7 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 882 2697 6101 905098
WDWD Wed 4/2 5:00pm In person West Danby Fire station
CAC* Tue 4/8 7:00pm 1-929-205-6099 835 4940 5296 879507
FD Tue 4/8 6:30pm In person Danby Fire Station
DYC Thur 4/10 7:00pm Online- contact youth@danby.ny.gov
Town Board* Thurs 4/21 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 847 9505 5187 308958
PB* Tue 4/15 7:00pm 1-646-876-9923 893 3897 1114 956288
BZA* Tue 4/22 7:00pm TBD 817 1432 4705 398041
FD Tue 4/22 6:30pm 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) CoChairs: Anne Klingensmith, Jonathan Zisk cac@danby.ny.gov Meets: 2nd Tuesday at 7pm Danby Youth Commission (DYC) Contact: Kate Shanks-Booth kshanks@tompkins-co.org 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
April 2025 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
H Katharine Hunter
Tyler Stein
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
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