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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-07 July Danby Town NewsletterJuly 2026 Town of Danby, New York 1 Danby Town News Documenting History-- In Our Own Town Hall! A note and a nod to the country’s historic year. The star of this 250-year celebration is the Declaration of Independence. For anyone who has not had a chance to see the original, you can see a replica right here in Danby! Check it out in the Town Historian’s display area in the large meeting room of Town Hall just next to the library. The replica is not faded like the original and can be read - - if you can decipher the tight, fancy calligraphy of the 18th century! If you’re curious enough to compare this replica with the original, the preserved document in the National Archives Museum in Washington DC in “The Charters of Freedom” section (https://visit.archives.gov). While you’re there, check out the poster on a possible Danby Time Capsule. In the meantime, look on page 3 for more info! Public Hearing- Special Events Law on July 7th at 6pm A public hearing for the Special Events Law will be held at the start of the July 7th Town Board meeting. A copy of the draft law is available on the Town’s website or by contacting the Town Clerk. Written comments to be read in full can be submitted to the Town Clerk with the subject line (or other clear indication) “For Special Events Law Public Hearing”. Jennings Pond News Jennings Pond will open for free swimming on Wednesday, July 1 at noon. Swimming will be open from Wednesday to Sunday noon to 6pm. Jennings Pond is right off Bald Hill Road and is available for picnicking, fishing, kayaking, and bird-watching, all in a beautiful setting. No fee is charged. Community Forum- July 16th at 6:30pm More info on page 3! July2026 Town of Danby, New York 2 Notes from the Town Supervisor Joel Gagno n Accessibility Improvements Coming for the Town Hall Although they were engineered properly, the access ramp and entry for the town hall were not executed in compliance with the specifications and have never been fully compliant with ADA standards. The Town Board is poised to rectify the situation by completely redoing the entrance. Plans have been approved and construction documents are finalized. A bidding package is in preparation. I expect that the Board will authorize solicitation of bids in July. So, what is planned? A crosswalk to get from the town hall side to the park side and bus stop will include DOT-mandated approach ramps. The north entry to the town hall will feature a walk and steps from the parking lot and a ramp that will wrap around the historic old building on its north side and terminate in a van-accessible handicapped parking space to adjoin it. This is easier to visualize if you look at the plans. These are posted on the website so you can take a look . Site Plan Approved for the Skatepark The Planning Board gave the project a green light at the June 17 meeting. Now what? Implementation will proceed as funds and volunteers enable. Interested in getting involved, volunteering, or donating? Contact danbyskatepark@gmail.com for more information! Community Forums It is difficult to engage in a discussion with the Town Board in the context of a regular meeting. While privilege of the floor is a space on the agenda at the beginning of most meetings to enable limited voicing of comments or questions, this mechanism is necessarily limited. That is frustrating for both Board and public. Mark Pruce, Town Board member, proposed occasional community meetings as a less formal way to engage in conversation about issues and concerns to allow for more extensive discussion. The Board has embraced this initiative. The first such meeting, to be held at the town hall, will be on July 16, from 6:30-8 P.M. Mark will moderate. There are simple guidelines for participation to help ensure that everyone gets a fair opportunity to contribute and to keep the focus on positive steps. For this first forum, attendance will only be in-person. That is to make it easier to have frank and open discussion – no need to worry about being on-camera. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Special Event Law The Town Board completed environmental quality review at the June 16 meeting. The public hearing will be at 6 on the 7th of July. The full draft is on the website. The final opportunity for modification before passage is at hand. We can always revise it later if it doesn’t work the way we hope and expect that it will, but I think passage is likely on the 7th. Hill Road Pavement Each year plans for road improvements need to be proposed by the Highway Superintendent and agreed to by the Town Board before they can be executed. This formal agreement is typically done in one step, but that is not how we have been doing it in Danby in recent years. Our Highway Superintendent, Keith Shipman, has been working on preparing roads for pavement, an ongoing process that is dependent on material availability and weather. The cost and scheduling of pavement July 2026 Town of Danby, New York 3 also influence what can be accomplished. Rather than commit to a plan that may not be possible to fully implement, Keith has been proposing pavement projects in batches as he is able to project execution. The Board agreed on June 16 to the pavement of Hill Road between Curtis and South Danby Roads for a cost of $175,000. More pavement will follow – read about it here in future issues! Juneteenth Now a Town of Danby Holiday By Town Board resolution on June 16, Juneteenth was made henceforth a holiday for town employees not covered by the union contract. I expect that adding it for highway employees might well be a topic for contract negotiations soon, since the union contract expires at the end of 2026. The town hall will be closed for this holiday in future years, as it was this year for the first time. The Town Supervisor’s Financial Team is Now Complete It took us a long time and a lot of work to assemble the staff to succeed bookkeeper Laura Shawley, but the last hire was confirmed at the June 16 Town Board meeting. Laura Rivet has been hired to handle most of the Assistant to the Supervisor tasks as well as to provide backup to the other two employees – Ted Jones and Julia Hughes are splitting the money management functions of my office. While Laura Shawley will be impossible to replace (and she will still be available to coach since she is staying on as Secretary to the Highway Superintendent), it is a relief to me to have a great team in place. Training and cross training will take a while, so your patience is appreciated as skills are being acquired. Welcome to the new Laura! Community Forum Mark Pruce Come down to Town Hall on Thursday, July 16th from 6:30-8pm to meet your neighbors for a facilitated conversation about community and town priorities. My hope with this forum is to create a space (outside of board meetings) for us to talk, and listen, to our neighbors about the issues that are important to us as a town. This first forum will discuss these questions: · Which issues should our town be focused on? How can our town do more to improve our lives? · What are your biggest town-related concerns? What should our town stop doing or do less of? · How do you want to be more involved in community and town affairs? From the Historian- Celebrating 250 Years! M.A. Barr Festivities are taking the U.S. by storm this year. Though only 215 years old (as an incorporated town), Danby will celebrate The Declaration of Independence right along with the rest of the country. One way the Town could take special note of the year is with its own unique gesture -- a Time Capsule! This begs the question, what would you consider an appropriate contribution to a Time Capsule? Let us know. Email your ideas to: mbarr@danby.ny.gov or send a real letter to: Town Historian, Danby Town Hall, 1830 Danby Rd., Ithaca NY 14850. Who knows what will come from it July 2026 Town of Danby, New York 4 From the Town Clerk Blake Savoy Summer is in full swing! Hopefully everyone’s got their gardens in order. Fun fact I learned recently, daisy fleabane, sometimes seen as a weed, is a wonderful native flower that is incredibly important for our local pollinators. No space for a picture, unfortunately, but look them up if you get a chance. Very cool! If you’re planning on fishing over at our very own Jennings Pond, be sure to come by and get your fishing license. We have the 2026 Fishing Regulations booklets as well, highly worth the read before you hit the waters! For Danby dog owners out there, make sure that your furry friend is up to date on their license! Summer means more time outdoors, which can lead to some off-leash mishaps. Give us a call if you want to check on your dog’s license status. It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned handicap parking permits/hangtags, but here’s a reminder! In order to get a hangtag, we’ll need a signed note from your doctor. If you have a permanent (blue) tag, give us a call first—you don’t need a new note if we’ve got one on file! There is a form that goes with it that most practitioners have, but if you need a copy, let us know and we can send you one. Temporary (red) tags are valid for up to 6 months, and permanent tags (blue) are valid for 5 years. We’ll also need to see a driver’s license or other form of ID to be able to issue the tag. Just the note and ID and you’re set! Give us a call if you’ve got any questions! Conservation Advisory Council Margaret Corbit The Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) met on Tuesday, June 9th at 7 pm. After the regular administrative business, the Chair opened the meeting and we worked through the agenda quickly. We had a productive discussion focused on further development of the Conservation Easement Monitoring documents. In this meeting, Margaret Corbit presented her version of the Annual Monitoring Report for the Ravencache easement. She and Pacific Austin had hiked the property with the owners in May. Her document focusses on the various zones of the property and monitoring the natural succession of this upland forest. She noted its conservation values as a property surrounded by other protected land and the value of engaging the owners in monitoring a property that can be difficult to navigate. Corbit will be developing a summary document for this easement that will be included in its folder and will share it at the next meeting. The Chair has also agreed to develop a Summary for one of her easements for review and comparison. As we so often point out, each easement is unique. For the sake of continuity, each easement folder will contain a summary and dated monitoring reports. Our goal is to complete this work in the calendar year. At the end of the meeting, we reviewed the statuses of easements currently under negotiation and learned that George Franz will be acting as Town Planner while Greg Hutnik takes parental leave this summer. Our next meeting is on July 14th 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. July 2026 Town of Danby, New York 5 West Danby Community Cemetery Marrell Cortright The West Danby Cemetery, located on Valley View Road in West Danby, has been an independent community resource for 186 years. We, the cemetery association, are proud of the work we do to keep the cemetery well maintained and fiscally secure. Our board of five members has worked diligently for the past 13 years with very little turnover and no time off. But now we find that some of our hard- working board needs the relief that can only come with increased community participation. We are convening a meeting open to the public to gather your ideas on how to keep the West Danby Cemetery Association active and vital. Please come out on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 7pm at the West Danby Fire Hall. All members of the community, and especially the families of those laid to rest there, are encouraged to attend. Our current board is made up of: President Sandra Fairchild Fish; co-caretakers Mel Westmiller and Skip Fairchild; Treasurer Marrell Cortright; Secretary Arletta Havlik; and Trustee at large Elaine Westmiller. If you have any questions before the meeting, you may call Sandra Fish at (607)-592-5923. From our County Legislator Irene Weiser It’s been a while since my last update, so I wanted to share a brief roundup of what’s been happening over the past few months, along with a look ahead to budget season. Starting with the good news: The County cancelled its contract for Flock surveillance cameras. The cameras are coming down – hopefully this month! Also, the Legislature approved a 5% property tax reduction for low- income seniors. We’re looking for ways to strengthen local services. Our County Administrator attended the Jumpstart Conference, which connects small airports with airlines, in hopes of expanding air service. The Center of Government project, which will consolidate several County offices into one building and save money over time, is expected to go out to bid this fall. Regarding NYSEG, the State approved a temporary rate increase while ordering the company back to negotiations. I’ll keep pushing for affordability, keeping the Ithaca Customer Service Center open, and holding NYSEG accountable for billing problems and delayed maintenance work, including trimming trees away from power lines. If you’re struggling with utility bills, call 211, contact NYSEG about a payment plan, or reach out to the Public Utility Law Project at 877-669-2572. Budget discussions begin in September, and it is already shaping up to be a difficult year. Federal SNAP cuts have created a new $495,000 deficit, while inflation and rising health care, utility, and gasoline costs are affecting the County too. My priorities include transportation to youth programs, supporting Rapid Medical Response so residents get timely emergency care, and supporting Tompkins Food Future to strengthen local farming and food access. Please know I will do my best to keep taxes low while ensuring we have the services we need. Legislature meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays at 5:30pm at 121 E. Court Street and livestreamed at https://bit.ly/tc-leg-video (No meeting July 7th) As always, I welcome your thoughts at iweiser@tompkins-co.org. July 2026 Town of Danby, New York 6 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 Tosspots (Open Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting) Wed 7pm – virtual Danby Library News Cindy Parlett New Additions to the Library! Following the Friends of the Library Sale and recent purchases we have plenty of great books to keep you busy this summer! Listed are a few, but you'll need to come in to see the rest! Raising Hare-Chloe Dalton Practical Magic, and Rules of Magic- Alice Hoffman Theo of Golden- Allen Levi Rules of Civility- Amor Towles The Wilderness- Angela Flourney Finding My Way- Malala Yousafz Cold Betrayal- J.A. Jance The Mitford Affair, and Daughter of Egypt- Marie Benedict A False Mirror-Charles Todd Boundary Waters, Spirit Crossing, and Ordinary Grace-William Kent Krueger The Hellfire Conspiracy, and The Black Hand- Will Thomas The Correspondent- Virginia Evans Abide with Me and Amy and Isabelle- Elizabeth Strout Wild Fire, Raven Black, Cold Earth, and White Nights- Ann Cleeves Nobody's Girl- Virginia Giuffre 25 Alive, Return of the Spider, Confessions- The Paris Mysteries, Confessions-The Private School Murders, and Triple Homicide- James Patterson The Danby Community Library is open when Town Hall is open, unless the meeting room is reserved. A book drop is available to the left of the main doors to Town Hall. Meeting room use requests can be directed to the Town Clerk. July 2026 Town of Danby, New York 7 Monthly Meeting Schedule At-A-Glance Group Day Date Time Call-in by Phone Meeting ID Town Board* Tues 7/7 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 864 5365 2513 920558 WDWD Wed 7/1 5:00pm In person West Danby Fire station CAC* Tue 7/14 7:00pm 1-929-205-6099 835 4940 5296 879507 FD Tue 7/14 6:30pm In person Danby Fire Station DYC Thur 7/9 7:30pm Online- kshanks@tompkins-co.org Town Board* Tues 7/21 6:00pm 1-929-205-6099 833 9755 8154 114604 PB* Wed 7/15 7:00pm 1-646-876-9923 822 5277 6582 BZA* Tue TBD 7:00pm TBD 817 1432 4705 398041 FD Tue 7/28 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 Wednesday at 7pm Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Chair: Earl Hicks bza@danby.ny.gov Meets: 4th Tuesday, as needed Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Co-Chairs: Anne Klingensmith Jonathan Zisk cac@danby.ny.gov Meets: 2nd Tuesday at 7pm Danby Youth Commission (DYC) Contact: Patty Van de Bogart pvandebogartftc@gmail.com Meets: 2nd Thursday at 7:30pm Fire District (FD) Secretary: Sharon Gaden, secretary@danbyfiredistrict.org danby.ny.gov/depts/danby-fire-district Meets: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 6:30pm 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 July2026 Town of Danby, New York 8 Town Officials Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon supervisor@danby.ny.gov Town Board Meets 1st Tues and 3rd Tues Leslie Connors Mariah Dillon Zachary Larkins Mark Pruce townboard@danby.ny.gov Town Clerk Deputy Town Clerk Hours: Mon–Fri 11am–4pm Blake Savoy Cindy Katz clerkoffice@danby.ny.gov 607-277-4788 opt. 2 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 Accounting Questions Clerk Office clerkoffice@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