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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-04 NewsletterTown of Ithaca Newsletter April 14 Update Town offices and facilities continue to be closed to the public, but we are working from home and a few limited office staff at Town Hall and Public Works to continue operations the best we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this pandemic Most Common Questions This Week – Brush Pick-up begins Monday, April 20th. There will only be one crew doing this so it may take a few days to get to you, but we will. All brush should be out by the 20th, there will be no call-backs. We are working on ways to allow access to brush drop-off and mulch pick-up during the renovation of the Public Works Facility once Town operations are open to the public again. Look for an update next week. Water bill due date was extended to April 30th. The online payment system is not available due to the waiving of the penalty. Checks can be mailed or put in the drop box in the Buffalo St. door. Water is never shut-off in the Town of Ithaca for non-payment. Any remaining balance in October is re-levied on to the property’s tax bill. Trash tags are still required. The Town does not perform this service; Town resident’s contract with private companies, therefore we cannot waive the need for the trash tags. Board and Committee Meetings are still happening via the ZOOM platform. Sign in information is on each agenda posted to our website. Playgrounds The Town’s playgrounds have now been closed until further notice. We are taking a look at our trails to ensure users can follow the public health guidelines. We will keep trails that are wide enough for social distancing open to the public but look for signage that indicates that a narrower trail has been closed. Parks and Community Garden Following Tompkins County’s recommendations, the Town is closing its parks, playfields and community garden to the public. These locations have shared surfaces such as playground equipment and gardening tools where social distancing/shared use is not practicable. Our trails and preserves are will remain open to the public but, PLEASE, be considerate and maintain the recommended 6-foot distance from other users and wear a mask or facial covering. Building and Codes Department Governor Cuomo continues to issue additional executive orders and update existing executive orders to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 virus for all of us. The Empire State Development (ESD) department has updated information and guidelines about how, where and when construction projects are to be operating. The Town has used this to model our current permitting/application procedures around. Here is a link with detailed information from the State. https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026 In an effort to comply with Governor Cuomo’s executive orders and the ESD guidance document, we are still issuing permits for emergency construction projects, essential construction projects, and for projects that only have one single person per job site. For those looking to apply for permits, please see the following link for our current procedures: http://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/code-enforcement If you have any questions, please feel free to call us and leave a message at 607-273-1783 (option #2) or email us at codes@town.ithaca.ny.us. Thank you, Marty Moseley Director of Code Enforcement Information on COVID precautionary actions and guidance can be found at https://tompkinscountyny.gov/health or by calling 211. For other questions, you can contact us at 607-273-1721 (option 3) or via email at: Paulette PRosa@town.ithaca.ny.us Rod RHowe@town.ithaca.ny.us