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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 Fall NewsletterFALL 2013 ISSUE TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE INSIDE Comprehensive Plan Update Smart Growth Principles Water Use & Greenhouse Gas Emissions Think Snow Going Electronic Sustainability Update BACK PAGE Gateway Trail Project East Shore Park Improvements TRAFFIC TRAFFIC cut ends You may make arrangements to drop your own yard waste off at the Public Works Facil- ity at 106 Seven Mile Drive, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. year round. cut ends Leaf Collection Leaf collection (including leaves, pine needles, dead flowers, garden waste, and grass clippings) will start at 7 a.m. on Monday, November 4th. Leaves may be raked to the shoulder of the road or bagged in biodegradable paper leaf bags (30-gallon bags are available at many stores in the area). Please fill the bags and place them on the road shoulder, folding over the openings of the bags to close. Do not staple or tape openings. No plastic bags will be picked up. The town’s crews will go around the entire town once with the leaf vacuum. For the rest of the month of November, the crews will pick up paper-bagged leaves on Mon- days only. Please note that we may send out leaf crews earlier than October 29th to test our equipment and to pick up paper-bagged leaves before they get wet. Brush Collection The Public Works Department will pick up brush, limbs, and branches starting Tuesday, October 15th, and will continue throughout the Town until finished. All yard waste must be at the roadside by 7 a.m. on the first day of collection. The intention of the Town’s roadside collec- tion service is for residents of the Town of Ithaca outside the Village of Cayuga Heights to put a reasonable amount of yard waste (as is generated during a normal year) out at the roadside for pick up by the Town’s crews. Clearing of building lots and hedgerows is beyond a normal amount of material. Roadside collection crews reserve the right to not pick up excessively large amounts of brush and improperly piled materials. Brush you collect needs to remain out of the rights-of-way until a couple of days before the pick up; this will assure your safety and that of your neighbors. Errant brush piles can wreak havoc on the storm- water systems and can create a hazard for walkers and cyclists. If you have questions, call Public Works weekdays at 273-1656 between 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. or send an email to publicworks@ town.ithaca.ny.us. WHAT TO DO • Pile brush in neat bundles parallel to the roadway along the shoulder of the road or at the end of the driveway if no shoul- der exits. • Put out limbs no larger than 8 inches in diameter (it is not necessary to cut limbs into small pieces). • Limit brush piles to the size of a pickup load (approximately 2’H x 4’W x 8’L). WHAT NOT TO DO • Do not tie bundles of brush. • Do not place any materials in a ditch. • Do not put out metal, rocks, glass, roots, stumps, or lumber scraps. • Do not put brush out until a few days before collection. FALL BRUSH & LEAF COLLECTION COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE YOU CAN FIND THE MOST RECENT VERSION OF THE PLAN AT WWW. TOWN.ITHACA.NY.US/COMP-PLAN SMART GROWTH PRINCIPLES The draft plan embraces Smart Growth as the foundation for its goals and rec- ommendations. Create a range of housing oppor- tunities and choices. Create walkable neighborhoods. Encourage community and stake- holder collaboration. Foster distinctive, attractive commu- nities with a strong sense of place. Make development decisions pre- dictable, fair and cost effective. Mix land uses. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environ- mental areas. Provide a variety of transportation choices. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities. Take advantage of compact build- ing design. The Comprehensive Plan is a “big picture” policy document that sets out broad policies and recom- mendations on a range of interrelated topics, including land use and development, housing and neigh- borhoods, natural resources and environment, energy and climate protection, agriculture, recreation, historical resources, transportation, municipal services and infrastructure, community services and eco- nomic development. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The Conservation Board has been studying ways to reduce one of the Town of Ithaca’s main contribu- tions to greenhouse gas emissions: the water pumped to our taps from Cayuga Lake. Because the city must soon tap into this source while it rebuilds its Six Mile Creek water treatment system, it is even more important to recognize that huge amounts of energy are used to lift many tons of water to storage tanks on the town’s East, South, and West Hills before we can get it back down to our homes. The Bolton Point water plant uses cheap electricity provided mostly by utilities burning fossil fuels, so pumping less water uphill would reduce the town’s carbon footprint. The Conservation Board has advised restructuring water rates to reduce water consumption, and will continue to advocate for a change of billing policy at local or intermunicipal levels to provide financial incentives for thrifty water use. Even if your ten thousandth gallon costs no more than your first, the Conservation Board urges all residents to conserve water as a way to reduce pollution. WATER USE & GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS We continue to make progress toward comple- tion of a new Comprehensive Plan and expect to release a revised draft soon. The Town Board is wrapping up its review of the draft document sub- mitted by the Comprehensive Plan Committee late last year. The board is also reviewing and consid- ering the various public comments that have been received. The next step is the environmental review to deter- mine potential environmental impacts that adop- tion and implementation of the plan may have. As recommended by the NYS DEC, the town is preparing a draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS), a type of environmental impact statement that is most appropriate for considering the general and broad-based actions of a com- prehensive plan. After conducting a public scop- ing process, the Town Board adopted a scoping document at its meeting on May 13th. This docu- ment identifies the issues and analysis that will be included in the GEIS. The GEIS is being pre- pared by town planning staff and is expected to be released soon for public review and comments. If you are interested in receiving notifications about the draft Comprehensive Plan and the GEIS, please provide your email or mailing address to the Ithaca town clerk at townclerk@town.ithaca. ny.us, or call us at (607) 273-1747. Tell us what you think at www.facebook.com/ IthacaConservationBoard TOWN OF ITHACATHINK SNOW! Yes, it’s that time of year again. Below are the Town’s guidelines for snow operations. The primary consideration for making the decision between snow and ice removal and plowing is traffic safety and allowance for emergency services (fire and ambulance). When the roads are lightly snow covered and begin to become a hazard, the crews are called in, and salt is applied to the roads to provide de-icing. If the situation progresses to a point where the accumulation on the roads is 1½ to 2 inches, the roads and shoulders are plowed and de-iced together. Our regular service hours for snow removal are from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and as needed on nights and weekends. County roads and rural connector roads are our first priority and all other town roads are a secondary priority. Of course, emergency vehicles and school bus routes will take priority as need arises. Since snow plowing starts early in the morning, parking on roads and shoulders is discouraged. If a vehicle hinders snowplow operations, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense. Please remind your snow removal service that snow from plowing driveways should be completely cleared from the road. Snow left in roads from your driveway can create a dangerous obstacle for drivers and a liability situation for the homeowner. If a mailbox that is properly installed and initially in good repair is damaged by a town plow, the town may, at its option, replace or repair it upon timely notification being given to the Public Works Department. Repairs requiring a new mailbox will be made using a standard aluminum mailbox. Repairs to lawns or plantings damaged in the rights-of-way will be the responsibility of the home- owner. Mailboxes will be installed according to United States Postal Service guidelines, which recommend a distance of 6 to 12 inches from the edge of the pavement to the front of the mailbox, with a 44-inch clearance from the surface of the road to the bottom of the mailbox. Please plan extra time for travel and reduce speed on wet or snow-covered roads. Remove snow, frost, and ice from all vehicle windows. Not only will you be able to see, but it is the law. THE NEWSLETTER IS GOINGELECTRONIC The town is committed to conserving resources and, toward that end, we have decided to transition to an electronic newsletter. This will allow us to reduce our ecological footprint, save taxpayer dollars on printing and mail- ing costs, remove constraints on the number of articles in each issue, and increase the frequency of our newsletters for more timely delivery of important information. We realize that many of our residents rely on the newsletter to find out the dates for brush and leaf pickup. Our Public Works crews begin these operations each spring and fall in mid-April and late October/early Novem- ber. Notice of the dates is sent to the media. You can call Town Hall at 273-1721 or Public Works at 273-1656 in early April and Octo- ber to get the exact dates, or check our web- site at www.town.ithaca.ny.us. THREE WAYS TO RECEIVE THE TOWN OF ITHACA NEWSLETTER Check our website at the address shown above. Sign up for a digital copy by emailing us at TownClerk@town.ithaca.ny.us. Sign up to have a copy mailed to your home by calling us at 273-1721. The town of Ithaca has been working hard to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, not just in government operations, but community-wide. Four recent projects aim to save taxpayer dollars and help avoid the worst effects of climate disruption. Work continues on the Community Energy Action Plan, which focuses on reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions community-wide in three areas: transportation, buildings, and energy sources. The plan will be released for public comment in the early fall. A waste assessment was performed on the Town Hall and the Public Works facilities through the county’s ReBusiness Program, which studies waste management practices and makes recommendations for how organizations can save money and better reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, and rebuy. The town planning department, clerk’s office, and network administrator have already made advances in waste reduction by using digital communication tools to reduce paperwork. The town played a role in the startup of the Sustainability Center, which opened its doors in May at 111 North Albany Street. The Center promotes sustainability efforts across Tompkins County through its galleries, events, and internship program. Supervisor Herb Engman was an inaugural signatory for the Resilient Com- munities for America campaign, which champions the leadership of local elected officials who are building more resilient communities, and aims to inspire hundreds more. SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE Sign up for our sustainability e-newsletter at www.town.ithaca.ny.us/sustainability Town of Ithaca 215 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: 607-273-1721Fax: 607-273-5854www.Town.Ithaca.ny.us IMPROVEMENTS AT EAST SHORE PARK The town of Ithaca’s East Shore Park, located next to the Merrill Family Sail- ing Center on East Shore Drive (NYS Route 34), has seen several improve- ments over the past few months. The Conservation Board has devel- oped an interpretive view sign that discusses the scenic qualities at the park and throughout the town. The Public Works Department has also been busy with several projects: • Installing the new sign • Paving the parking area • Placing boulders to define the parking area • Regrading the lawn • Installing a new bike rack. Come and relax at East Shore Park and enjoy the fantastic views. GATEWAY TRAIL A WORK IN PROGRESS The Town of Ithaca is moving forward on a section of the Gateway Trail project. Following the former railroad bed along the boundary of the town and city of Ithaca, this section of the multiuse trail will go from Stone Quarry Road down to Buttermilk Falls State Park and across the pedestrian bridge to the city of Ithaca park- lands. The town has hired Fischer Associates to pre- pare the design, and they are currently collect- ing survey and other necessary environmental information. Please watch the town’s website (www.town.ithaca.ny.us) for an announcement of a public meeting on the trail design.