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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 Spring NewsletterTOPICS IN THIS ISSUE INSIdE Comprehensive Plan Update Conservation Board News Getting Outdoors: Recreation in the Town Sustainability Update USdA Promotes Small Local Farms BACk PAGE Learning Web Programs for Youth Town of Ithaca Leash Law How to properly prepare your yard waste for town crews to pick up WHAT TO dO • Bag leaves and garden waste in biode-gradable paper bags. No plastic bags will be picked up. Fold over openings of bags to close: do not staple. • Pile brush in neat bundles parallel to the roadway with the flow of traffic so the chipping trucks can feed the cut ends first (see diagram at left). • 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 8’ L x 4’ W x 2’ H). • Place brush and filled bags along the road shoulder or at the end of the drive- way if no shoulder exits. 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 out brush and leaf bags until the week before collection. • Do not put out loose piles of leaves. The Public Works Department will be picking up yard waste starting Monday, April 15th, and will continue throughout the town until Friday, April 19th. All yard waste must be at the roadside by 7 a.m. on the first day of collection. There will be no second collections or call backs. The intention of the Town’s roadside collection 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 volumes of brush and improperly piled materials. Our crews do not use leaf vacuum machines for spring leaf pickup, so no loose piles will be picked up. Brush you collect before the first day of the pickup 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 stormwater systems and can create a hazard for walkers and cyclists. You may also drop off your yard waste at the Public Works Facility at 106 Seven Mile Drive, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. any time of the year. If you have questions, please call 273-1656 weekdays between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please sign in first at the office. TRAFFIC TRAFFIC cut ends cut ends Summer Construction Projects We’ve got a busy construction season planned, rehabilitating town roads and infrastructure. • Whitetail Drive reconstruction • Danby Road / West King Road water main replacement • Danby Road water tank replacement • Forest Home Drive pavement replace- ment from Caldwell Road to the Dryden town line • Town Hall parking lot rebuild • Public Works salt storage building replacement • Penny Lane sanitary sewer reline • Route 96 / Trumansburg Road man-hole rehabilitation • Tudor Park playground replacement • South Hill Trail pipe replacement • Stone and oil at various locations throughout the Town Spring Brush and Leaf Collection SPRING 2013 The town’s Comprehensive Plan Committee concluded their work and submitted a draft Comprehensive Plan update to the Ithaca town board on January 28th, following the first of several public hearings that will be held on the draft plan. News from your Conservation Board Ithaca’s first view sign, an interpre- tive display for the great view at the town’s East Shore Park (NYS Route 34), has been delivered and will be installed this spring near the gazebo by Cayuga Lake. The first of a series planned by our Scenic Resources Com- mittee, this view sign will show park visitors that Ithaca takes great pride in its scenic beauty. The Conservation Board invites public feedback on this project, as well as participation in its meetings at 7 p.m. on the first Thurs- day of each month. If you reside in the town, and would like to help conserve Ithaca’s natural resources, please think about joining us. Visit our new Face- book page at www.facebook.com/ IthacaConservationBoard, where the date for an unveiling ceremony will be announced. More information on our mission can be found at www.town.ithaca.ny.us/ conservation-board. TowN of ITHaCa ComPreHeNSIve PlaN The town board is now considering this draft plan and the public comments that have been received, as well as conducting the necessary steps for the State Environmental Quality Review. At its meeting on February 25th, the town board determined that preparation of a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) will be necessary. The GEIS will discuss the objectives and the rationale for the proposed revisions to the Town of Ithaca Comprehensive Plan, iden- tify potential impacts, and provide an opportunity for public input. If you’re interested in being notified of upcoming meetings or other opportunities for public input related to the plan, please provide your email or mailing address to the Ithaca town clerk at townclerk@town.ithaca.ny.us, or by phone at 273-1721. The mailing address is 215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. Find the most recent version of the draft plan on our website at www.town.ithaca.ny.us/Comp-Plan REvISEd: dECEMBER 5, 2012 The town supports a number of parks and playfields in various neighborhoods for residents to enjoy outdoor recreation. See the chart at the right for a detailed list. We are also fortunate to maintain a number of hiking and walking trails, like the East HIll and South Hill recreaction ways. The town contributes financial support to the city of Ithaca towards the operat- ing costs of the Cass Park swimming pool, the Cass Park skating rink, and the facilities at Stewart Park in recognition of the benefit of these facilities to town residents. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides for youth programming services to the town, including youth employment and youth organized sports. Please contact Beth Bannister at 272-2292 for more information on youth programming. aCTIvITIeS aNd ameNITIeS aT our loCal ParkS Parks & Playfields Coddington Road Community Center ✓✓✓ Eastern Heights Park ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ East Shore Park ✓ ✓✓ Grandview Park ✓✓✓ Hungerford Heights Park ✓ ✓✓ Northview Park ✓✓ ✓ Salem Park ✓✓ ✓ Tareyton Park ✓ ✓✓✓ Troy Park ✓✓✓ Tudor Park ✓✓ ✓ Tutelo Park ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Vincenzo Iacovelli Park ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓BaseballSoccerBasketballPlay structurePavillionPicnic facilitiesNature trailsParkingrecreational opportunities for all ages in and around town GeTTING ouTdoorS The plan will detail specific actions town residents, businesses, and government can take to reach goals for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions community-wide. It is scheduled for publication in the fall, following a public comment period. Throughout the process, there has been a focus on community input. A number of public outreach sessions were held in the fall to brain- storm ideas for the plan. The result was a very long list of ideas for energy-saving actions. In December, the town board approved the Energy Action Plan Advisory Committee, a 13-member citizen committee representing diverse back- grounds and expertise. The committee has two main tasks: to recom-mend greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the community and to transform the long list of potential actions into a work- able short list that will form the basis of the Energy Action Plan. Greenhouse gas reductions goals were recently discussed; the committee is assessing whether it is reasonable to use the common long-term goal of 80% reductions by 2050. The committee also narrowed down the action list, picking broad action categories to research further, such as “Explore community renewable energy,” “Improve multi-modal transportation system,” and “Promote energy efficiency improvements in buildings.” our main sustainability project since the fall has been to develop the Community energy action Plan S u S T a I N a B I l I T y u P d a T e For additional information about sustainability in the town or to sign up for our sustainability e-newsletter, visit www.town.ithaca.ny.us/sustainability. Town newsletter to be delivered electronically The town of Ithaca is committed to conserv-ing resources and, toward that end, we have decided to transition to an electronic newsletter starting next spring. This move will allow us to reduce our ecological foot-print, save taxpayer dollars on printing and mailing costs, and remove constraints on the length of our newsletter. We can also look at increasing the frequency of our newslet-ters for more timely delivery of important information to our residents. Sign up for electronic delivery by emailing us at townclerk@town.ithaca.ny.us. News- letters will also be posted to our website. National statistics suggest the USdA has a long haul ahead: just 2 percent of food is consumed in the community where it was produced. Tompkins County residents can boast numbers that probably make the USdA green with envy. We spend about $200 million each year on food—at grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets—and a whopping $20 million stays right here in the Finger Lakes. For those of you doing the math, our local food purchases are FIVE TIMES the national average. The town of Ithaca has 29 farms—many staffed by employees who work alongside the farm families—as well as several farmers who commute from neighboring communi- ties to work land here. Together, we keep a combined 2,500 acres in active agricultural production. We harvest organic and con- ventionally grown fruit, vegetables, pastured pork and beef, eggs, beer, wine, cut flowers, and honey. Other farm goods produced here include transplants for home garden- ers: landscape plants, Christmas trees, jam, luxury yarn, corn, small grains, and hay. For folks yearning for a farm outing, an array of events and activities hosted by town agricul- turists range from pick-your-own fruit to a harvest-season sound maze. How many town of Ithaca farmers do you know? We’d love to get to know you! In addition to looking for us at such farmer- operated public venues as Early Bird Farm, Eddydale, Indian Creek Farm, the Ithaca Beer Taproom, and Six Mile Vineyard, you can find vendors from Hilker Haven, Jack- man Vineyard, Tree Gate, and West Haven at farmers’ markets in the city of Ithaca and village of Trumansburg. On May 18th, several Ithaca-based vendors will be at the annual plant sale sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension and hosted by the Ithaca High School. If you seek a more sustained relationship with an individual farm, consider a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture arose in the sixties in Europe and Japan in response to concerns about food safety and the loss of farmland. By distributing the risks and rewards of each year’s harvest, the model gives farmers an incentive to keep produc- ing food. Customers pay ahead, when the farmer most needs funds for seeds, fertil- izer, and the like. In exchange, members receive a portion of the harvest. All three of the town’s CSA farms—Kestrel Perch, West Haven, and Tree Gate—are members of Healthy Food for All (www.healthyfood- forall.org). This farmer-run nonprofit makes more than 100 CSA memberships available to households throughout Tompkins County whose limited income might make tradi- tional memberships unaffordable. For more information about the farms in your neighborhood and details about CSAs, visit the Town of Ithaca’s farm web page: www.town.ithaca.ny.us/town-agriculture. know your farmer, know your food urges the uSda in its latest campaign to promote small farms, reduce food miles, and boost health. TOWN OF ITHACA LEASH LAW our parks are for everyone The town of Ithaca manages many wonderful parks and trails where our residents can enjoy getting outdoors to participate in leisure activities like recre-ational sports, walking, jogging, biking, and picnicking. It’s important that we all respect each other and our surroundings when sharing these public spaces. Dogs are welcome to accompany their owners on outings to the town’s parks and trails. Please follow the town leash law and be mindful that not everyone loves dogs–in fact, many people are downright afraid of them. FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: Are you looking for career experience, a resume booster, or to simply explore your options? The Learning Web can help. In the Com-munity and Career Exploration Program, we offer career exploration tours and apprenticeships. On tours, you’ll see local businesses and organizations in action all across the Ithaca area. In an apprentice-ship, you can gain in-depth, hands-on experience and valuable job skills in your career field of interest. You tell us what you want to explore, and we’ll show you how! FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: Do you want to make new friends, help the community, and have fun? The Summer Service Program could be for you. In the past, we’ve cared for animals at the SPCA, helped organize for the Family Reading Partnership’s Kids’ Book Fest, made paper airplanes with Northeast Kids Count kids, and more. The program runs twice a week from July 1 through August 8, 2013. Contact Isha Tohill at 607-275-0122 or isha@learning-web.org. These programs are open to students in the town of Ithaca and the villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing. On-leash. It’s the law. The town’s leash law requires that all dogs be on leash and under your control when off your own property. You can’t predict when you’ll meet others out walking in the woods. The law is there to protect both you and the public. For your dog’s sake, always keep him under your control. Off leash and romp- ing through nature parks or trails, your pet might encounter something harmful: a bee hive, a deep hole, a polluted puddle of stand- ing water, a dead animal, or a even wild one. Not all dogs are friendly. Some dogs don’t socialize well in puppy play groups or on pack walks; they just need to walk alone. An unleashed dog that charges towards another dog could harm someone. Several incidents involving unleashed dogs have resulted in injury to both people and pets. Loose dogs can frighten others. Not every-one–including other dogs–loves your dog the way you do. Dogs that jump up playfully for attention can cause injury, especially to elderly and young people, who might not be able to withstand such a welcome from your dog. For a good romp, head to the dog park at Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, where dogs are free to play off leash. 1 2 3 4 Community and career exploration programs from The learning web