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Home My WebLink About2022-11 NewsletterTown of Ithaca Newsletter – November 2022 https://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/ Facebook: Town of Ithaca NY Twitter @IthacaTown Holiday Schedule Offices will be closed: Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th Noon Friday, December 23rd through Tuesday, December 27th Noon Friday, December 30th through Monday, January 2nd Know Before You Go The Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response and the Town of Ithaca is encouraging residents who have not yet created an account in Tompkins SIREN to do so before the end of this year. Tompkins SIREN, or Safety & Incident Real-Time Emergency Notifications, replaced the Swift911 mass notification system and is used by local authorities and municipalities to send alerts on potentially hazardous situations involving weather, traffic, and other emergencies as well as targeted notifications on construction projects that may impact you . Individuals who were previously signed up for Swift911were automatically enrolled in SIREN. However, that “migrated” data will expire at the end of the year, meaning users who have not created a profile in the new platform are at risk of no longer receiving alerts and notifications. They can sign up at: https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/SIREN or text SIREN to 67283. The service allows for critical communication with the public and provides individuals with the information needed to stay safe or take precautions during hazardous or emergency situations. Community members who have already created a Tompkins SIREN account and chosen their notification preferences DO NOT need to do anything further. A list of frequently asked questions about Tompkins SIREN can also be found at: https://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/SIREN Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves The Town’s leaf vacuuming event is almost complete. For the rest of November, the crews will be picking up paper-bagged leaves on Mondays, which could extend through the week to encompass the entire Town. Leaves should be bagged in biodegradable paper leaf bags (30-gallon bags are available at many stores in the area). Please fill bags and place them on the road shoulder, folding over openings of bags to close – do not staple or tape. No plastic bags will be picked up. For questions, please call 607-273-1656 or email publicworks@town.ithaca.ny.us Help Us Help You During Snow Events A major issue during snow removal operations are trash and recycling bins placed in the rights-of-way (ROW) during and immediately after snow events. Road crews work hard to clear our roads as quickly as possible and follow up after the event. Please help them by delaying putting trash and/or recycling bins out during and directly after snow events, and if you must, please put them in your driveway, not the ROW, and in far enough not to hamper road clearing efforts. These containers become a real hazard for our drivers when they blow into the street or are pushed into the culverts by snow clearing operations. PLEASE think ahead and when at all possible, park off the roads to allow our crews the space and safety to clear the roads. This protects us, and your car. If your car is inhibiting snow removal, it may be towed at your expense. These plows pick up snow and move snow; parking on the street and any damage that could occur from that moving snow is your liability. Why risk it?! Work with your neighbors, share driveways for a day, decide on one side of the street to park when it is necessary. We want to get the roads clear for safe travel; please help us help you. Thank you in advance! Town Crews Like the previous bikeshare program in Ithaca, Ithaca Bikeshare uses dockless electric bikes that are accessed using an app. The e-bikes, purchased from Drop Mobility, are class 1 pedal-assist electric bikes with a maximum assist speed of 16 mph. There are several pricing plans available, including the reduced rate “Easy Access” for anyone experiencing financial hardship. While the program service area is centered on the City of Ithaca, it does include portions of the Town and other communities. Ithaca Bikeshare is run by the local nonprofit Center for Community Transportation, which also oversees Ithaca Carshare, Bike Walk Tompkins, and Streets Alive! Ithaca. Visit Ithaca Bikeshare.org for additional information. Bike Walk Tompkins is hosting a pop-up with free bike repairs on Sunday, November 20th from 1-4pm by their office at 803 Cascadilla St. Look for a canopy and blue Bike Walk Tompkins flag across the street from the large Greenstar next to the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. All repairs have a suggested donation. Feel free to stop by with bikes you'd like to donate. For any other questions about the event, email Mason Wilson at mason@bikewalktompkins.org. Ithaca Bikeshare Gets Rolling Ithaca Bikeshare, a nonprofit, community- owned and operated affordable bikeshare program, launched on November 9th. The Town of Ithaca is happy to see bikeshare return to our area and hopes that Town residents will take advantage of this affordable, healthy, low- carbon transportation option. Cornell University Borehole Observatory Cornell held a town hall event about the “Cornell University Borehole Observatory” (CUBO) project. Here is a link to a Cornell Chronicle article outlining information covered during the forum. At the end of the article is a link to the event should you care to watch it in full. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/11/geothermal -experts-say-borehole-data-shows-promise Earth Source Heat News Here is a recent Cornell Chronicle article on CUBO/ESH https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/10/drilling-ends-and-data-analysis-begins-borehole-observatory CODES CORNER Dear Friends, Hopefully you have been able to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather this year. I hope everyone remembered to check their smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries with the “fall back.” Short Term Rentals I wanted to take this time to remind everyone about the Local Law adopted at the beginning of the year requiring all short-term rental owners to apply for and receive an Operating Permit prior to renting the property. The Town has now contracted with a third-party to monitor short-term rentals. This program will be fully implemented by the end of December and will provide details on short-term rentals operating in the Town of Ithaca. I urge all individuals that operate a short-term rental, if they have not done so yet, to apply for and be issued an operating permit prior to engaging in short term rentals. You can apply for the operating permit at: Short Term Rental Operating Permit Application In addition, once permitted, all unhosted short term rented days are required to be reported to the town using the this link: Short Term Rental Reporting of Days Rented Food Trucks The Town also passed a local law requiring mobile food trucks to have an operating permit and each property a food truck operates from also needs an operating permit. Here is the link to the Mobile Food Truck Operating Permit Application Heating Systems/Units As a reminder, building permits are required for heating system/unit replacements and new installations. Energy Code Supplement in Effect The Ithaca Energy Code Supplement (IECS) is now in effect for all residential and commercial new construction, major renovations, and certain size additions. The IECS does require some additional documentation during the permitting process. Information can be found here: Ithaca Energy Code Supplement Info and all of our permit applications are here: Applications for all Code’s permits can be found at: Codes Applications If you have any questions, please feel free to call our offices at 607-273-1783 (option #2) or email us at codes@town.ithaca.ny.us. Thank you, Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement CLERKS CORNER Board Vacancies There are two open seats on the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and the Ethics Board. The ZBA meets at 6pm the third Tuesday of the month and hears appeals from applicants regarding zoning regulation found in the Town Code. There is a small stipend and town residency is required. The Ethics Board meets once a year to review Ethics Disclosure Forms and upon request. There is no residency requirement. Becky and I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and are able to gather with family and friends. Fun things to do… Beginning Friday, December 2nd and concluding with Santa’s arrival on Saturday, December 10th. Ice thrones, lights, and speed ice carving; Silent Disco and fire dancers, and of course, the annual Chowder CookOff on Saturday, December 3rd. https://www.downtownithaca.com/event/ice-and- lights-festival/