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Home My WebLink AboutTown of Ithaca Newsletter December1 TOWN OF ITHACA December 2024 Newsletter Town Office Holiday Schedule All Town Offices will be closed for the holidays the following days: Noon Tuesday, December 24, 2024 through Wednesday December 25, 2024 Noon Tuesday, December 31, 2024 through Wednesday January 1, 2025 We wish you all Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Healthy New Year! 2024 Holiday Tree Pickup The Public Works Department will be picking up discarded trees through- out the Town (outside the Village of Cayuga Heights) through Friday, Janu- ary 10th, as our schedule allows. The crews will not be picking up any brush or yard debris during this collection. This collection is specific to discarded holiday trees. Trees need to remain out of the rights-of-way; rrant trees can wreak havoc on stormwater systems and can create a hazard cyclists and pedestrians. You can drop tree(s) off at the Public Works Facility at 114 Seven Mile Drive, Monday through day from 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. any of the year. Town & County Tax Bills will be Mailed by January 1st. Tax Bills can be looked up on our website under “Pay Bills” - Tax Bills Important reminder that Exemption Applications are due by March 1st! Here is a very informative link from Tompkins County Department of Assessment The Real Property Tax Cycle Water Bills Due Avoid a late fee and pay your water bills by December 31, 2024. You can pay in person at Town Hall, Online or by Mail. Sign up for ACH payments and never have to worry about paying your water bill on time again. 2 Northeast Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project The Town of Ithaca is starting a Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project in the Northeast region. This will affect residents and travelers on Burleigh Dr., Sandra Pl., Winthrop Dr., Salem Dr., Sycamore Dr., Maplewood Dr., and Birchwood Dr.. Please be aware of construction workers in the roadway and use caution when passing a work zone. Crew vehicles are clearly marked, and work will take place between 7:00AM and 5:00PM. The project involves relining and conducting spot repairs on the sewer main to reduce Infiltration and Inflow (I&I) from ground water. By reducing the I&I, we reduce the amount of excess water en- tering the sewer treatment plant that does not need to be treated. This effort helps lower sewer treatment costs and allows ground water to naturally return to our local watershed. If you have any questions, please reach out to Emily Rodgers at (607)273-1656 ext.#267 or by email at erodgers@townofithacany.gov. Forest Home has a New Historical Marker FHIA president Charlie Trautmann unveiled an new Historical Mark- er located just outside the Forest Home Chapel at 224 Forest Home Drive. The marker recognized Pearl S. Buck’s residency in Forest Home a century ago from 1924-25. Pearl’s husband J. Lossing Buck was an assistant Pastor at the Chapel and along with their daughter Carol lived in the Chapel parsonage. Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia but raised in China where her parents were Presbyteri- an missionaries. As a result, her first language was Chinese. She married J. Lossing Buck in 1917. The couple both studied at Cornell University, Pearl in English and Lossing in Agronomy. The family then moved to China where Lossing carried out the earliest comprehensive survey of crop production in China. Pearl was an integral part of this study. She interviewed hundreds of Chinese farmers for the project. The family returned to Ithaca in 1932. In 1932, Pearl S. Buck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Novel (now called fiction) for her work “The Good Earth”. This novel was inspired by her time in China and dramatizes family life in an early 20th century Chi- nese village. Six years later she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for her work depict- ing peasant life in rural China. 3 Holiday Decorating Safety Tips Decorating is one of the best ways to get in a holiday mood, but emergency departments see thousands of injuries involving holiday decorating every season. When decorating follow these tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: ● Keep potentially poisonous plants – mistletoe, holly berries, Jerusa- lem cherry and amaryllis – away from children ● If using an artificial tree, check that it is labeled “fire resistant” ● If using a live tree, cut off about 2 inches of the trunk to expose fresh wood for better water absorption, remember to water it, and remove it from your home when it is dry ● Place your tree at least 3 feet away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources, making certain not to block doorways ● Avoid placing breakable ornaments or ones with small, detachable parts on lower tree branch- es where small children can reach them ● Only use indoor lights indoors and outdoor lights outdoors, and choose the right ladder for the task when hanging lights ● Replace light sets that have broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connec- tions ● Follow the package directions on the number of light sets that can be plugged into one socket ● Never nail, tack or stress wiring when hanging lights, and keep plugs off the ground away from puddles and snow ● Turn off all lights and decorations when you go to bed or leave the house Thank you Fred Wilcox Planning Board chair Fred T Wilcox III Retires after 30 years of service. He has served the Town of Ithaca as a member of the Planning Board for 30 years, most of them as the Chair. Fred also served on the Codes & Ordi- nances Committee and was active with the Planning and Comprehensive Planning Committees. The Town Board passed a Resolution of Appreciation at their December 9th meeting, thanking Fred, on behalf of the Town and its residents, for his dedi- cation, professionalism, patience and consistency during his incredible years of service to the Town and wishing him a happy and fun filled retirement with more opportunities to travel, more time to be with loved ones, and more time to attend his beloved car racing events. 4 Town Openings Town Historian: The Town Historian answers questions from the public, staff and board members regarding our history and locations of historical significance. The Town Historian highlights our his- tory through the newsletter, website, displays and an occasional talk. Zoning Board of Appeals: The ZBA a quasi-judicial board which considers requests for variance and/or special approval and determinations under the Town of Ithaca Code and other Town, State and Federal regulations and guidance. ensuring compliance of the Town of Ithaca Code and its zoning ordinances, considering variances and/or special approvals requests and weighing the cri- teria set for each type of variance by Town, State and Federal laws during deliberations. Meetings are on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 pm. Conservation Board: The Conservation Board is looking for several residents with a passion for conservation, recreation, or education to join their efforts to safeguard and promote our natural and scenic resources for all. The board engages both the Town Board and Planning Board to make sure our community's environmental concerns are heard. Meetings are the first Thursday of the month, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. If you are interested in proposed development projects, deer man- agement, invasive species education, water quality, waste awareness, scenic resources, or other conservation concerns, please consider joining, and of course, all meetings are open to the public and available via ZOOM platform as well. Ethics Board : The Ethics Board meets once a year to review the Town’s Ethics Policy and Ethic’s Disclosure Forms submitted by elected and appointed officials. If an ethics complaint is filed with the Town, the Ethics Board would then meet to investigate and make a recommendation to the Town Board of any appropriate action. Any resident of Tompkins County can apply. To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to Town Clerk, Paulette Rosa, at Clerks@townithacany.gov or mail to 215 N Tioga St., Ithaca. 5 Free Rabies Vaccination Clinic On January 15, 2025, bring your cats dogs and ferrets to the Tompkins County SPCA for a free rabies vaccine. The SPCA is located at 1640 Han- shaw road. The clinic is open from 6pm to 8pm and advanced registration is preferred. To register go online to https://apps2.health.ny.gov/doh2/applinks/cdmspr/2/counties? Opportunities From the Learning Web Check out the Learning Web’s Youth December Newsletter for Highlights of past programs and opportunities to get our young people out and learning this winter. https://learning-web.org/news-events/news.html YEM Announces the 2025 Season Leading by example, we're practicing what we preach, once again iterating (evolving) the program just as we encourage students to do with their projects. What's New for 2025? Extended Development Time: Students will have more time to refine their ideas before the market season, with extra time between workshops and more opportunities for hands-on after-school working sessions through the Get Messy Club. Redesigned Workshop Structure: Workshops will offer more engagement time with guest speakers, add- ed opportunities for students to share their ideas, and additional guidance on using tools from our Toolkit Guest Speakers: We're fortunate to have an abundance of local entrepreneurs who generously offer to share their stories and experiences at our workshops. 2025 speakers can be found on the Mindset page of our website. Pitch Opportunity: Back by popular demand, students will have the option to pitch their ideas to a panel of experts at our annual Fish Tank event, with a chance to earn startup funds for their projects. View the New 2025 Season Schedule at https://yemithaca.com/