HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 Sep-Dec 2015 Municipal Town Newsletter.pdf1
Town of Enfield
Municipal Newsletter
168 Enfield Main Road
http://townofenfield.org
September-December 2015
Enfield Town Boards
Meetings are held in the
Community Building, 1st floor
Town Board: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm
Town Supervisor
Ann Rider 277-3478
ann-rider@townofenfield.org
Vera Howe-Strait
Town Council Members
Virginia Bryant 387-9376
Mike Carpenter 277-4204
Vera Howe-Strait 273-1413
Beth McGee 229-7870
Planning Board: 1st Wednesday, 7pm
Chair, Dan Walker 387-6394
Ann Chaffee 272-6460
Steve Givin 273-7434
Calvin Rothermich 272-5930
Red Poney Carpenter 279-2372
Henry Hanstein 727-3746
Town Offices
Town Clerk 273-8256
Alice Linton, Town Clerk
Sue Thompson, Deputy Town Clerk
Town Office/Clerk Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 3 pm - 6 pm
Highway Department 272-6490
Barry Rollins, Highway Superintendent
Town Highway Office Hours:
Monday-Friday: 6 am - 2:30 pm
Town Court 273-0363
Justice Poole: Monday, 5:00 pm
Code Enforcement Office
Community Building, 2nd floor
Code Enforcement 277-0266
Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer
Code Enforcement Office Hours:
Monday thru Thursday 8:30-11 am
Wednesday 5-7 pm
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Community Bldg, dwnstrs 882-9958
Town Historian
Sue Thompson 272-6412
Enfield Volunteer Fire Company
Roger Lauper, Chief 272-8757
Larry Stilwell, Deputy Chief
Kirk VanDee, 1st Assistant Chief
Alan Teeter, 2nd Assistant Chief
Tony Carlisle, Captain
County Legislators
Dave McKenna
Enfield/Newfield
564-7243, dmckenna@tompkins-co.org
Jim Dennis
Enfield/Ulysses
387-4058, jpd821@yahoo.com
Report from the Supervisor
Hope the summer has been good. Certainly there was enough rain.
Hope there was also enough music, swimming and barbeques. We're now
almost back to school and all that the fall season brings us.
Tompkins County Area Transit wants to extend bus route #20 and will
be putting in a turn around area at the new Highway Building. The Town has
decided to retain the piece of property across from the Town Hall to provide a
permanent Park and Ride for the community into the future. The Town Board is
committed to supporting public transportation. We want do our part in
encouraging mass transportation to reduce our community's carbon footprint.
We will be razing the old “Pig's Ear”, which is in extremely poor condition,
leveling off the area, and in conjunction with TCAT, setting a new shelter and
resetting the bicycle racks from the corner, so those ambitious residents can
safely park their bicycles at the new site. I'm hoping for a finish date of
November 1. The route will not be extended until mid-January when TCAT sets
their winter schedule. TCAT is excited to better meet the needs of our
community.
The Town Board is also talking about a Solar Farm Law. Residential
installations are controlled under the NYS Property Maintenance Code and
would not be part of this. With the increased interest in large installations, it
probably would be prudent to have some controls in place, especially
infringement on neighbor's quality of life and some controls about abandoned
installations, so they don't become public eyesores and safety concerns. Come
to the public sector of our regular Town Board meetings if you have an opinion
of this topic. What part of this upcoming phenomenon would be appropriate to
control in Enfield? What should not? E-mail also works.
As a closure to the Emergency Planning Committee's work this year,
we will having an Emergency Preparedness Meeting for the community on
October 3 at 10AM at the Elementary School. We will have our final Enfield
plan available, have informational materials available and some visual
presentations to encourage you to do some planning with your family and or
business on this important topic. Beth Harrington has many, many fun ideas on
this fairly dry subject so stay tuned.
Remember the Harvest Festival on October 10 and a local election on
November 3 at the Fire House.
Ann S. Rider
Supervisor
Town Comprehensive Plan
The Comprehensive Plan writing committee is currently working on the
following sections: Municipality, Economic Development, Infrastructure, and
Environmental. Revision of these draft sections is nearing completion and we'll
begin the final two sections, Community and Agriculture, moving into the Fall.
We welcome all who wish to participate in this process and value your input
and enthusiasm as we finalize this important document for the future of our
town. All meetings are open to the public. Check the town website at
www.townofenfield.org for dates and times or contact Councilperson Beth
McGee at beth-mcgee@townofenfield.org for more information.
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Helpful Tompkins County Web Sites (all begin with http://www.):
Government: co.tompkins.ny.us
Legislature: tompkins-co.org/legislature
Assessment: tompkins-co.org/assessment
Board of Elections: tompkins-co.org/boe
Clerk: tompkins-co.org/clerk
Health Department: tompkins-co.org/health
Highway Department: tompkins-co.org/highway
Solid Waste: recycletompkins.org
From the Town Clerk
I hope everyone had a good
summer.
Although it is way too early to think
about the subject, this newsletter is a
good way to get word out about a
slight change to the town and county
tax bills. In years past the Tompkins
County Assessment Department has
printed all tax bills in their office and
each town has seen to the mailing of
the bills. This year the Assessment
Department has asked that we try a
new procedure. All tax bills will be
printed and mailed by a company that
specializes in this work. It appears the
only change to residents is that if you
usually get multiple tax bills in one
envelope, this year each tax bill will be
in an individual envelope. Although it
seems like this will use more postage,
we are assured that there will be a
total overall savings for the process.
Once again this year you will be
able to look up your tax bill information
on-line by going to
www.townofenfield.org and clicking on
the "tax collection" tab. You will be
able to see if your tax payment has
been processed, print copies of your
bill or receipt, and look up prior year's
bills. For anyone who doesn't have
access to our website, we are still glad
to provide information when you call
our office at 273-8256.
In January we will have extended
hours as follows:
Mondays 3-6
Tuesdays 9-12 and 3-6
Wednesdays 3-6
Thursdays 9-12 and 3-6
Saturdays 9-12
The remainder of the year our
hours will be Monday - Thursday from
3-6 p.m. Throughout the year if our
hours don’t work for you, please give
us a call and we’ll be glad to
accommodate your schedule.
Alice Linton
Enfield Town Clerk
From the Highway Superintendent
Spring
I am pretty sure most of you realize that we had a record amount of
cold this winter and we are looking forward to our spring projects.
We received our new loader, we also found a used dump truck, a 10 wheeler
it’s a 2008 MACK and in very good shape for $107,000. It came equipped
with a snow plow and spreader. This price is less than half of what a new
truck would have cost. It will replace the Old 1992 truck. This was bought
with Town Board approval in an attempt to keep within our plan for updating
equipment.
A loader is one of our main pieces of equipment. What does a loader
do? A loader fills the trucks with sand during the winter months to use on our
roads. It pushes back snow on the roads so that we have more room to put
the new snow falling. Much needed this winter! During the spring and
summer months we use it to cut shoulders, pick up and move material when
working on the roads.
Our main focus this summer is replacing road covert pipes, finishing
South Van Dorn Rd, ½ a mile between Enfield Rd and Bostwick Rd. Continue
work on Rockwell Rd replacing pipes and resurfacing. Unless we find more
pressing issues once the snow melts.
Mailboxes took a beating this winter because of the amount of snow.
Just a reminder that spring and summer are a good time to get your
mailboxes back in shape. The Town Hall and the Highway have the
requirements (policy), as well as they are available on Line at Town Of
Enfield. The measurements in this policy is to ensure the snow plow blade
fits underneath your mailbox, as well as the snow that is being pushed. And
that the posts are back far enough from the road.
I want to thank the guys for a good job this winter, there were some
long days and weekends.
Summer
Change of road plans from above. Re-profiling Buck Hill rd.
(between Harvey Hill and West Enfield Center rd.); 1/2 of the last mile of Fish
Rd.
Oil & Stone "Chip sealing" East Enfield Center Rd (between 327 and
Applegate Rd;) Shudaben Rd; Bostwick Rd; and Aiken Rd (between
Waterburg Rd) and Podunk Rd.
Clean up week went very well, some rain at the beginning but all in
all very successful!
Fall
Our summer projects are now done. Continuing doing our summer
road maintenance, ditching and culvert re-placement.
We are a little behind because the Excavator’s engine blew up in
mid-July. We had to rent a machine for only one month. Luckily with our
experience and capability, we are able to do this in-house, saving $6,000-
$8,000 plus also saving down time because we can get it done faster. The
engine, just itself, was approximately $11,000.
Thanks
Buddy Rollins
Highway Superintendent
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News from Tompkins County Government
Contract Awarded to Tompkins County Office for the Aging Regional Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
Tompkins County Office for the Aging has been awarded, through a competitive process, a five year contract for
$113,000 each year with the New York State Office for the Aging and the Office of State Long Term Care
Ombudsman. Tompkins County will administer the Ombudsman Program in a newly created region which will include
Tompkins, Schuyler and Chemung Counties.
The mission of the Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman is to protect the health, safety, welfare, human
and civil rights of people living in nursing homes and adult care facilities. Volunteers are a vital component of the Long
Term Care Ombudsman program. They are certified and professionally trained advocates who resolve issues with long
term care facilities on behalf of residents and their families. Volunteers include former teachers, businessmen,
healthcare workers, and others. They are also homemakers, attorneys and others who care about the well being of
people living in nursing and adult care homes.
The new region of Tompkins, Schuyler and Chemung Counties includes 23 long term care facilities serving
approximately 1840 residents.
If you are interested in more information or volunteering for the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, contact
Suzanne Motheral, Ombudsman Coordinator at the Tompkins County Office for the Aging, (607) 274-5498.
Rabies Alert – Catch the Bat!
The Tompkins County Health Department urges residents to avoid the risk of rabies and rabies treatment by
capturing and submitting for laboratory testing any bat found in their home that may have come in contact with humans
or pets. There have been two confirmed rabid bats in Tompkins County in 2015.
Rabies is largely transmitted through bites from rabid animals. Bats present an additional concern, because in
certain situations a bite may not be readily apparent. This includes bats that are found in a room with a sleeping person
or bats that are found in the presence of an unattended child or a person with a sensory impairment. Bats that have
contact with pets that are lapsed or unvaccinated against rabies also present a concern.
If there is any chance that contact with a bat occurred to a person or pet, or you are not sure if contact occurred,
capture the bat without touching it. If indoors, close windows, room and closet doors, turn on lights, and wait for the bat
to land. Wearing heavy gloves, cover the bat with a pail, coffee can or similar container. If you spot a grounded bat
outdoors, you can prevent further contact with people and pets by covering it with a pail or similar container. Immediately
call the Tompkins County Health Department at (607) 274-6688. If the bat is not captured or tests positive for rabies,
every person and pet that had a reasonable probability of exposure should receive rabies shots as soon as possible.
An 80-second video on the proper technique for safely capturing a bat found in one’s home is available on the New York
State Department of Health website at http://www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/rabies/.
To find out more: http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/health/eh/neighborhood/rabiesfacts.
From the Enfield Town Historian
- Sue Thompson
“Throw Back Thursday”, I know the term has probably been over used ,but it brings attention to my new
historian’s articles every Thursday. You can find these articles on the towns website – www.townofenfield.org. In my
weekly “Throw Back Thursday” series I share a little bit of Enfield’s History. Do you have a photo of a past event,
building, etc. of Enfield you would like to share? Email the photo to historian@townofenfield.org. and I’ll feature it in an
upcoming article. I also invite readers to share their memories of each of our weekly photos by sending a message to
historian@townofenfield.org.
I will be at the Enfield Harvest Festival on October 10th sharing some “Enfield Folklore/Ghost Stories” with the
community. I’d love to hear any stories you would like to share!
The Tompkins County Municipal Historians group will be rewriting our “Touring the Towns of Tompkins County,
New York”. The major points in the brochures will be geographical highpoints; Native Americans if evidence; origins of
community; use of land: agriculture and changes, industry; town government, interesting characters and anecdotes;
cemetery information: highlight notable residents, ownership; parks, special gardens if public viewed from road; trails;
education: remains of one room school houses, notable institutions of education; religious structures, historic marker
and monuments, historic buildings, famous/infamous residents: past only; communities within municipality: ethnic,
religious, communal, residents.
If you have any comments information regarding the above list let me know.
The History Center in Ithaca will be featuring Cemeteries as part of the community landscape, architectural
importance, responses to death, responsible groups for local cemeteries, genealogical and historical information. They
are working on tours of cemeteries within our communities also. Enfield will be featured in an exhibit on our Rumsey
Cemetery. A very interesting cemetery with double headstones and the families “residing’ there. I researched all the
people buried there and how they are related, I learned a lot!
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Town of Enfield
168 Enfield Main Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Dates to Remember
September
2 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
2 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
9 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
October
7 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
7 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
14 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
November
4 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
4 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
11 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
December
2 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
2 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
9 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
Town Website
Have you checked out the new town website? Please visit the site
at www.townofenfield.org for all the latest information and resources
important to Enfield residents. Meeting dates, minutes, services, history,
community groups, newsletters, tax information, community calendar,
budgets, financial reports, and much much more are available on our new
site. You can even sign up to be notified by email when new information is
added! Don't miss a thing, check it out today!
From the Code Enforcement Office
It’s been a busy summer for projects in the Town. We’ve had a lot
of home owners installing solar panels, even more than last year. Its
important to know that you need a permit and an electrical inspection for
these projects, but your contractor should help you with those two
processes. There are many local contractors working on solar installations,
and they all seem to be doing a good job, including those from Enfield.
There are still tax rebates for solar installations, which are making it
affordable for people.
Even though the temperatures remain warm, now is the time to
have your furnace checked and serviced, before the busy season starts. If
you are installing a wood, pellet, or coal stove, you need a permit and an
inspection; your homeowners insurance may require this, but if not, its still
a good idea.
As always, if you have any questions about projects around the
home, give me a call.
Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer