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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch Newsletter TOWN OF ITHACA March 2025 Newsletter New Board Members Welcome to Vincent Ferrara on the Planning Board and Larry Salinger and Lindsay Garner to the Zoning Board of Appeals . Welcome to Kelly Anderson Finance Department Director Having worked in local government for the last 25+ years, I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity to join the amazing Town of Ithaca team. I look forward to serving the Town and Greater Ithaca community in my capacity as the Finance Officer. It is immediately evident to me that the town is in strong fiscal health in large part because it is supported by a dedicated group of public servants who are committed to delivering excellence in municipal service and operations. I truly value and appreciate how supportive and professional everyone has been in welcoming me. My priorities for the upcoming year include identifying opportunities for enhanced fiscal transparency and reporting, as well as examining ways to improve the procurement process so that we can best maximize our combined time, energy, and financial resources across all departments and agencies. I very much enjoy digging into operations and processes to gain a more thorough understanding of why "we do the things we do, the way we do them," with an eye towards standardization and improved efficiency. Joining an organization with those shared values is equally refreshing and exciting! Being able to work in an area that my family and I have long loved to visit and explore, has brought my personal and professional life into beautiful alignment, which I am tremendously grateful for. - Kelly Anderson BEWARE OF PHISHING SCAMS! Any contact from the Town will have this address @townithacany.gov Note the .gov suffix which provides an extra layer of protection and authenticity now. If you receive a suspicious email you think originated from Town staff, please call Town Hall at (607) 273-1721 opt. 1 to confirm it’s validity. Water Bills Due Avoid a late fee and pay your water bills by March 31, 2025. You can pay in person at Town Hall, Online, by Mail or the drop box at the Buffalo St entrance. Sign up for ACH payments and never have to worry about paying your water bill on time again. 2025 Spring Brush and Leaf Pickup The Town of Ithaca Public Works Department will be picking up yard waste (brush, leaves, pine needles, dead flowers, garden waste, and grass clippings) starting Monday, April 21, and will continue throughout the Town that week until finished. All yard waste must be at the roadside by 7 a.m. on the first day of collection. THERE WILL BE NO SECOND COLLECTION AND NO CALL BACKS. The intention of the Town’s roadside collection service is for Town residents outside the Village of Cayuga Heights and the City of Ithaca 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. Please note that our crews do not use leaf vacuum machines for spring leaf pickup, therefore, no loose piles will be picked up. Also, no plastic bags 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 pickup; 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. WHAT TO DO • Bag leaves, garden, and other yard waste in biodegradable paper bags. Fill bags and place on road shoulder. Fold over openings of bags to close. Do not staple or tape. 30-gallon bags are available at Agway, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, and Wegman’s along with other stores in the area. • Brush should be placed in neat piles going with the flow of traffic so that the chipping trucks can feed the cut ends first. • Brush piles should be no larger than a pickup truck load (approximately 2’ H x 4’ W x 8’ L in size). It is not necessary to cut limbs into small pieces. • Put out limbs no larger than 8 inches in diameter. • Place brush and filled bags of yard waste along road shoulder or at the end of the driveway if no shoulder exists. 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 and leaf bags out until the week before collection. For more information, please call 273-1656 between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You may also drop your yard waste off at the Public Works Facility at 114 Seven Mile Drive, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. year-round. Please sign in at the office. Planning Notes The Town's Upcoming & Current Projects webpage lists the ongoing and upcoming projects proposed in the Town of Ithaca (direct link is https://townithacany.gov/upcoming-current-projects/); you can also navigate to this list via the Town's homepage under the 'Town Government' header all the way to the right of your screen. East Hill Projects include: • Maplewood II – A proposed new Planned Development Zone (PDZ) covering nine acres south of Maple Avenue to allow construction of six apartment buildings containing 615 units in studio, one bedroom, and two-bedroom unit configurations. • CFCU Community Credit Union Improvements – Exterior renovations and upgrades to the drive-through with three remote Virtual Teller Machine lanes. • Cornell University Game Farm Road Field Hockey Field – New field hockey facilities and associated improvements. • Mirabito / Burger King Re-Development – Redevelopment of the existing gas station site, which also includes a convenience store and Burger King restaurant with drive -through and electric vehicle charging stations. South Hill Projects: • Ithaca College Running Track and Throw Fields – Construction of new athletic facilities. • Verizon Wireless Personal Wireless Service Facility – A new telecommunications tower proposed on Wiedmaier Court. • Comfort Inn Hotel – A new 67-room hotel located in the Inlet Valley. West Hill Projects: • Conifer West Hill Neighborhood Development – Proposed new neighborhood adjacent to the city line and off Mecklenburg Road, to create a mixed-use neighborhood combining residential, commercial, and civic spaces; more information available at https://coniferllc.com/ west-hill-neighborhood-development/ • Carrowmoor Solar Energy System – 5 MW single-axis sun tracking solar array on approximately 30-acres off Mecklenburg Road These projects are all at various stages of review. For more information, please contact Town of Ithaca Director of Planning C.J. Randall at 607-273-1721 x120 or cjrandall@townithacany.gov. Planning Board Vacancy The Planning Board consists of seven regular members with two alternates. It is charged with reviewing land use and development issues and approving subdivisions, site plans and special permit requests. Meetings are generally held at 7 pm on the first and third Tuesday of the month. For more information go to https://townithacany.gov/board-and-committee-vacancies/ To apply email clerks@townithacany.gov. 2025 Annual Equity Maintenance Program On March 14, 2025, the Department of Assessment will mail assessment change notices to all property owners whose assessments have changed since the 2024 Assessment Roll. This coincides with the posting of the 2025 Preliminary Assessment. After a thorough analysis in collaboration with the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services, we have determined that no market- based assessment changes are necessary to maintain a 100% level of assessment for the 2025 Assessment Roll. This marks a significant shift from the past three years, during which rapid real estate market growth required widespread adjustments. Assessment Changes in 2025 As of February 6, 2025, we have made 1,281 assessment changes, significantly fewer than in previous years when over 20,000 adjustments were made annually. Of these: • 639 changes were to standard residential and commercial properties. • 642 changes involved utility infrastructure, such as poles, wires, cables, and pipelines on privately owned land, as well as New York State-owned taxable forest land. We are still awaiting confirmation of new construction status as of the March 1 taxable status date, which may result in additional updates. Our Commitment to Fair Assessments The Department of Assessment only makes changes when necessary to maintain a 100% level of assessment. If a full countywide revaluation is required, we conduct one. If no changes are needed, we do not adjust assessments unnecessarily. However, properties that underwent physical changes in the past year —or had unreported modifications from previous years—will still receive updates. Informal Review Opportunities Property owners will have the opportunity to request an informal assessment review from March 24 to April 4, 2025. We will be launching an enhanced online platform to facilitate this process—stay tuned for more details! Daily Sales Page We have a Daily Sales Page now on our website that is updated as soon as we get the sales that have been recorded at the County Clerk's office. While mostly likely the page will be updated the next day, it might be delayed due to reasons beyond our control. But that shouldn't be for more than a day or two. (and pardon our appearance as we work to transfer over the links from the old webpage to the new webpage). Jay Franklin, Director of Assessment The Learning Web Calendar of Events Know a youth aged 11-21 that would like to explore career options with a hands on experience tour? Check out the calendar of events this month at the Learning Web. In March there is a REP studios tour, a TSA tour, a Job Readiness Workshop, a tour of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a Tompkins County Whole Health tour. For more information and to sign up for a tour go to https://learning-web.org/news-events/events.html. Ithaca Polar Plunge Saturday, March 22 Registration 9:30AM to 11:30AM Plunge at 12:00PM Taughannock State Park Beach 1740 Taughannock Boulevard, Trumansburg, NY Gather your family, grab your friends, double-dare your co-workers and start a Polar Plunge Team! You can also join us as an individual if you like, just be ready to get wet! Collect donations to help sponsor your plunge in support of local Special Olympics New York athletes. Every dollar donated makes a difference! For more information and to register go to https:// events.nyso.org/site/TR?fr_id=3260&pg=entry Tompkins County Public Library Exhibit Symbiosis the Art of Living Together March-April 2025 Science and art are brought together in this exciting show that features art from over 30 members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators – Finger Lakes Chapter (gnsi- fingerlakes.com). A pdf version of the exhibit can be found here.