September 1, 2012

Woodstove, Part III, water jacket

The last work actually done on the woodstove installation was back in June. What happened? Well, two things. We're still waiting to have the hearth installed, which is behind - but I hadn't been pressing them because we were missing...

Posted by simon at 4:25 PM

May 18, 2012

Bolton Point water safer than reported

If, like me, you get your water from the Bolton Point plant, this may come as a mild relief: the water only has 58 parts per billion of trihalomethanes, not the 82 ppb they reported in their water quality report....

Posted by simon at 4:43 PM

Town Board approves Yellow Barn water district

Last night's Town Board meeting started out with a pretty full room, because of the public hearing on the Yellow Barn water district. The Town will be taking over the infrastructure of the Yellow Barn Water Company, whose board members...

Posted by simon at 7:26 AM

November 28, 2011

Asking the wrong questions about groundwater and gas

Unlike other more plausible sections of the geology chapter of the draft SGEIS on shale gas drilling (4.2MB PDF), I knew that the last section - 4.7, Naturally-Occurring Methane in NYS - was broken from the first time I read...

Posted by simon at 6:10 PM

September 1, 2011

Dryden SEC forum Wednesday, September 7th

It's "the second in their series of public education meetings", though the first was invitation-only and in Binghamton, so I'm not really sure what this series is supposed to be. Anyway: The second forum is on "Water and Energy Development,"...

Posted by simon at 11:32 PM

March 1, 2011

Water issues and gas drilling

A friend questioned the plausibility of my zoning fiction about dense development on Route 13, largely because the issues with water supplies and hydrofracking seemed tenuous. I'd based that on the failed plan to run water to Dimock, PA residents...

Posted by simon at 7:03 AM

December 21, 2010

Dryden bails out state

Or at least that's what the Journal's print edition headlined their online article called Town of Dryden awards farm conservation easement funds. Faced with New York State's apparent inability to come up with money they'd committed to, the Town finished...

Posted by simon at 11:19 AM

December 4, 2010

Pellet gun, pornography, Varna, more

There are lots of Dryden pieces in the Ithaca Journal over the last few days. On the dark side, there's a Dryden student in trouble for bringing a pellet gun to school. A Dryden man was arrested on child pornography...

Posted by simon at 12:00 PM

November 30, 2010

North Road water supply meeting tonight at 5:00pm

If you live in or near the Village of Dryden, this meeting about the failing North Road water supply pipe might be worth a visit. It's at the Dryden Town Hall, 93 East Main Street (Route 392)....

Posted by simon at 11:07 AM

November 23, 2010

Ancient water line problem grows

An 1890s water line runs from the Village of Dryden along North Road to the TC3 Head Start building, and its slow collapse is causing problems. Because it's outside of the village, the village can't repair it; because there's no...

Posted by simon at 5:54 AM

October 15, 2010

Death at George Junior

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a death at the William George Agency, still commonly called George Junior Republic: Alexis Javier Cirino-Rodriguez, 20, "became unresponsive after a physical incident involving intervention by the staff from the facility" around 7:18 p.m.,...

Posted by simon at 6:47 AM

September 16, 2010

Notes on last night's Town Board meeting

Last night's Town Board meeting was supposed to be short, but wound up going until around 10:00pm. There wasn't a lot to discuss, but what there was to discuss was sometimes pretty thorny. The first conversation didn't seem particularly thorny,...

Posted by simon at 8:26 PM

August 30, 2010

The curse of water and sewer

When I was buying my house, there was a small problem. The mortgage folks wanted a water test, and we hadn't done one. Why hadn't we done one? Because although the house has a well, it only goes to the...

Posted by simon at 8:45 PM

August 7, 2010

Special districts

The Ithaca Journal loves to publish on municipal consolidation, and today's push looks at Cortland, Candor, and Ithaca. They also have a list of the number of special districts in Tompkins County, many of which are in Dryden: District Type#...

Posted by simon at 5:41 AM

July 20, 2010

Many changes to the hamlet and commercial zoning

In an earlier post, I wrote that: The hamlet zoning density blasted up from a little over four to as much as ten units per acre, while still specifying, well, little vision for what a hamlet should look like. They...

Posted by simon at 12:44 PM

January 8, 2010

Natural gas fire in water-well drilling

No, this has nothing to do with Marcellus Shale gas exploration - it's just an unfortunate problem that's been a risk of water drilling here for a while. Etna, Freeville, and Dryden firefighters responded to a fire at a water-well...

Posted by simon at 8:14 AM

October 26, 2009

Trees and Forestry

Code Enforcement Officer Henry Slater used to remind the Planning Board about another category of farmer: tree farmers. There are Christmas tree farms, but also a lot of logging operations. Some of the logging is for firewood, some for lumber,...

Posted by simon at 9:25 AM

September 25, 2009

Two boil-water advisories in Dryden

I haven't been following the dwindling Ithaca Journal as closely as I used to, but this morning I was a little surprised to see two Dryden water systems under boil-water notices. One is off German Cross Road, the other off...

Posted by simon at 11:49 AM

September 9, 2009

Stimulus to pay part of Dryden sewage plant

I need to start posting more on local news, and especially one critical piece: the federal government will pick up $2.97 million toward the Dryden wastewater treatment plant rebuild with another $3.64 million loan. That's been a long long story,...

Posted by simon at 11:42 AM

October 1, 2008

Why all that dull meeting stuff matters

There's not much at Town Board meetings that's less exciting than detailed talk about water and sewer districts. Once you get past the basic "is this a good idea?" question, which draws lots of attention, engineering drawings, infinite questions about...

Posted by simon at 3:51 PM

May 5, 2008

Poverty, water-tasting, clean-up

Saturday's Ithaca Journal was quiet on Dryden, but their continuing series on poverty is well-worth reading. Energy East, the parent company of NYSEG, saw its earnings fall. In today's paper, Bolton Point water, which serves western Dryden, won the annual...

Posted by simon at 8:14 AM

February 16, 2008

Attempted entry at Dryden Elementary

Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's something, but a man who tried to convince third-graders to let him in to Dryden Elementary is raising concerns. The third-graders did as they were supposed to, and didn't let him in through the locked...

Posted by simon at 9:59 AM

January 28, 2008

TC3 commons, sewer agreement, organic farming

Saturday's Cortland Standard is loaded with Dryden news. There's an article on the opening of the TC3 Learning Commons, an article on the agreement between the Town and Village of Dryden on the Cortland Road Sewer Contract, and an update...

Posted by simon at 8:52 AM

January 25, 2008

TC3 Commons; sewer agreement approved

This morning's Journal has a picture of the new TC3 Commons on the front of the Local section. (Update: Whoops - that was the athletic facility.) As Town Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner noted in comments here, the Town and Village...

Posted by simon at 12:26 PM

January 23, 2008

Cortland Road Sewer District finally sorting?

I've been writing about the Cortland Road Sewer District contract negotiations almost as long as I've been writing this site. The district, north of the Village of Dryden, is administered by the Town but uses the Village sewer plant, which...

Posted by simon at 8:55 AM

November 19, 2007

Changing sewer district boundary for TC3 dorm?

Saturday's Cortland Standard has a more detailed look at a strange problem with TC3 and the Cortland Road Sewer District: TC3 President Carl Haynes said Friday no one noticed the that the college's fifth dorm, completed during the summer, was...

Posted by simon at 12:21 PM

October 30, 2007

Might Ithaca wastewater issues flow uphill?

That's the question I was left with at the end of this Journal article about labor issues at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant. Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull sounds concerned: Both Valentino and Town of Dryden Supervisor Steven Trumbull said...

Posted by simon at 9:01 PM

October 25, 2007

Sewers stuck

The cover stories of this week's Dryden Courier, except for the charming picture of an elementary chorus singing before the school board, are pretty dark. One story examines the problem of a foul smell in the Dryden High School/Middle School...

Posted by simon at 6:48 PM

September 22, 2007

Dryden opinions; dissolve Tioga County?

The Ithaca Journal has been remarkably quiet about Dryden lately. Yesterday, there was a letter in the paper from Peter Davies (listed as Ithaca) suggesting a change in the way groups fundraise. Today Peter Lipinski of Dryden co-signs a letter...

Posted by simon at 7:27 PM

August 25, 2007

Superintendent, intersection

This week's Dryden Courier just arrived. It reports on Dryden Schools Superintendent Mark Crawford's impending departure for his hometown of Hamburg, where he'll be taking the Superintendent's job.There's also an article on the Lower Creek Road curve that's been a...

Posted by simon at 8:37 PM

July 12, 2007

Summer reading for kids; federal funding for sewers

This morning's Ithaca Journal editorial cites Southworth Library and the Dryden schools' Solar Express bookmobile as key programs for helping ensure that kids read during the summer. There's also hope that the federal government may (eventually) help pay to rebuild...

Posted by simon at 5:49 PM

May 11, 2007

Town Board sees 12:20am

The Town Board meeting stretched past midnight last night, for the first time that I can remember. It was a long meeting, though actually more focused than many recent meetings, and fortunately they took a five minute break at one...

Posted by simon at 8:43 AM

March 12, 2007

Dryden accomplishments; sewer plant questions

This week's issue of the Dryden Courier arrived in better time than last week's, and if you read this today or tomorrow and want to find out more about an article the paper will still be available in stores. The...

Posted by simon at 7:54 AM

March 2, 2007

Well-water rules tightening

This morning's Journal reports that the County Health Department will be tightening well regulations. New wells will require permits, as will abandonments of wells. It seems to be coming down from the New York State Health Department, The county press...

Posted by simon at 8:33 AM

February 28, 2007

Jazz concert tonight; sewer hearing delayed

Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk reports that the Cornell University Jazz Ensemble will be having a workshop and concert tonight at the Dryden High School auditorium. The workshop for students runs from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, and the concert starts afterward....

Posted by simon at 8:25 AM

February 27, 2007

Standard on Village sewer plant, race

This morning's Cortland Standard reports on the Village of Dryden. There's an overview of upcoming elections, in which two Democrats (Lisa Valentinelli and Elizabeth Gutchess) and two Republicans (Bob Witty and Randy Sterling) are running for two trustee seats. The...

Posted by simon at 8:36 AM

December 13, 2006

Dryden's jewels on Emerald Necklace

This morning's Ithaca Journal highlighted the Yellow Barn State Forest and Hammond Hill State Forest in an article on conservation efforts along the Finger Lakes Trail, as the County Legislature brings in a planner to help protect public land from...

Posted by simon at 5:17 PM

June 14, 2006

Ellis Hollow residents reject water district

Ellis Hollow residents filled the Varna Fire Station tonight, requiring Varna to make a mutual aid call to the Dryden Fire Department for more chairs than the 99 they already had out. Engineer Andy Sciarabba explained the basics of the...

Posted by simon at 10:03 PM

May 19, 2006

TC3 graduates 615

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's TC3 graduation (in the print edition only), where 615 people received Associate's Degrees. Among the graduates the Journal spoke with is Amanda Christofferson, who graduated in a year after taking classes at...

Posted by simon at 7:49 AM

May 13, 2006

Ellis Hollow water, continued; alternative energy

Town Board member Mary Ann Sumner has written a brief description of Thursday's four-hour Town Board meeting. The only thing I'd add to it is that it looks like the proposal for a water district on Ellis Hollow Road will...

Posted by simon at 9:18 AM

May 9, 2006

Ellis Hollow, Pinckney Road infrastructure

The Town Board will soon be evaluating the prospects for a water district along Ellis Hollow Road (where wells have been having problems) and for a water and sewer district near Pinckney Road, where it would serve businesses between there...

Posted by simon at 12:37 PM

May 5, 2006

Water tasting, school volunteers

The Ithaca Journal's editorial today visits the Tompkins County Water Week and Taste Test, exploring the importance of water supplies to this area. (I was contemplating that yesterday while watching thunderstorms go north of us on the radar.) There's also...

Posted by simon at 8:09 AM

April 15, 2006

Cayuga Press departing for Cortland

This morning's Ithaca Journal leads with the news that Cayuga Press is leaving its Hanshaw Road facilities for an Empire Zone in Cortland. The Town Board passed a resolution Thursday night that their departure was for reasons that couldn't readily...

Posted by simon at 6:38 PM

November 11, 2005

Concession; Dryden development

This morning's Ithaca Journal has a lot from last night's Town Board meeting, with an article on Mike Lane's concession speech and another piece on possible development north of the Village of Dryden near TC3. One plan, proposed by Bill...

Posted by simon at 5:07 PM

October 29, 2005

Town Board approves budget

The Town Board approved the budget on Thursday night with minor corrections (which I've added to the list). The budget has a property tax rate of $1.436410 per thousand, down from $1.477628, for a decrease of 2.8%, while the tax...

Posted by simon at 5:23 PM

September 29, 2005

TC3 starts first fund-raising campaign

I always thought that state colleges and universities were supposed to be paid for by the state, but it's become clearer and clearer lately that the state, or at least the people currently running it, doesn't like that idea much....

Posted by simon at 4:34 PM

September 25, 2005

Town Board meeting conflicts

I was planning to spend this weekend catching up on a number of stories, but instead wound up resting (for the first time in too long), painting and fixing storm windows, and replacing my windshield wiper blades after a chunk...

Posted by simon at 8:46 PM

September 1, 2005

Where do your biosolids go?

That's not exactly a nice question, as 'biosolids' are treated sewage. This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at the use and safety of using treated sewage as fertilizer. While the article says that no farms in Tompkins County are doing this,...

Posted by simon at 6:52 AM

August 31, 2005

Village raises sewer rates

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Village of Dryden has increased sewer rates on the Cortland Road Sewer District, moving ahead despite concerns over the lack of a contract with the town. It sounds like the trailer parks will...

Posted by simon at 12:19 PM

August 23, 2005

Cortland Road Sewer District, continued

An article in last night's Cortland Standard suggests that the issues I wrote about back in April of last year regarding the Cortland Road Sewer District have yet to be resolved. Ida Pease reports on a Village of Dryden trustees...

Posted by simon at 8:19 PM

August 12, 2005

Too little water, too much traffic

Jennie Daley reports on last night's Dryden Town Board meeting, highlighting problems residents reported with their water systems and traffic. Cathi Calori and Art Berkey presented their work on a possible water district for Ellis Hollow Road from Game Farm...

Posted by simon at 8:21 AM

August 11, 2005

Water and health

Today's Ithaca Journal includes the monthly report from the Tompkins County Board of Health, which includes some Dryden temporary permits and water systems. There's a notice about absentee ballots for primary races. The only primary I'm aware of to be...

Posted by simon at 8:13 AM

August 4, 2005

Water system upgrade

If your Dryden house or business uses public water, this article on coming upgrades to the Bolton Point water treatment plant may be interesting. They're working to change the way chlorine interacts with substances in the lake to reduce potential...

Posted by simon at 7:40 AM

July 14, 2005

Water issues coming up

The Ithaca Journal's editorial this morning looks at the possibility of the City of Ithaca joining the Bolton Point water system, which is jointly owned by other municipalities, including the Town of Dryden. Otherwise, it looks like Dryden's been peaceful....

Posted by simon at 8:08 AM

July 10, 2005

Public hearing on Comprehensive Plan Thursday

This Thursday's Town Board meeting will start with a 7:00pm public hearing about the Comprehensive Plan that's been coming through the Planning Board for the past few years. The Comprehensive Plan lays out the proposed future for the town for...

Posted by simon at 9:54 PM

June 8, 2005

Catching up on the May Town Board meeting

Since the June Town Board meeting is tomorrow night, and I still haven't covered it, it's probably time to take a look at the minutes from the May meeting I did cover the statement from the fire department chiefs and...

Posted by simon at 9:27 PM

May 3, 2005

Hunting accident claims life

This morning's Ithaca Journal brings sad news: two brothers went turkey hunting in Dryden and one died of a gunshot wound. Michael and James Carter of Clover, South Carolina were hunting yesterday along Mott Road, and Michael somehow shot James...

Posted by simon at 6:56 AM

May 1, 2005

April Town Board meeting minutes available

I spent most of April writing about wind turbines (which now seem not to be happening), and only covered two small pieces of the April Town Board meeting, discussing executive session issues related to the golf course and wind turbines....

Posted by simon at 3:31 PM

April 16, 2005

Dryden population to grow 15% this decade

An excellent article in this morning's Ithaca Journal about sewer systems (or their lack) around the county includes this bit of news I hadn't heard: The Claritas numbers indicate the towns of Enfield, Dryden, Caroline and Lansing are each expected...

Posted by simon at 8:15 AM

April 2, 2005

Village of Dryden annexation possibilities

At the March Town Board meeting, Mike Hattery distributed a map with one possible scenario for annexing more property north of the Village of Dryden to the village. I've had a little trouble scanning it in so that it's readable...

Posted by simon at 10:15 AM

March 15, 2005

Village elections today

This morning's Journal reports that there are elections today in the Villages of Dryden and Freeville. Polls will be open from noon to 9:00pm at the the Dryden Village Hall (map) and the the Freeville Village Hall (map). Freeville's election...

Posted by simon at 8:58 AM

March 6, 2005

Village sewer plant may block TC3 expansion; snowmobile benefit

This week's Dryden Courier leads with an article on roadblocks to TC3's expansion. Governor Pataki's veto of funding for it last year has stalled it, but even with the money, there's another large problem: needed repairs for the Village of...

Posted by simon at 10:41 AM

March 5, 2005

Peaceful hearing on Dryden Mutual annexation

The Village of Dryden Trustees and the Town of Dryden Board held a joint public hearing on Wednesday night to discuss the possible annexation of a parcel of land owned by Dryden Mutual Insurance to the village. Mayor Reba Taylor...

Posted by simon at 8:29 AM

February 27, 2005

Catching up on the Februrary Town Board meeting

I've been slack in covering the February Town Board meeting, and the minutes are now available if you want full details on what happened. Some key moments stand out in the meeting, so here are some highlights. I've bolded subjects...

Posted by simon at 9:13 AM

February 11, 2005

Town Board meeting, Freeville perspectives

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's Town Board meeting. They lead with the question of the purchase of land for the new Town Hall, writing that: In an unexpected move, the Dryden Town Board went into executive session...

Posted by simon at 8:59 AM

February 9, 2005

Annexation possibilities

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's public meeting to discuss the possible annexation of an area north of Dryden to the Village. Dryden Mutual Insurance has applied to be annexed to the Village, and there are large questions...

Posted by simon at 8:14 AM

January 31, 2005

Village annexation prospects, nurseries

I've been painfully slack in getting the Dryden Courier over the last few weeks. I bought last week's on the Tuesday night before it disappeared, misplaced it, and just got to the current issue tonight. There's still one more day...

Posted by simon at 7:48 PM

January 27, 2005

Dryden opinions

Two Dryden residents write to express their opinions in today's Ithaca Journal. Peter Davies writes a guest column encouraging the Ithaca City School District to support rowing as a sport. Maureen Brull writes expressing her concern about Americans' "arrogant use...

Posted by simon at 8:28 AM

January 15, 2005

Gay marriage suit, prescription cards

Freeville residents Terri Niedzialek and Nancy Chapman attended a State Supreme Court hearing on the suit by 25 same-sex couples that seeks to remove New York State's limitation of marriage to a man and a woman. Hospital issues motivated them:...

Posted by simon at 9:59 AM

November 26, 2004

Varna cleanup in progress

After an article earlier this week that mentioned the uncertain status of a gas spill at Varna Auto Works, the Journal has an update that talks with the owners about the status of the cleanup. Varna Auto is investing over...

Posted by simon at 8:28 AM

November 24, 2004

Eagle Scout project at DVMH; Victorian Winter Festival coming

This morning's Ithaca Journal is pretty well packed with news about and surrounding Dryden. Cathy Wakeman's Town Talk column looks at Eagle Scout Christopher Ackley's project, rebuilding the east entrance on the Dryden Veterans Memorial Home. Wakeman also offers a...

Posted by simon at 8:28 AM

November 2, 2004

Budget revisions

While Town Hall is occupied with voting machines right now, on Thursday night it will be the scene of a budget hearing. [Update: No, it won't be. The budget hearing has moved to the Village Hall (map).] With all the...

Posted by simon at 1:50 PM

October 28, 2004

Ellis Hollow silt, county planning

This morning's Ithaca Journal takes a look at the silt problems in Ellis Hollow that came up at this month's Town Board meeting. Jennie Daley talks with residents near the intersection of Turkey Hill, Ellis Hollow and Quarry Roads about...

Posted by simon at 8:18 AM

October 25, 2004

Special District tentative budgets

Continuing with the tentative budget into the district budgets (fire, lighting, water and sewer), here are more details. The fire protection budget comes as one big "Contractual Expenditures" number. It's declined from $701,145 in the 2004 budget to $649,839 in...

Posted by simon at 12:59 PM

October 23, 2004

First look at tentative Town Budget

I picked up a copy of the tentative budget at the Dryden Town Hall this week, and have to admit that it's nearly as opaque as last year's budget. I think part of it comes from its level of abstraction:...

Posted by simon at 4:15 PM

October 22, 2004

Village of Dryden projects

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's Village of Dryden Board of Trustees meeting. The Trustees discussed possible grants for housing rehabilitation, sorting out issues with the Town regarding the Cortland Road Sewer District, and Christmas decorations. (The decorations...

Posted by simon at 8:17 AM

October 18, 2004

Water issues of all kinds

Although it's not yet clear what the cause of or the solution to water problems along Ellis Hollow Road might be, those problems were a major topic of discussion at last Thursday's Town Board meeting. Charles Demotte discussed in Citizens'...

Posted by simon at 7:59 PM

September 26, 2004

A bigger Town Hall would be nice

The Town Board met Friday at 8:30am. Because court was in session, the board met in the Zoning Officer's office. It was a little crowded, and the picture doesn't even show two more of us who were in there. Town...

Posted by simon at 6:33 PM

September 16, 2004

Dryden school board approves teachers' contract

It looks like the contract negotiations in the Dryden Central School District have finally reached a positive conclusion, as the school board voted unanimously to approve the contract that teachers approved September 2nd. Meanwhile, in the Ithaca District, negotiations with...

Posted by simon at 12:41 PM

August 25, 2004

Teachers' agreement, water issue

This week's Dryden Courier explores the happier feelings coming out of the Dryden Central School District's negotiations with the Dryden Faculty Association. If all goes well as seems possible in the September 2nd vote, teachers should have a contract in...

Posted by simon at 6:43 PM

August 22, 2004

Preliminary county report on water contamination

I mentioned earlier that John Andersson of the Tompkins County Health Department talked at the Town Board meeting about the water contamination problem at 730 Midline Road. It was yet another frustrating exchange, as the county's hands seem tied by...

Posted by simon at 8:31 PM

August 21, 2004

Pataki vetoes TC3 expansion funding

Governor Pataki's budget vetoes struck TC3 and Cornell yesterday, as the governor vetoed all capital funds for higher education, including $10.6 million for TC3's expansion and $12 million for Cornell renovations. A legislative override seem uncertain, though there's definitely some...

Posted by simon at 8:14 AM

July 25, 2004

Catching up with yesterday's Journal

It's a good thing I put up a late-night post that produced an entry for yesterday, as I left at 6:30am for Ottawa, Ontario, to pick up a friend, and wound up returning home after midnight, after my wife drove...

Posted by simon at 3:43 PM

July 23, 2004

Town Board has five public hearings

At last night's Town Board meeting, the board heard five different public hearings, as well as two points of citizen's privilege. (The Recreation Partnership discussion was apparently postponed.) The first hearing was on an application by Andrew and Elaine Morenus...

Posted by simon at 12:47 PM

July 21, 2004

Royal Road water and sewer

One of the public hearings tomorrow night will address the creation of water and sewer districts for the Royal Road area, off Hanshaw Road near Route 13. If you're curious what's involved, I've posted the engineering reports for both: Engineer's...

Posted by simon at 11:40 PM

July 18, 2004

Six Mile Creek Monitoring training

Yesterday morning I enjoyed a workshop for volunteers preparing to monitor Six Mile Creek. They've had several previous sessions and meetings. This one was about "Sample Collection, Chemical Analysis, and Flow." It started at the Bethel Grove Community Center (actually...

Posted by simon at 1:06 PM

July 9, 2004

Highlights of the first July Town Board meeting

I'll be writing this up in more detail, but here are some quick highlights from last night's Town Board meeting: The board decided to appeal a FEMA decision to halt payment on $170,000 of grants for work on Virgil Creek....

Posted by simon at 8:50 AM

July 5, 2004

Remaining June meeting issues

It doesn't look like I'm going to have time to write up the rest of the June Town Board meeting the way I'd like to, and the town's minutes are already available, so I'm just going to talk a bit...

Posted by simon at 2:12 PM

June 17, 2004

Septic problems reach paper

Today's Ithaca Journal covers a complicated problem that's come up at two recent Town Board meetings. Reporter Jennie Daley takes a close look at the water contamination problems at Cindy and Craig Basl's home and their struggles with the county...

Posted by simon at 7:17 AM

June 16, 2004

June infrastructure issues

Finally, time to write about last week's Town Board meeting. Highway Superintendent Jack Bush told the board that highway crew had made progress in spite of the rain, putting down the first layer of surface treatment on roads including Upper...

Posted by simon at 7:02 PM

June 10, 2004

Tonight's Town Board meeting

The Town Board is meeting tonight at 7pm at the Dryden Town Hall (map). The agenda is available. Highlights include two public hearings affecting the Route 13/366 overlap area, discussion of a new town hall, a report from Town Attorney...

Posted by simon at 11:29 AM

May 24, 2004

May infrastructure issues

The May Town Board meeting opened with a hearing on amendments to the local law on siting telecommunications towers, changing the rules to encourage the shared use of existing towers. No one spoke on the matter, and eventually it passed...

Posted by simon at 7:25 PM

May 14, 2004

Angry neighbors

Posted by simon at 12:57 PM

May 10, 2004

Assessment hearings and planning meetings

Today's Ithaca Journal includes schedules of assessment hearings and comprehensive plan meetings. The local advisory board for assessments will meet at the Dryden Town Hall (map) on Thursday, May 20th, from 3pm to 6pm to hear property owners who wish...

Posted by simon at 12:27 PM

Freese Road bridge

David Weinstein, who lives on Freese Road along the north side of Fall Creek, sent this telling of the Freese Road bridge's history and current functions. The Freese Road Bridge in Varna was built in 1920, replacing an earlier wrought-iron...

Posted by simon at 7:44 AM

April 27, 2004

Cortland Road Sewer District complexities

[Note: I wrote this last week but held it for documents I'd requested from the Town under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Most of those are now enclosed, but there's one document here which the Town didn't have, and...

Posted by simon at 5:21 PM

April 26, 2004

Busy day at Freese Road bridge

There was a lot going on at the closed Freese Road bridge today, with NYSEG doing electrical work to support the replacement sewer pump on the south side of the bridge, and Tompkins County working on the north side of...

Posted by simon at 5:03 PM

April 20, 2004

Joint Town-Village meeting on Cortland Road Sewer District

The Town of Dryden Public Notices page announces that tomorrow night there will be a: Special joint board meeting with the Village of Dryden Board of Trustees to discuss matters pertaining to the Cortland Road Sewer District, and any other...

Posted by simon at 5:34 PM

April 11, 2004

Infrastructure issues

A lot of Thursday night's Town Board meeting was spent on infrastructure issues, ranging from sewer issues to cell phone towers to roads. The meeting included two public hearings on sewer districts, one affecting the area north of the Village...

Posted by simon at 7:52 PM

April 9, 2004

Just past the bridge

Moving toward Varna along Route 366 past the F.H. Fox bridge, the next few properties aren't the usual houses and businesses. Instead, there's an odd building with two fire hydrants. I asked Highway Superintendent Jack Bush what it was last...

Posted by simon at 5:47 PM

April 1, 2004

More on phosphorous, planning

As noted here previously, the Town of Dryden will be having a public hearing on the removal of phosphorous from the City of Ithaca's sewage treatment plant, which serves the Varna and Route 13 area sewer districts. Today's Ithaca Journal...

Posted by simon at 7:25 PM

March 29, 2004

Public hearings at April 8th Town Board meeting

Today's Ithaca Journal contains lots of notices for public hearings to be held at the Town Board's April 8 meeting. The full text of the notices follows, but a quick description of the hearings is: There are two hearings on...

Posted by simon at 3:07 PM

March 26, 2004

Water and sewer issues between town and village

The town has posted minutes for the joint meeting of the Dryden Town Board and the Village of Dryden Board of Trustees. Most of the minutes focus on the remarkable complexities of the Cortland Road Sewer District, north of the...

Posted by simon at 8:35 AM

March 24, 2004

Journal praises Trumbull on fire companies, annexation

Today's Ithaca Journal editorial praises Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull for improving relations with the fire companies and for the recent annexation of land to the Village for a DOT facility. There certainly does seem to be much less strife with...

Posted by simon at 7:39 AM

March 19, 2004

Planning Board meets, modifies Draft Comprehensive Plan

This month's Planning Board meeting had a quorum, unlike last month's meeting, and was able to move forward with changes to the plan, though only two members of the public (myself included) were in attendance. Four planning board members, Dryden's...

Posted by simon at 12:07 PM

Village and school budgets

Today's Ithaca Journal reports on the 11% percent increase in the tax levy proposed in the Village of Dryden, driven by a 7% increase in total spending and reflected in a 4.5% tax rate increase. Health insurance, retirement, legal, and...

Posted by simon at 8:54 AM

March 13, 2004

Town Board on annexation

[This Thursday's Town Board meeting had enough to it that I'm going to publish a series of articles on what happened, focusing on specific topics, rather than try to cover it in one huge piece.] The Town Board resolved the...

Posted by simon at 9:55 AM

March 5, 2004

Annexation, golf course in Dryden Courier

I wish the Dryden Courier was more readily available. Its sister publication, the Ithaca Times, is widely available, both for free in the Ithaca area (extending out to at least the Route 13/366 overlap) and online, while the Dryden Courier...

Posted by simon at 5:34 PM

February 27, 2004

February Town Board meeting minutes

I didn't make it to this month's Town Board meeting, so I was especially interested to see the minutes which recently appeared. As a number of issues were discussed at different points in the meeting, the summary below attempts to...

Posted by simon at 8:37 AM

Dryden Town, Village boards meet to discuss sewage

The Ithaca Journal reports on last night's joint meeting between the boards of the Town and Village of Dryden. The village provides services to about 5000 people in the town, including the Dryden High School complex and TC3, as well...

Posted by simon at 7:42 AM

February 26, 2004

Permissive referendum?

Today's Ithaca Journal legal notices include the following: ATTENTION VILLAGE OF DRYDEN RESIDENTS PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT_at it's regular Board meeting, held on February 19th, 2004, the Village of Dryden Board of Trustees approved the following: The expenditure of $6,800...

Posted by simon at 4:42 PM

January 27, 2004

Sometimes you don't need an executive

In striking contrast with its recent fondness for centralized executive power, today's Ithaca Journal editorial notes that: The marathon, multi-year effort to coordinate wastewater treatment from six area municipalities is nearly complete. This plan has progressed, despite the fact that...

Posted by simon at 8:17 AM

January 2, 2004

Town Board Minutes for December

The minutes for Dryden Town Board meetings of December 3, December 10, and December 18 are now available on line. I'd worried earlier this week that there might not be new minutes, but we seem to have a complete set...

Posted by simon at 10:25 AM

December 19, 2003

Draft Comprehensive Plan Informational Meeting

I made it to last night's informational meeting on the Town's Draft Comprehensive Plan, held at the Dryden Town Hall. (The hearing on annexation was at the Village Hall, at the same time, and there was a bit of confusion.)...

Posted by simon at 12:49 PM

Annexation hearing, water important

At last night's discussion of land annexation by the Village from the Town of Dryden, adding water services to the parcel seemed to be the main reason people supported it - beyond the underlying purpose of putting a state DOT...

Posted by simon at 9:40 AM

December 4, 2003

Used Books, Creeks, and Typhoid

Dryden has two excellent used bookstores: The Phoenix (on Route 13 near Etna), and Book Barn of the Finger Lakes (on North Road across from TC3). A few months ago, I bought a few issues of New York History, the...

Posted by simon at 8:41 AM