The Lansing Town Board unanimously passed a resolution for a one year moratorium on gas drilling into law Wednesday.  The new law establishes a 'Moratorium and Prohibition within the Town of Lansing of High-Impact Industrial Uses, Including Natural Gas and Petroleum Exploration and Extraction Activities, the Underground Storage of Natural Gas, and the Disposal of Natural Gas or Petroleum Extraction, Exploration, and Production Wastes.'  Resident who came so see the law passed erupted in cheers and applause after the vote.

The 25 page law is designed to keep hydrofracking at bay for at least a year in Lansing while permanent solutions are put in place to protect the Town from potential adverse outcomes.  At the beginning of May, 19 Lansing residents spoke in favor of a moratorium at a public hearing held to consider the law.  Many said they support an outright ban.

The Lansing Community Library building is leased from the Town for $1 per year.  But an eviction provision in the lease has made it impossible for the Library to obtain state grants for capital projects.  Wednesday the Town Board considered Town Attorney Guy Krogh's idea to give the building to the Library.

"I've never liked this lease.  It's problematic for both parties," Krogh said.  "It's dancing on the edge of a legal razor.  I'm not sure that's the best way for the Town to be handling that and I know it's not the best way for the Library to be dealing with their facility.  Maybe it's time to recognize the reality of the situation and find a solution that helps both sides."

Thursday (May 17th) marked a very special day for Lansing High School SADD.  Every three years SADD puts on a mock car crash.  The event that lasts only about fifty minutes actually involves months of planning and dozens of people from the community that volunteer their time.  The realistic enactment ends up with some students being carried off in body bags while a grieving mother wails, and the drunk driver who caused the accident being led off in handcuffs.

Supervisor Kathy Miller asked the Town Board to consider renovations to the Lansing Community Center at Wednesday's Town Board meeting.  Miller said that making the building more usable will help relieve room scheduling issues at the town hall, and that the Lansing Lions Club and Boy Scouts have volunteered to be part of the project.

"We haven't put any money into this building for 25 years," she said.  "It's needed.  It actually is a historical building."

Communities grant tax incentives to businesses to create jobs and increase tax revenue.  The question is how much the community gets for the dollars it foregoes.  Two weeks ago New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued a report critical of Industrial Development Agencies (IDA) in New York State, saying taxpayers don't get enough bang for their tax incentive bucks.  A proposed DiNapoli-backed bill in the state legislature (A.9690) would impose additional reporting obligations on local IDAs.  But Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) President Michael Stamm says that IDAs in New York State are already over-burdened with state reporting, and are doing a good job of brining new jobs and tax revenue to their areas.

"I think the vast majority of IDAs across the state are doing a great job, and there are some that are doing an excellent job," Stamm says.  "I think we're one of those.  I think the rest are doing a good job, and there is a tiny percentage of IDAs that perhaps need to improve the way they operate.  While (DiNapoli) may be doing a good job on other issues, the report on IDAs, and in particular his press release, really doesn't reflect what IDAs do.  It really misrepresents some of the main issues."

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